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My Mom just gave me her Parker Vacumatic, circa early 1940s. Before I start fiddling with it, I'd like to get it tuned-up/repaired. Can anyone recommend a good place to send it to? (I live in the US) Thanks so much!

I have this Parker Slimfold which is missing its ink sac and protector. I am curious if a converter may be purchased for the pen, or if anyone could point me toward replacement parts? I will include a photo of the pen section below. Thank you

The nib and feed on one of my Stylomine 303s have significant damage and I need to remove them to get a better look at and potentially replace them. However, I can't seem to get them to come out. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? They are stuck pretty firmly in place. Thanks!

Hello, I need a cap for a Waterman Patrician (if possible in BHR, but also may be in Celluloid). I would also buy an pen for restauration, so I can use the cap to complete my pen. Please make an offer! Hansjürgen

Say I've got three Snorkels in front of me. One has a flawless Triumph 14k nib, but the body is busted. One has restored internals, but the nib is a 14k #5 and the body is an ugly grey. The final one has a beautiful burgundy body and the Sentinel cap, but the Triumph nib is busted and the internals aren't restored. How do I get the best parts of each into one nice frankenpen? (Repair newb)

Hi everyone, First post here, but looks like a cool community! I bought a really neat French lever-filling fountain pen at the flea market today, I'm wondering about how I'd go about getting it repaired from the UK. The problem is the lever itself, which seems to have broken over the years. I'd expect the sack could probably do with replacing, too. Does anyone have any sort of idea where I could get that sort of thing done, and sort of cost I should expect? Thanks in advance for your help!

Will a hero 330 section fit into a parker 61?

Will a hero 330 section fit into a parker 61?

Hello all! I need some input on a MB 144 nib which appears to “spray” when I’m writing a quick line, specifically from left to right, the nib held at around 45 degrees. I attach some photos of the ink effect on notebook paper, regular and closeup. Photos of the nib at various angles are also attached. Any suggestion on smoothing, flossing, nib channel polishing? I am unable to see any obvious flaws or glitches on the nib itself. Lastly, does anyone have an idea what the root cause of this spray may be? It’s a medium MB 144 nib, somewhat over smoothed using MB midnight blue ink. (May have to load more than once)

To those who use IR thermometers to test tempuratures of sections and other pen parts when using heat to loosen them - Which one do you use/recommend?

The nib of my Parker frontier got destroyed due to a fall. I saw the disassembly video and it seems that the nib can be replaced. Where can I find its nib and is a generic nib possible too?

I recently purchased a serviced Parker 51. However it skips terribly, and starts hard. Backstory: So I asserted that the seller had maybe mislead me about servicing it. So I decided to take it apart and fix it myself. The filler unit works well, so I didn't bother to take that apart. I took off the hood, but realized that the seller didn't lie about it, the collector and feed were completely clean. I re-aligned the nib and feed with the collector carefully, so that the wide air gap on the collector is now precisely over the top of the nib. Then I pushed the nib and feed into the collector as far as they go, and screwed the hood back on. The result: Flow has improved a little bit (possibly because I aligned the nib + feed in relation to the collector better), but the pen still hard starts and skips and like hell. There is a very tight sweet spot, ie. I can hold it in a way in which it skips much less, and of course it doesn't skip when I apply considerable pressure, but... it is not pleasurable to write with it this way. How can I fix this? What am I missing?

I want to go down the path of repairing nibs. Not to make money but to have the capability. And for right now I am only talking about mangled or bent nibs. I have been successful with tuning and re-aligning my nibs. But, recently I badly mangled a nib (14K). I got it working but its ugly. I am paying someone to fix that one. So I have bought a nib block and a few different burnishers and have lots of other tools. I want to practice fixing mangled nibs. Not re-tipping (maybe later). I need some experimental patients... sick nibs. Anybody willing to sell me some or let me borrow some. If you let me borrow them I will try to fix them (no guarantees) and will send them back at my cost. I prefer 14K but will try steel. Or if you know where I might by some? If you are interested pls pm me. Thanks. PS. I did a similar thing with making reeds for Uilleann Bagpipes. I rolled my own copper and brass tubing. Made my own cane cutting tools. Its a 7 hr process the way I do it. I also have sharpened knives to a hair whittling mirror edge and tuned knife flipping action, etched an anodized metals. Got to be good on all those so I think fixing nibs is something that will be equally tedious and fun for me.

