Parker Victory Mk I

[BlackwaterPark]

Hi all,

 

I've recently bought a wild Victory Mk 1 in black which I'd like to restore myself. I quite like it and intend to keep it.

 

Pressure bar and button safely extracted and mostly cleaned, next step is removing the section. I've got a few P51's under my belt now, so I have a little experience with heat, but please do feel free to slap me on the wrist if I shouldn't be attempting this yet. As I understand, the main difference I need to be aware of is that the (cellulose ? ) is softer at a lower temperature than the typical P51 acrylic, so I shouldn't be using section pliers.

 

There is some information which I haven't been able to find:

 

- What is the Mk 1 made of? I'm being very careful so far not to touch it with any liquids till I'm sure what's safe. The cap doesn't thread on properly and I'm hoping cleaning the female cap threads may help. I read that water can discolour cellulose, being permeable, (if that's what it is made from), but I fail to see how a black pen can discolour.

 

- Are the cap bands solid gold? Mine are tarnished and look more like brass - it looks like the plating has worn away in which case polishing will make what's remaining flake further, but I'd like to make sure in case I'm mistaken and I can actually make them yellow again with simichrome/micro-mesh or something of the like.

 

- Can I extract the feed / nib with gentle rocking before removing the section, or must they be punched through from the rear of the section after the section has been removed from the barrel? Or is removing the nib/feed first a bad idea anyway because it would compromise the rigidity of the section when it's heated later?

 

- Any other tips for the section removal? As mentioned, I'm fairly confident with P51 hoods, but I haven't removed the section from a lever or button filler before and feel this is likely to be another step in difficulty which I would like to get right. I may have a few I can practise on first if advisable.

 

Thanks for suffering my questions. I hope by learning more I might make myself less of a bother!

[PaulS]

Hi - the Mk. I Victory is a celluloid pen as is probably all of the Mks. I to IV - try rubbing the pen with an appropriate liquid cleaner and you will smell table tennis balls.

Can be a tad confusing as to which Victory were speaking of …………. IIRC then Mk. I pens either lack any cap bands or have just one -

may we see a picture of your pen please.

I could be wrong, but think Mk. I pens will have BHR clip screws and blind caps, whereas on Mk. 2 pens these parts are the same colour as the pen - though this doesn't help on black pens of course

Ricky is the guy here who should know more than most about Victories - he probably has more than the rest of us put together, but just some generalisations to be getting on with ………

 

I wouldn't recommend you blast the pen with a heat gun - stick to a hair dryer until you are more experienced - and some of these older pens need much patience as they don't all come apart easily, so go slowly ……………… I've just checked on a black Mk. I and the section is a push fit, although later Mks. are screw fit - like most f.ps. the cap bands are simply g.f. or plated - solid gold, at least in the U.K. - would require hall marks. No reason you can't polish the rings to make the remnants of the g.f. and base metal shine a bit, but they will tarnish again with time.

 

Don't remove the nib/feed unless you really have to, and certainly not by rocking them - if you do need to remove these parts then, yes, a nib knocking block is essential and use the hair dryer before knocking from the rear using a suitable diameter drift. Knocking out nibs and feeds is the easy part - it's getting them back seated correctly where disaster can strike - though most of us have to factor in that somewhere along the line we will break something - breakages always come when you least expect them. When you pull or twist a section for removal, keep the pressure in the same axis line as the barrel and go slowly using the h.d. again if you think necessary.

 

best of luck and waiting to see some pix of your pen. If you use the search on FPN, for Victory related info, you should find something worthwhile - also for general pen renovation there is much - for example Richard Binder's site and many others I expect.

Edited July 21, 2019 by PaulS

[BlackwaterPark]

Thanks very much Paul, I really appreciate all of that. Very useful.

 

I have to admit I totally ignored your advice on the hairdrier, but I've been carefully following the "seeing with your fingers" advice. Safely apart with no damage. Very relieved now the iffy part is done, next hardest part I imagine will be putting the section back on later!

 

Somehow the barrel and cap threads engage fine now!!? Perhaps the heat restored the barrel to its original dimensions.

 

This is a Mk 1 to the best of my knowledge, I expressed myself poorly when I said cap bands, it just has one.

