Restoring an Esterbrook J

[mikeschu]

I won a red Esterbrook J double-jewel on our favorite auction site. I'd like to document my restoration process. I apologize for the bad iPhone photos in advance.



Looking at the pen in closer detail, it will require some repair.

First, I noticed that the nib is bent. The nib is a 1550 (extra-fine).



Even if the nib can be fixed, it'll need a little cleaning - it looks like some ink was left on the nib.



One other thing I noticed is that the jewel on the cap is largely chipped off, but these pens seem to be widely available so I could in theory buy a broken one and replace the cap.



I tried to separate the body from the nib section and it looks to be stuck so I haven't been able to look at the sac or any other part of the pen besides what you see here. It looks like the pen wasn't stored properly. My first goal is to be able to take apart the pen and inspect it.

Is the standard to use warm water and let the pen soak until the pen can be taken apart? If not, how do you take apart this pen?

 

[mikeschu]

OK, after reading a thread on FPN I found that you shouldn't soak the entire pen in water because it'll rust the lever. So I took a couple of ounces of DI water and heated it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. After taking the temperature of the water (110 degrees F), I am soaking the section and the nib.

There's a bit of ink coming out of the pen - looks purplish in color. The nib also cleaned up so I'm guessing it was just dry ink on the nib.



I also noted that the body is friction-fit and will just pull off. The nib can be unscrewed from the section.

 

[mikeschu]

Well, that was easy enough. After 10 or 15 minutes soaking in the water, I was able to get the section off.

It looks like there's no sac in the pen. I also think the spring clip attached to the lever is rusty, but I'm not sure how I would pull that out. I'm wondering how the seller used the pen - did he use it as an eyedropper?


I'll need to determine the next steps, and more importantly if this is worth fixing.

 

[syngent]

If its a lever fill it would have a big hole in it fpr ink to leak as an eyedropper no ?

 

[mikeschu]

If its a lever fill it would have a big hole in it fpr ink to leak as an eyedropper no ?

They may have put in 1-2ml in the body and put the section back on, then be really careful in how to hold the pen. But I don't see any rubber or latex in the pen and there was a good bit of ink in there.

 

[mikeschu]

Added pictures to the last couple of posts.

 

[cursethis]

They may have put in 1-2ml in the body and put the section back on, then be really careful in how to hold the pen. But I don't see any rubber or latex in the pen and there was a good bit of ink in there.

That just means that the pen was left inked and the sac deteriorated. It just recently took me days to get ink out of a Waterman Ideal Jr. that went through a similar situation. I literally soaked the nib section for 3-4 days to get all of the ink out of it. It also took a lot of water and q-tips to get a hunk of the ink out of the barrel and cap.

 

[redbike]

My guess is that there's a dried up sac in tiny pieces in the barrel. No way it was used as an ED.

 

[mikeschu]

That just means that the pen was left inked and the sac deteriorated. It just recently took me days to get ink out of a Waterman Ideal Jr. that went through a similar situation. I literally soaked the nib section for 3-4 days to get all of the ink out of it. It also took a lot of water and q-tips to get a hunk of the ink out of the barrel and cap.

That makes more sense - I didn't think of that. From what I've read from nemo, if you leave a bad vintage ink (Super Chrome?) in there long enough I bet it would completely dissolve a sac.

My guess is that there's a dried up sac in tiny pieces in the barrel. No way it was used as an ED.

If there's any portion of the sac in there, I don't see it or it's stuck in the far end of the barrel. When I shine a flashlight in the barrel I see the metal of the lever where it looks like it bends into a "J" (is this the J-bar?) and a brass piece that looks like it protects part of the barrel.

 

[mikeschu]

After watching this video my guess is that I'm going to need to pick up a new J-bar, a #16 sac (which might be in the travel repair kit) and a new nib. Next step: removing the old J-bar.

 

[nemo]

Every Esterbrook (unless cracked) is worth restoring! The jewels are tough to replace, so you may want to just live with the broken one until you find a replacement cap.

Unless the J-bar is not providing the proper springiness to return the lever I wouldn't worry about a little rust if it's just surface rust, you don't even need to pull it out to do a restoration. Immerse the barrel, a short time in the water/ammonia won't hurt.

 

[redbike]

After watching this video my guess is that I'm going to need to pick up a new J-bar, a #16 sac (which might be in the travel repair kit) and a new nib. Next step: removing the old J-bar.

I watched that video before attempting to replace sacs in Esterbrooks. It is helpful, though I found it much easier to use a sac spreader than fingers to pull the sac over the nipple. Good luck.

 

[mikeschu]

Oh sweet - I just won an auction on the Bay for two NOS 2442 nibs for $13 shipped.

 

[celestino]

Congrats, Mike. Good luck with the pen and the ones you won on ebay!

 

[gmgaj]

I just got one that was ready to go, with a 1555 nib. It is one of the smoothest nibs I've used so far. It is as smooth as my M200 medium nib.

 

[mikeschu]

After winning the Friday nib auction, my #2442 nibs arrived today from Florida. Very fast shipping!

I should have the Traveling FP Repair kit on its way as well; I'll verify what's in there and continue the process once I get the kit.

 

[nemo]

That 2442 Fine stub has eluded me for years. You're lucky to have found two, they're pretty scarce, Mike.

Last I heard there are #16 sacs for you J series. No need to get a sac spreader -- those are simply a waste of money.

 

[cursethis]

Be happy you have a J Bar.

I took apart a Skyline I got for cheap off of the 'bay and found out that my Flip-Fill lever is in two pieces and missing parts. Not looking forward to hunting down parts and installing a new pressure bar. I thought it was just going to be a simple sack and shellac when I got into it.

 

[nemo]

I took apart a Skyline I got for cheap off of the 'bay and found out that my Flip-Fill lever is in two pieces and missing parts. Not looking forward to hunting down parts and installing a new pressure bar. I thought it was just going to be a simple sack and shellac when I got into it.

Nothing is easy with a broken Skyline but when they work it is like heaven. Those Eversharp nibs are some of the best!

 

[cursethis]

Nothing is easy with a broken Skyline but when they work it is like heaven. Those Eversharp nibs are some of the best!

I have to play with the tines on the nib as well. Thankfully, they're just slightly off.

Way more work than I thought I was getting myself into. But... there's something oddly gratifying about rescuing vintage pens from their death beds.