This site is devoted to the understanding and repair of vintage and classic fountain pens. I am no longer offering a repair service; it is my intention to provide the information and tools required for repair and to encourage people to do their own repairs.
Collecting fountain pens and the study of their history is an absorbing activity, but for me nothing quite matches the satisfaction of restoring pens to their original operating condition. Only by handling a pen and using it in the manner originally intended can you recapture an appreciation of the quality of the instrument, and in your imagination, the various people who have written with it over the years.
Pen Repair Books
1. Pen Repair (Marshall and Oldfield).
The second edition has a new cover system of full Canadian spiral.
Most of the new pages (70) describe repair procedures for pens not included in the first edition; these include A A Waterman twist fill, Chilton, Dunn, Eagle, Esterbrook, Eversharp Skyline, 5th Avenue, Decoband and Oxford, Glass nibbed pens, Japanese piston, Waterman and Swan eyedroppers, Waterman pump, Onoto Minor, Soennecken, Swan New York Visofil, Mentmore and Platignum piston, Stylographic pens, Demonstrators, and Eversharp, Onoto and Yard-o-led pencils.
In addition there is more basic data, including threads and step by step procedures for making sections.
The price of the second edition is £30. Post and packing to the UK is £5, to Europe £8 and to the rest of the world £14. Please add £1 if you are using Paypal.
I will sign your book if you request it.
For sample pages and ordering information, click the Pen Repair Books link.
2. Onoto Pen Repair (Crook, Hull, Marshall and Oldfield)
Site updates:
25 January. New design nib block.
06 February. A few more Onotos for sale
26 April, Re-wording home page.
Sudoku Solver
This will provide you with an assessment of how difficult the puzzle is, and it will solve all the 9 by 9 puzzles that I have tried. If you would like a copy of my solver (written in Fortran!) please drop me an e-mail and let me know the operating system you have.
Free counters provided by Andale.
Svanstrom Crystal (Conway 700)
My main interest is in pens that are generally regarded as difficult to restore,
including De La Rue Onoto piston fillers, Parker Vacumatics, Sheaffer Vac-fill, Eversharp
piston fillers, Sheaffer Touchdown and PFM, Swan Visofil, Blackbird Topfill, Ford
piston fillers, Waterman safety pens, Conway Stewart piston fillers etc.
Restored pens are offered for sale. Many letters of appreciation have been received
(see ‘Testimonials’).
I intend to devote more time to writing technical articles (which will be added to
those already existing in the technical section of this site), and to the development
of new design repair tools that will make easier some of the more daunting repair
tasks.
The book was produced in honour of Arthur Twydle (the UK pen guru). Arthur was starting
work on the book with our cooperation at the time of his death, so we have completed
it and added as many of his hints and tips as we can remember. The book now has
264 pages in full colour depicting all aspects of pen repair. The three sections
cover general topics, specific pens (such as Vacumatic, VacFill, Swan Visofil etc.)
and advanced topics such as nib work, cap lip replacement, plating, threads, machines
and equipment etc.
Since writing Pen Repair, we have realised that the enormous interest in Onoto pens
has justified the writing of another book to include far more information than it
was possible to put in the first one. Steve Hull has shared his knowledge of Onoto
history and Peter Crook has contributed engineeering expertise. The 34 page high
quality full colour publication covers all aspects of Onoto pens that we are aware
of.
The price is £10. Post and packing to the UK is £2, to Europe £3 and to the rest
of the world £4.
