Parker Vest Pocket repair

[Juan]

I just picked up a tiny Parker Duofold, 1930 or so, smaller than a Duofold Jr, with pocket clip, so I assume it's a vest pocket - my first.  I got the section and barrel apart and was surprised that very little old ink sac came out.  Also, that the section was press fit, not threaded.  Just inside the barrel at the point the section would end and the ink sac begins is a hard black ring.  I've never seen this, but this is my first Duofold this small.  I've probed the ring with a dental pick and it does not flake off.

Should it be there, maybe to add strength, or is it something I should remove?  Fitting the re-sacked section is very tight with the press fit and I'm wondering if this ring is interfering.

[Ron Z]

The short answer is that you want that ring in the barrel.  Don't try to remove it.  Parker put it there for a reason.

 

The streamlined Duofolds have a slip fit section instead of the threaded section of the flat top pens.   The flat top pressure bar slips down between the sac nipple and barrel wall and presses against the end of the section.  If the streamlined pressure bar did that, it could push the forward section, shifting it  out, and in extreme cases out of the barrel.  Parkers answer was to press that ring into the barrel, and install a shorter pressure bar so that it catches the ring instead pressing against the section.  Some of the later Parkers took things a bit farther with what I call the "hanging" pressure bar.  This one has an extra piece that holds the inside end of the pressure bar, and has a tab that sits on the outside edge of the blind cap threads.

 

 

[Juan]

Great, thanks.  Yes, my previous experience was with the flattops.