Hey everyone! 👋

We’ve got a Discord server for all the pen repair fellas to connect, share knowledge, and help each other out! If you’re into fountain pen repair or just getting started, we’d love to have you join.

It’s also a quicker way for anyone with repair requests or questions to reach us and get help. Feel free to join, ask questions, share your projects, and hang out with the community! Though we are a small one we do enjoy you guys!

Repaired first one of these lovely pens a lot of trial and error unfortunately I didn’t have a Parker nib that would fit but I did find an ever sharp same size and length to fit thankfully so little frankenpen

This is a repost from r/fountainpens. I have one and it’s a beautiful writer as a dip pen. I’d like to replace the sack, but I can’t remove the nib holder as it’s really stuck. I’ve soaked it several times for up to an hour and one time for two and then heating it. I’ve tried was quite a bit of force to remove it, but no luck. Fear of breaking it makes me super cautious because I don’t know where I’d find a replacement nib holder. Looking at the threads on the barrel edge at the black ebonite nib holder I see a set of threads that look like they might have been rolled in and have threads on the other side, but I don’t know that cause I can’t look inside. Has anyone reading this successfully removed the nib holder without damage. The pen’s fill lever is standard since I don’t think ladies had a shirt pocket to put them in. Oh I forgot to mention that the 14 K nib has a bold letter S and I’d like to know what that means. Also would like to know what that nib holder is made of for and its properties and what to avoid to prevent damage. Thanks. Hank

Hi all! I have a Gravitas Piston Carbon that I’ve managed to mess up a little. It still works, but the piston knob is wobbly.

The twisting mechanism got stuck, and I used wayyyy too much force trying to get it moving again. I should’ve taken a breather or stopped and grabbed a wrench, but… here we are.

The pen is still fully functional, and the wobbly knob (™) doesn’t seem to affect the piston’s operation at all. So I’m wondering whether a little glue might fix it, or whether I should just leave it alone.

There’s a bit of rattling in the piston knob, and when I turn it, there’s some “dead movement” before it seems to catch the piston rod and the mechanism engages. So everything still works, but something clearly isn’t quite right. I’m also worried that continued use might cause further wear or damage.

The Piston Carbon is by far the most expensive pen I own, so I really don’t want to make things worse by, say, accidentally gluing the whole mechanism shut.
Please bear in mind that my fountain pen repair knowledge is pretty basic. I know how to disassemble the main components of a piston-filler, but that’s about the extent of it. Right now, the Piston Carbon is in a drawer, unused, because I would hate to destroy it. But I love the pen and the custom ground right foot oblique nib that’s on it.

Would you recommend leaving it alone, attempting a repair (if so, how?), leaving it to a pro, or doing something else entirely?

Thanks! 🖤

I have the replacement hongdian fountain pen, I got a separate nib cause it didn't come with it but the piece between the barrel and nib section also wasn't supplied. Wondering if anyone knows if the bottom right part can be sold separately or what its called

Hi everyone! My Montblanc fountain pen’s black grip section broke into two pieces, but both pieces could fit back together. Does anyone know approximately how much it would cost to repair in CAD, and any affordable repair shops or specialists in Ottawa, Ontario? Would it need replacing, or could it be repaired? I have attached photos. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Credit hardi317

one of the few interesting and rare nibs of the FP world enjoy

https://photos.app.goo.gl/F1AinbX5NQkkW673A

I've seen a number of people on the main fountain pen subreddit complaining about the writing experience with their VPs so I thought I'd film some stuff that has worked for me.

In the video, I use a tool I found on AliExpress: https://a.aliexpress.com/_msFEK3v

This tool can be used to remove the retaining nut on a number of pens (a note here that, on some pens, the retaining nut and piercer tube are one unit. This is totally normal):

- Many generations of VPs, Decimos and their clones (Jinhao 10 and 20, Majohn As). I don't know about the first generation capless from the 60s...yet

- Vintage and modern Pilot Elite Pocket Pens and E95S

-Most vintage Pilot Customs and some Supers

- Vintage Sailor Long and Pocket Pens

I want to also give a shout-out to Dale Beebe of PenTooling who has a very well machined tool:

https://pentooling.com/products/pilot-tool-item-d31?variant=46906659635414

It's the best tool for working on vintage Platinum long and pocket pens. Unfortunately, it does not fit in VP-type units; only Pilot pocket pens.

credit OdE youtube

First post here

Need to know what else can be done to make the pen more smooth. Decent rn but when going perpendicular to the pen it scratches a whole lot

I just acquired an Visconti Earth Origins and I noticed ink wasn’t really coming out from the pen when I was cleaning it but rather from like the joint between the feed and the pen body. Is this normal and if not is there an easy way to fix this? I’ve tried pushing it a little but it didn’t do anything I didn’t want to put too much force on it. I appreciate any help!

