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Hi folks, How do you safely reinsert a nib? I need to knock out the nib from a Parker Royal Challenger because ink won't flow through the feed. I've ultrasounded the section assembly several times and left it in a diluted ammonia solution overnight, but the feed is still entirely clogged. In the past, I've fixed many pens with this problem by knocking out the nib and feed; usually there's dried ink clogging the feed's channel. Once the channel is cleaned out, I reinsert the nib and the pen works well. Sadly, over the years, I've bent or broken my share of nibs while reinserting them. I now only try this procedure if prolonged soaking and ultrasounding fails. So, before I go back to the wars with this pen, what's the best practice method for reinserting nibs? Thanks, Richard

Good morning - Im an old time FP member on Reddit but this is my first post on fpnetwork. I bought a used Stipula Etruria that looks like it has some grease behind the piston on the acrylic on top of the silver shiny part. Wondering if this is normal?? And if not, is there a way to disassemble the piston unit? Thanks!

There are lots of reasons why I like TWSBI pens. One is their outrageous price/performance -- other pens of similar quality are an integer multiplier more expensive.They are attractive. That's a second-order effect, but it's a plus, if you spend a lot of time using a pen.They are quality pens: well balanced, feel good in the hand, and they write well.Yet, if I damage or lose one, I'm only out fifty bucks. So I'm willing to stick a TWSBI in my pocket when I head out to work in a coffee shop; I'm not frightened into leaving the pen in my office. This makes them pens that you use, not simply pens that you admire in a showcase.A major reason I use them is that they are designed to be disassembled. This is critical for me, because I use nano-pigment inks. The whole point of using a pen, for me, is permanence. But inks that are waterproof, resist organic solvents, don't bleach, don't fade under sunlight and are highly saturated in color imply more maintenance and cleaning, else they will clog up my pen. It's easy to strip a TWSBI down to its component parts once a year and flush them under running water, soak them overnight in Koh-i-noor pen cleaner, or drop them in an ultrasonic cleaner. In particular, being able to do this to the feed of the pen is really valuable. TWSBI pens are perfect for people who want to use nano-pigment inks.But there's one more reason to buy a TWSBI pen: for $50, you get something like a personal relationship with the people at the company. It feels like the act of purchasing the pen bought you admittance to a private club. The service is incredible. I sent the following email to TWSBI support this morning: From: "E. K. Hornbeck" To: twsbiinc@gmail.com Subject: Seek spare parts for damaged pen Date: Sat, 04 Feb 2017 10:42:50 -0500 I have a TWSBI 580, which I have enjoyed very much -- it is a *great* pen. Tonight, my five-year old child destroyed it: somehow, she managed to shove the cap on so hard it jumped over the threads, jammed on the barrel, and then sheared off at the metal ring on the lip of the cap. Everything on the pen is perfectly fine except the barrel and the cap. This, to be clear, very much falls under the category of "not covered by warranty" -- my daughter is a destructive force who should rightly be classed as a weapon of mass destruction. Would it be possible for me to purchase a new barrel and cap? Thank you. Prof. E. K. HornbeckI sent this on a Saturday morning. I got the following reply: From: Philip Wang <twsbiinc@gmail.com> Date: Sat, 4 Feb 2017 07:44:03 -0800 Subject: Re: Seek spare parts for damaged pen To: "E. K. Hornbeck" E.K., no worries, what is your shipping address and phone number? We can send you a spare cap and barrel. You just have to pay for shipping. Note the time-stamp on Philip's message: that's a minute and thirteen seconds turnaround time. $900 doesn't get you that kind of relationship with Montblanc or Pelikan. Or free parts. Just sayin'. -E. K.

Hi all, I'm debating about either getting a new pen from The Nibsmith, or having one of my existing pens worked on by him. Which would you suggest? Thanks, Rosendust💜🍃

Does anyone know of Daniel Steiger fountain pens? They appear to be a watch/jeweler for men, and must have made some branded fountain pens at some point. I got one as a gift around 2010, and need a replacement nib/feeder, but can't find anything that fits and don't know what to look for in a generic nib/feeder anyway. If I knew the mfr of this pen I'd have an idea where to look, or if I knew how to know what size nib/feeder I have, I could look for a generic. Thanks for helping!

