Q: un-converting an eyedropper

[h4nkw]

Hi,

This might be a dumb question, and isn't technically about pen repair. Can an eyedropper-converted pen be un-converted? Internet searches just yeild thousands of eyedropper conversion pages whose instructions stop once it's converted. I eyedropper-converted my FC m20 and the section and barrel appear stuck to each other and I don't want to apply excessive force.

Thanks in advance!
H.

[Jon Szanto]

Well, if you only used silicone grease to keep the threads from leaking, you shouldn't have any problem taking them apart. I'd suggest gentle dry heat, a hair dryer on low, and not too close to the pen; occasionally touch the pen to your lips, because if it is too hot to put on your lips, you are getting the pen too hot. After it is apart, you should clean as much of the grease off with paper towel (one only needs a tiny amount of the stuff to make a seal, but I don't know how much you put on. After you feel like you've gotten as much as you can, you might put a little Windex on a paper towel to take off any ink remaining. Then you can just insert your cartridge or converter and off you go.

Depending on the ink and grease, you might have a hard time with staining in the threads, but hopefully not. If so, repeated overnight soaks of just the affected areas in water with either a little dish soap or clear ammonia may help, and it may take a few times to clean. Of course, that is just if the pen is transparent or a light color!

[h4nkw]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot and proceed cautiously.

[FredRydr]

Once apart, a test-tube brush on the threads helps clean-up a lot.

Fred

[Woody]

Interesting. I use eye droppers all the time and never had the problem. I think Jon has some of the best solutions. I always clean my pens thoroughly in ammonia and dish soap. Perhaps the threads are stripped, or something is locked in the threads. Just a comment. Almost all the time the threads should move. I have seen grease harden just a bit, but not to the point of being stuck. Soak and try, and soak again.

[inklord]

Interesting. I use eye droppers all the time and never had the problem. I think Jon has some of the best solutions. I always clean my pens thoroughly in ammonia and dish soap. Perhaps the threads are stripped, or something is locked in the threads. Just a comment. Almost all the time the threads should move. I have seen grease harden just a bit, but not to the point of being stuck. Soak and try, and soak again.
Same here - I switch my Model 20 back and forth between eyedropper and converter all the time, and never had to do more than rinde and dry the barrel and section after eyedropper use. In the case of F-C and Edison pens, the term "conversion" is actually a bit misleading, since you only apply a bit of Silicone Grease to the threads to effect a seal between components... not really a conversion, and utterly reversible with abovementioned procedures!

[ac12]

It is possible that dried ink has cemented the section to the barrel, similar to how the Esterbrook nib assembly gets cemented to the section by dried ink.
Since the section is stuck to the barrel, unless you can remove the nib (is it a screw in assembly?), you can't get any water inside the pen to dissolve the ink from the inside.

[h4nkw]

Thanks for the extra advice everyone. Yeah, since a blow-dryer didn't work (I erred on the side of caution so maybe I didn't heat it enough) I'll try soaking for awhile. The nib/feed unit is possible to screw out, and I wouldn't actually care except that I can't fit the converter in because the width of the section is just narrow enough at its narrowest point that it won't fit.

It's hard to tell if there's any ink in the threads because there's so little discolouration, but it's certainly possible. I'll keep trying