Scheaffer School Pen Stuck Tight!

[scrivelry]

I got a Scheaffer school pen - kind formerly found hanging in every Ben Franklin's, Woolworth's, etc in America. I knew the nib was not unscrewing for the person I bought it (mail order) from - it was very cheap, I figured I would take a chance.

 

Getting a good look at it, something sort of icky is dried up in the barell, which has no cartridge in it, and it is sort of yellow - maybe glue, maybe shellac? Maybe some colored pen ink which did not belong in a fountain pen?

 

I had read the article on Richard's site about re-saccing, and decided to apply some heat. I've been soaking it in very very hot water. So far, nothing budging. I don't have the cool pliers, but I do have two rubber jar openers, and this pen is on the sturdy side.

 

If heat availeth naught, what is the next suggestion. Is this a pen I could soak in Alchohol? Do I heat and gently tap and heat and gently tap and heat and gently tap several times a day until it comes loose or I get really, really tired of it?

 

Is there another, better way?

 

This pen cost me less, probably, than the gas to get to the closest place to buy a pen, so no great hysterics if nothing works - but if something will, I'd be thrilled.

 

T

[Sasha Royale]

STOP !

 

Did you say "cartridge" ? A cartridge pen doesn't receive a sac.

Is there a slender, inch-long lever on the side of the barrel ? Such a pen DOES need a sac.

 

Let's be certain what you have, before we proceed,. please.

Edited July 27, 2013 by Sasha Royale

[scrivelry]

STOP !

 

Did you say "cartridge" ? A cartridge pen doesn't receive a sac.

Is there a slender, inch-wide level on the side of the barrel ? Such a pen DOES need a sac.

 

Let's be certain what you have, before we proceed,. please.

 

 

Sorry I created confusion, and thanks for letting me know that I did!

 

I have a cartridge pen, which currently has no cartridge in it. Someone may have decided to use it as an Eye Dropper, because it has something - which does not look like the remains of anything that should really have been in a fountain pen - dried up inside the clear barrel. So I doubt they were anyone who knew to use the plumber's stuff on the threads. And I cannot unscrew it. However, it was sold as stuck, so I am not upset, just intrigued as to how I might be able to unstick it.

 

I mention the re-saccing article not because of wanting to attempt to re-sac this pen, which never had one. I mention it because Richard explains how to get a stuck section out, and recommends heat to get shellac moving.if it has been used to stick the section in there.

 

This is why I was heating the pen.

 

So far, no luck with that. Of course I do not have the proper wrench/pliers/special tool. This pen was less than a cup of coffee - not even Starbucks coffee - so it is not worth investing the money in the pliers unless I decide I could get to like replacing sacs or otherwise tinkering to that degree, which I don't think I will. I figure at what I have invested, if it does not work, well, it does not work, no big deal.

 

This is one of those pens they made millions of, and you can still get one very easily for under ten dollars, so I am really not taking a big risk of hurting something irreplaceable, just to be clear on that. I wouldn't be messing around with something that had any chance at all of being rare or fragile.

 

I hope this clarifies what I meant.

 

T

[pajaro]

I would soak the section end in water, whatever kind you dare, warm or cool. Hot water might cause problems.

 

I bought one of these and used one of those converters like you find in Jinhao X450s, clear.

It fit perfectly and the pen works with it. I bought mine from Streetfair on ebay, because they are just up the road from me, maybe 20 miles.

[scrivelry]

Thank you! Great to know the Jinhao x450 converter works in these pens!

 

The pen is currently soaking. Maybe if it gets tired of it it will loosen up...

 

T

[ac12]

Personally, I would use an ultrasonic cleaner (USC) to try to eat away at the dry ink.

But I realize that most people don't have one.

Mine is an inexpensive "denture" cleaner.

 

But from experience I can tell you this can take MANY cycles thru the USC. I had a converter that was stuck to the section with DRY ink. It took many cycles of cleaning to slowly get the ink out from between the section and the converter, so that I could remove the converter. And you need to periodically change the water in the the USC, because the USC heats up the water as it aggitates it. And you do NOT want hot water in the bath, just cold or lukewarm water.

 

You might try to lay the pen down flat with the bottom of the feed facing up. Then drip water slowly onto the feed, and let capiliary action draw the water into the barrel of the pen. That would give you water inside the barrel of the pen to disolve the ink from the inside. This is presuming that the feed is not blocked.

[balson]

every "clear" sheaffer school pen i have seen has been severely yellowed from age so that might be part of the yellowing.

 

if it is shellac that had gummed up i would try heating a bit with a hair dryer or heat gun and then twisting like you would normally do to open it. the foam rubber liners that you might find in the bottom of a cupboard are another good tool for getting a good grip on your pen but the rubber pads should work just as well.

 

are you seeing ink floating in the water from soaking it?

[Sasha Royale]

There is a possibility that a former owner, unable to find the right cartridges, exacted "one last use"

by filling the barrel, and GLUING it into place. (Pen-abusing savage !) Anyway, we can experiment

and learn from such things.

 

I have a "yard sale", first generation Sheaffer cartridge pen that has the cartridge nipple broken off.

As an amusement, I keep it as "dip" pen.

 

Thanks. This has been an interesting discussion.

[mhguda]

I have a Sheaffer modern calligraphy pen (actually a set of three). The suggestion from pajaro (#4) inspired me to try one of my Schmidt converters and to my pleasant surprise, it fit perfectly! So, out goes the old (ink evaporated and refilled once) cartridge that came with it, and I have an easy way to use different inks in my Sheaffer. Thanks, pajaro!

[scrivelry]

Thanks, everyone! I would believe just about anything had been done to this poor thing. It was very cheap and I am getting my money's worth in entertainment trying to fix it, but I do like that idea of using it as a dip pen if nothing better happens.

[scrivelry]

Do not try this at home...

 

I tried soaking it in generic Windex, and it worked. The thing is now apart, the stuff that looked like it was seeking refuge from a Mucinex commercial is mostly out of the barrel, and I am soaking the section which will clearly need some serious flushing.

 

I still have no idea what the junk in there was, but mixed with the blue window-cleaner type stuff it made a really alarming sort of neon yellow/green.

 

Note: I do not advise that anyone do this!

 

This was a cheap pen - with postage, less than five dollars.

 

This was not a rare pen by any means - millions were made and you can find them all over ebay, cheap.

 

Basically, I tried the window-cleaner with ammonia because other things didn't work, and I had nothing to lose. Even so, I would have been unlikely to use it on a vintage pen of greater age, rarity or complexity. I am just reporting this in case someone else has a similar situation - essentially worthless and unsalvageable pen upon which no well-considered advice had worked, and clearly not worth taking to any sort of expert.

 

T