Hello Wise Ones, Has anyone had to repair a loose desk pen base whose ball joint (which holds up the pen) is loose and lays flat? I’m considering buying an Esterbrook desk pen set. The style of desk pen is the ultra flat base with a swiveling ball joint. But the ball joint is loose and the “holster” can’t hold the pen up. The best research info I have is from model and toy enthusiasts who recommend Pledge Future Polish. However, these suggestions assume a disassembly of parts that I may not have the luxury of. Has anyone had experience in this? Thanks in advance!

Here is a copy/pasted (with personal info removed), word-for-word email exchange between myself and a Pilot USA customer service rep the other day: Hello, After cleaning my Custom 823 some time ago I seem to have misplaced the small clear rubber gasket which seats around the feed as it sits inside the section (this is not one of the black rubber o-rings which sit on the outside of the section or the plunger assembly to form a seal upon contact with the barrel). Strangely this has not seemed to impact the writing performance nor does my pen spring leaks randomly, but regardless I wonder if it is possible to purchase a replacement part. Many thanks, -XXXXX ------ Dear XXXXX, Thank you for your email message. We appreciate the opportunity to address your inquiry. We would be pleased to send you the needed ring. What is your last name and mailing information? Thank you for writing to us. We value your loyalty and investment in our products. Sincerely, XXXXX XXXXX Consumer Advisor ------ XXXXX, Thank you so very much! You can send the part to: **my shipping address**Is there any charge for the part? I do not mind paying if so; let me know if this is the case so that you can invoice me for it. Many thanks again for your help! Cheers, -XXXXX ------ Hi XXXXX, No charge. This will be sent via US Postal Mail. Have a wonderful day! Best regards, XXXXX ------ Some things to note: -I live in Canada; I reached out to Pilot USA because up here we don't have a Pilot office, just a distributor (although I think Pilot USA does handle all repairs etcetera for North America) -These forums have stated on numerous occasions how picky Pilot are if you did something to their Custom 823; there are stories all over here to the tune of I opened it to clean it when the papers clearly said not to and Pilot charged a whack of money to do anything to my pen To be fair, nothing is broken on my 823, I just stupidly misplaced a part (which so far has not impacted its performance strangely), and the part likely costs them more to post through the mail than to manufacture. But I don't see service like this much nowadays... I can't imagine opening my Nikon to clean it or adjust something, misplacing some piece in the process, and simply emailing Nikon and having them send me a replacement gear or o-ring or whatnot... and FREE to boot. Long story short, Pilot earned a ton of respect from me for their customer service... it's nice to see a company that supports their products so solidly. I fell in love with the Custom 823 I got a while back from them, but this experience cements that I will definitely purchase from them again (the other moral of the story is if in doubt, ask... you never know what reply you will receive!)

Hi I have a vintage MB no. 32 fountain pen, which was supplied partially dissembled. Having cleaned the pen, when I replace the part of the barrel with the top 'screw' part of the pen (attached to the piston plunger), it does not fully close on the bottom barrel (there is a gap of about 2mm). I attach some photos of the problem. Can anyone let me know why this is please? Thanks Paul

Hi All, The crown of my collection, a 1930s Osmia Supra 76 EF, is having some trouble and I could use your help. It worked perfectly when I bought it, but it had the originally cork on it so I filled it with distilled water and put it away for a couple months just in case the cork needed some reviving. I just took it out to use it and to my horror the blind cap won't unscrew. When I try to do so it turns the now incredibly stiff piston a little until both are totally stuck. If I try to unscrew the blind cap even more the piston makes a clicking sound but the cap just keeps turning without unscrewing. Also the water I had filled it with has vanished. Did I oversoak the cork or something? Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is my favorite pen and an amazing writer. Thanks!

Hello all you great people who know more than I do, I just picked up a vintage Dietzgen Elast Chuck lead holder at an estate sale. (I got a bag of pens that included four Parker 51 fountain pens and pencils, an Eversharp Junior, the Dietzgen, and a few other pens all from the 1940s and 50s for $20!). The part of the mechanism that tightens to hold the lead in place is missing. I've scoured the internet, but no luck finding parts. Anyone have any ideas? See attached photo of my lead holder, and a screenshot of one with the part I'm missing. Thanks for any ideas anyone might have.

