The Things an Eighteen Year Old Will Write

*Blows off the dust*  I cannot believe that is been almost ten years since i penned this, and yet again it feels like a lifetime ago.

Merry Go Round Dreams

He came to me all in a day,
from a time and place so far way.
Want me he did ,
but from him I hid
afraid to face the offer he gave.
Fearful he'd steal me away from all that I knew.
By and by his overtures bludgeoning me,
tripping through my mind,
deliberately seeping into my heart
all day long.
Even as a lie down to bed
glided gently into Morpheus' grasp
he remained in my head.
Vivid,
alive
as the very stars,
scintillating in the pitch sky.
Wraith-like
his frail frame,
in the saddle atop is wooden steed.
Dark as night,
bounding across the recesses of my mind.
Spinning, whirling,
the closer he came
the stronger his beckonings were.
Eyes as brown and soft as old beach glass,
stared from between thickets of long lashes.
Very dark eyes,
windows
into an even darker soul.
Like pools of cool water
on a long summers day.
His smile,
full rose cupid's bow pout,
like warm sunshine playing through the
fresh spring foliage.
Sweet and shy.
As he neared
aware I became of his hair,
its beauty.
Tumbling over his shoulders,
like rivulets of nearly raven tigereye.
Spiraling, twisting
in loose curves and rings,
framing his face in all its soft glory.
A fine boyish face,
forlorn
smooth as ice cream,
with a slight nose.
In the saddle
embellished with tiny shards of mirror
his tenuous form rested.
Atop his grand steed
the tone of black satin,
its neck elegantly curved,
hair as untamed as its rider.
Graceful its body,
just like its rider.
His fine hands
resting on fine legs
dangling along powerful midnight flanks.
Above them his body,
lean and compact,
sitting in the saddle like that of a prince.
His cries now tearing at my heart,
invading my soul.
But still I do not wish to go,
to fall into that hole.
Want me he still does
from him I still hide.
Though when I awoke
a piece of my heart he did break,
and take
a ransom
to lure me back,
by and by,
day in and day out.


Here is it warts and all, about someone from my past who will remain unnamed for all eternity unless he comes here and reveals himself, which thankfully seems unlikely.

Harper vs. Harper

Raven digs the guy on the left

Warm, living, breathing musician, or some comic book hero?  Now you know where I stand, obviously in the minority if I were to go with what internet searches yield.  Do yourself a favor and check out the Roy Harper on the left, he might just change the way you think.

Wilhelmina

Meet Wilhelmina, she's been living in my barn since May.  Fate brought us together in a very unusual and unexpected way.

Some of you might be asking what this beastie is, and I'll tell you.  She's a Heidelberg Original (better know as a Windmill) single color platen printing press.  For awhile I had always, half seriously alluded to wanting to have my own printing press, yet I never thought it would happen.

Ink Cement: Very filthy on arrival, this is what years of neglect will do to a press.

Some of the junk that was cleaned out from inside.

Off and on I'd been doing a little research online about letterpress ownership and most of the time the cost of just acquiring a press was prohibitive, especially considering that I was a minimum wage factory girl at the time.  Seeing that there were other people that had their own private press only pushed me harder to find one of my own.  For those who don't know Raven has an extensive background in printing, beginning in trade school at age 16 (where letterpress was still taught) to a four year university degree.  Many of the people who had their own presses came from a fine arts background instead of a technical one I found, so going into this I knew I had a leg up on them.

All clean again.

Wilhelmina (named so because she's German) came from a local auction that sells just about everything (mostly junk, like 1980s furniture), a place where most people wouldn't expect to find a printing press.  This turned out to be a good thing for me, I now have my own press and it was affordable even with hiring a truck to have it dropped off at the barn.  I the next couple of weeks I hope to have it moved into it's final position and off the skid.  And although I was hoping to have it up and running before the holidays it didn't happen and probably won't until after the new year.

 She runs and feeds paper excellently!


Please check in for further updates.

