Sheaffer Targa 1004 cleaning/repair

[WriteNow]

I had two Targas, one I loved and lost and the other I could never get ink flow.

I took the plunge and decided to take it apart for a deep cleaning and inspection. I discovered it was missing a tube. (Thank you to https://www.pm-pens.com/dismantled-pens/ for having a picture of what it's supposed to look like.)

 

I attached the picture of what it's supposed to look like (ignore the red arrow, that's from the original reference site talking about a sticking point). In the center of that picture is the tube mine is missing. I can't get air flow through the left black cylinder, so I've been soaking that over and over, now with dish soap water. I'm not sure if it's clogged with ink, or it's not supposed to have flow without that tube.

 

The nib and barrel are still lovely. Is it worth it to try to find and replace that tube, or assembly, or should I give up the effort?

Thank you.

 

Narrow ink tube I'm missing

⬇️

 

 

Edited June 17, 2025 by WriteNow
Added details and clarified photo.

[Ron Z]

What Sheaffer called the piercing tube is a press fit in the black plug between the trim ring and the 0-ring.  The piercing tubes do shift down into the plug sometimes. Look down the middle and see if it's there.   If so it needs to be knocked back down the plug so that it sticks out the end again,  If needed the plug with the piercing tube can be found or harvested from a donor/dead nib unit.  The 0-rings are pretty well squished and flattened by this time, so should be replaced.  They are available because loads of them made their way out of the Sheaffer service center when it closed years ago.

[WriteNow]

Excellent info! I didn't know what to call it. My plug with the piercing tube is clogged so badly that I can't blow air through it. It's soaking now in water with dish soap after spending last night in a cup of water. After your suggestion, I was able to press on the piercing tube and get it to move down a little in the plug but it's still stopped up in the center.

 

For better reference, I have labeled the picture. My piercing tube (1) is clogged and the tube itself might be damaged. Hard to tell.  As I mentioned, I can't get air or water through it.

I know that some designs have plastic inside that tube to regulate ink flow. I was unable to push a paperclip wire into it.

 

The thin tube labeled (2) is completely missing. I'm not sure what to call it.

 

With this updated info, do you think that the plug (1) can be rehabilitated with cleaning or should I be looking for replacement parts for the plug (1)? Once I know what (2) is called, I can look for one of those.

 

If you recommend replacing (1), is this the place to look for those donor nib parts or do you know of a vendor?

 

Thanks for the quick and helpful response!

 

[Ron Z]

That missing piece is part of the feed, and the broken off/missing part is likely what is clogging the piercing tube.  The insert is part of a larger piece that rests in the middle of the feed, which can be removed.  It carries the ink from the cartridge or converter down to the feed and ultimately to the tip of the nib. 

 

A picture of a feed is below.  I'm  fairly certain that it is a Targa feed by the size.  Later Imperial feeds are nearly identical.  Early ones were hard rubber with a hard rubber insert down the middle.  This  design with the plastic insert shown was also used in the plastic feeds used in their open nib pens like a Prelude or Connaisseur.

 

The image below shows the two piece feed used in your pen.  The top piece fits into the wide slot of the feed with the collector fins up.You can see the slit in the tail of the insert that runs through the piercing tube.   This carries the ink forward to the slit on the top of the feed at the front end.  Without the insert, ink can not flow from the cartridge/converter to the nib.   The removable insert allows you to clean dried ink out of the slit and the middle of the feed.  That tail breaks easily, so if you want to take the insert out, press on it as close to the end of the feed as possible.  

 

 

 

[WriteNow]

Great insight!

 

Your diagnosis appears to be 100% correct.

I pushed down on the piercing tube until I could get some of the broken feeder to poke out of the bottom of the plug, then pulled the broken feeder out with pliers.

 

It seems that when I got this pen, the feeder tube had been broken off inside the plug.

 

Now I just need to source a feeder tube.

 

Mystery solved! Thank you!