Sheaffer Balance 875 Repairing Help

June 14, 2019

Good morning all! A few weeks ago I found this at an antique shop and was mesmerized by it! I have been wanting a vintage fountain pen and one that I could essentially bring back to life! Although I am a newby I am not sure what this all might entail. I believe what I have is a Sheaffer Balance 875 with the marine green striated? I would love to seek your thoughts in order to bring it back to its former glory! I have pictures below.

Thank you for your help!

Edited June 14, 2019 by Yarchak1013

June 14, 2019

Pictures

June 14, 2019

I am having issues adding the pictures but if you would like to view them please private message me and I will be able to email them to you. Thank you!

June 16, 2019

Pictures

Sorry for all the posts...I was able to make the images smaller to be able to add them. Any help and advice is appreciated!

Edited June 16, 2019 by Yarchak1013

June 20, 2019

Nice find! I actually happen to currently be in the process of restoring a similar pen, but in the Carmine/Rose Glow color.

For a replacement feed, Pentooling should have one that will fit your pen. Since it's an 875 (slender full length) model, I believe the feed listed as type "M" should fit your section.

For a replacement nib, you can check Five Star Pens. The pen model you have would have originally come with a standard size Lifetime nib with the platinum plating.

Since you are new to pen repairs/restorations, I would recommend that you release the section by soaking it in a weak ammonia solution (pen flush will work) and gently wiggling it back and forth every few hours until it loosens up and comes out. To get the stuck bit of feed out, I would (very carefully!) use a knock-out block, but I'm sure there are other ways listed around on this website- you might want to get a professional opinion on that. As to the replacement sac, a size 16 should do the trick.If you choose to polish your pen in some way or another, I would like to recommend Flitz polish. It won't harm the gold filled trim, and it really does a good job at polishing without being very abrasive- just make sure you don't let it dry on the pen (look out for the lever box, threads, barrel imprint, and under the clip).

For all of the other details I didn't cover here, I'd recommend taking a look in the Repair Q&A forum and looking into tips on installing new sacs, removing feeds, etc. This is probably a good place to start: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/11309-repair-reference-information/

It may seem like a lot to take on at first, but restoring vintage pens can be very rewarding. Good luck, and have fun!

June 20, 2019

Nice find! I actually happen to currently be in the process of restoring a similar pen, but in the Carmine/Rose Glow color.

For a replacement feed, Pentooling should have one that will fit your pen. Since it's an 875 (slender full length) model, I believe the feed listed as type "M" should fit your section.
For a replacement nib, you can check Five Star Pens. The pen model you have would have originally come with a standard size Lifetime nib with the platinum plating.

Since you are new to pen repairs/restorations, I would recommend that you release the section by soaking it in a weak ammonia solution (pen flush will work) and gently wiggling it back and forth every few hours until it loosens up and comes out. To get the stuck bit of feed out, I would (very carefully!) use a knock-out block, but I'm sure there are other ways listed around on this website- you might want to get a professional opinion on that. As to the replacement sac, a size 16 should do the trick.If you choose to polish your pen in some way or another, I would like to recommend Flitz polish. It won't harm the gold filled trim, and it really does a good job at polishing without being very abrasive- just make sure you don't let it dry on the pen (look out for the lever box, threads, barrel imprint, and under the clip).

For all of the other details I didn't cover here, I'd recommend taking a look in the Repair Q&A forum and looking into tips on installing new sacs, removing feeds, etc. This is probably a good place to start: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/11309-repair-reference-information/

It may seem like a lot to take on at first, but restoring vintage pens can be very rewarding. Good luck, and have fun!

Hi BalancedCraftsman!

Thank you so so much for your help and advice! That sounds also like a nice find for your pen as well! Thank you again for your description on where to start! I will be looking into it very soon! There are a couple of questions that came up after I read your post. As you mentioned soaking the section part of the pen and working it out slowly - I am unable to see and find that I don't think there is a viewable gap between the treads and the section for it to come out. It appears as though it is one solid piece binded together. If you would like I will be glad to attach a zoomed in picture of the section area. I will also be doing some research on the knock out block but I have been thinking if I use a very small screw I may can get the broken off feed off, by means of very carefully working that out. Of course, if you have any other thoughts! I would love to hear and also would love to see your before and after pictures of your Carmine/Rose Glow find!

Thank you again!

June 22, 2019

No problem, Yarchak1013!

As to your question about the section, Sheaffer shellacked the sections in place. It was designed to be a durable, yet removable bond- hence why it appears solid. The ammonia solution soaking will help by dissolving/weakening the shellac, and then you should be able to gently remove it. I've found that rocking the section back and forth at the joint without applying too much pressure will usually break the bond safely, and then you can pull the section out after the shellac is separated. You can usually tell when it's been separated by a slight snapping noise from the old, brittle shellac breaking apart. As I said, do not apply too much force- be gentle and patient. Here's an in-progress photo of my disassembled Balance 875 in Carmine so you can get an idea for what to expect:

The only things I've done to this pen so far are disassembling it, cleaning the nib, and removing the old sac remains from the barrel- everything else is still as-found. The sac in the photo is the new one I intend to install as the final step once everything is cleaned, polished, and repaired to my liking.