Fountain Pens For the Beginner

Where to start?  This can be an overwhelming question when one considers the world of vintage fountain pens, or fountain pens in general.  There is so much to choose from, so much to take into consideration and also so much to be learned.  Believe it or not I was here once, over five years ago now, wondering what kind of pen I wanted and where I could even find that pen for a price I felt was fair.  Before I even acquired my first fountain pen I remember looking at them locked up in cases at antique shops pondering how I was ever going to justify buying something so expensive and knowing so little about it.  Knowing what I do now, I realize that all of those pens were way over priced for what they were and the condition they were in- dirty, unrestored, some of them inferiorly produced dime store models priced at $30.00 +.  This is why it is best to start out doing some research on what you are looking for.  I will admit that I didn't do that until I had my first pen in hand and again was washed over by that overwhelming feeling.  Luckily I did pick out a decent pen, in easily repairable condition for a fair price- and looking back on it now I really do realize what dumb luck I had because there are a lot of bad pens out there and some while not bad are just not a good place for the beginner to begin.  A word of wisdom to consider- just because it pen is vintage does not mean it is good pen, cheaply made pens were sold by the millions and although inferior in construction there are still many of them in existence today.  Purchasing one of these and having a poor experience with it is not the way to start out with fountain pens.

The Pen That Started it All- a Parker Parkette

My first ever fountain pen was this Parker Parkette pictured above, while nothing to write home about in terms of looks or condition it was a great place to start.  I found it at a flea market for $8.00 and the person who sold it to me cautioned me I would have to have it sent out for repairs, which of course we know is not the case.  That afternoon when I arrived home I started doing searches online about fountain pen repair and parts and I took it from there.  Much to my surprise, this little pen once back in working order proved to be a wonderful writer with a slightly springy, buttery smooth 14K gold medium nib.

Some Parkettes come with 14K gold nibs that rival some of the finest produced by the competition, such as Sheaffer.

The Parker Pen Company produced Parker Parkettes as a lower end pen throughout the 1930s and offered several different models over the years, with the pen pictured above being the most common.  It should be noted that some Parkettes came fitted with steel nibs, some of which are deceivingly plated with a gold-tone metal, in my experience these do not write as nicely as the gold nibs but don't let it stop you from buying the pen as they are still better than what comes fitted in other similarly priced models.  Parkettes are lever fillers, which are simple to repair and take a size 20 straight sac, the furniture it gold plated and prone to wearing.  Colors produced include green, burgundy, black, grey, grey with red swirls, copper and blue, with green, burgundy and black being the most common.  Deluxe models were made and can be distinguished from the standard models by their faceted shape.
Common pricing- up to $50, depends on condition, color and whether the pen has been repaired.

A Family of Esterbrook Js: T to B- Long J (LJ) in root beer colored icicle pattern, J in grey, J in green, Transitional J in black, Transitional J is red, Short J (SJ) in blue and SJ in copper.

My most commonly recommend pen for the vintage fountain pen neophyte is the Esterbrook J and there is a good reason for this.  All members of the J family use a nib/feed assemblage that are called Re- New Points, which are interchangeable and just screw out.  Most other fountain pens have friction fit nibs that have to be knocked out to change them and then different nib options are not always widely available and expensive.  Re- New points, all made of steel come in many different thicknesses and variations some of which are still readily available as new old stock.  So if you don't like the nib the pen came with you can always buy several others to try until you find one you like.  One unintended consequence of these easily removable nibs is they also make cleaning your pen really fast and easy.  Just screw out the nib feed assemblage and soak it in a glass of water, while flushing the pen without the nib.

Like the Parkette, Esterbrooks are all lever fillers making repair easy.  The furniture is stainless steel and very resistant to wear and brassing.  The pens themselves are made out of many different colors of celluloid- some of the most common colors are shown above excluding the pinstriped 'icicle' pattern, which much harder to find.  As you might have noticed, the J family includes several different models.  Introduced sometime around 1943 the Transitional model was the first, marking Esterbrook's transition from their earlier Dollar Pen to the J.  Transitional Js can be distinguished by their flat barrel ends, unmarked clips and the three ribbed jewel on top of the cap.  The standard J model came into being in 1948 and it features a jewel on the cap and a second on the end of the barrel.  These usually, but not always have a clip that is marked 'Esterbrook' and a lever with a rounded spoon shaped end.  Sometimes pens do come up featuring pieces usually associated with the earlier Transitional models, yet it nothing to worry about since it seems Esterbrook simply used up any remaining stock of old parts instead of throwing them out.

