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OTHERWISE
MINT CONDITION
Recently
a friend brought a fountain pen to me that needed repair,
explaining that he had purchased it at an antique shop
which claimed that it was in original, working condition.
Being a novice collector, my friend took the dealer's
word and purchased the pen at what he thought to be
a high price.
Upon
filling, my friend discovered that the pen held very
little ink. Understandably, he was frustrated. Upon
attempting to return the pen, the dealer quickly pointed
to a sign indicating that no refunds were allowed. This
is how the pen made it into my hands for repair.
I
soon discovered that the pen, a sterling Waterman 452,
presented even more problems. Both the lever and clip
were nickel rather than original sterling, and haphazardly
replaced at that. The barrel was also a replacement
with the numbers on the bottom filed off to disguise
its inauthenticity. The nib was missing its iridium,
and the sac, though still elastic, was poorly fitted
- otherwise the pen was mint. It was this horror scenario
that impelled me to alert the budding collector to the
perils of purchasing a vintage fountain pen from an
antique shop, flea market, or even from an experienced
pen dealer.
When
pen hunting, it's advisable to bring along a flashlight
and a small magnifying glass or loupe to aid in detecting
flaws.
THE
CONDITION OF THE CAP
Cracks in cap: Cracks
commonly develop in the lip of the cap and where the
clip is attached. To check for cracks in the cap lip,
gently rub your fingernail inside the cap along the
lip. Visually, with a magnifying glass, check for cracks
in the clip area.
Clip Condition:
Gently wiggle the clip to determine if it is securely
affixed. Does the pen have the correct clip? With riveted
clips it is sometimes easy to determine if a clip has
been replaced because the rivets have been poorly fashioned.
(With sterling or solid gold pens, nickel and gold-filled
clips are commonly used as replacements, but are not
authentic.)
Cap Band Rings:
Are rings missing from the cap? Make a thorough check.
Interior of cap:
With a flashlight, look into the cap to determine if
the threads have been altered. It is not uncommon to
chance upon cap threads that have been treated with
tape or crazy glue and cellophane in an attempt to remedy
thread slippage. When examining a pen gently check to
determine that the inner cap is in place. Note: eyedropper
pens have no inner cap.
Filed down cap lips:
Sometimes cap lips have been filed down to remove slight
cracks or chips. If this has been done, it might be
impossible to detect. Check for file marks on the cap
lip and try to determine if the wall of the cap lip
is too thick.
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THE
CONDITION OF THE BARREL
Cracks in threads:
Cracks can be, easily camouflaged in threads by filing
with various kinds of glue. It is common practice to
conceal cracks or chips near the top of the barrel threads
by filing them down. In this event, the threads appear
to end abruptly, or if filled poorly, gaps will be noticeable
where the section meets the barrel.
Warping: Determine
warping visually or by rolling the barrel on a flat
surface.
Filed down engraving: Frequently,
engraved monograms of names have been filed away or
sanded down, leaving a flat surface on the barrel. Take
a good look at the barrel or turn the barrel in your
fingers to feel for any flat spots.
SECTION
CONDITION
Cracks: A hairline
crack in the section is perhaps one of the most overlooked
flaws by even experienced collectors. Though a crack
may be difficult to detect, it readily becomes evident
once the pen is filled. I've failed to notice such cracks
on several occasions and have paid for it with messy
fingers.
Missing or broken sac nipples:
This common malady can cause great frustration. The
only manner in which to determine whether or not the
section is damaged under the surface of the barrel is
to remove it. However, some dealers might not take too
kindly to this, so be careful. Note: if you have
little or no experience with pen repair, you may break
the pen in the process - so beware.
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NIB
CONDITION
Missing iridium:
Quite often the nib is missing its iridium - either
it's broken off, or has worn away with use. Using a
loupe or magnifying glass, check the condition of the
irdidium. Sometimes a nib that has lost its iridium
has been smoothed down on a whetstone for use, so check
this as well.