I have a Montblanc Meisterstruck 146, that has extensive damage due to being dropped. The barrel probably needs to be replaced. Where can this repair be done that is less costly than sending the pen to Montblanc?

Hello, Everyone. I recently purchased a Parker Parkette based solely on the photos provided on eBuymyjunkplease. It wasn't an expensive pen, and the nib appears to be intact. The pen needs a new sac.....and a new j-bar. The sac size was easy to determine (thank you, FPN!). The J-bar length appears to be a mystery. Looking at some websites, it looks like the J-Bar comes in 62mm, 54mm and 40mm. Any ideas on which one would fit in the Parkette? It's a 1938 Junior model (not Deluxe) in grey celluloid marble. The nib is steel with a little gold plating left and the number "9" stamped in it. --Eric

Can anyone direct me to the best place (besides eBay) to find an Esterbrook section for an LJ? I am in the process of restoring my first Estie, and the section cracked on me. I stupidly tried to take it out after removing the nib..... If anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate any guidance. I am also restoring an Esterbrook that resembles an M2, but is a lever fill...it is immaculate, other than needing a new sac and general cleaning.

Hello all. I recently purchased my first Parker Vacumatic from eBay for the princely sum of £40. I assumed the pen not to be in a working condition with the intention of taking it to Henry Simpole in London for him to repair the mechanism(he charges around £40). And in due course when I received the pen its Speedline filling mechanism was completely shot - the button does not move at all, as expected. However one thing that was not evident in the poor quality pictures from the listing is that the nib is in fact not an original Parker nib but a "Phillips Oxford" 14ct gold nib! Some reading has told me that this is a Mabie Todd/Swan nib from a repairer's shop in Oxford Street from some time ago. It would seem to me that I've been conned - the nib is not an original Parker one and I'm not sure how much it'll cost me to replace it. I'll still take it to Henry for him to have a look at this weekend but I now fear the cost of restoring it will far outweigh what the pen is actually worth. Does anyone have any advice?

Hi, I have a Parkette Zephyr and I have taken it apart to replace the perished ink sac. The problem I have is that the cap no longer screws back onto the barrel with the section in place. If I remove the barrel and just screw it into the cap, it screws on tightly. If I add the section / nib back into the barrel, the cap threads only just meet the barrel threads and with the slightest of pressure will jump off the threads. It's something close to 1/8th of a turn and then then it jumps. The section is pushed as far in as it will go so that the barrel sits against the section and there is no gap between the two. There is a tube like unit inside the cap that creates a 'step' and this stops the section from going any further into the cap. I am not sure what it was like before I started the ink sac replacement, but I do not recall the cap coming off so easily. Any ideas of what I may have done or how I can fix it? Thank you for your help, ice70

I have a Montblanc Meisterstruck 146, that has extensive damage due to being dropped. The barrel probably needs to be replaced. Where can this repair be done that is less costly than sending the pen to Montblanc?

I used a tool today to remove the pump filler from my Parker 51 vacumatic. However, in unscrewing the pump mechanism, it seems that the small metal part of it will not come out. What can I do to remove it? I've tried a wooden rod to push it out, but it won't budge.

Has anyone tried auto compounds for use on cleaning and eliminating scratches on pens? I was just thinking (a terrible thing to do late at night) and since I have used it for painted sculptures and cars, I figured it might work for pens as well. Anyone have information or experience(s) they'd care to pass along before I destroy something? Thanks Lenny

Hi all. Today I bought a Conway Stewart 466 lever filler from an antiques market. The pen is in nice condition and fills properly, but when writing with it it feels "scratchy" to me - at least compared to my TWSBI Eco(F). The pen has a 14ct gold nib(not sure of the size) and it is a flex nib. However, the nib looks like this: http://i.imgur.com/6rZpQNp.jpg?1 (Apologies for the slightly poor out-of-focus picture) Is the nib supposed to have that subtle "bend" in it at the end? Or am I just using a flex nib wrong? I gave the pen to my mother to try(she writes with a "straighter" grip with the pen more perpendicular to the paper if that makes sense) and she said it was fine but I could still hear it audibly scratching a fair amount. Is the nib at fault here or am I just failing to use a flex nib pen?

