My First Vintage Restoration!
I get terribly envious of all those of you who keep 'coming across' cool vintage pens at flea markets and antique shops etc. We just don't have much of that around here, so I never really have opportunity to lay my hands on vintage finds like that (without resorting to eBay).
But my wife volunteers at a thrift store, and there a couple of weeks ago, someone dropped off a box of old stuff, including a box set of Waterman Ideal 'Leader' pen and pencil. The pencil does not appear to function, and the pen had no sac, and the pressure bar was loose from the lever.
After doing a bit of hunting online as to how to restore these things, I found a link to a very useful article on Richard Binder's website. I can't even begin to say how useful this article was. Without it, I would not have had a clue how to proceed. (so, a big thank you to Richard Binder!).
It happens I just recently got a selection of silicon sacs (for making button fillers and bulb fillers), as well as some talc and shellac. So, after fixing the lever assembly, I installed a new silicone sac, and tested it out. Works beautifully, sucking up and spitting out ink without problem.
Here is where I would post a pic of the unrestored pen, but I totally forgot to take any 'before' pics.
So I will go directly to the 'after':
I have not yet buffed the barrel, as I hadn't thought of it when I was fixing the lever system. I probably won't, as it is not bad.
The nib is a beauty. Has a nice flex to it (which I have no idea how to use). I cleaned the nib and the feed, and polished the nib to a sweet shine.
Here is a rather hideous attempt to display the flex on Clairfontaine paper. The line variation shows way better on cheaper paper. You can guess that I can't do cursive.
Well, that was fun.
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The fixer uppers are like potato chips!
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