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Destroyed Sac


3rdlakerobert

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This is the latex sac from a Sheaffer Snorkel pen, still attached to the sac nipple. It was less than a year old. Some gunk was clinging stubbornly to the outer surface of the metal sac protector that I couldn't get it off until I used a little naphtha on a rag. Oddly, there was nothing adhering to the inside of the sac protector, and the sac and nipple came out of the protector easily looking exactly as shown in the photo. 

 

The customer says he used only Scrip ink and osmosis water to flush. I googled "osmosis water latex damage" but got no help there.

 

Any idea what caused this?

DSC_0546.jpg

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It could be the ink that they used, it could be a reaction to the metal of the sac guard because the sac wasn't coated well with talc.  I have used PVC sacs exclusively in snorkels since 2012 because of prematurely failing sacs.  A failed sac can make one heck of a mess in a snorkel.

 

David Nishimura (vintagepens.com)sells #14 PVC sacs for this.

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Thanks for the information Ron. 

 

I've tried PVC sacs because of their durability and stability, but It's my impression they do not fill as well as latex. I've followed your past suggestion for attaching the PVC sac to the nipple by first cleaning the inner surface of the sac with alcohol and then roughing it with a twist of 200 grit sandpaper before applying the shellac. There was improvement in filling I think. I also tried an adhesive made for vinyl, and I believe the bond in both of these experiments was good, but the sac in my opinion did not fill as well a latex sac. 

 

Some Snorkel pens have very minor loss of seal at the section threads that can be observed when the pen barrel is half submerged in a glass of water and the plunger depressed. I've seen tiny bubbles arise from the section-barrel joint. The loss of seal is so slight it really doesn't have much effect on the filling of a pen with a latex sac, but I think that tiny loss of seal in a pen with a PVC sac results in very poor filling. I tried some resin on just a couple threads and eliminated the leak, but I really don't like using resin on Snorkel threads.

 

I'd be interested to hear the experience of other restorers. I'd rather use PVC if filling weren't an issue.

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1 hour ago, 3rdlakerobert said:

...I'd be interested to hear the experience of other restorers. I'd rather use PVC if filling weren't an issue.

Ooo, another one!  I had the same failure nine days ago.  See: https://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/33279-Snorkel-gusher! for photo.

 

David Nishimura informed me that the latex Snorkel sacs I bought from him last spring were made by Peter Amis's Pen Sac Co (from whom I normally buy my sacs), and he suggested I forward my email to Mr. Amis.  There's been no reply as yet.  I've installed a PVC sac, but I haven't used the pen since.

 

 

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but It's my impression they do not fill as well as latex.

 

I did a test a couple of years ago to see if there was a difference between a new latex sac and a new PVC sac.  I measured the amount of ink picked up by the pen with the latex sac installed,  took it out and tested with the PVC sac.  The ink taken up was identical, or so close that the difference was insignificant.  After that I had no qualms about using a standard PVC sac.

 

The "super flexible" PVC sacs sold by Woodbin did not work as well because they were super flexible.  They didn't have the strength to go full y back to shape and pull in the ink.

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My mother's snorkel had the same issue (gooey sac) twice in something like 3 years. It now has a pvc sac. I don't know what inks she's using, but she hasn't had issues with other sac pens.

One test is worth a thousand expert opinions.

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18 hours ago, FredRydr said:

David Nishimura informed me that the latex Snorkel sacs I bought from him last spring were made by Peter Amis's Pen Sac Co (from whom I normally buy my sacs), and he suggested I forward my email to Mr. Amis.  There's been no reply as yet.  I've installed a PVC sac, but I haven't used the pen since.

 

Yes, that's where mine came from. Is it true that's the source of all latex sacs?

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Is it true that's the source of all latex sacs?

 

Pretty much.  The only other person that I know who was making pen sacs was Martin Smith in Canada, who passed away a couple of years (3 years?) ago.

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