Js came in three different sizes, the standard model, the Short J and the Long J respectively know as SJs or LJs.  The standard and SJ seem to be the most commonly encountered when shopping for pens in the wild.  The SJ is slightly shorter and thinner than the standard model, while the LJ is longer than the standard it shares the same girth as the SJ- confusing right?  Some other pen people have attempted to come up with methods of determining between the three visually, but I find these methods largely useless especially if you are new to pens.  The best way of becoming familiar with the different sizes is by simply handling the pens- something that will come with time and experience.  And to make things just a little more complicated there is a lady's J model that is shorter than the SJ, but these are easily distinguishable by color- they only came in flat pastel shades and are not as common as other J models. There are many other variations that can crop up from time to time but I'm going to leave all of these out for sake of simplicity.
Common pricing- up to $60- dependent on condition, color, model and restoration status. (I usually seem to be able to find Js in the wild for between $4.00 to $20.00 USD).

Re-New Points removed from pens

If these pens are not quite what you are looking for I have a couple of more suggestions, these include the Parker Challenger, Parker Duofold Jr., Sheaffer School Pen (good for kids and clumsy adults) or the Sheaffer Balance.  The Parker Challenger is a mid range pen that Parker marketed in the 1930s falling in between the Duofold and the Parkette.  It shares the same button filling system as the Parker Duofold, making it easy to repair.  Same with most other pen the Challenger came in several different model variations with a standard, deluxe and royal model.  Standard and deluxe pens came in green, burgundy, black, blue and black with pearl flecks.
Common pricing ranges from $20.00 upwards to $200.00 depending on model, color and condition.

Parker Challenger Deluxe slim model, black with green/grey pearl flecks.

Sheaffer School Pens were marketed in the late 1950s to mid 1960s to children or adults looking for an inexpensive fountain pen.  They are cartridge filling pens that will require no repairs and take standard straight cartridges that are readily available in the US.  These came in blue, green, red and clear with a chrome metal slip cap.  Also they can be acquired very cheaply, sometimes at thrift shops and flea markets for as little as $1.00.  Despite the low price school pens are excellent writers and very durable.

Clear Sheaffer School Pen

Parker Duofold Jr. models can also be inexpensive, especially in green (which tends to discolor with age) and red.  To learn more about these see the Parker Duofold post.
Price can range from $20.00 up to $100.00 depending on condition, color and restoration status.

Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post there is a lot of information that needs to be taken into consideration when purchasing your first vintage fountain pen and it can sometimes be overwhelming.  Doing your research before hand can save considerable grief and disappointment and remember when just starting out you do not need to know everything.  Knowledge is something that will be gained with time and experience just like anything else.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment.  Changes are I might have answer or know someone who does.

The Groupie Story- Part 3

This is the naughty bit, so consider yourself warned.

Good Bye

April 16, 1889- December 25, 1977

Good Riddance August and September- and Several Other Months

I wrote this post at the end of the September when things in my life were a bit different.  Now they are a little better, I have found a different job that pays better and offers better hours, but still I'm not where I would like to be in life.  After have been sitting in my drafts for a couple of months it's time to post it.


No new posts in August?  Yes, August was a horrible month, a veritable circle jerk of stress and bad news.  It all started on the 14th of August when I came close to having a nervous breakdown at work and went home ill after only being there for only three hours.  Since then life has been full of continuous ups and downs, but hasn't been what I would consider pleasant.  For every good day there is a bad one and the work related stress shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.  Right now I'm just going to come out and say I pretty much hate everything about my job, sure there are a few things that I like but the negatives outweigh the positives.  Twelve hour shift nights and threats of working all weekend or mandatory overtime for little pay are not at all what I'm looking for in life- if I can even say I have a life as all I do is work and sleep.  It is frustrating because I do hold a four year university degree yet I cannot find work that I am qualified for, at the moment I'm vastly underemployed.  I know that maybe someday, if I can stick it out where I am now I might be able to get into the position I would like to be in because the job is in the field I went to school for, but I hate what I'm doing now and I really don't care all that much for my coworkers, who love what they are doing and all the overtime.  It does not help when I get the feeling they are trying to cohearse me into working the extra hours (which at the moment are not mandatory) because they love what they do and they live to work and think I should be just like them (and I want to be nothing like most of them).