For removing the feed with a knock-out block, you'll need to pull the feed extension out of the back of the section assembly before you can stick a rod in there to punch the feed out. I do this by using a pair of tweezers and pulling the extension straight out, being careful not to bend the old rubber to a breaking point.

I hope you find my bit of experience useful in your vintage pen repair journey.

Good luck, and enjoy the project!

June 24, 2019

BalancedCraftsman! Wow! That is awesome! Thank you so much for your help and explanations good sir! You have certainly cleared up my concerns in my thought process! I’d never thought about the shellac process...makes sense! I am chomping at the bit to get things started or even better “chomping on the nib”. Yes, your experience is very useful! Thank you and will keep you posted!

August 20, 2019

Update: I have successfully removed all the old sac remnants and removed the old broken feed out of the section. Now, I have a new obstacle...I have ordered an “M” feed from Pentooling. I anxiously open the package and try to insert it into the section. It fits! Not so much, I can only get it to fit a few centimeters and don’t want to chance breaking the section by forcefully inserting it and the feed channels don’t even go in like it should. My question to you all...Does anyone know what kind of correct feed I would need to get for an Balance Sheaffer 875 *slender full length* model? May I am putting the feed in incorrectly? The only source I was able to purchase was on Pentooling which was a great experience! I would really appreciate any help and suggestions!

Thank you in advance!

August 20, 2019

The old feed would have had an impression of the nib on it where the hard rubber cold flowed. The new one doesn't, so it will be a tighter fit. ...and it will be a tight fit, as it should be. The fit of a NOS feed with the nib in a NOS section is incredibly tight, so tight that you can't see how they could possibly go together, but they do. If they aren't tight enough the nib will shift, which causes problems with tine alignment

If the nib and feed start and go in part way, they should work. Heat the section and work the nib and feed in bit by bit, warming several times if you need to. Make sure that you check that the nib is set deep enough. Use a couple of coffee stirrers as an inner cap gauge. One will catch the edge of the inner cap, the other goes to the end. Hold the forward one against the edge of the section, the second one, which was at the end of the inner cap should clear the end of the nib. It doesn't have to be by much - just so that it clears. If it doesn't, warm the section again and press again. Once it does, you're done.

How warm is warm enough? You should be able to hold it for a few seconds without it feeling to hot.

August 21, 2019

The old feed would have had an impression of the nib on it where the hard rubber cold flowed. The new one doesn't, so it will be a tighter fit. ...and it will be a tight fit, as it should be. The fit of a NOS feed with the nib in a NOS section is incredibly tight, so tight that you can't see how they could possibly go together, but they do. If they aren't tight enough the nib will shift, which causes problems with tine alignment

If the nib and feed start and go in part way, they should work. Heat the section and work the nib and feed in bit by bit, warming several times if you need to. Make sure that you check that the nib is set deep enough. Use a couple of coffee stirrers as an inner cap gauge. One will catch the edge of the inner cap, the other goes to the end. Hold the forward one against the edge of the section, the second one, which was at the end of the inner cap should clear the end of the nib. It doesn't have to be by much - just so that it clears. If it doesn't, warm the section again and press again. Once it does, you're done.

How warm is warm enough? You should be able to hold it for a few seconds without it feeling to hot.

Thank you very much! This is my first at restoring it and loving it so far! Please pardon my ignorance on the coffee stirrers as I am having a hard time envisioning on how to perform that. Would you happen to have a video on how to? With the heat I certainly will do! Would you recommend putting the section and feed and nib in the oven for a minute say around 100 degrees? What would you recommend in heating the parts safely? I definitely don’t want to do anything to harm the pen so that may not be a good idea. Thank you for your help!

August 21, 2019

Would you recommend putting the section and feed and nib in the oven for a minute say around 100 degrees?

NO! Heat it in an oven, and you'll heat section too much and will melt it - or ignite it! You warm it using a hair dryer, or a small heat gun. Take a look at the article on my website called "Seeing With Your Fingers."

Heat it over the hair dryer, keeping it moving the whole time so that the heat is even. I put it on a thin rod and spin it. You don't want it HOT, just warm enough that it will make it a bit easier for the nib and feed to go in, without making the celluloid soft, or melting it, or making it so soft that it distorts when you press the nib and feed in. Warm, not hot. You'll understand better after you've read the article.

August 24, 2019

If your nib ends up looking like the placement in this picture, you are fine. A model 500 with the lifetime nib on the left, and a model 875 feather touch nib on the right.