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View Full Version : Repairing $11 pocket pen



HrVanker
December 8th, 2019, 09:55 PM
So, I am fairly new to fountain pens. I bought this pocket/travel pen because it's easy to throw in my pocket. Very soon after receiving it, a leak appeared where the nib/feed meets the pen body. After further investigation, the plastic piece that the piston converter attaches to is cracked as well.

I may shop around for some other, nicer pens. But I really like the form factor of this guy. I can just loop it through my moleskine's elastic and ribbon to hold it. How would I go about finding a feed/nib to fit? I don't see any brands or sizes on either piece. However, the diameter of the feed is just under 1/4" so about 6mm.

Any tips or info would be appreciated! If anybody has recommendations regarding small travel fountain pens, please don't hesitate to chime in.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191209/34283dc510581709b82ef9ef10d43aeb.jpg

azkid
December 8th, 2019, 10:33 PM
Hmm. Well... I think the time and money you would spend trying to repair this pen would probably be better spent finding and buying a pen in a similar form factor from a major brand.

There really aren't standard parts and getting replacements for this one is probably impossible. And if this one cracked the next one will too (lesson learned from four Wing Sung 3003 pens that all broke in the same way).

So it becomes a difficult search to cobble together parts from various sources. And how that usually plays out for me is I end up buying two or three parts before I find one that works... And even then, not that well. So it ends up costing way more than the pen is worth and I still have a train wreck when I'm done.

So that's why I suggest a new, much better pen.

If you provide specs on length and barrel diameter we might be able to point you in a direction.

Meanwhile you might want to browse Pen Chalet for possible options. They have major brand pens from $10 and up.

I would think any Pilot, Platinum, or Kaweco would be quite good.

Also worth looking at: Jet Pens, Goulet Pens, and Endless Pens.

HrVanker
December 17th, 2019, 10:51 AM
The point you make about standardized parts was my fear. Given the online community that exists around pens/fountain pens, I'm sure someone would have compiled that information if it existed. And I couldn't find it.

This pen is 11mm diameter, 105mm capped length, 126mm posted. The cap is a screw on cap.

I'll check out some of the sites you mentioned. I've looked at Pilot, and briefly at Goulet. I was under the impression that the Pilot pens were proprietary cartridges only, and I have a few bottles of ink that I would like to use.

Deb
December 17th, 2019, 11:37 AM
Yes, Pilots do use propietary cartridges but converters are available.

calamus
December 17th, 2019, 03:39 PM
There are several different proprietary Pilot converters available. One of them, the CON-70, only fits the longest models of Pilots. The CON-40 and CON-50 and their squeeze converter fits most of their regular-sized pens.

You might want to look at a Pilot Prera. jetpens.com has them for $32 (they're $56 at Pen Chalet and at Goulet Pen Company). They're about 119 or 120mm capped and about 135mm posted, so a little longer. Girth is 11 or 12mm, so quite close to your $11 pen. And they write like a dream and are very dependable. (They take a CON-40 or CON--50 or squeeze converter.)

BTW, I really like jetpens.com, and buy a lot of ink in particular from them. They offer free shipping on orders over $25, have some of the best prices I've seen, good selection, and they're very reputable. As you probably know, there are a lot of counterfeit and gray market pens on Amazon, particularly among those with the best prices.