Cracks in nibs:
Cracks frequently develop in nibs. This usually occurs
at the base of the nib and are sometimes visible near
the section. A good look with a loupe should determine
whether or not the nib is intact. Sometimes the nib
has been deliberately pushed deeply into the section
to conceal cracks. Be wary of this since it is a favorite
technique of the unscrupulous seller.
Bent nibs: This
is easy enough to recognize, but a nib that has been
straightened might be difficult to spot immediately.
Again, make good use of your loupe and check for any
scratches, bends, or dings, especially near the point
of the nib. If the nib is stained with ink, moisten
your fingers and rub away any residue in order to get
a good look at it.
LEVER
CONDITION
Waterman: This type
employs a lever which is housed in a frame or box which
is held in place by tangs within a slot in the barrel.
Frequently the tangs of the lever box break. Check to
see if the lever box has been glued into the slot to
make the pen operable.
The
Waterman filling system utilizes a pressure bar which
deflates the inner sac when forced down by the lever.
Sometimes the pressure bar has been replaced by a simple
"J" shaped spring bar. Many pens which have sophisticated
lever/pressure bar mechanisms suffer from being repaired
in such a manner. Check for incorrect pressure bar replacement
by lifting the lever to the open position and peering
in with your flashlight.
Quality
fountain pens, with some exceptions, utilize advanced
lever mechanisms. These include Waterman, Wahl-Eversharp,
Sheaffer, Swan and late Conklin.
The
above-mentioned pen companies, except Sheaffer, utilize
a pin and track lever mechanism. At the end of the lever
are two horizontal pins of tangs which fit into a track
in the pressure bar. Occasionally, these pins break
or are corroded by ink. Instead of replacing the lever,
which can be a difficult repair, a spring bar is sometimes
inserted as a simple remedy. Obviously, this is not
an authentic repair using original parts.
Frozen
lever: If a pen is found with a frozen lever,
it is usually because the sac is petrified. Do not force
the lever! First remove the sac. A petrified sac is
a sure sign that the pen has not been repaired or tampered
with for sometime.
Cracked Lever Box:
A common, but serious, problem occurs when the lever
is forced open against a petrified sac. The lever box
cracks in the middle where the pin holds the lever in
place - its weakest point. If the cracks go completely
through the box, the only solution is to replace it.
Superficial cracks will not immediately prevent the
pen from functioning, but eventually they will split
the box through continued use.
Again,
you may use a loupe or glass to examine the lever box
where the pin is inserted to check for cracks.
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OVERLAYS
Much can go wrong with an overlay pen. Because the overlay
covers a large surface of the pen, it is possible to
conceal many flaws.
First,
check to see if the clip and lever are correct. Sterling
overlays should have sterling levers and clips. The
same holds true for solid gold levers and clips. Gold-filled
overlays have gold-filled fittings. On sterling pens
the clip is marked "sterling" and usually appears above
the uppermost rivet or under the "Ideal globe" if a
Waterman. On solid gold Waterman pens, I have only noticed
the "14k" to appear above the uppermost rivet. With
Waterman, the lever is marked on the underside of the
Ideal globe. Note: marking placement may vary from company
to company.
Barrel
repair or replacement: At the last pen show
I noticed many Waterman overlays that had replaced barrels.
An authentic Waterman overlay should have at least three
numbers stamped on the bottom of the barrel. However,
early eyedropper pens may have only been marked with
two numbers, eg. 12, 14, etc. A sterling pen would bear
the numbers "452." The "4" denotes that the pen is sterling.
The "5" indicates that the pen is self-filling and has
a lever. The "2" represents the smallest standard nib
size - 4,5,6,7,and 8 would represent progressively larger
nibs.
A
solid gold pen would also have three numbers, but the
first number would be a "5" indicating that the pen
is 14 karat. Gold-filled pens have four numbers, the
first two being "05" indicating that the pen is 18 karat
gold filled.