I've also come to the realization that factory work is rather frightening and demeaning.  It's almost like being back in high school where there are people always watching you, waiting for you to slip up just so they can punish you for some minor infraction.  You show up a minute late it counts against you even if you have car trouble, you get sick and call in or have to go home you're in more trouble.  Do either more than three times in a single month and you get written up.  Better forget about personal days, you don't get those and oh yes, if it's busy you might have to work on a holiday (sure you get paid extra, but is is really worth it?).   If you sign up for vacation, receive it and then mandatory overtime comes up you work it or get fired (you're completely replaceable, they'll have a temp taking your place in less than an hour). You cannot leave the premises at break so it's soggy microwaved food or endless sandwiches, just writing this makes me gag.  To add to all of this, it is also noisy and dirty, the dust sets off my allergies shortly after clocking in.  As you read this you might be thinking I'm writing about a factory in some developing country, but I'm not, this is happening in US where already a hundred years before workers were trying to abolish these labor practices.

I know I could leave, but where I would go I don't know.  Going to another factory would more than likely mean more of the same, retail or working in any kind of shop is out of the question.  All of the good jobs require years of experience regardless of education, or there is little turn over, or are too far away (I can't afford to move to another city right now and I am not at all an apartment dweller anyway and renting is like throwing money away, foolish if you ask me).

Eversharp Skyline Plastic Repairs

Disclaimer: Proceed at your own risk, I will not be held responsible to any damage you do to your pens.  Use common sense, if you don't feel competent enough to do these repairs don't do them.  Please send your pen off to a repair person.  Please keep in mind that sixty year old materials may be brittle due to age and sometimes a pen will just break even if you follow all the directions carefully.  Everyone who has repaired many pens can vouch for me.

It's time this information is spilled and widely available to those who do their own repairs.  Since nobody really let me know I could fix my Skyline this way I feel it's my duty to make it available.

I feel certain I can say that anyone or most who have encountered an Eversharp Skyline made of polystyrene or with parts made of the material (all of these pens have some polystyrene parts) has found these parts to be either warped, discolored or cracked.  Or if one hasn't had the fortune of coming to be in possession of one of these pens they certainly have heard of others having these issues with their pens.  Whatever way you look at it Eversharp Skyline plastics are fussy and prone to age related problems, but it should not stop one from wanting to own or using one of these pens.

Standard Eversharp Skyline with honey colored striated celluloid cap and army brown polystyrene barrel discolored to a darker shade of brown like oil or dark chocolate

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of repairing cracks in Skyline plastic I think it's worth taking a look at the history of this fountain pen and its designer, anyway some of this history is partially to blame for the  issues one encounters with these pens today.  Released in 1941 and remaining in production until 1950 the Eversharp Skyline took advantage of a newly developed plastic in its construction, the aforementioned polystyrene.  Being like any newly developed technology no one is exactly sure how well it is going to work or how well it will hold up in the long run.  Despite that the designers at Eversharp found that polystyrene was less labor intensive to form into pen parts than the celluloid and hard rubber previously used.  It could be injection moulded instead of having to be formed by hand on a lathe, which allowed the parts to be produced quickly and more cheaply.  Another point worth mentioning is that these pens were produced during the years which America was at war.  All across the nation the producers of civilian products, like pens cut production and the amount and quality of materials used, for the best had to go to the government for the war effort.  It would not be surprising if Eversharp used a lower grade plastic for their pens during these years so they could keep producing them and today they are a very commonly found pen if that says something.

Same pen without cap, note that the section and barrel match

Another note of interest is that the Eversharp hired famed industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss to design the Skyline.  Those with any design knowledge (I know this because once upon a time I thought was going to be a graphic designer and spent a year studying design) or even an interest in the time period should know that Dreyfuss also designed 500 desk telephone (what most people think of when you think of a 'real' phone that's wired into the wall), the Princess Telephone and the Trimline Phone (I still have one of these with a dial that's still in service) and many other common place household items.  Also he designed the streamlined shell that was placed over the NYC Hudson locomotives that pulled the 20th Century Limited.  This was what first came to mind when I discovered that Dreyfuss was responsible for designing the Skyline pen, the cap of the pen and the front and top line of the locomotive are nearly identical.  When I was little my grandfather had a model of the the 20th Century Limited and it was always more intriguing than the other model locomotives because of its sleek shape and light grey/blue livery and is something that's been burned in my memory ever since.

