Broken J-bar

[Blackhill]

Today, I came across something I hadn't seen before. I was working on a bandless Dollar Pen. The lever "crunched" when I tried to move it, so I assumed it needed a new sac. But when I opened it up, it turned out the J-bar was brittle and broken but the original sac (Estie-branded), although faded to an olive color, was as supple as ever.

 

I've never encountered a broken J-bar that wasn't accompanied by a dried up or missing sac before. Nor have I seen a discolored sac that was in good repair.

[Brian Anderson]

I wonder if water or ink got into the barrel via the hole cut out causing the bar to become corroded and break. Perhaps the pen got dropped into a sink or something.

 

So, give us the rest of the details on the bandless. I love those. Lots of variants. One day I'll count them all out, but it might take a while.

 

Best-

Brian

[Blackhill]

Here's the bandless dollar pen in question:

 

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g131/inkyfingers/Pens/Estiebandless.jpg

 

There is some corrosion on the left edge of the clip near the top, but otherwise this pen is in excellent condition. The lever does not have corrosion, that is just a shadow. It's got an appropriate flat-feed 1551 nib and is the full-size dollar pen.

 

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g131/inkyfingers/Pens/Estiesac.jpg

 

Here is the discolored, but still working sac.

 

 

--Laura

[Brian Anderson]

Interesting, nice find. Normally these green pens are DARK green. I haven't seen one this light before. I'm not sure I'd trust that sac too much longer however, might be good to replace it while you have the pen apart, and keep the original sac for posterity.

 

Best-

Brian