Need Help With Lever Filler Repair Question

[WirlWind]

I have a pen that arrived in a pretty bad state. The sac was missing and the nipple was all gunked up and the feed was full of ink.

 

So I wanted to see if the feed was good or not (I couldn't pull it out w/ the nib, seems tightly fit). What I tried was to put maybe 4 drops of ink into the barrel ala eyedropper style and then push the section back in.

 

After turning it upright and trying to write with it, the ink literally poured out, leaving a giant drop whenever the nib touched the paper. I'm assuming this is because the barrel wasn't airtight.

 

From how I understand it, eyedroppers are meant to have a slight vacuum (aka sealed barrel) which I assume helps prevent the ink gushing out, similar to how punching a hole in the bottom of a beer can, then opening the top allows the liquid to flow. So assuming this, is it ok to assume that the fact that ink flowed through means the feed on this is fine and that if I re-sac it (and thus create a seal / vacuum for the ink) , it -should- work properly?

 

I mean, I know you can't give me a guarantee, but any advice from someone with actual experience in pen repairs would be welcome.

 

::EDIT::

 

Also, the pen is a Waterman Stalwart. If anyone knows how to remove the nib and feed, I'd be much obliged. I tried seeing if it was friction fit, but if it is, it's in too tight for me to safely remove it.

Edited February 19, 2014 by WirlWind

[ac12]

Nothing is guaranteed.

But it "should" work once you resac the pen.

 

If you do not need to remove the feed and nib, don't do it, you could damage the section, feed or nib in the process of removing it.

If you still insist on removing the feed/nib, since it is a sac pen, I would think you would put the pulled section on a punch-out block and punch out the feed from the section with a hammer and pin. Then clean it really well, to get rid of the old ink.

 

You can clean the feed by soaking it tip down and change the water every 4 hours or so, or when you see a lot of ink in the water. The heavier ink will drift down out of the feed. Then blot the nib to draw out more ink from the feed, then repeat the soak process.

[WirlWind]

Nothing is guaranteed.

But it "should" work once you resac the pen.

 

If you do not need to remove the feed and nib, don't do it, you could damage the section, feed or nib in the process of removing it.

If you still insist on removing the feed/nib, since it is a sac pen, I would think you would put the pulled section on a punch-out block and punch out the feed from the section with a hammer and pin. Then clean it really well, to get rid of the old ink.

 

You can clean the feed by soaking it tip down and change the water every 4 hours or so, or when you see a lot of ink in the water. The heavier ink will drift down out of the feed. Then blot the nib to draw out more ink from the feed, then repeat the soak process.

 

Yeah, nothing is certain, but best guess from a few other people is handy.

 

I mean, I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work, but I just wanted to get more expert opinion

 

As for the nib / feed, from what I can tell there's no actual nipple poking up from the feed. It's a flat bit of plastic with a hole that drains into the feed, so there's nothing to "punch out" (unless I'm misunderstanding how it works). It seems like the section is just one solid bit of plastic that the feed inserts into (see picture below)

 

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/WirlWind494/20140219_152751.jpg

[c4bb0ose]

You should be able to punch that out carefully, Google how to do it so I do not confuse you. In essence the nipple is on the sides of where the feed is poking out because of this make sure the sac protector and the barrel will be able to slide over the sac by doing a dry run with no shellac.

[ac12]

The feed that you punch out is in the middle with the flat back. (red circle) It really has to be flat to punch out.

The sac nipple is the part of the section that sticks out in the back. (orange circle)

 

You NEED to use a punch out block to support the section when you punch out the feed. And as was mentioned, it needs to be deep enough that you don't mangle the nib when you punch it out of the section.

You NEED to carefully select the punch pin. It has to be small enough so that it won't bind and crack the section when you punch the feed out.

 

See if you can find a demo of this procedure on YouTube.

 

But again.

If you do not have a need to remove the feed and nib, leave it alone.

You risk damage to the feed and section when you punch out the feed.

 

When you put the nib and feed back, you have to determine if the section has been distorted, and if so the nib and feed has to back in exactly the same place, so it fits the distortion, or you could have a leak.

[WirlWind]

Cheers AC.

 

I think I'll just cross my fingers. The new sac and shellac are on their way from the Pendragon's.

 

I at least know from testing that the feed isn't blocked and the nib writes well, so I have less desire to rip the nib out. The only small annoyance is the nib seems slightly loose is all. I mean, not when writing, but a little pressure on one side edge can cause it to move a tiny bit over the feed.

 

I'll just leave it be though. It doesn't seem to have affected the writing experience or the flow of ink from the feed.