What Pens Have You Restored Today?

[Lam1]

Not sure this is the right lace to put this.

 

But I'm always curious to see the pens that people bring back to life.

So, please show the pens that you have repaired.

 

I'll start. Today I finally had time to repair these two, which have been in the wait list for a long time.

 

 

Eversharp Skyline in Modern Stripes Blue and Sheaffer Balance Oversize Jade.

 

Edited to add: Forgot to mention what I had to do.

The Balance was very, very difficult to remove the section. It took weeks of gently trying. I also had to source a new nib, since I found it without the correct nib. Other than that, it needed an ultrasonic cleaning, a new (silicone) sac and a polish.

 

The Eversharp also needed a nib, since I also found it nibless. I need to remove the lever bar (V-shaped) to straighten it. The feed went through an ultrasonic cleaning, I put a new sac and polished a little.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Lam1

[taimdala]

Beautiful!! The Sheaffer looks like it is made out of solid jade! So pretty!

[KBeezie]

Nice Skyline Moire there.

 

Wasn't "Today" but within the last few weeks there have been these that have been restored (usually sac replacement, some polishing, cleaning of tarnish, nib adjustment etc) :

 

 

The Sheaffer Triumph (second one over) got restored with a fresh new sac, body polished up, nib/feed ultrasonic cleaned and polished.

 

 

The Wahl LF in Jade got cleaned up and re-sac'd with a silicone sac.

 

 

The Esterbrook J with the 9450 got cleaned up, old sac bits removed from the barrel, the lever bar sanded down of rust

 

 

The Eversharp Skyline Standard in Brown Moire didn't need much done, though the derby dome needed to be sealed (was being held in with a wrapping of scotch tape from the previous owner).

 

 

The Wahl 421A in the first picture had a ruptured sac and I got that replaced last week

 

 

A couple days ago I pulled the latex sac from this Pilot Super 250 and replaced it with a #15 PVC sac, so it's now inked with Iroshizuku Syo-ro without worry of the alkaline ink rupturing the sac.

 

 

And just yesterday this Esterbrook J restored with a fresh silicone sac for a client

 

[Lam1]

Beautiful!! The Sheaffer looks like it is made out of solid jade! So pretty!

 

Thank you, Taimdala!

The Jades are indeed nice, but difficult to find in good condition. I got lucky with this one.

[Lam1]

Nice Skyline Moire there.

 

Wasn't "Today" but within the last few weeks there have been these that have been restored (usually sac replacement, some polishing, cleaning of tarnish, nib adjustment etc) :

 

 

 

The Sheaffer Triumph (second one over) got restored with a fresh new sac, body polished up, nib/feed ultrasonic cleaned and polished.

 

 

 

The Wahl LF in Jade got cleaned up and re-sac'd with a silicone sac.

 

 

 

The Esterbrook J with the 9450 got cleaned up, old sac bits removed from the barrel, the lever bar sanded down of rust

 

 

 

The Eversharp Skyline Standard in Brown Moire didn't need much done, though the derby dome needed to be sealed (was being held in with a wrapping of scotch tape from the previous owner).

 

 

The Wahl 421A in the first picture had a ruptured sac and I got that replaced last week

 

 

 

A couple days ago I pulled the latex sac from this Pilot Super 250 and replaced it with a #15 PVC sac, so it's now inked with Iroshizuku Syo-ro without worry of the alkaline ink rupturing the sac.

 

 

 

And just yesterday this Esterbrook J restored with a fresh silicone sac for a client

 

 

 

Thank you, KBeezie!

 

Your skyline set is amazing!

And your photos are superb!

 

Apparently, you have been busy repairing so many pens.

I have about 100 waiting their turn...

Coincidentally, I just bought a Sheaffer Triumph like yours. Can't wait for it to arrive!

[KBeezie]

 

Thank you, KBeezie!

 

Your skyline set is amazing!

And your photos are superb!

 

Apparently, you have been busy repairing so many pens.

I have about 100 waiting their turn...

Coincidentally, I just bought a Sheaffer Triumph like yours. Can't wait for it to arrive!

 

Thanks, I want to get either a green or blue skyline moire in standard size (gold/brown is pretty but it's not the top of my list, also this one has a firm XXF [accountant] nib that's very good flow, and I installed a new breather tube so that probably helps).