Dreyfuss'  NYC Hudson courtesy or Wikipedia

Now on to the repair information:  When I found my Eversharp Skyline in the wild it was in very good shape (save for discoloration and plating loss on the lever- another common problem with Skylines) and the sac even seemed like it was still good, I could lift the lever and the sac depressed.  To be sure I filled the pen with water and let it sit overnight to make sure there were no leaks.  Of course there was and this is where my problems began.  That afternoon I was determined to replace the sac and have the pen back in working order by that evening, it shouldn't be that difficult right?  It's just a simple lever filler and the plastic doesn't seem to have shrunk at all.  How wrong was I!  I proceeded by soaking the nib and section to remove old ink that could be cementing the section into the barrel and when it seemed clean as it was going to get I heated the section with a hair dryer- just standard procedure.  Then when I went to remove the section I heard something pop and with my heart dropping into the pit of my stomach I noticed a small crack in the barrel threads, now I had done it! @#$%!!!

Wondering what could be done I ran off to the internet and began doing a number of searches, which of course yielded nothing and I asked questions on the fountain pen forums which only lead to the answer of find a new barrel or a parts pen.  For some that may seem an okay proposition, but finding the right pen in the right color for the right price can be daunting and take months, anyway the damage on my pen barrel wasn't that bad.  Super glue and like adhesives are almost always out of the question for pen repairs and most of the time do more hurt and good.  Shellac can be used, but if I ever had to get the pen apart for any reason in the future the whole barrel would probably break into multiple pieces.  So, it was back to doing searches, which eventually led to some obscure web page or blog that I cannot recall the name of (this was over two years ago now), but the proprietor of the page claimed to have successfully repaired cracked polystyrene Eversharp Skylines with Tenax 7-R.  Knowing I had nothing to lose I went to the local hobby shop later in the week and bought a bottle of the stuff.  Putting two and two together and after reading the label on the Tenax bottle recalled to mind helping my kid brother when he was about 9-10 years old put together model planes and cars.  The plastic the models were made of was the same stuff as the Skyline barrel or something very similar.

Bottle of Tenax R-7 Space Age Plastic Welder.  It's not a glue, it's a solvent

To say the least it worked and worked very well.  I began by cleaning the crack in the barrel to be sure there was no ink residue or skin oils on the spot that was to be welded, I used dish soap for this, although diluted ammonia in water would work too.  After the spot was dry I simply held the crack closed with my fingers and with a tooth pick dripped the Tenax 7-R onto the crack inside and carefully on the outside.  It evaporates very quickly and you have to work fast, but also you only need a very small amount.  Follow the directions on the bottle.  For larger damage I would suggest using a syringe with a fine needle and maybe a small C-clamp padded with tape or rubber hose to hold parts together.  One small word of warning is Tenax will cause a small amount of discoloration to the plastic (it doesn't bother me because I used my pen, it's not a museum piece), while not that noticeable some may not like the look of it and it does become more apparent under certain lighting.  Other than that I have nothing but good to say about Tenax 7-R, I can hardly tell where the crack was in my pen barrel and the repair has been holding for what will be three years in early January this coming year.

Pen barrel was cracked in the threads right here.  Although the photo doesn't show the discoloration there is a small amount and the crack is not visible save for some small interruptions in the threads, which does not affect their function

To put the pen back together I followed slightly different procedures than I usually do.  First I put the section in the freezer to make it shrink smaller (knowing what I know now I don't suggest doing this because extreme cold can make plastic brittle, the fridge or a cool window sill in the winter it sufficient) and then applied really gentle heat to the section to expand it just a bit- just until it was warm to the touch.  The pen slipped easily back together with no further problems, although I wish I had not replaced the breather tube before shellacking the sac on because it has since come loose and is rattling around in the pen and getting in the way of the lever.  Since the Skyline is just a lever filler is does not need the breather tube.

Following directions on bottle will lead to best results

Thanks for reading.

Please feel free to ask questions.

New Posts Coming Soon

I just wanted to let everyone know I have not abandoned my blog.  With work and life in general it can be hard to find the extra time and ambition to keep on making regular posts.

Check back soon for a post on Eversharp Skyline plastics and repair.

Chortophaga Viridifasciata

What is it?  Want to know more?  There is more below the break.

Happy Birthday Charlie

Today would have been Charlie Chaplin's 124th birthday were he still here.  If I'm remembering right his actual birthday fell on a Tuesday, just like mine.  In wanting to keep this a simple tribute here are a few pictures.  After working the crazy hours I've been, I don't have much left to say.

