Position of lever when re-assembling pen

[Craig Ruhl]

I have drawn a blank here. Maybe senioritis has set in, but I cannot remember the correct position of the lever on lever pens when reassembling. Should the lever be "on top" as the pen is held to write? Should it align with the nib? It seems like each of the pens I have in my collection have the levers in different positions. What is correct and why is it correct? Thanks!

Craig

[Jon Szanto]

TBH, I think there is a lot of credibility to the concept that it is mainly personal preference. Me? I like to line the breather hole of the nib up with the lever, so I have mine on top, but I know some people like the clean, uncluttered look of the barrel without the lever showing (i.e. on the underneath). I'll be interested to see it there is either consensus or strong evidence for a "right" way.

[Paul-H]

I always put mine on top, unless its a screw in section then it goes where the thread says it goes ;)

Paul

[Deb]

I always put mine on top, unless its a screw in section then it goes where the thread says it goes ;)

Paul

Likewise.

[ardgedee]

I like it aligned with the top of the nib, because it helps identify the nib position when capped. And because sometimes the lever isn't fully flush with the barrel, so ensuring it's not going to rub against my hand is good.

[Craig Ruhl]

Thanks everyone for the responses. The pen I am re-assembling is a friction fit barrel to section, so the lever can go wherever I want. After an overnight of thought, I think I prefer the lever on top. I agree about the screw pens and that the lever lines up where it lines up :-)

Craig

[jar]

I always liked the lever to be offset from the clip. It is the assembled capped orientation and not the lever nib orientation I found important and the reason was to make sure the lever never caught on my pocket edge when I put it away. It was too easy to stick it in the pocket only to realize why it stopped halfway in.

[RayCornett]

Personal preference. Many collectors prefer the nib and lever line up whenever possible. I prefer that myself and that is how I return the ones I restore but it's up to you.

[mhosea]

I wish I could always line the nib, lever, and clip, all three, but I usually settle for the lever and nib because I can line them all up when I post. The Sheaffers with metal threads like the later Crest lever fillers are easy because the barrel threads themselves can be adjusted. When the threads are cut into the barrel, rather, I can think of ways to align the three when they don't come out that way naturally, but all of them seem like efforts disproportionate to the "problem". Jar has a good point for practical purposes, so maybe when the lever lines up with the nib (gravity holds it down even if it has a little looseness due to wear or whatever) but doesn't ever line up with the clip it is ideal in practical sense. However, since most caps have at least 3 thread starts, it is possible to offset the clip from the lever even when they are aligned, at the expense of unscrewing the cap to find the next thread start if they happen to line up when you screw on the cap.

[Chi Town]

In my opinion, I have Always aligned it with the tip of the nib! To me that is how a professional job is supposed to look :-)

[AndyT]

Because a fountain pen doesn't look right without a lever, I prefer it on top rather than hidden away. :)