 

BHR clip screws and blind caps sounds consistent - I noticed they were slightly browner than the barrel.

 

Photo here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1tUDiq4AzYJziQuu9

 

Would you recommend shellac on the section? I think friction may be sufficient, and I'm all for rendering any future repair work easier.

Edited July 21, 2019 by BlackwaterPark

[kestrel]

Nice pen. The early Victories with their Newhaven nibs are wonderful writers.

 

Use gentle heat on the barrel when inserting the section to avoid calamities. You shouldn't need shellac but, if the section starts to slide out when the button is pushed, remove the section and apply a coat of shellac to the part of the section that goes into the barrel and let it dry thoroughly before reinserting the section. Repeat if necessary.

 

Victories are addictive, especially the Mk Is. Pretty celluloid, really nice nibs, great size. You have been warned by someone who preceded you down the rabbit hole.

[PaulS]

kestrel's advice is v.g. - agree these are very collectible pens - think I have a preference for those with a cap band. For some of the coloured Mk. 1s you'll now need to dig deep in the pocket - prices ain't what they used to be, unfortunately.

Best of luck with the re-assembly.

[BlackwaterPark]

Thanks everyone!

 

I put a new sac on the pen and I've been using it a bit. Lovely flexible nib - as told! It's a hard starter, however, requires a bit of a shake and dries up every now and then. I think I've washed it through enough; I believe the issue is this:

 

 

I don't want to have to knock out the feed if I don't have to! I have a knock out block being made at the moment, but I don't fancy using my first Mk 1 Victory for practise... would it be advisable to use dry heat to set the BHR feed closely against the nib? I've done this procedure on Parker 51s with reasonable success using hot water just off the boil, but as I understand I can't use that on this older kind of BHR which will discolour in hot water. Thanks!

[PaulS]

Looking at your picture it does appear there is a gap between nib and feed, so you can use very hot water, BUT you must make absolutely sure you immerse only the nib and feed in the water - don't let the hot water touch the section - HR will respond badly to very hot water. Hopefully others here will share their experience of setting the nib and feed.

The hair dryer, in theory, isn't specific enough in it's application and will make for too wide an area of heat, whereas you want heat on the feed only.

There are other issues which might possibly affect ink flow - the nib slit should ideally be directly in line with the ink channel in the feed, though of course you can't do anything about this unless both are removed from the section.

 

Don't know how or where you keep this pen when not in use, but experience shows that ink flow, when writing afresh, can be improved by storing the pen, when not in use, horizontally.

Edited August 15, 2019 by PaulS

[BlackwaterPark]

Thanks Paul, I appreciate it.

 

My curiosity is piqued by your warning not to let hot water touch the section - are the feed and section not made of the same kind of hard rubber, and each protected from oxidation via UV? How come the section should respond differently to hot water than the feed? Or is your warning intended to ensure the section doesn't also change shape with the feed?

 

The nib is aligned with the feed along its axis, and therefore its ink channel, as best I can tell.

 

I keep all my pens horizontally. Thank you for the advice, but it seems I can't make any improvement there.

[PaulS]

you're correct - section and feed are both HR - it's just a good idea not to let the section experience very hot water, though you're not supposed to immerse the feed for more than about 30 seconds either. The section is a very visible part of the pen and it could be a problem if it does become soft, especially if you then go on to apply pressure to the nib and feed - distortion of the whole front end might be the result, as you suggested.

 

Not sure I understand you comment about "and each protected from oxidation via UV?" IIRC, in the main it is the UV part of the spectrum that causes oxidation on HR - the only protection given to a HR pen, against discolouration caused by ultra violet light - is for the pen to remain in the dark - quite why the mottled (red) HR pens seem to suffer less from this problem I've no idea.

 

Hope you get the nib knocking block soon - it's a good experience to find that suddenly you can remove feeds and nibs without breaking everything - do remember to use dry heat, make sure you have a suitable drift (old drill bits smooth and square at the back end are useful), and begin by knocking gently before smacking eight bells out of the thing.

Edited August 15, 2019 by PaulS

[Ricky2011]

looking lovely...

 

Black is the standard colur... all the way up to herringbone, lizards and unusual colours.. I have read somewhere that some of the parts were shared so you will see similar desgins in CS and other english makers of the time.

 

regards

 

Rick