Repairers Of Australia, Unite!

[dali3464]

Fountain pens aren't a particularly common sight in Australia, so it's fair to say that we aren't blessed with the number of talented repairers/restorers as in the US. In fact, I can think of only one operating commercial pen restorer, and that's the Old Post Office pens in Melbourne, which has a sterling reputation from what I've gathered.

 

But I'm keen to know if there are any other Australians who've ventured into repairs or restorations to maintain their personal collection or just for the edification of restoring a pen that has been long out-of-service?

 

I've been accumulating a steady collection of Parker 51s vacs (the folks over at the Parker subforum are diabolical enablers). With my love of high saturation inks and knowing the susceptibility of sacs failing due to these inks, I thought it incumbent on myself to learn how to restore them.

 

So now I've accumulated all requisite tools, including a rotary tool to drill that bloody pellet out of the pocket. I have to say the worst item to source in Australia was pure talc powder. I thought about perhaps using graphite powder as restorers have recommended, but I found it quite a mess with my not-too-graceful touch. I eventually opted to ship a supply of talc from the US to tide me over for a decade or two!

 

I think the next tool down the line to purchase is perhaps a clutch extractor from Mr. Oldfield!

Edit: Actually I would welcome any thoughts of other would-be restorers from parts of the globe where repairers/restorers aren't in plentiful supply. I, for one, greatly appreciate this repair forum as a resource and I often find myself sitting at the (virtual) feet of Ron Zorn, meditating upon his insights, such as his transformation of a lowly, prosaic salad spinner into a vacumatic flushing device!

Edited May 4, 2014 by dali3464