Esterbrook sac replacement

[mercurius]

Does anyone know if there is a specialist in replacing Esterbrook sacs in the UK?

 

I went to use mine and hadn't used it in a while. It looks as though the sac is perished and won's allow ink to be taken in.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Anyone who does re-sacking should be able to do your Estie.

Shouldn't be too hard to find someone.

[mizgeorge]

This is a job that's genuinely so straightforward that you could easily have a go yourself. Everything you need can be bought from Pendragons  https://vintagepensacsandparts.com/ (they have an ebay shop as well, with the user name chillipea. You literally only need a sac, shellac and some french chalk - their small 'kit' will give you all at half the cost you to post out a repair and get it back, and you'll have sacs to spare. 

 

Loads of tutorials out there, both written and on youtube - and it's hugely satisfying to use a pen you've worked on yourself.

[shalitha33]

I am assuming  this is not an early esterbrook made by Onoto , Aiken Lambert etc etc. esterbrooks are one of the easiest to re-sac.  just pull out the section and replace the sac.

 

You can find plenty of youtube videos on how to do this.

 

Only thing i would not do is glueing the section to the barrel that some people recommends. Its just me. Sooner or later new sac will also need replacing (not for the next 20-30 years anyway, but the pen will last a lot longer than we do ). Yes shellac can be easily taken off, but glueing section to the barrel is not necessary as long as the section is secured firmly to the barrel.  

 

gluing the sac to the section is absolutely necessary though

 

 

 

[mercurius]

On 7/7/2021 at 9:00 PM, mizgeorge said:

This is a job that's genuinely so straightforward that you could easily have a go yourself. Everything you need can be bought from Pendragons  https://vintagepensacsandparts.com/ (they have an ebay shop as well, with the user name chillipea. You literally only need a sac, shellac and some french chalk - their small 'kit' will give you all at half the cost you to post out a repair and get it back, and you'll have sacs to spare. 

 

Loads of tutorials out there, both written and on youtube - and it's hugely satisfying to use a pen you've worked on yourself.

Thank you very helpful! I'll give it a go. Need to work out what sac to get for it it's an Esterbrook 9659. according to the nib. 

[mercurius]

On 7/7/2021 at 11:01 PM, shalitha33 said:

I am assuming  this is not an early esterbrook made by Onoto , Aiken Lambert etc etc. esterbrooks are one of the easiest to re-sac.  just pull out the section and replace the sac.

 

You can find plenty of youtube videos on how to do this.

 

Only thing i would not do is glueing the section to the barrel that some people recommends. Its just me. Sooner or later new sac will also need replacing (not for the next 20-30 years anyway, but the pen will last a lot longer than we do ). Yes shellac can be easily taken off, but glueing section to the barrel is not necessary as long as the section is secured firmly to the barrel.  

 

gluing the sac to the section is absolutely necessary though

 

 

 

OK, thank you for this helpful info. My Esterbrook is a 9659 according to the nib and I can't work out how to remove the metal-encased sac from the section - see my pic below. Is there some special knack or tool required to do it?

 

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

oh...

ok, a few things, the 9659 on the nib is the NIB number/model, Esterbrooks had/have easily swappable nib units. you could buy them and swap them out and then get a different writing experience without getting a new pen  It was called the RenewPoint system.

here is a chart of what the nib numbers mean:

http://www.richardspens.com/ref/nibs/renew_point.htm

 

Now, I won't speak for the others, but when I said it would be an easy re-sac, I figured you had the typical J/SJ/LJ model of pen...

And I suspect they thought the same. As shown in the video above.

You do not have a J/SJ/LF pen.

http://www.richardspens.com/ref/profiles/j.htm

 

it looks to me as though your estie is one of these:

http://www.esterbrook.net/m2.shtml

 

Now, as to resacking. This one is a little different from what I was expecting, as you don't have to remove the section from the barrel the way you would in a lever filler. It looks as though the metal sac protector is held on by the pinch point/divot visible in your picture, I suspect there is an identical one on the other side. To remove the metal sac protector, I think it will come off with either a firm pull, or some wiggling (or a combination of the two). But I have no experience with resacking this kind of estie, so someone jump in pls if you have knowledge of this pen.

 

After the sac protector is removed, I suspect the replacement procedure would be the same as on a lever filler, ie: remove old sac, attach new sac with shellack, re-assemble pen.

 

 

[gweimer1]

The M2 is a bit different from the J series.  You will note the pin hole on the sleeve, as mentioned.  That makes a little dimple in the section to secure it (there are three of them).  So, you have to gently work it loose - in some cases it may have been twisted slightly to secure it even more.   Once off, you will probably need a #15 sac, and you measure the length against the length of the sleeve.  After shellacing the new sac in place, you need to set the sleeve back in place - follow the original grooves created by the removal.

 

The M2 is one of my favorite pens.  A very '50s pen, they have a nice balance and feel to them.