I recently bought a second generation Doric oversize with gorgeous No 9 nib. When I disassembled the pen for cleaning, I was disappointed to find that the slider was broken and that the little tabs which kept the slider in place was missing: I decided to sen it to a nibmeister I know in Spain but he told me that it was impossible to repair, I then tried to send it to very famous nibmeisters in the USA but it was the same answer... So I decided to repair it myself. The first thing I did was to weld little pieces of 900 silver just on the little prongs that hold the nib in place, but the repair was not solid enough and broke. Then I tried this technique which worked for me resulting in a working slider which does not breaks (after a month of use): here is the result: Technique: The first step was to "re-create" the little prongs that hold the nib in place. I decided to laminate a silver coin in 900/1000 silver to a thin sheet: here are the steps, I used the gas torch to soften the silver to roll it to a thin sheet: I then cut the sheet with office scissors to a little rectangle and then to a thin stripe: I then cut this strip again with office scissors in 4 and checked if they fitted into the original little tabs which were underside the nib which secures the slider in place (seen at the right in the pic): The second step was to prepare those strips to be welded to the original slider. For that I decided to glue the tabs to a piece of fire brick. This piece of firebrick should be of the same width of the gap between the two slits of the nib: To cut the brick I smashed it with a hammer first: Then I used a rock file (tungsten carbide file) to shape it: Here is the result: Then I temporary glued the 4 little strips I made in the first step to the piece of shaped brick, the distance between the strips must be the same between the prongs of the slider: To allow the strips to stay in place when using heat (when welding) I put some plaster around the base of the piece of fire brick using a cut "bottle cap": When the plaster was dry I removed the plastic cap: I the left this rest for 5 days to let the plaster completely dry. The Third step was to prepare the slider to be welded to the little strips: I filed it down with a narrow file to create a shallow depression of the thickness of the strips: I then checked if those "depressions" fitted the gap between the 4 stripes I glued to the piece of firebrick: The Fourth step was to hold my breath and prepare myself to welding with a little gaz torch arghhh !!: I put some solder flux on the place where the slider touches the strips (not too much and not underside the slider): I then put on the droplets of solder flux some extra thin tabs of brazing material: I used the little gaz torch to weld everything... and here is the result!: I cleaned the oxidyzation with steel wool. The Fith step was to recreate the missing little tab that secured the slider under the nib: I used the same laminated sliver sheet I already used for the strips that I cut with office scissors. To create the holes in this little piece of metal it was impossible to drill because the drill bit were too thick. I used a chisel narrowed to the width of the strips to create the holes: I then filed down the piece of metal to the size of the original tab and created nicer holes with a thin jeweler saw: The final step was to get everything together: I cut the excess of length of the strips and adjusted them to fit into the slits of the nib, and I folded the freshly made prongs underside the freshly made tabs and here we go!!! Be careful you can fold the metal only once or twice, when you try to do more it breaks!!! Thank you, hope this will help doric lovers! Jeremy Hardy.

Hi All, Need help in repairing my PILOT pen twist mechanism, Can anybody guide me in finding the nib section of the pen. Below are the photos of the nib section required and also photo of the pen . I stay in Bangalore, INDIA . Regards, Dheeraj.S +91 98867 80873

Howdy Fellow Penners, it's me, the Leverist. (AKA Busy New Guy) I am in the throes of restoration right now, fixing a box of third-tier beauties, and was given yet another old clunker today. You can't beat free, but you can't always fix it either. It's a Scripto lever filler, hooded nib and steel cap, with a black barrel. The J bar is nice, the sac is due for replacement, and the end of the barrel is crushed. I don't have the pieces, they're long gone. It's someone's old junk pen. I was thinking about removing sac and J-bar, then making a new distal end with black epoxy putty and sanding it down smooth to form a tip. It won't be perfect but it will look better than the sad piece of pen carnage it is now. Also--this is cool. There's an imprint on the barrel reading "WHEN EMPTY LIFT LEVER ONCE, POINT DOWN, TO RELEASE INK RESERVE." Was there some sort of hidden reservoir in it? It looks like a plain old lever filler to me, though I haven't gotten the section off yet. Anyhow, see what you think. Sincerely The Leverist.

