PDA

View Full Version : UK Parker Slimfold



Jeph
January 26th, 2014, 12:37 PM
I asked my friend Rui (RuiFromUK here) to find me a pen. The requirements were it needed to be from the UK, not be big, not be black and it would be a bonus if it had an interesting nib. It was also supposed to be cheap, but I think that he cheated a little bit on that part.

What I received was this beautiful red UK Parker Slimfold from the 1950’s. It was British, it was not black, it fit in my shirt pocket perfectly, and it had a 14K Parker nib. But not just any 14K nib, this was no less than a 1.0mm oblique stub. Wow. I dipped it and tried the nib. WOW! Ohhh that was nice. Sure the pen shows its age a little bit, but that only makes it better as a user pen for me. There is a Parker Slimfold England imprint on the barrel, but you need a loupe, the right angle of light, the right amount of eye squint and prior knowledge of what the imprint says to be able to see it. I was not able to get a picture of it. That still did not matter. As I was looking over the pen again, I noticed that it looked like the nib was seated about 0.1mm too far back on the feed. Hmmm. Well, I knew how to fix that. When I looked back down at my work area the entire pen was taken apart to its component parts on my work area. I am not sure how that happened. I guess it was reflex. It did not matter as now I was committed. I invite the casual reader to jump ahead to the pictures now. For the rest of you, please buckle up as this ride is leaving the station.

I initially thought that a new black sac had been installed. It was not until I looked at it closely that I saw that it was the original Pli-Glass sac stained dark. The sac was showing its age but was serviceable. I decided that I would replace it since it was already apart. I noticed that the sac nipple on the back of the section had a curved crack from the end all the way to the base of the nipple. I though that this would make a good test for solvent welding and proceeded to wipe down the section. But, I stand of my cleaning cloth caught the corner of the cracked nipple and snapped off instantly. I did not even notice it when it happened. I saw it as I went to put the section down and then saw the shard lying nearby. The material if the sac nipple had become very brittle.

I put that out of my mind and turned my attention to finding a replacement sac. I quickly saw that this was going to be harder than I thought. The only Pli-Glass (PVC) sacs being reproduced are for the Parker 51 aerometric fillers by the Pen Sac Company and David Nishimura. That sac is something like 17 1/2 x 2 ¼ and clearly will not fit. There was another necked sac defined as 15 x 2 1/4 NT that I thought might work but was not sure. I spent a few days prowling the internet and just could not find an exact match. So I got my bag full of replacement sacs to see what size the throat should be. Holding a rubber sac an inch back from the edge (not trying to force the sac onto the nipple) I pressed a sac against the nipple and another piece broke off. Well this is not good at all. It was time to adjust fire.

I toyed with several ideas but the plan I decided to try was to install a larger sac on the land that the sac guard mounted. I measure the ID of the sac cage and it was 6.25 mm. The OD of the ribbed cage land was 6.1 mm. I had determined that a #12 sac fit on the original sac nipple but gave up a ton of volume. I could probably get a #13 to work if I used enough shellac. Both a #15 and #16 sacs would fit in the closed portion of the cage but were too big to fit within the tapered open area where the pressure bar was. So a #14 sac was the choice by default. I measured the thickness of a flattened #14 sac and the thickness was .75 mm. I compressed the sac until just before it became distressed (started turning grey) and the thickness was .50 mm. The plan was to shellac the sac onto the land and then install the sac cage dry over the sac with an interference fit to hold it into place.

To accomplish this I took out a piece of sandpaper and started turning down the sac cage land. With the ribs removed the OD was an even 6 mm. I continued sanding and noticed that the natural variation of pressure was taking less material near the threads as I was at the end of the surface. I decided that was a good idea because my greatest concern was that the sac would tear right at the back of where the section ended. By tapering the OD of the mounting land it should reduce the stress on the sac and hopefully make it last. So I tapered the surface to have a 5.5 mm OD near the end so that there was near zero interference and 5.75 mm OD near the threads so that the sac was completely compressed and not only held in place but held the sac cage in place. After a few test runs using the portion of the sac that would get trimmed away, I discovered that the thickness of the shellac was enough to cause problems. So I shaved another .05 mm from the last portion near the threads but left a ridge behind that at the original 5.75 using a toothpick wrapped in 600 grit sandpaper. I did a few more test runs and everything appeared to work. I cut the #14 sac to size and placed it on the section for a day to get used to being in that state. I did a few trial runs the next day and decided I was ready. I warmed up the sac, applied the shellac and slid the sac into place. Then I quickly put a light dusting of talc on the sac, then pulled the sac cage into place. This was not a simple operation. From my practice sessions I determined that the optimal method of installation was as follows: I put the cage over the sac, and then pulled the sac clear of the pressure bar. I gripped the sac with the thumb and forefinger of my right hand. The other fingers on the right hand kept the sac cage aligned with the section. I placed the end of the section flush against my left palm and gripped the cage at the back of the cylindrical section with the thumb and forefinger of my left hand. Pulling back on the sac with my right hand, I pulled the cage into place with my left. I had done it with no sac protruding out the front of the cage during practice but of course when it counted there was some extrusion. I folded that back over the cage, pressed everything home and then trimmed the excess away with an X-acto knife. So far this arrangement still works.