 

I also think you have a 9668 nib, one of the nicest mediums ever done.  These are the best of Esterbrook, I feel, and are even better than a lot of nicer pen makers nibs from the era.

[mercurius]

On 7/9/2021 at 6:27 PM, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

oh...

ok, a few things, the 9659 on the nib is the NIB number/model, Esterbrooks had/have easily swappable nib units. you could buy them and swap them out and then get a different writing experience without getting a new pen  It was called the RenewPoint system.

here is a chart of what the nib numbers mean:

http://www.richardspens.com/ref/nibs/renew_point.htm

 

Now, I won't speak for the others, but when I said it would be an easy re-sac, I figured you had the typical J/SJ/LJ model of pen...

And I suspect they thought the same. As shown in the video above.

You do not have a J/SJ/LF pen.

http://www.richardspens.com/ref/profiles/j.htm

 

it looks to me as though your estie is one of these:

http://www.esterbrook.net/m2.shtml

 

Now, as to resacking. This one is a little different from what I was expecting, as you don't have to remove the section from the barrel the way you would in a lever filler. It looks as though the metal sac protector is held on by the pinch point/divot visible in your picture, I suspect there is an identical one on the other side. To remove the metal sac protector, I think it will come off with either a firm pull, or some wiggling (or a combination of the two). But I have no experience with resacking this kind of estie, so someone jump in pls if you have knowledge of this pen.

 

After the sac protector is removed, I suspect the replacement procedure would be the same as on a lever filler, ie: remove old sac, attach new sac with shellack, re-assemble pen.

 

 

Thank you very much for all this information, it's very kind and helpful of you. Yes, I agree, I think it's an M2. I have now managed to successfully remove the metal protector. I was quite careful how I did it initially as I feared the peg might break, but in the end it just need to brute force to pull it off. The sac was completely perished so no wonder it wouldn't take up any ink. Interestingly it didn't look like rubber. Is it likely they would have used some other material in the 1950s? I have some shellac and have ordered a couple of sac so I should be able to repair the pen by the end of this week. 

[mercurius]

On 7/10/2021 at 12:54 AM, gweimer1 said:

The M2 is a bit different from the J series.  You will note the pin hole on the sleeve, as mentioned.  That makes a little dimple in the section to secure it (there are three of them).  So, you have to gently work it loose - in some cases it may have been twisted slightly to secure it even more.   Once off, you will probably need a #15 sac, and you measure the length against the length of the sleeve.  After shellacing the new sac in place, you need to set the sleeve back in place - follow the original grooves created by the removal.

 

The M2 is one of my favorite pens.  A very '50s pen, they have a nice balance and feel to them.

 

I also think you have a 9668 nib, one of the nicest mediums ever done.  These are the best of Esterbrook, I feel, and are even better than a lot of nicer pen makers nibs from the era.

Thanks for your help and advice. Measuring the diameter of the peg, I found that it needs a #13 sac. It is a lovely pen and has such a great nib. I did enjoy writing with it when it used to hold ink. You could be right about the nib no: I find it quite hard to decipher, even with a magnifying glass.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

4 hours ago, mercurius said:

Thank you very much for all this information, it's very kind and helpful of you. Yes, I agree, I think it's an M2. I have now managed to successfully remove the metal protector. I was quite careful how I did it initially as I feared the peg might break, but in the end it just need to brute force to pull it off. The sac was completely perished so no wonder it wouldn't take up any ink. Interestingly it didn't look like rubber. Is it likely they would have used some other material in the 1950s? I have some shellac and have ordered a couple of sac so I should be able to repair the pen by the end of this week. 

You’re welcome , glad it was helpful. 
i know that Parker was using the pli-glass sacs in the 50’s but i don’t know if anyone else was. And pli-glass sacs seem to last forever so it’s unlikely that’s what was in your pen. I don’t know if anyone else was using something other than rubber at the time. Sorry. 

[Vintagepens]

Note that one does not determine correct size by measuring the peg (aka nipple).

That is a common mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.
You can see why this can lead one astray here:
https://youtu.be/4mAWqGrOocA

https://youtu.be/VoGvatBai0s

[mercurius]

On 7/11/2021 at 8:02 PM, Vintagepens said:

Note that one does not determine correct size by measuring the peg (aka nipple).

That is a common mistake, but a mistake nonetheless.
You can see why this can lead one astray here:
https://youtu.be/4mAWqGrOocA

https://youtu.be/VoGvatBai0s

So will a #13 be too small a replacement for my M2 sac?

[gweimer1]

Use a #15.  I have even used a #15 silicone sac in the past.  One key is to make sure the sac moves comfortably in the sleeve.

[pajaro]

Ever resacced a Phaeton squeeze converter?  

[gweimer1]

I haven't had to do mine yet.

[pajaro]

Same here, just looking ahead.  It might outlive me, obviating the need for a resac.  Knowing my heirs, they will probably bundle up all my pens and sell them for a buck.

 

[FarmBoy]

Nothing special. No secret sauce in there.