Early 1920s

Older and looking very introspective.  From Discovering Chaplin Please take the time to check out this blog.

Some random silliness: My Charlie doll hanging out with some lady friends.

Give Them Now...

... And you'll receive thanks for (many, many, many) years to come.

A very prophetic ad for Parker Duofolds.  There are still loads of these pens around today and all they need is a new sac to be in working order again.  I've heard stories of people inheriting these pens from grandparents, great grandparents, a great aunt or uncle (unfortunately I'm not that lucky) and they are usually glad to have them and sometimes want to know more about them if they are new to the world of fountain pens.

1920s Duofold ad probably from National Geographic

I've had this ad for a few years now, I found it while digging through a bunch of other random ads at a local antique shop and the classic Parker logo jumped out at me.  I know there are some people out there who disapprove of tearing apart old magazines for ads and photos but I'm certain this is from National Geographic- you know most thrift stores have boxes of them for free when you come in because people hoarded so many of them they have little or no value.  The ad copy is all very true, no false advertising to be found here, well the non-breakable barrels part is a bit of a stretch, dropping most any nice pen on a hard surface will damage it and the Mandarin Yellow Duofolds crack if you look at them funny.  A very pricey pen at the time, but the Duofold was Parker's top of the line pen and still is today in some respects, although the prices now exceed what the listed were when inflation is taken into account.  It's really something how much care and thought used to go into print advertising, today you just get some generic photograph of the product, a few words and maybe a photo some generic-looking girl who has undergone a silicone beef up that society at large has deemed appealing (I think everyone can picture the type I'm taking about).

I also wanted to just stop in and show everyone I'm not dead.  In fact I've been really busy and haven't had much of any interest to blog about.  But I am pleased to write I'm now hired full time at a local branch of a nation wide printing company (thankfully not the one that is associated with a mailing company and has store fronts in strip malls, this is the real deal only interested in skilled labor and paying good wages), I work forty-eight hours a week Monday through Thursday so that doesn't leave me much free time during the week.  Despite this I'm going to try to make an effort to post more often.  Anyway what good is a blog if it just sits there with the same old posts for weeks on end?

Fountain Pens- Replacing a Lever Ring

Disclaimer: Proceed at your own risk, I will not be held responsible to any damage you do to your pens.  Use common sense, if you don't feel competent enough to do these repairs don't do them.  Please send your pen off to a repair person.  Please keep in mind that sixty year old materials may be brittle due to age and sometimes a pen will just break even if you follow all the directions carefully.  Everyone who has repaired many of pens can vouch for me.

This is one I've been toying with from almost the beginning, but first I wanted to do some posts about the basics before jumping right into some of the more complicated repairs, which most beginners will not face right away.  Anyway, I received this little pen for Christmas and I knew it would have a few problems but not this many.  Most obvious is the missing ring top tassie (the majority of Salz Peter Pan pens are fitted with them), also prior to taking the pen apart I noticed that the nib and feed were seated incorrectly (the feed was pushed to far into the section).  Upon opening the pen and cleaning it out first thing I noticed is the ring that holds the lever it place was corroded and broken.  Lifting the lever caused it to crumble and break.

Salz Bros Peter Pan fountain pen or Mister Stripy.  Lever and broken ring seen at bottom left of photo.

In order to keep this post short and to the point, I'm just going to say I acquired some replacement C-rings or split rings from an acquaintance.  None of them were the right size, they were made for Conway Stewart Dinky pens, which happen to be larger than Salz Peter Pan pens.  So, after much grumbling and wrecking several rings I was able to reshape one to fit inside this pen.

Rings, pen, lever and J-bar (what depresses the sac when you lift the lever)

After forming a ring to the right size and shape the next challenge was to get it inside the pen with the lever attached to it.  There are two methods of doing this, the first involves sliding the whole assemblage into the pen barrel and pushing the lever outside from inside the pen, but this only works with pens that have straight levers without a 'spooned' end.  For the second method the lever and ring are pushed into the pen from the outside, by positioning both inside the lever slot standing straight up and twisting (shown below).  This method is used for pens that have a lever with a spooned end that will not fit through the lever slot from the inside (which this pen has).  If you haven't already you'll have to remove the J-bar, I use a tweezers or hemostats depending on the size of the pen.  Grasp the end of the J-bar and pull straight out, do not rock it from side to side or you'll risk cracking your pen barrel.