Of course, because of my shenanigans with the sac installation I could not install the nib and feed like I normally would prior to installation of the sac. The capillary tube at the back of the feed had a very good chance of getting broken in the process. I had already cleaned the capillary tube with a piece of .020 safety wire so I was not really worried. I had taken a lot of ink out of the section bore during cleaning but I was not concerned. I should have been. When I installed the nib and feed, the feed bottomed against the end of the section but the nib just flopped around wherever it wanted to. The ID had worn enough to cause a loose fit and taking out all of that ink only made it worse. I did not need much, but I did need some. So I took some Tamiya “extra small” triangular modeling q-tips and applied a thin layer of shellac to the ID of the forward half of the section. I let it dry at least 12 hours (I did not want to accidentally glue the nib and feed into the section) and re-checked. It took 3 days to recover enough to provide a snug fit. Whew! I was well over 60 hours of effort at this point but it was finally worth the effort. It worked!

And it continued to work for an entire 2 1/2 lines. And then it ran dry. Bone dry. Which could only mean that all that effort on reconstructing the filling system was a complete catastrophe. With a deep sigh I grabbed my ink rag and carefully unscrewed the barrel. And there was no ink anywhere but within the sac where it should be. ??? Looking at the nib again I noticed that it was lifted off the end of the feed. OK, that explains it. I know that a lot of people would immediately start deforming their feeds at this point but I knew that the nib had been sitting too far back on the feed and that forced the tines up. The feed was the original feed for this pen and this nib and there was no good reason to abuse it. I decided to straighten the nib but I knew what that meant and put the pen away to wait for another day. Starting a frustrating procedure already frustrated is not a good idea. I took my patience from my toolbox and put everything else back in and turned off the light.

The next day (today) I decided to straighten the nib. I have some experience with straightening nibs and I know just how bad it can be. This nib was not off much though and I was confident that as long as I went slowly that I could get it done. I did not try to delude myself that it was going to be anything other than a new form of torture trying to straighten an oblique stub which I had never tried before. I worked up my resolve and then got to work. I pulled the nib and feed and verified my earlier findings. I made my plan and ever so carefully started straightening. And two bends and 5 minutes later it was finished. Um, what? I triple checked. Perfect. I took a break and then came back and checked again. Perfect. Hmmm, well time for the ultimate test. I installed the nib and feed. The tines needed some alignment after installation but the gap was still gone. Super. I did a writing sample. There were no problems. The flow was juicy wet but not quite a gusher, just as it had been before. I wrote a few more lines with no problems. The lines that the nib puts down are just impressive if you hold the pen correctly. I decided to try it again with flex. With flex the lines were just wonder… wait, what? Dry. Bone dry. Again. WTF?! I looked at the nib. The gap was back. Instead of pulling the nib again I just gently rolled it inverted against an eraser while pressing on the feed. The gap was gone. Writing sample: Perfect for an entire paragraph. I checked the nib and there was no gap. I tried another writing sample with flex and it immediately went dry. Now that I thought about it, I had tried flex the first time that it went dry also. I looked at the nib and the gap was back. The nib was not moving, the tines were taking a permanent set every time I applied pressure. I did it a dozen times with the same result. I guess that this nib has had a hard life. It is now absolutely dead soft. And pressure will cause permanent deformation. But, if you don’t apply ANY pressure it writes like a dream all day long. I have never seen that before but that is a limitation that I can live with. When I write with the pen without pressure it is just an absolute joy to use. I consider the restoration complete.

So, in summary, this is just what I wanted and better than I hoped it could be. The no pressure aspect might actually help my handwriting. And I don’t have many pens that make me look back at what I have written to see what nice line variation it has produced. It is like calligraphy without intent (or control) and I like it. This pen has more potential than I can probably ever realize. So a very big thank you to Rui for giving me such a challenging project that was not so hard that it beat me but was difficult enough that the rewards are that much sweeter. In your honor I inked it with what I call a combination of the green from the Portuguese flag and British Racing Green: Diamine Sherwood Green. (Yes I already had the ink before the pen arrived and it is not a perfect combination of those two colors but I have to take some artistic license somewhere.) I love the pen. I hope that you all enjoyed the story at least slightly more than I did living it.