Hi. I am looking to replace a damaged cap on my Waterman Expert. I have looked in all of the likely places without success. Can anyone help please? Many thanks.

Hello, folks. I would appreciate your input here. After a few years of coveting, I finally bought an Aurora Luna limited edition fountain pen during the holiday shopping season. The pen is thrillingly beautiful, but the one I received had some issues. The two main issues were: 1, there was an extra "cut" on the underside of the nib, and 2, there was some kind of residue (glue?) where the ink window meets the body of the pen. I sent it back to the vendor, who has now determined that it is defective and is asking me whether I want to have it sent to Aurora for repair. Normally, I would just get a replacement pen. But this is a limited edition, and I have not been able to find another reliable source for the pen. I really want to have a Luna--ideally, one with good fit and finish, but I also worry that something would go wrong in sending it for repair. Has anyone here had experience with Aurora warranty/repair work, and how did it go? Or should I just keep the pen as-is and try to mod the nib later (and just live with the glue residue defect)? Alternatively, do you know anywhere else where I could buy a Luna?

I was recently gifted from a good friend a 144 fountain pen. It's a sterling doué (black resin body, sterling cap). I am confident that all parts are authentic Montblanc, but I suspect that I have an early 1980's 144 body (ebonite feed, all gold 14k nib, plastic threads in the section) possibly mated to a later sterling doué cap from either a 144 fountain pen or a 163 rollerball. The pen writes exceptionally well following a flush and I'm delighted with it, but am considering sending it in for service to the Montblanc center in Ft. Worth (I'm USA based and nowhere near a boutique) to have the corroded section ring replaced. I have no other issues with the pen. I have several questions, any my searches of prior posts do not give definitive answers for this pen: 1. How would I tell if the sterling cap is from a 144 fountain pen or a 163 rollerball? The cap fits well, but, when capped makes the pen about 2mm shorter than a known genuine original 163 rollerball from 1991 (metal section threads as opposed to this fountain pen with the older plastic section threads). The cap swaps between my 163 rollerball just fine, but when swapped the rollerball becomes 2mm shorter... Does this matter? 2. The section trim ring (as is commonly the case) is corroded. If I send the pen to the Ft. Worth repair center with the doué cap for repair of the corroded section trim, will they charge more since it had a sterling cap or possibly reject the repair as the cap might not be original? 3. The nib is perfect, but is the common M and the old monocolor 14k variety. If I ask for a nib swap to a BB (or something wider than the M) will I be hit with a big bill (e.g. >USS$250)? 4. Will the replacement nib, if I agree to the swap, be a monocolor nib, or the newer bi-color? 5. On this model, is my current ebonite feed considered superior? Why? 6. If I ask for a nib swap (depending on the cost) will they install it on my existing ebonite feed? 7. If I send it in for replacement of the corroded trim ring without a nib swap, will I lose my ebonite feed? 8. If they are going to replace the whole section and set my existing nib (or a replacement) on a new feed, can I request that they return my ebonite feed? 9. If the MB Service Center in Ft. Worth replaces the section and sets either my nib or a replacement broader nib on a new plastic feed and they agree to return my old undamaged ebonite feed to me, is the ebonite feed compatible with the new section and could be reinstalled and reset into the new section by a competent repair person (see Question 4 about if there is any advantage to having the ebonite feed on a 144)? Would this be advised and any appreciable improvement? 10. I lack a converter. Depending on if the section is replaced, are either older friction fit or newer screw in authentic Montblanc converters readily available? Will the service center provide, as part of the service a converter? 11. Approximately what years was the sterling doué 144 model (black resin body, sterling cap) available for sale? Any idea as to the MSRP? Thank you to the experts for your responses to these detailed and somewhat obscure questions. Warm regards, vieuxcarre New Orleans, LA

I've replaced the J-bar of one of my Esterbrook J pens with an 54mm aftermarker J-bar. After doing that I noticed that the lever is loose. While the pen otherwise worked, the rattle of the lever annoyed me enough to pull the pen apart again and try to fix it. Googling for the issue revealed some insight from Brian Anderson here. However I haven't found any information about how best to do this. So I thought I would try on my own and grabbed a couple of pliers and used that to flatten the metal on sides of the J-bar. However it didn't give easily, and I'm not sure if it helped at all. I still can't insert the J-bar in a way in which the lever isn't loose. On one occasion I almost succeeded, but after trying to use the lever 2 or 3 times, it returned to being loose once again. I must admit, I have no idea how to do this properly. Could somebody help with some advice, please?

