I am done with buying used pens on ebay. I don't know enough about them to know if they may work and even if I am getting a good deal. So frustrated.
Ebay Pens Fiasco.
- Thread starter Knockahoma
- Start date
Pens can be repaired an are not all that much money
What did you get Knock, and whats wrong with them. Most or at least quite a few, vintage pens on ebay come from pickers who have no idea how to fix them, they are great ways to get an incredible deal on a pen, that after its fixed is still a fraction of what a repaired and serviced pen would go for
Dont be to frustrated yet, you may have some diamonds in the rough that will become great pens again
What did you get Knock, and whats wrong with them. Most or at least quite a few, vintage pens on ebay come from pickers who have no idea how to fix them, they are great ways to get an incredible deal on a pen, that after its fixed is still a fraction of what a repaired and serviced pen would go for
Dont be to frustrated yet, you may have some diamonds in the rough that will become great pens again
- Thread starter
- #3
whats wrong with them ?
the wearever I know has a sac that will usually go bad, its a simple fix, and we even have a traveling repair box that may have a sac, and will have the shallac and talc you need to fix it, Im unfamiliar with the other two but guessing they work the same, just not sure which sized sac replacement that would need
if the nibs are okay the pen side of things are easy to fix or have fixed, Mech penicls on the other hand are a different matter, and i have no idea what it takes to repair one
the wearever I know has a sac that will usually go bad, its a simple fix, and we even have a traveling repair box that may have a sac, and will have the shallac and talc you need to fix it, Im unfamiliar with the other two but guessing they work the same, just not sure which sized sac replacement that would need
if the nibs are okay the pen side of things are easy to fix or have fixed, Mech penicls on the other hand are a different matter, and i have no idea what it takes to repair one
Knowing you don't know much about them, nor how to repair them, Ebay is probably NOT the best place to be buying pens.
no, but the pens you bought were cheap enough to look into repairing yourself, and learning what to look for. You have to start somewhere, and for a first time vintage pen purchase that isnt that bad. until you know what your into id say spending 50 bucks on a pen you were hoping to be working right off the bat, id say stay away for now, But experienced is only gained through some hands on time. If you want vintage pens, and you cant get to a pen show, the fountain pen networks, BST section is a good place to look in the future
Before the internet, we bought old broken pens in the flea markets and yard sales. Those sources have pretty much dried up and now pen collectors rely on finding unrestored pens on eBay, I'm glad it's there. Someday we're gonna ask, "do you remember when we used to be able to buy those old pens on eBay for cheap?"
It's a resource, yet you must be willing to play the game -- with vintage pens I feel lucky if only 20% of my purchases go into the parts bin. The other 80% will need work.
Tell us what happened.
It's a resource, yet you must be willing to play the game -- with vintage pens I feel lucky if only 20% of my purchases go into the parts bin. The other 80% will need work.
Tell us what happened.
- Thread starter
- #8
The brown wearever may still function, but the green Raleigh is a click filler(may be wrong term, newbie here) and it makes a lot of racket when shaken. The other lever filler's lever will not open and makes some nice crunching sounds when I try to open it. On the brown lever filler, do you just stick the nib in bottled ink and flip the lever to fill? Sorry if these are dumb question, but I may be in over my head. They looked cool on the auction.
Sounds like you found some petrified sac pens that spent some years in an old farmhouse attic! That's the stuff of penlover's dreams.
Don't force any levers against ossified sacs and I would start soaking the pens in in some cool water. Begin your research before trying to open them up.
Got any pics or a link to the auction?
Don't force any levers against ossified sacs and I would start soaking the pens in in some cool water. Begin your research before trying to open them up.
Got any pics or a link to the auction?
And the noise you are hearing isnt pencil lead in the pencil is it ?
Not a bad price for what you got, they were all inexpensive pens in their day. All could be fixed up for use but I'm imagining the nibs may need to be replaced with something a bit more smooth and modern. Have you given any the dip test to see if they're not scratchy and write?
- Thread starter
- #13
Yeah, It is not from the lead because the pencil part is removable and it still crunches. I can see into the pen/pencil and it looks like the sac is gone.
thats not a bad thing, someones done half the repair work for you, taking them apart without damaging the pens is the biggest part of the battle in most cases
Dip them as Doug suggested, see if the nibs are okay on them, if they are then you may be better off then you think
They can be fixed up rather easily. There's lots of tutorials online. Also, lots of folks around here and pen forums that'll be willing to give you a hand or do it for you. But, if you're not into that and just want something to write right off the bat, look in forum classifieds/ bst's.
I have a Parker 51 and a Parker Vacumatic sitting in my desk, just waiting to be sent off for repair when I stop being lazy. Got both of them rather cheaply off eBay. Even with the cost of shipping and repair, it'll still be dirt cheap compared to buying them restored from a pen show, store, or website.
I got a Waterman off of eBay with a dura-flex nib that cracked as soon as I put it to the paper. I have to see if anyone can either fix that for me, find me a new dura-flex nib, or find me any nib that will fit in general. That may also be shipped along with the two Parkers. I bought it for cheap, but it was mainly because of the flex nib that I never heard of before. It's annoying as all hell, but I made up for the loss by snagging various modern and vintage Watermans off of unsuspecting sellers who have no idea what they're even selling.
I view eBay as a place where you can get some great deals and then occasionally take a risk on something that catches your eye.
I got a Waterman off of eBay with a dura-flex nib that cracked as soon as I put it to the paper. I have to see if anyone can either fix that for me, find me a new dura-flex nib, or find me any nib that will fit in general. That may also be shipped along with the two Parkers. I bought it for cheap, but it was mainly because of the flex nib that I never heard of before. It's annoying as all hell, but I made up for the loss by snagging various modern and vintage Watermans off of unsuspecting sellers who have no idea what they're even selling.
I view eBay as a place where you can get some great deals and then occasionally take a risk on something that catches your eye.
- Thread starter
- #17
Where do you send them to get fixed?
There's plenty of places that get recommended around here.
I plan on using Danny Fudge over at The Write Pen. I've heard good things about him, and the price seems good.
Danny Fudge is good, but I hear those lever pens are pretty easy to fix yourself.
I'd probably not send these pens off to repairman. They're inexpensive pens that would end up costing you much more than they're worth. It's very simple to repair them yourself, and you'd not only be saving a lot of money but gaining the satisfaction of using pens that have a personal investment.