If
the overlay pen has all the correct numbers, then you're
in good shape so far. Be alert and scrutinize the pen
further. It is not uncommon for an un scrupulous repairperson
to alter the numbers. Another tactic is to replace the
barrel with an incorrect one and file off the numbers.
Waterman's
lever box covering. Under Ideal globe of
the lever should be a thin piece of metal that was designed
to cover the tang of the lever box. This covering was
designed for cosmetic purposes; however, if it is missing,
this is a sur sign that the lever has been tampered
with or replaced. It is possible that some pens left
the factory without the covering or were repaired by
Waterman which opted to leave it off.
A
word about all overlays. On
gold-filled overlays, check for plating wear. This is
known as brassing because when the thin gold plating
or filling wears away, the base metal, which is usually
brass, shows though. When a brassed pen is polished,
the brass layer is indistinguishable from the gold.
To check for this, use your loupe to detect fine lines
in the metal. In some cases the brassing will be quite
perceptible.
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PISTON
FILLERS AND VACUMATICS
The blow test: In
the event that water is not available to test the filling
systems of such pens as Montblanc, Pelikan, Conklin
Nozac, and Parker Vacumatics, simply blow into the pen
from the nib and section to determine if it holds air.
If air escapes through the other end of the barrel,
it needs repair. Repairing these pens is complicated
and requires special tools, parts and skills.
The
blow test is not a foolproof test, but it will give
some indication whether the filling mechanism is functional.
Of course, be sure the pen has no ink in it prior to
appying the blow test.
MISMATCHES
Mottled, woodgrain, ripple:
What collector hasn't, on one occasion or another, purchased
what he or she thought to be a matched mottled, woodgrain,
or ripple pen, only to discover that either the barrel
or the cap is a mismatch. Study the difference between
the various swirled colored hard rubber patterns to
be able to spot mismatches of this sort.
Replacement parts:
If a pen has had a barrel or cap replaced with original
parts, it is possible to determine whether the match
is a good one. Check the wear on the barrel resulting
from the removal and replacement of the cap. This wear
is noticeable below the barrel threads and where the
caps fits on the end. If the lip of the cap does not
coincide with the wear marks, then there is a good chance
that the cap or barrel is a replacement. Also, if the
lip of the cap has been filed down to remove cracks
or chip, the cap will not align with the worn area.
PARKER
DUOFOLDS
Nib and feed: Quite
often a Parker Duofold is found with a factory replaced
nib and feed that are not original Duofold components.
When Parker discontinued the Duofold line and ran out
of original replacement parts, it was common practice
to replace Duofold nibs and feeds with their Vacumatic
counterparts. A Vac nib has an arrow engraved on it,
and the feed has comb-like teeth. Although the advanced
Vacumatic replacement generally functioned better than
the original Duofold parts, most collectors prefer their
Duofolds to have original Duofold parts.
Button fillers: This
mechanism was Parker's answer to the lever, employing
a spring bar which collapses and deflates the sac when
a button at the end of the pen is depressed. If the
push button refuses to function, it could be for one
of two reasons. The sac might be petrified, or the spring
bar could be damaged or missing. (Spring bars are simple
to replace, so don't shy away from a Duofold if the
filling mechanism is not working.)
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WHAT
TO AVOID PURCHASING
Just about any fountain pen is worth purchasing if the
price is right. Even a fountain pen in the worst condition
might yield one or two good parts. However, while prices
are escalating, it is wise to avoid pens that have too
many problems or are too difficult to repair.
Piston-rod
fillers: Sheaffer and Wahl-Eversharp manufactured
pens during the 30s and 40s that employed a thin rod
piston filling mechanism . Because this system did not
require a rubber sac, it allowed the pen to have a larger
ink capacity. The public must have been very pleased
with this innovation because many of these pens were
sold. Nevertheless, pens of this type are extremely
difficult to repair. There are a few shops that repair
these pens, but because they are more complicated and
require special parts, the repair cost is usually higher.
Reprinted
with the kind permission of Penworld.
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Articles by Geoffrey Berliner