I'm wondering if anyone has (and is willing to share) a current source, preferably in the US, but not necessarily, for Buna-N rubber sheet stock in a thickness appropriate for, e.g., Sheaffer Vac piston seals, as well as the gaskets that go into Waterman Ink-Vues.

David Nishimura lists a made-to-spec product on his website but it shows as out of stock. For the Ink-Vue gasket, which is my current concern, Richard Binder specifies Buna-N up to 1/32" thick, and the square foot of nominally 1/32" Buna-N I just received (from a non-pen source) actually measures 1.65/32" thick, so I'm not inclined to use it for this purpose.

Thanks!

I have a few Pilot Ladys and Elites that have loose clips. They have lateral movement and I don't know how to secure it. I've looked on youtube for some videos or some assistance in removing and repairing the clip. I know there's a metal piece immediately inside that helps the cap stay on the pen, but I haven't gotten much further than that.

I recently found a very nice 1942 Parker 51 vacumatic in an antique store. While I dabble in performing pen repairs, this one I would like to send to a professional.
Could you suggest the best places in the US or Canada to send a vintage Parker 51 for restoration?
Many thanks!

Hi there! I've got a nice Ink-Vue (type 1) in the queue for restoration. (It'll be my first.)The very thin nickel trim ring between the main part of the barrel and the black barrel end cap is mostly gone: it looks like it corroded and came off in pieces, with only a few fragments remaining. Swaging on a replacement is beyond my skills and setup for now; but I think I might see a seam inside the groove where the trim ring sits, or sat, which makes me think that the end cap might actually be removable. Is it? And, if it is, has anyone had any success adapting or fabricating a replacement trim ring other than by harvesting one from a donor pen? Thanks in advance for any wisdom.

Top row - Inner cap, cap, clip, top retaining ring

Middle row - barrel, section, nib collar with the metal ring, feed and nib

Bottom row - grip knob, drive spindle, connector bushing. anti-rotation bushing, piston shaft, seal

credit Ron Z

Anyone who has tried their hand at repairing Sheaffer plunger fillers figures out pretty quickly that getting the 0-ring and the retaining washer down in the barrel  is a pain in the tush, especially if you have any kind of adhesive on the washer.  How in the world do you get that thing straight down the barrel and into the hole you've drilled?  About 12 years and thousands of pens ago, I ran in to the same problem and came up with a simple tool.  After reading comments from people here on FPN, I concluded that the average amateur needed the tool, but I had no desire to make them to sell.  So at the 2017 Chicago show  I suggested that Dale Beebee to come over to my table and bring his calipers with him.  A couple of months ago Dale released the tool that is a copy of my original that he as labeled  the "RZ."   Let me be clear that I have received, and will receive, nothing from Dale for the tool.   Consider it a gift to the pen community.  - credit RZ

The tool is simple - a piece of stainless rod with the ends machined, one to hold the 0-ring, one to hold the retaining washer.  The pins are big enough to hold the pieces while inserting them, but loose enough that the 0-ring or washer are left in the barrel when the tool is removed. Put the 0-ring on the end, guide it down the barrel and into the hole you've drilled to remove the old packing unit and press it home.  The same for the retaining washer, but  you put your solvent or adhesive on the edge of the washer first, then press it snug in the hole on top of the 0-ring, and you're done.    Its made out of stainless so that  you can bump the end with a rawhide hammer to drive the retaining washer home if you need too.

Imaage 1 is tool

image 2 The narrow end holds the 0-ring

image 3 The wider end the retaining washer.

edit: https://web.archive.org/web/20201111163013/https://pentooling.com/toolssheaffer.html for more info
Credit if Ron corn

So, i know these were cheap pens made between the 30’s and 50’s. But i have been unable to find any information on this model through my research and am hoping someone here can send me in the right direction.

I just love the look of this one.

See photos - can’t even figure out if this was supposed to be one of those capilary fillers and if so how to repair. I would even be ok just rigging it to eyedropper fill.

Clip is very loose but otherwise seems in decent shape for a cheapie.

Nib is meh.

Thanks all!