[Addertooth]

Lam1,

 

Thank you for starting this thread. I always wondered why a thread of this sort was not a permanent fixture on this site. So many people here take near-irredeemable pens and restore them to their glory as a regular thing. It can be tiresome to do a full "I fixed this pen today" for each pen.

 

I do have a suggestion for future posters; include a "before" picture. Not every pen will be a dramatic transformation, but I bet a few will show a large difference just in the polishing. Others will likely have major mechanical flaws (broken levers, cracked bodies/sections, etc) and seeing those examples might give people inspiration for their repairs. Some will show major before/after changes in the Nib.

 

For those above who said "I just replaced the Sac", for anyone who has not done it, they don't realize all that can go badly on "just a sac replacement" (cracked body when removing the section, fossilized sac welded to the j-bar/presser bar, horrible corrosion on the level/bar, etc. Even that "simple" repair can prove to be a challenge in some cases. I have had one case where "just knocking out the nib" went horribly wrong and the section cracked. For the metal smiths who remove dents from caps and bodies, those changes can produce astounding results. Piston fillers have their own unique flavor of problems, and Ink-Vue Waterman's look deceptively easy, but require a very light but firm touch.

 

Those who fix pens, both the pen and the future users of those pens thank you. For each pen that ends up in a landfill, a small bit of history fades away; another person's life is diminished by not having had the experience of touching and holding a time capsule which our hobby can represent.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Addertooth

[GlenV]

Just finished this one, needed a clip and nib. Smooth BHR so pretty easy to polish up.

[Lam1]

 

Thanks, I want to get either a green or blue skyline moire in standard size (gold/brown is pretty but it's not the top of my list, also this one has a firm XXF [accountant] nib that's very good flow, and I installed a new breather tube so that probably helps).

 

I heard the brown is one of the hardest to get. So, you started from the top .

 

The Eversharp nibs are among my favorites. I don't think I ever had one that wasn't amazing.

[Lam1]

Lam1,

 

Thank you for starting this thread. I always wondered why a thread of this sort was not a permanent fixture on this site. So many people here take near-irredeemable pens and restore them to their glory as a regular thing. It can be tiresome to do a full "I fixed this pen today" for each pen.

 

I do have a suggestion for future posters; include a "before" picture. Not every pen will be a dramatic transformation, but I bet a few will show a large difference just in the polishing. Others will likely have major mechanical flaws (broken levers, cracked bodies/sections, etc) and seeing those examples might give people inspiration for their repairs. Some will show major before/after changes in the Nib.

 

For those above who said "I just replaced the Sac", for anyone who has not done it, they don't realize all that can go badly on "just a sac replacement" (cracked body when removing the section, fossilized sac welded to the j-bar/presser bar, horrible corrosion on the level/bar, etc. Even that "simple" repair can prove to be a challenge in some cases. I have had one case where "just knocking out the nib" went horribly wrong and the section cracked. For the metal smiths who remove dents from caps and bodies, those changes can produce astounding results. Piston fillers have their own unique flavor of problems, and Ink-Vue Waterman's look deceptively easy, but require a very light but firm touch.

 

Those who fix pens, both the pen and the future users of those pens thank you. For each pen that ends up in a landfill, a small bit of history fades away; another person's life is diminished by not having had the experience of touching and holding a time capsule which our hobby can represent.

 

Thank your for your suggestions, AdderTooth.

 

I always wondered the same. In fact, there is the thread "What pens did you finish today?" and the first time I went there it was thinking that it referred to "finished repairing".

So, I decided to start this one.

 

I will try to take before pictures in the future (there are a few in my bench for which it is too late already). I also went back and edited the original post to add a few details about the repair of those two pens.

[Lam1]

Just finished this one, needed a clip and nib. Smooth BHR so pretty easy to polish up.

 

Oh, that looks gorgeous!

 

Also, a more complicated repair, putting a new clip and lever bar!

 

Well done!

[GlenV]

Oh, that looks gorgeous!

 

Also, a more complicated repair, putting a new clip and lever bar!

 

Well done!

Thank you so much, am happy to get this one. I wish I had more before pictures on really tough repairs. There are a couple waste basket saves that I really like due to what was done. A couple that I've sleeved and soldered nibs too on the same pen. Now I'm more just trying to better the ones I've had ...for the most part anyway..