Ring slipped through lever

Position lever and ring in lever slot like this, stand upward with bottom of lever inside the pen.  Press down gently and twist until seated correctly.

Inside nearly all, if not all pens that use a C-ring to hold the lever there will be a grove on the inside of the barrel that the ring fits in.  This groove keeps the lever and ring in place, so once the lever is seated, peek inside the pen to make sure the ring is completely in the groove and no parts are sticking out.  If it is sticking out the lever could shift and it could also cause wear to the sac.  If you need to manipulate the ring a small dental tool or something else similarly sized will work, I used a large straight pin since this pen is so small.

A large straight pin works well for positioning the ring and pushing in the J-bar

Once you are certain the ring is position as it should be you can put the pen back together.  J-bars can be pushed back inside with hemostats, small paint brush handles, or in my case the straight pin again.

J-bar and pen barrel

Start pushing in the J-bar with your fingers and finish with the tool of your choice

Even though I fixed this problem there are still several others that need taking care of until this pen is back in order.  The section cracked when I was trying to reseat the nib and feed correctly, so I'm having a new one turned and I should have it in a few weeks, along with the section for my Wahl Eversharp Doric.  And I still need to find the right tassie, but that one is going to take awhile.  If you happen to have an extra Peter Pan tassie please message me.

One warning:

While replacing a C-ring you are putting extra pressure on the weakest point in the pen's barrel, which happens to be the groove where the ring fits.  Please be careful, use only the amount of force needed and don't rush or else you could break your pen.

Feel free to ask questions.

...Adding to My Previous Post...

This photo is of Charlie around the time A Brother's Reflection is set.  From what I read, this was taken in his studio office at Lone Star Studios.

Charlie circa 1916- 1917.  Probably one of my favorite photos of him. *

 These other two are of Charlie and Syd, his older half-brother, who was really as much of a father figure to him as much as he was an older brother.  Growing up they were very close and continued to be into adulthood.  He was four years Charlie's senior.

This photo and the one above are borrowed from Jess or Discovering Chaplin - Please take the time to check out her blog sometime, there is a lot of information and gorgeous photographs.

* I cannot remember where I found this photo.  If it happens to be yours please contact me so I can give you credit.

A Brother's Reflection- An Answer About The Films Mentioned

To answer a question I was asked about the films mentioned in A Brother's Reflection: Yes both were real films produced by Charlie Chaplin in 1916 (The Pawnshop) and 1917 (The Adventurer).  It is also true that he liked to take his time while making films much to the ire of the company he was working for.  If an idea wasn't progressing well he would shut down filming for days sometimes while he worked out the first idea or developed a completely new scenario.  It wasn't until Charlie fulfilled his contract with First National that he was allowed to distribute his film through United Artists and take as long as he wished while filming.


Here are links to both the films.  These are better quality that what is available on Youtube, hence the links.

The Pawnshop

The Adventurer


Any other questions?  Feel free to ask and I'll try and find you an answer.

A Kitty in My Snowbank

Here's my silly kitty Cootie enjoying all the snow we have around these parts right now.  The last few weeks have been cold, today it was around 18 degrees (-8 C) yesterday it was cooler yet.

I'm working on getting the third part of The Groupie Story ready to post, at the moment it's to raw.  You see there is a fine line between trashy and classy and that line has been crossed just a little bit and I cannot let myself stoop to the levels I once did when I was younger.  Being wiser and more experienced than I was at the time I wrote this story, I now find trysts in literature more appealing if there is some mystique instead of lists of details and descriptions.

Please stay tuned.  I won't disappoint.

The Groupie Story- Continued

Here is Part Two for your enjoyment.


Please feel free to comment.  I started this blog to share with you and hear from you.  Opinions are always appreciated.

The Groupie Story

Technically this story is untitled and has been for several years now, since it was conceived in the spring of 2009.  Since its completion it has been simply known as The Groupie Story, or October 1969, which is was published under on my old Myspace page.  While only a short story, it set the stage for the novel that I am currently writing.

