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Thread: Vintage waterman in need of a tune

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    Default Vintage waterman in need of a tune

    Hey.

    Who should I send my waterman 16 to for a tune (intermittent flow, hard starts)? Or is it worth a try to remove the nib and feed to thoroughly clean and reset myself (I have done this a lot on non vintage pens)? I have used many nib services for grinds but never with a vintage pen.

    Thanks

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    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vintage waterman in need of a tune

    Have you tried the simplest remedy yet?

    Get ink out of the pen as much as you can. Then immerse the nib in water up to the section only, don't let the barrel sit in water unless you're absolutely sure that the barrel hasn't get a lot of UV (sunlight) through out its decades of life.

    Let the pen in that position overnight. In the morning, you should get a very inky water, and a clean nib/feed/section.

    Take the pen out, let it dry, then ink it up.
    See if the ink flow improved and no more hard start. Sometimes this is enough.

    If you do this and the problem persists, it's time to take the nib and feed out of the section. This requires you to be familiar with basic lever filler restoration, if you're not sure, send it to a restorer who work on other people's pen.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

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    Default Re: Vintage waterman in need of a tune

    Will try it out. Thanks

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    Member ms8109's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vintage waterman in need of a tune

    Send it to Joel Hamilton of Ink-Pen, in Alamogordo, NM. The best repair man in the country and you won’t meat a nicer guy! I’m a Satisfied Customer, many times over!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Mike
    Visconti Last Lira aka Luigi Einaudi #63 of 975, Stipula Yellow Da Vinci Carbon Fiber T, Stipula Model T, Vintage Fountain Pens, Delta Amerigo Vespucci LE, Pelikan Special Edition Sahara F/P, TWSBI Micarta, Danitrio Mikado, Genkai, Nakaya Decapod Cigar, Watley in Woodgrain, Marlen Yellow Liberty LE, Santa FE Style Custom "51" made by Ralph Prather, president New Mexico Pen Collector's Club.

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    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vintage waterman in need of a tune

    As mentioned above, a straightforward soak can do wonders with old ink, but take care with hard rubber to avoid discoloration. Another approach: if the sac still draws ink, flush liquid in and out as much as you can; the turbulence through the feed helps dislodge and dissolve deposits. Also, flush with a 9:1 solution of water & ammonia plus a drop of Dawn in 1 liter/quart, then clean water flush to rinse.

    Your Waterman is a very simple one to restore to working condition, and if you cannot recall when it had a fresh sac, it could help ink flow to install one. The main issues you face are twofold: (1) its century-old hard rubber components are brittle and will crack under the wrong kind of stress, and (2) a lack of experience can easily lead to (1). If you love the pen, let an experienced penmeister handle the job.

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    Default Re: Vintage waterman in need of a tune

    Waterman 16 (no suffix), is an eyedropper, no? I spose it could be a 16 PSF (lever), a 16SF (sleeve), or even a 16S (safety), but those are pretty scarce. Assuming it is an eyedropper, just unscrew the section and soak it, as others have suggested. While it is soaking, give the barrel interior a scrub with a test tube brush and a flush, as there may be some hundred year old bits of junk that can slough off and get into the mix.

    Knocking the feed/nib out of an eyedropper is a bit challenging, due to the taper of the section. There is very little bearing surface, and the nib usually flares to a greater width, making a standard knock out block unable to provide enough support. Add to this that it is not unusual for the section face to be out of round, due to the shank of the nib being heat-set. On some occasions when I really needed to remove an eyedropper nib, I made a custom jig to support the section adequately.

    Big vintage eyedroppers are some of my favorites.

    Bob

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