Slimfold Dimensions

Length Capped 125 mm 4.91 in. 4 7/8 "
Posted Length 144 mm 5.66 in. 5 2/3 "
Unposted length 112 mm 4.40 in. 4 3/8 "
Cap Length 59 mm 2.33 in. 2 1/3 "
Section Length 15.0 mm .59 in. 9/16"
Barrel Max Dia 10.3 mm .41 in. 13/32"
Section Min Dia 7.6 mm .30 in. 5/16"

922192229223922492259226922792289229

Paul-H
January 26th, 2014, 02:57 PM
Those little Slimfolds where very nice pens, just a shame they no longer have any value to them, well over here they don't, don't think I have ever seen one sell for more than £10 and that was for a full restored example.

Shame as they are a nice historic example of Parker England's Production.

Paul

Jeph
January 27th, 2014, 01:20 AM
I am pretty sure that the lack of replacement sacs keeps them from holding much value. And there is really not enough demand to make the investment in tooling to make the sacs ever pay off. :(


My home scanner hates me, so I am added a scanned version of the writing sample for that it shows the color and shading better.

9268

subramaniyam
January 27th, 2014, 02:03 AM
superb thread. had a wonderful time reading it and looking at the pics. Certainly an avant-garde job!

Regards,
Sub

View from the Loft
January 27th, 2014, 05:37 AM
Nice job. I'm currently using my black Slimfold with a broad stub nib. Great little pen, still on the original pli-glass sac, but I can see the ink level -so a really useful pen.

Rui has a talent for finding unusual pens.

Deb
January 27th, 2014, 08:42 AM
[QUOTE=Jeph;63458]I am pretty sure that the lack of replacement sacs keeps them from holding much value.
/QUOTE]

I don't think that's the problem. The sacs are pli-glass and only very rarely need replaced. It may be that they are seen as being a little bland. Also, their length and girth, while perfectly acceptable in the nineteen-fifties and sixties, may be seen as too small by many buyers nowadays. People seem to want bigger pens.

KrazyIvan
January 27th, 2014, 10:10 AM
In any case, that just leave more of them to be had for cheap. I enjoy my black version.

Ernst Bitterman
January 31st, 2014, 01:05 PM
Something to be wary of-- the caps are also pretty brittle. But they are very sweet-writing pens indeed.

RuiFromUK
February 12th, 2014, 02:23 AM
Hi Jeph,

Only today I recalled that you were going to create a post about this pen as I was away at the time you did the posting. After reading the whole post I realise that not only you are a very patient pen repairer but also an excellent writer who managed a great stor out of your pen restauration adventure.

"It was also supposed to be cheap, but I think that he cheated a little bit on that part." - that is what friends are for. No worries about this though as pen is now in very goods hands who appreciate it totally.

"So a very big thank you to Rui for giving me such a challenging project that was not so hard that it beat me but was difficult enough that the rewards are that much sweeter." - Apologies for having given you so many headaches but looking at the final results I believe I did the right thing to have given you that pen as you are probably one of few people I know that would embark such a project successfully to the end. The pen as it is now is really beautiful (although it was already a stunner with its nib) and I am really impressed with what you did with the feed to fit the new sac.

As Deb said it is a pity that many users nowadays prefer bigger pens when there are many beautiful and excellent writers like this Slimfold. I have a variety of pens as you know and with smallish hands I tend to prefer smaller pens although my aim of getting eventually a Pelikan M1000 has still not left my mind but that will be for collection completion sake only when time comes.

Since I have noticed you actually enjoyed such an adventure I promise that the next pen I get you will be at least as challenging! :jaw:

Kind regards,

Rui

cedargirl
February 12th, 2014, 07:07 PM
I have a couple or three of these Slimfolds - they are a delight to use.
Thanks for sharing your saga. I'm sure it will come in very useful for me at some time in the future!

amk
February 13th, 2014, 01:38 PM
Slimfolds are marvellous little pens. They're very boring as regard the barrel and cap, but overcompensate in nibbage - terrific little writers. I've acquired mine through luck as there always seems to be one in a mixed lot, and I love them all.

Jeph
March 1st, 2014, 03:02 PM
Because I was curious I went ahead and ordered a 16 ½ x 2 ¼ NT sac to see how close the fit would have been. As you can see in the pictures it was pretty close but it would not have worked. The mouth of the new sac is far too large to fit properly on the section sac nipple. There was also not enough taper to fit within the sac cage. In case anyone is curious in the future, now you know.

1022010221