[Addertooth]

Lam1 said:

"I heard the brown is one of the hardest to get. So, you started from the top .

The Eversharp nibs are among my favorites. I don't think I ever had one that wasn't amazing."

 

 

For the record, the Red is the hardest to acquire. Sometimes painfully so.

[KBeezie]

Lam1 said:

"I heard the brown is one of the hardest to get. So, you started from the top .

The Eversharp nibs are among my favorites. I don't think I ever had one that wasn't amazing."

 

 

For the record, the Red is the hardest to acquire. Sometimes painfully so.

 

What Addertooth said, almost as hard as finding a Pelikan 400NN in red tortoiseshell.

[KBeezie]

Lam1,

 

Thank you for starting this thread. I always wondered why a thread of this sort was not a permanent fixture on this site. So many people here take near-irredeemable pens and restore them to their glory as a regular thing. It can be tiresome to do a full "I fixed this pen today" for each pen.

 

I do have a suggestion for future posters; include a "before" picture. Not every pen will be a dramatic transformation, but I bet a few will show a large difference just in the polishing. Others will likely have major mechanical flaws (broken levers, cracked bodies/sections, etc) and seeing those examples might give people inspiration for their repairs. Some will show major before/after changes in the Nib.

 

For those above who said "I just replaced the Sac", for anyone who has not done it, they don't realize all that can go badly on "just a sac replacement" (cracked body when removing the section, fossilized sac welded to the j-bar/presser bar, horrible corrosion on the level/bar, etc. Even that "simple" repair can prove to be a challenge in some cases. I have had one case where "just knocking out the nib" went horribly wrong and the section cracked. For the metal smiths who remove dents from caps and bodies, those changes can produce astounding results. Piston fillers have their own unique flavor of problems, and Ink-Vue Waterman's look deceptively easy, but require a very light but firm touch.

 

Those who fix pens, both the pen and the future users of those pens thank you. For each pen that ends up in a landfill, a small bit of history fades away; another person's life is diminished by not having had the experience of touching and holding a time capsule which our hobby can represent.

 

Or like how some people will install PVC sacs onto a pen with a visualated section, thinking it's fine because the cap and barrel or plastic, not celluloid (not realizing the grip being visualated like that is actually celluloid). Little things like that...

[Lam1]

Thank you so much, am happy to get this one. I wish I had more before pictures on really tough repairs. There are a couple waste basket saves that I really like due to what was done. A couple that I've sleeved and soldered nibs too on the same pen. Now I'm more just trying to better the ones I've had ...for the most part anyway..

 

Oh, you do repairs that are way more complicated than what I can do.

To be honest, I have had so little time to repair that lately I only do the simplest ones, for lack of practice.

[Lam1]

Lam1 said:

"I heard the brown is one of the hardest to get. So, you started from the top .

The Eversharp nibs are among my favorites. I don't think I ever had one that wasn't amazing."

 

 

For the record, the Red is the hardest to acquire. Sometimes painfully so.

 

Thanks for the info.

I don't really collect Eversharps, although I do keep the odd beautiful or extra flexible one. But usually don't know much about them.

 

 

 

What Addertooth said, almost as hard as finding a Pelikan 400NN in red tortoiseshell.

 

Ha, a 400NN red tortoiseshell would indeed be difficult!

 

Edited to add "red"

Edited April 13, 2020 by Lam1

[KBeezie]

 

Ha, a 400NN tortoiseshell would indeed be difficult!

Brown/white Tortoiseshell is relatively easy... Red tortoiseshell 400nn is unheard of.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BICznjFAHiR/?igshid=vljy2ug4ru6p

Edited April 13, 2020 by KBeezie

[Sailor Kenshin]

All we do is restore beaters to a writing state, but so far we've done about 25.

[Lam1]

Brown/white Tortoiseshell is relatively easy... Red tortoiseshell 400nn is unheard of.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BICznjFAHiR/?igshid=vljy2ug4ru6p

 

Oh, yes! I meant to write "red" tortoiseshell (I fixed now), which I don't think exists. The brown is pretty common and I have a "few" (and let us leave it at that ).

 

That picture you send is very interesting. In my screen it looks red!

But, I believe it is just the light/screen effect. As you mention a red 400N is unheard of!