Vintage Summit Non Writer

[lysander]

Ive recently purchased this lovely little thing for pretty cheap, in part due to it having a non original nib.

Problem is, theres no inkflow to the nib.

The seller advised me flush the pen with water and a few drops of dish soap and to send it back if it still doesnt work.

Id be interested in trying to fix it myself if that doesnt fix it though.

The nib and feed are clearly misaligned for a start.

I probably wont touch it if it ends up working, but would love some pointers on how I would go about dismantling it and straightening the nib, for the sake of learning - I have no experience in pen repair but am fairly handy.

[Bo Bo Olson]

What's it say on the clip?

 

A picture of the top of the pen, the finial, could help.

I have a similar looking but German piston pen, some of that brand has different finials and one was a brand mark so perhaps yours has a brand mark there.

 

Can't read exactly what the nib says...............there were often 'generic' nibs used that would not be ...not original.

 

Sounds to me like you have a dead sack............once back in the day, rubber sacs lasted 30-40 years. Now, perhaps 10.....unless you use supersaturated inks. Some repairmen warn against supersaturated inks that can eat a rubber sack in a couple of weeks.

Then of course you will run into some that say, they use supersaturated inks all the time in their lever pens....................and for 'months' perhaps more.................but I tend to take a qualified repairman's word.

[PaulS]

looks to be a nice pen - Summit are a respected and worthwhile brand - there are a variety of models, all of which should perform adequately - this pen looks to be a celluloid example.

Regret I can't read all of the nib imprint, but think I can see the bit that says 14 ct. gold. The barrel of the pen should have an imprint to indicate which model you have. The more commonly found models are …………. S.100, 125, 160, 175 and 200, though there are others.

 

Whatever the problem, DON'T immerse the pen in water - cold or hot - does the pen take up ink/water when the lever is actuated - if not then you will probably need to remove the black part holding the nib - this is the section. But initially, do persevere attempting to flush the pen with warm water and a little ammonia or detergent - if you don't have experience of dismantling a pen then it's all too easy to ruin or damage it.

The section will probably not separate from the barrel of the pen without some encouragement in the form of dry heat from a hair dryer - don't overdo the heat - make repeated efforts rather than trying to cook the pen in one go. The section needs to be gripped with 'section pliers' - rubber jawed grips that won't damage the material of the pen - don't attempt this with ordinary pliers - you'll wreck the pen. The barrel can be held with some flexible non-slip material - these two parts are joined by either a threaded connection, or just a tight push fit.

Assuming you do remove the section this will tell you if the rubber sac has perished, fallen off the rear of the section etc., but if the sac is o.k. then the problem will probably be a blocked/clogged ink route through the section, and you might make up a bulb flush of some kind to attempt to irrigate the ink passage.

Can't see noticeable deformity to the nib from you pix, but just possible that the feed - the black hard rubber part under the nib - could do with minor adjustment forward - this might improve ink flow assuming you do get the pen to write in the first place - and obviously can be done only by separating it entirely from the rest of the pen.

First of all try to get the ink flowing and then worry about the niceties of appearance.

Best of luck and come back if you need further information or guidance.

Edited May 21, 2019 by PaulS

[lysander]

Thanks a lot for your answers !

The pen is indeed a celluloid, model S125, and it has a 14k gold nib. I will post a picture of the finial tonight.

The pen does take ink properly using the lever. I've attached a clearer picture of the nib vs feed where you can see the nib leaning towards the left, I'm wondering if that's part of the issue.

I will try flushing when I'm home and report back.

[PaulS]

could be that the nib is a tad lose in the feed/section, hence the apparent mis-alignment of nib and feed, however this fact wouldn't prevent ink flow completely - there is obviously some other major issue. In view of the fact that the sac takes up ink, then I'm surprised that you are unable to make some ink flow from the nib.

The clip is the standard 'deco' stepped job that many Summit pens had - I think the people here suggest that such pens were made by Langs - though as far as I know these clips always appear plain, and don't carry a name of any kind. There are Summit imprinted nibs, and like the barrel imprint the word runs across the nib in a stylized arched fashion.

[lysander]

I gave it some good flushing and rinsing and it writes !

Quite well at that.

I also changed the ink to Herbin lie de the though I doubt that had much to do with it.

It doesnt have the biggest line variation but its smooth and pleasurable to use.

Pulling downstrokes at an acute angle from the top right are ever so slightly scratchy but that should sort itself out with time.

Thanks for all the excellent info ! Ive learnt a lot in this thread.

Edited May 21, 2019 by lysander

[lysander]

Nothing to do with the thread but Ive noticed that there is some form of autocorrection when posting that is replacing ITS with ITS - is it some form of trolling

Nothing to do with the thread but Ive noticed that there is some form of autocorrection when posting that is replacing ITS with ITS - is it some form of trolling

Edited May 21, 2019 by lysander

[lysander]

Hmm the forum is behaving very weirdly, nevermind.

[PaulS]

glad to hear you have a good result - sorry, no idea about the gremlins. its it's seems o.k.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Try canting your pen to the left just a touch (not as much as oblique) ....your nib don't look like it was ground oblique but there is a bit of uneven to the tipping. Set the cap so the clip is just a hair to the right fo the slit and see if that gets rid of the scratchy.

 

When one is getting tinot obliques for the first time I advise setting the clip as sight, in the middle between the slit and the edge for a 15 degree grind, and at the right hand edge for a nib with 30 degree grind.

Yours just a hair or two to the right of the slit...........in the angle is slighter as normal obliques.

Some folks call canting, rotating.

[lysander]

Interesting, thanks for the info !

Actually I realized that the tines were quite misaligned, after realigning them it's much less scratchy and the ink flow is more consistent too.

[sidthecat]

I didn't know William Mitchell made fountain pen nibs. That's a really interesting thing you've got at the end of your pen.