Introduction
Disclaimer (Official Business To Get Out Of The Way)
To me, restoration is the resurrection of an old, often neglected, pen and repairing it to as close to its original condition as possible. I attempt to use original parts in all restoration and will always indicate whether a pen has been restored using any substitute parts. I believe in polishing pens to make them look closer to their original condition, but not in recoloring a writing instrument. I have a large inventory of previously restored pens that I will post from time to time, but my goal is to follow current restoration projects. I am by no means a professional pen technician/restorer/craftsman or historian. I do this only as a hobby, and do make mistakes from time to time. Should one be interested in professional restoration advise or service, some of the links on my homepage would be a good place to start. This discourse is for entertainment purposes only and I hope the reader will enjoy some of the information as I learn at the same time.
___________________________________________________________________________
The first pen of this blog is a 1920s Eaton BCHR (black chased hard rubber) eyedropper. Eaton’s were sold primarily in Canada through mail order. Eaton’s Department Stores started in Winnipeg and expanded across Canada. A detailed history can be found here:
This one has its original nib and is a very nice specimen. Here is a picture.
Obviously, there was not much restoration involved with this pen. This pen just required a cleaning of the feed and nib. I also coated the threads with a light film of silicone grease to keep the chamber ink-tight. I then filled with water to check for any leaks from the threads or feed/nib assembly. None were found and this one is ready to write.
All in all, not much of a restoration, but given the condition of the nib and feed when I found it, a major improvement.
__________________
Last night I had a little time to kill while the kids and Andrea were involved in a few other things and the snow shoveling was on hold between storms, so I restored a few Sheaffer’s. First, I finished working on a Sheaffer Balance Junior. It needed to have the old sac removed. The lever and j-bar were acceptable, so I left them intact and just cleaned them up. Out came the nib and feed and they were cleaned in the ultrasonic cleaner and then replaced. A new sac was installed and the pen was polished, shined, and waxed to a nice new look. Here is a picture next to an OS Balance, also in black. Both date from the 1930s and were produced in Fort Madison, Iowa.
It now joins another Sheaffer Junior in my collection – a less common red-veined that I found this past summer. A similar restoration was performed on this one.
I also worked on a Sheaffer 800, or Dolphin as they are sometimes called due to the dolphin looking nib, touchdown filler. It needed general cleaning and I installed a new “O” ring and sac. It was in pretty clean condition when I picked it up and just needed to be flushed out with the ultrasonic cleaner and polished. Here is a picture next to a 1000 model (cartridge fill-gold caps). Both were produced during the short 1962-64 time period. The 800 sold for $8.95 (touchdown) and the 1000 for $10.00 (cartridge only). A 500 was also available at a $5.95 price point. These were very similar to the Imperial line of fountain pens, except for the unique “dolphin” nib. Colors available were black (shown), blue, green, burgundy, and gray.
2 Comments »
Leave a comment
| Next »
-
Archives
- December 2015 (1)
- November 2015 (1)
- July 2015 (1)
- June 2015 (1)
- May 2015 (1)
- April 2015 (1)
- March 2015 (1)
- February 2015 (1)
- January 2015 (1)
- December 2014 (1)
- March 2014 (2)
- February 2014 (2)
-
Categories
- Arnold Pen Company
- Artcraft Fountain Pens
- ASKA Fountain Pens
- Atlas Appliance Fountain Pen
- Bankers
- Bankers Pen Company
- Belmont Pens
- Brown & Bigelow
- Buettell Brothers Dubuque Iowa
- Burrows Welcome
- C. E. Barrett
- Cali
- Carters