Without further ado, part one of The Groupie Story:

A Word About (supposedly) Silicone Pen Sacs

Word in the fountain pen community says the silicone sacs we have been purchasing for years really are not pure silicone, they contain.... vinyl!  What's wrong with vinyl you might ask?  Much is wrong with is, not only is soft vinyl somewhat toxic (plasticizer leech, phthalates anyone?) it has the ability to melt and destroy other types of plastic, celluloid and polystyrene are amongst these and most pens are made of those.  You might remember this having happened with some your toys when you were a child, you haphazardly toss your toys in the toy box and a soft vinyl toy happens to come to rest on top of one made of a hard plastic.  You go on vacation for a week and come back to find that the vinyl toy has melted the hard plastic toy where they touched.  Or maybe as you grew up you stored some of your childhood toys together, hoping that someday you would be able to pass them along to another child?  Maybe you take that box down when you find out someone in the family has a kid who might enjoy those toys, only to find some of them have melt marks and gummy plastic, maybe a toy containing both vinyl and hard plastic parts is in the process of self-destruction (dolls and action figures with vinyl heads and limbs and hard plastic bodies).  It's not always a process that will take place over night or even over a few years time.  This is what can happen to your pens if you leave the vinyl containing sac inside, so it's best to remove them while there is still time.

Today I removed all the vinyl sacs from my pens and I didn't find any damage, which is good considering some of these sacs have been in a pen for about six years.

Right now the only place to buy pure silicone sacs is:

http://www.vintagepens.com/catill_nibs_parts.shtml   (no affiliation)

They are only available in limited sizes right now, but the proprietor is working on making other sizes available.

You might also want to watch this:

Suspect Silicone Sacs: removed from my pens, the one on the right looks suspect to vinyl deterioration

All of this makes me wonder if pen sacs could also be made from TPE.  It's a plastic that is used in medical devices and implants and looks and feels much like silicone.

Exploded View of Parker Duofold

A look at a very popular, well designed and engineered fountain pen.

Parker Duofold Jr

Part of the beauty of the Duofold's design is that it is easily broken down into it's most basic components.  There is no need for any special tools (like an inner cap puller) to take this pen apart, this allows for damaged parts to be replaced easily.  The Duofold is also one of the simplest pens to repair, first you remove the blind cap at the end of the barrel and pull the button straight up and out without rocking it side to side (that could crack the blind cap nipple).  Next the pressure bar is eased out, they are designed to fit through the hole that the button is placed in.  After that you can open the pen, the threaded section makes it very easy to do.  Although it should be noted that 'streamlined' Duofolds have a friction fit section.

Streamlined Duofold Jr: the only difference is the friction fit section and the slightly tapered,  rounded off ends.  This pen also still has its original factory three-part pressure bar.

Duofolds were streamlined sometime around 1929 in an attempt to keep up appearances, competing pen makers had come out with radically streamlined pens and Parker wanted in on the action while retaining the Duofold's classic shape.  This pen model introduced sometime in 1921, although there was a similar model pen, the Parker Jack-Knife Safety that debuted in the late teens, utilizing the same basic shape and filling system.  The first Duofolds were made of hard rubber in either Chinese Lacquer Red (more burnt orange than anything, earned the pen the name Big Red), and plain black.  Celluloid or Permanite pens as Parker called it came out around 1925.  The Duofold was released in several sizes throughout the time it was on the market, oversize, junior (standard), a ladies ring top pen and a mens vest pocket ring top, there were also several variations on cap bands, the double band seen on the pens above being the most common.  Being a popular model the Duofold was on the market as a button filler until 1940, when is was drastically redesigned and released as a Vacumatic filler (more on Parker Vacumatics in a future post).

Left: Streamlined Duofold friction fit section.  Right: Original (flat-top) threaded section.

How Does it Work?

When the button is pressed, the pressure bar is forced down and bows outward, depressing the sac.  It's a very fool proof and failure proof filling system as there is little in the way of moving parts that can break.  When the button is released the bar goes straight allowing the sac to take in ink.  The original factory pressure bars have a lip that rests on the blind cap nipple, which holds the bar in place.  The new replacement are longer and rest against the section of the pen.

New Two Part Replacement Duofold Pressure Bar: When the button is pressed, the bar bows out depressing the sac.

Duofold Jr. seen above back together

Several Different Models- L to R: Flat-top 'True Blue' long, jade green Jr. streamlined, red flat-top Jr., chased hard rubber Deluxe Lady Duofold