Broken Lever, Vintage Pen

[Zoe]

I have a pen, very small, that is probably best described as a ring top. Someone played with it and broke off the lever. Under a magnifier, I also noticed the 14k nib is misaligned. The body may also be gold.

 

Can a lever be replaced? And if so, who could do work like this?

 

Many thanks.

[FarmBoy]

A picture of the pen showing the lever would be helpful.

 

Todd

[Zoe]

In the middle of a storm so can't get really well lighted photos.

 

The pen is 70cm capped, and about 95cm uncapped.

 

Any referrals welcome.

[FarmBoy]

Coin filler?

[Zoe]

Don't know what you mean by "coin."

 

The pen was given to me as a potential gift and the generous giver immediately broke off the lever and lost it in the drain.

 

So I am ignorant on how it worked.

Edited May 16, 2014 by Zoe

[DanDeM]

To salvage the pen you will need to extract from another pen, a lever that

is the exact same size and shape as the one you lost. Not only that, the

diameter of the the barrel from the donor must be the same size as the

pen you're trying to save, since the retaining ring that holds the lever in

place must be extracted and installed in the damaged pen. Barring any

nostalgic value, not likely to be be worth the time, effort and money.

Assuming the sac and JBar are in working order, the pen can be filled

by dipping it in ink and pushing a coin (a dime should do the trick) into

the slot in the barrel. The coin will press down on the JBar, compress

the sac, and when removed, the sac will expand and draw ink. Coin fill,

toothpick fill pens were not unusual a hundred years ago when the patent

for a lever was still active.

If you decide to coin fill it, I'd be cautious about carrying the pen. If

something poked into the slot ( a nail-file, small comb, key, etc.) you'll

have cap and a purse full of ink.

Too bad about the the pen, although it remains safely usable if left on a desk.

 

Best of luck with it.

[tryphon]

You can send it to a reputable repair person and he/she will find a lever that is appropriate to the pen and do a complete restoration. I think it would be worth it.

[Zoe]

Many thanks for all this useful and helpful info. Unfortunately, I am not near any pen members, nor do I have the tools to do much in the way of pen repairs.

 

 

To salvage the pen you will need to extract from another pen, a lever that

is the exact same size and shape as the one you lost. Not only that, the

diameter of the the barrel from the donor must be the same size as the

pen you're trying to save, since the retaining ring that holds the lever in

place must be extracted and installed in the damaged pen. Barring any

nostalgic value, not likely to be be worth the time, effort and money.

Assuming the sac and JBar are in working order, the pen can be filled

by dipping it in ink and pushing a coin (a dime should do the trick) into

the slot in the barrel. The coin will press down on the JBar, compress

the sac, and when removed, the sac will expand and draw ink. Coin fill,

toothpick fill pens were not unusual a hundred years ago when the patent

for a lever was still active.

If you decide to coin fill it, I'd be cautious about carrying the pen. If

something poked into the slot ( a nail-file, small comb, key, etc.) you'll

have cap and a purse full of ink.

Too bad about the the pen, although it remains safely usable if left on a desk.

 

Best of luck with it.

[Zoe]

I'll check around to see who among our reputable repair members might have a look at this pen. I believe it is from the 40s and was a graduation gift to a young woman (then young, now unfortunately deceased).

 

Many thanks for your response.

 

You can send it to a reputable repair person and he/she will find a lever that is appropriate to the pen and do a complete restoration. I think it would be worth it.

[FarmBoy]

A coin filler was filled by pushing a coin in a slot in the barrel to depress the sac in order to fill the pen. You could in principle do this to use the pen if the lever is not found. It does sound like the sac is petrified and will need a restoration. Finding a generic lever and retainer ring will be a relatively simple task for any of the established repair shops.

[Zoe]

I suspect the entire pen is "petrified" as it hasn't been used for years. The next time I am in a City, July I believe, I'll bring her along and see if I can either get the parts or have someone repair the pen.

 

Many thanks for helping me sort it out.

 

 

A coin filler was filled by pushing a coin in a slot in the barrel to depress the sac in order to fill the pen. You could in principle do this to use the pen if the lever is not found. It does sound like the sac is petrified and will need a restoration. Finding a generic lever and retainer ring will be a relatively simple task for any of the established repair shops.