- Christmas
- Christmas Pen
- Conway Stewart
- Craig Fountain Pens
- Dennis Bowden
- Desk Pens
- Diamond Medal Fountain Pens
- Diamond Point Fountain Pens
- Dixie Fountain Pens
- Drew Pen Company
- Duo Fast Stapler Pen
- Duocraft Fountain Pens
- Duofold
- Eagle Pen Company
- Eaton Pens
- Eclipse Pen Company
- Escritor Pens
- Esterbrook
- Esterbrook Fountain Pens
- Esterbrook Safari
- Evans Pen Company
- Fifth Avenue Pens
- Filene's Fountain Pen
- Fount O Ink
- Fountain Pen Radio
- Fountain Pen Stores
- Fountain Pen Tools
- Fountain Pens and Pencils
- Franklin Fountain Pen
- FreFlo
- George M. Kraker
- Gold Bond Pens
- Good Service Pen Company
- Greishaber Pens
- Hallmark Pen Company
- Hard Rubber Pen
- Hartington NE
- Henry Dreyfuss
- Hintz Fountain Pen
- Holy Water Sprinkler
- Houston Pen Company
- Houston TX
- Hull's Fountain Pens
- Hutcheon Brothers Pens
- Indian Fountain Pens
- Indian Pen Company
- Ink
- Ink Tablets
- Inkograph Pen Company
- Jackwin Fountain Pens
- Jacob Ullrich
- Jamestown Exposition
- Jefferson Fountain Pens
- Jewelers Band
- Jiffy Fountain Pens
- JUCO Pens
- Just For Fun
- Keene Fountain Pens
- Kimberly Ballpoint Pen
- Kraker
- L. E. Waterman Pen Company
- Lady Fair Pens
- Lady Sheaffer Skripserts
- Lakeside Pens
- Lamy Fountain Pens
- Liberty Fountain Pen
- Lincoln Fountain Pens
- Lipic Fountain Pens
- Long Short Pens
- Lucas Fountain Pens
- Lucky Curve
- Macy's Fountain Pen
- Marathon Fountain Pens
- Marxton Pens
- Merkle Broom Company
- Mickey Mouse Fountain Pens
- Minneapolis Pen
- Minnesota Pens
- Minuskin Nibs
- Monogram Fountain Pens
- Montgomery Ward
- Moore Fingertip
- Moore Pen
- Moore Specialist
- Moore Tuscan Fountain Pen
- Morrison Fountain Pens
- Morrison Patriot
- Music Nib
- National Geographic
- National Pen Products
- New York Telehone Company
- Omaha NE
- Onward
- P. W. Akkerman Pens
- Paper Mate Pens
- Paris Pen Company
- Parker 45
- Parker 51
- Parker 51 Writefine Pencil
- Parker 61
- Parker Duette
- Parker Holy Water Sprinkler
- Parker Moderne
- Parker Pen – Canada
- Parker Pen Company
- Parker Signet/Insignia
- Parker Star Clip
- Parker Trench Pen
- Parker Vacumatic
- Parker Vacuum Fill
- Parker VP
- Pelikan
- Pencil Jewelry
- Pencraft Pens
- Pepsi Fountain Pen
- Philip Hull
- Popeye Fountain Pen
- Postalett
- Radium Point Pen
- Rentz Fountain Pens
- Rexall
- Ritepoint Mechanical Pencils
- Roxy Fountain Pens
- Safford Pen Company
- Sager Pens
- Schnell Pens
- Sea – Gull Fountain Pens
- Sears
- Servo Fountain Pen
- Shadow Wave Vacumatic
- Sheaffer
- Sheaffer 3-25
- Sheaffer Dolphin
- Sheaffer Holiday Originals
- Sheaffer Hunting Dog
- Sheaffer Skyboy
- Sheaffer Tuckaway
- Sheaffer Valiant
- Sheaffer Valiant Touchdown
- Shirley Temple Fountain Pen
- Sioux City
- Skyline
- Snapfil
- Southern Pen Company
- Spors
- Spors Desk Sets
- Spors Fountain Pens
- Stafford
- Striped Duofold
- Stylograpic Pens
- Taylor Thermometer Pen
- Ted Williams
- The Tandem Pen/Pencil
- Townsend Fountain Pens
- Tracy MN
- Ty.phoo
- Uncategorized
- Universal Fountain Pens
- Vintage Mechanical Pencils
- Wahl Eversharp
- Wahl Oxford Pens
- Waltham Pens
- Waterloo
- Waterman 100 Year Pen
- Waterman 52
- Waterman Autograph Book
- Waterman C/F
- Waterman Citation
- Waterman Crusader
- Waterman Fountain Pen Ink
- Waterman Nurses Pens
- Waterman Pen Company
- Waterman Skywriter
- Waterman Taperite
- Wearever Pens
- Webster Pen
- Webster Skyrocket
- Welty Pen Company
- Wilson Pen Company
- Winter – Robbins
- Wirt Fountain Pens
- Woolworth
- Yankee Pen
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
May I ask what type of ultrasonic cleaner you use? I am looking to buy one. Thanks.
Comment by penagogy | June 30, 2008 |
My ultrasonic cleaner is an Haier, and you can see a picture in the 2-1-08 post entitled “Tools”. I have read that some have dismissed this due to the lid opening and closing and causing power to cease. I have not had these problems and have owned this one for 2 and a half years.
Comment by all of us | June 30, 2008 |