I have a Sheaffer Admiral Lever-Fill with a Wire Band cap. The wire band has come detached from the cap. It came off cleanly, no chips or cracks in the cap. Were these bands originally affixed by adhesive or simply pressure fit? What would be my best choice of re-securing? Thanks.

Hi guys. I would like to ask some questions about Montegrappa pen nib unit for sale and repairing. The nib unit of my Montegrappa 80th anniversary pen was damaged as shown in the picture. I was wondering if anyone a brand new nib unit available for selling at the moment (nib and feed only prefered). Besides, where can I get the pen repaired? One more thing, are there any other nibs and feeds of Montegrappa that could be used as a substitution of this pen? Thank you very much.

Hello again. I have this beautiful Sphinx, with a nice flexible Linz nib, from goodness knows when (I'm thinking 50s, just on a hunch). It's lovely to write with, but so far I've just been using it as a dip nib, as I have no idea how to get the filler mechanism working. I've fixed a few lever fillers, but I admit, I've always shied away from other systems. And to be honest, I don't even know what this is! Is it a button filler with a normal pressure bar, or is it a piston filler? I've worked at the section with dry heat for six months now, and most of my other similarly stubborn ones have yielded, but no sign of this one moving. The button turns very slightly but I don't want to jam it of course. I don't know, if it's a piston, if I should just bite the bullet and see if I can unscrew it, but obviously I'm inclined not to try, as I don't want to break it. There's a dry rattle inside, but I can't tell if it's an old sac or a pressure bar or what. Can anyone point me in the right direction? By the way, not related to the repair job and filling system, but I'd never seen a feed like this before. It's slit laterally down the middle, and although this picture shows a bit of roughness I think that's just dried ink, and I'm fairly sure it's a factory job.

Hello all. I have a couple of pens with clip damage. I'm aiming to keep them both, so I'm not too concerned, but I was just wondering what I might be able to do. I have a lovely red Eagle Prince at last. I've been trying to score one of these for ages, and while they come up fairly often on eBay in the States, they're pretty hard to get for a reasonable price in the UK. I assume the clip has lost its gilt, and I think it looks quite nice actually, as it's a lovely near-black tarnish, with the remains of the gilt on the imprint. What I was wondering with this one is what the base metal is, and will it deteriorate if I leave it untouched? The other is an Osmiroid, which has lost a big chunk of chrome (?) or whatever its plating is. This one is obviously not such a good look, and already rusting, so what can be done about this? Cheers!

Hi , I am a MB Generation lover. But unfortunately my pen section was broken. So got it fixed from externally from a non-MB reputed pen repair person. But now the new problem is the ring which fixes the cap to body came undone. Tried pushing it but probably the lock is lost and its now more protruding. have fixed the ring with strong adhesive. But now the problem is the cap just doesn't shut totally. Dont want to buy another pen. Where to find a new pen section for MB generation. Vikas

A month or so ago, I bought a Pilot Custom 823 in M from an Amazon reseller. However, the pen just doesn't write about 30% of the time, regardless of blind cap openness, ink, or paper type. Is this a common issue with a common fix, or should I contact Pilot? I bought this pen from Japan and I live in Canada. Resultingly, who should I contact? I've already emailed Crestar and Pilot USA. I've heard about this issue before, but I don't know what to do about it. Thank you so much, FPN!

Hello, I'm seeing if anyone has tackled this problem. As I was trying to wrestle a Sheaffer Triumph nib off a vac filler, the feed snapped. The nib and the rest of it is out, but there's a length of the feed still stuck in the collar. I've tried to soak it and twist it out (It'd be nice to preserve the collar for a spare, just in case) but it's not really budging. I do have a spare nib/feed/collar combo from a past botched vac fill project, and am hoping to at least get the collar out, so I can replace the Triumph nib unit and get this pen working. Am planning to drill into the feed, see if it holds, and then twist out the collar. If not, I will possibly just drill out the feed and then use a larger drill bit to then twist out the emptied collar. Thoughts?

Can this damaged Pelikan 100 be repaired? If so, can it be repaired seamlessly? What would be the cost? Thanks for your help. http://imgur.com/fpngallery/gfoKu