Hello, F.P.N. people from away down south in Dixie. I go by "The Leverist," I tinker with antique anything until it works, and I'm a random person on the internet. That's all you really need to know about that, so let's get down to the important business and talk pens. Okay, so I did the Sumgai thing and ended up with a pile of wrecked pens. One Parker 21 was the only one still workable, and it was cracked. Model cement to the rescue! It's fine now. Others were a mostly third-tier accumulation of pens that survived the Great Depression, and look like they rode in the glovebox of a Model T out to the land of opportunity. Here's the body count: 1. Fifth Avenue, built by Safford Pen Co. Red celluloid marbled. Condition: Poor--mangled brass nib, broken J-bar, obligatory ossified sac, and no cap. Has a red Waltham's cap with bent clip. 1. Wearever, Model "Deluxe 100," double jewel, brown striped celluloid. Condition: Very Shiny, but the nib tipping crumbled away when I touched it. "Special Alloy," indeed. Clip not quite right, lever very corroded, J-bar ok. 1. Champion. Model unknown. A very YELLOW pen colored like a Duofold, but shaped like a blend of old Sheaffer Balance and new Nemosine Singularity. Condition: Really good! Well, except for the sac. Everything else is just the way I never find them! 1. Sheaffer Balance Jr. Vac fill, flat ball clip, black with pearlescent flecks. Original Junior nib. Condition: I would tell you, if I could get the vacuum rod to move more than half an inch. Other than that, it's scuffed up but will polish nicely. Section is stuck on pretty good (regular non-triumph nib.) 4: Epenco's . Eagle Iridium Tipped nibs, GP steel. One burgundy, one navy, two really cool striped blue ones with a thunder-and-lightning pattern, like Noodler's acrylics but old-school. Condition: Every single one had a good sac (considering) but the J bars were neatly broken. 3. "Penman" pens. Look almost exactly like Nemosine Singularity pens. One black, missing cap band. Two grey flake celluloid, one in much nicer shape than the other, but I can't bring myself to part out the really grungy one. Curvex nibs, 14k Gold Plate. And--broken J-bar on one gray one. The other hasn't deigned to come apart yet. So There You Have It! I don't know what to do with the nib on the Wearever--not fond of Fleabay, but if I have to then I will. It doesn't have to be original Wearever, it just has to write. Fifth Avenue is cool but really battered. The Epencos are neat, the Penman pens are nice shapes, the Champion is really well preserved, and the Sheaffer is a seized-up but beautiful pen. The Parker? It's cool--testament to the most practical designs in history, if not the prettiest. I have already resacced another lever pen of mine (Gold Flex!) but these are pretty messy. Mostly I need nib ideas for that poor old Deluxe 100. Then, on to discussion of caps and clips, and freeing up the Sheaffer--which I think might be a 1935 model. I will trade a 1950ish Sheaffer Tuckaway Vac parts pen, with a beautiful pencil matching it, if someone can come up with either some parts or another project lever pen. The Tucky just needs the barrel bored and tapped and a new nib unit. A recognized pen mechanic quoted me $85 but I didn't have the money then. Anyhow, thanks for watching, and stay dipped. The Leverist (Who should have probably posted pictures.)

Wondering if anyone has information on where to send an almost 20 year old Waterman Ball Pen for repair. This pen is very special, given to me as a gift and heavily used (as you can tell from the picture). I believe this is a Waterman Hemisphere Ball Pen (Model 22002W?), not a 100% sure... The twisting mechanism is broke, it no longer twists (almost as if the inner tube snapped off from the main tube). Thanks Craig

I know its probably not worth it since its such a cheap pen haha, however I live in the UK and it can take weeks for another one to arrive of amazon. I was wondering if is anything I can do about the cap being broken so much that the pen might as well not have a cap, so that I can still use it for a few weeks as its a pen I bring and use everywhere?