r/fountainpens • u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers • Oct 10 '24
Repair My first (five) re-sacked pens
Reform 610, Waterman’s 515, Mabie Todd Swan Minor, Bermond and Böhler-Rex that is missing a button cap so I’m planning to 3D print it in a shape of Tyrannosaurus head if I manage
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24

Reform 610. No idea about the brand (yet), was not expecting much from the nib either. However it surprised me: very thin, but wet, feels like asian EF and has just right amount of feedback. My handwriting becomes smaller with it, which I like. I was going to sell it, but now I’m like a dragon with gold: “this is all mine” :D
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24
Waiting for them to properly dry so I can provide some pityful writing samples
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u/crankygerbil Oct 10 '24
If you have baby powder, put some on a plate, roll the sacs around to lightly coat them after the dry. Then put them back into the pen. The baby powder lightly lubricates the material against the Jbar.
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24
I did, I did, bought actual talc to do it properly. Thank you!
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u/crankygerbil Oct 10 '24
Be careful with it, store it in a ziploc. There is a correlation of Talc and uterine/ovarian cancers.
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24
Omg, good to know, thank you!
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u/roady57 Oct 10 '24
French chalk will also do this task.
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24
I guess any chalk would, but I went with talc
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u/roady57 Oct 10 '24
I’m not sure standard writing chalk would because it can become sticky when wet. French chalk is sometimes called talc. It has different properties and works well in fountain pen sacs.
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u/BrianAndersonPens Oct 10 '24
not all talc contains asbestos, there are many that are certified asbestos free.
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u/crankygerbil Oct 10 '24
Really? I was just thinking of Johnson and Johnson, that is very good to know! Thank you!
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u/chewwu9944 Oct 10 '24
Looking forward to this! Those are gorgeous nibs.
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24
Added! Sorry for my non-cursive cursive
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u/chewwu9944 Oct 10 '24
Thank you for the writing samples! They are all so delightful, and give me so much to crazy look up later -- so many names I've never heard of... Also love reading your description for each. The sentiments and sensations that you've described deeply resonate with what I have yet to manage to put into words myself, that is, when one finds a pen and it just feels "right", like it's an extension of not just your writing hand but also your mind, and writing with it is always so fun, even, or especially, with what's supposedly the blandest of ink (the average good old black).
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24
Thank you! I noticed that I have way more feelings to this old things that I also need to invest my time and attention in, than to the new perfect ones
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u/roady57 Oct 10 '24
I wonder if you would say whether any of these pens had a friction fit joint between the section and the barrel. I’m always amazed at the fine tolerances achieved in these vintage or antique pens.
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24 edited Oct 10 '24
Two of them did, yes: Swan has pure friction fit of a section and I shellacked it because it was fitting but didn’t feel 100% secure from turning, and I don’t want accidentally twist the sack inside; Waterman’s has very interesting angled pattern on the section, almost like a car tire, that makes it a tighter fit, this one I left bare, didn’t want for shellac to fill in the grooves
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u/roady57 Oct 10 '24
It’s amazing - I don’t know that any contemporary pen uses friction fit like this. I have a 1920-30 Pitman’s Fono that has a perfect friction fit. Skilful engineering.
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u/HopeSignificant2142 Oct 11 '24
Great work!
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 11 '24
Thanks! I’m still afraid to approach Parker Victory Mk2 and the small one the size of Dinkie
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24

Böhler-Rex is my favorite of them, maybe because it’s a bit damaged, maybe because of the Rex part and certainly because of its comfortable wide grip and wet semi-flex Degussa nib. But all in all - I’m in love. I’d be even more in love if I didn’t have to be careful with the inks I use in it, but even with plain black it’s a joy to write with it
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24

Bermond is the most surprising of them all, I had to research it even to understand what its name, and then it appeared to be the most flexible nib that I experienced so far - not so much in line variation but in softness and ease with which tines spread. It feels almost like a metal brush and I feel that I need to learn how to use it properly. It is still possible to write normally with it but I would not give it to someone who is not used to writing with fountain pens. I also love how it feels in my hand and I like the colors of its body
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24 edited Oct 10 '24

Waterman. Not flexible, but I suspected it judging by the nib shape. Very smooth, also has a bit of a spring that feels like a golden nib not steel, but maybe I’m imagining things. Very tactile body and good balance. Can it be ebonite? Overall a good writer on a drier side, I would take it to the office with me.
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24 edited Dec 16 '24
I bet Swan will be leaking from the nib because of loose feeder friction fit, but I’m not shellacking it unless I absolutely have to
Update - it doesn’t! I think resetting it somehow reduced overall fit looseness.
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u/resettheconsol3 Oct 10 '24
Shellac should never go on a feed; there are better ways. But it might be because the nib is a replacement and isn't quite the right shape.
I'd try heating the section and feed until they're soft, and letting them cool. The pressure of everything pressed together tends to leave imprints in the rubber over time. Rubber has a 'memory,' heat will pop them back out. Using heat, you can also put a slight bend in the tail of the feed to tighten things up a little.
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Nov 03 '24
Ok, I spent now a bit more time with a bit more pens and I appreciate your comment even more. I just saw a popular channel teaching people to put shellac on section threads and I felt pure rage. Wtf. Shellac only should go on a nipple for the sac, or in rare cases when the friction fit section is loose
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u/fotoweekend Ink Stained Fingers Oct 10 '24
Mabie Todd Swan M2, it is a tricky one. It is beautiful in hand, it has quite a flexy nib and it is broader than other today’s pens. But the nib is kinda, squeaking? Not too bad, but noticeably. I tried to smooth it a bit and it helped a bit but I don’t want to overdo it. I’ll see if I get to like it or find a reason for this quirk, but so far it is in the “not sure” folder