1950s Wearever Chewed Up Barrel Restoration

[RayCornett]

The images aren't up the par but I am not having memory card issues and sending them in to Lexar for replacement. So, these are all I have for now but you can see the difference in the before and after. I have yet to do any work on the cap or lever.DSC_6010.jpgDSC_6017.jpgDSC_6038.jpg

[Jon Szanto]

Well, Ray, props to you for such good work! Did you build up with material, or 'pull' it out with heat? I hope you are using this as practice, as this is an awful lot of work for such a blue collar pen!

[earthdawn]

That is some outstanding work Ray !!!

I too am very curious how you did it. Very impressive end result for sure.

Congrats !

[RayCornett]

I work with Sean of Write on Time vintage pen and watch restoration. I am basically the west coast partner. I am not at liberty to tell how this was done as it is a proprietary technique. I know I will catch some hell for that but hey. And yes this is a practice pen I did before doing it on better more expensive pens.

[Jon Szanto]

Poor sportsmanship.

[Deb]

Share the knowledge - the rest of us do!

[RuiFromUK]

Rather disappointing not to know the details.

[RayCornett]

It is not my decision or place to release the information. It is not my own technique. It is one taught to me by someone I work for/with. Should he ever decide to ever tell how it is done that is up to him.

[Jon Szanto]

It is not my decision or place to release the information. It is not my own technique. It is one taught to me by someone I work for/with. Should he ever decide to ever tell how it is done that is up to him.

Then:

• Give him a heads-up on how a community feels when this is the approach
• Consider not posting stuff that clearly will ellicite curiosity, while also clearly not forthcoming
• Think about how elements of this scenario reflect upon you, even though it isn't your decision

Ray, none of this is the end of the world, and there are a lot more important things going on around us, so I doubt any of us are too very far up in arms. That being said, community good will is a precious thing, and your partner might want to consider weighing that against the value of being secretive.

[RayCornett]

I understand what you are saying and he knows. He also posts images on his page and such where he repairs bite marks, cracks in pens, etc. using this technique. I believe he may be on some of these forums or used to be.

Proprietary information for someone in the the small business of repairing pens is pretty understandable to me. I myself have personal experience of having a technique or product I made to do something in a small business I was in where someone found out what it was and ended up making it themselves and marketing it and they had enough money behind them that I as a small business owner with one employee, myself, had no way of legally fighting it because of the legal fees. Proprietary information is something all businesses have. Even the ones who claim they are telling you how everything they do to the pens they restore is done, are not. Believe me.

Look at Amazon.com for instance and their patenting of using a white background and such in product photography. Now they can bust any product photographer who uses a white background. What photographer is making enough money to fight Amazon.com? If someone were to take this proprietary information on how we repair these bite marks and cracks and decide they had the money to patent it and take care of any legal fees to stop anyone else from using the technique but themselves then we would still be in the same boat.

[Jon Szanto]

Thank you, Ray. While I may not agree to any great extent, it is a thoughtful reply, and I can understand your perspective somewhat.

[vikramguliya]

Its really a great and tough work to do. And it has been done with more perfection!1

[Deb]

A technique for removing chew-marks in pens is unlikely to be the foundation of anyone's fortune, and the comparison with Google is a little far-fetched.

What does work for pen restorers is a reputation for good work well done, and good customer relations. Being helpful to others is a part of that.

[Sadiq]

Great work Ray!

I remember reading an article on andersonpens blog (no affiliation) about removing bite marks with careful application of heat...I'm not sure it works for all pen materials tho.

Would've been nice to know your method.

[mmahany]

A technique for removing chew-marks in pens is unlikely to be the foundation of anyone's fortune, and the comparison with Google is a little far-fetched.

What does work for pen restorers is a reputation for good work well done, and good customer relations. Being helpful to others is a part of that.

“Your intellectual property isn’t worth anything so you should share it with us”….that’s essentially what you just said.

I also fail to see how he falls short of your definition of a reputable pen restorer.

Some of you are making fools of yourself. All you’re doing is hindering people from making new posts and attacking someone that took the time to take pictures of a restoration to share with us.

There’s a word for this sort of thing on internet forum….”trolls.”

I’m curious to know why any of you feel entitled to know how the pen was restored?

[Jon Szanto]

“Your intellectual property isn’t worth anything so you should share it with us”….that’s essentially what you just said.

I also fail to see how he falls short of your definition of a reputable pen restorer.

Some of you are making fools of yourself. All you’re doing is hindering people from making new posts and attacking someone that took the time to take pictures of a restoration to share with us.

There’s a word for this sort of thing on internet forum….”trolls.”

I’m curious to know why any of you feel entitled to know how the pen was restored?

I am now going off to a remote location and enter into intense contemplation and meditation. Your severe judgement of me has caused me to question every single moral and ethical stance I've ever taken.















Oh, wait...

[tandaina]

Most of the big pen restorers out there (I'm thinking say Ron Zorn) aren't using secret practices. We don't pay them for their trade secrets but for their depth of experience and expertise in those techniques. Me knowing a technique doesn't mean I would want to attempt it on a valuable pen! And by the same token in such a small tight community keeping secrets that could help the whole community seems just... petty. But it is obviously the choice of any craftsman. However, it does make me far less likely to use that craftsperson because I do see the pen community as just that, and will support those I see as supporting the community as a whole.

The Amazon example is horrible. That's not Amazon being smart or protecting their business, it is patent abuse. People had been photoing products on a white background from before Amazon existed. The fact that they got that patent just shows how deeply broken the American patent system is, and how totally unscrupulous Amazon is to take advantage of that fact. It certainly isn't an example I'd use if I wanted sympathy!

Now, my Grandfather, who invented a golf club head patenting that? That's a small business example and honest use of patent. (Long expired, we don't make anything off it.)

[snedwos]

The Amazon example is horrible. That's not Amazon being smart or protecting their business, it is patent abuse. People had been photoing products on a white background from before Amazon existed. The fact that they got that patent just shows how deeply broken the American patent system is, and how totally unscrupulous Amazon is to take advantage of that fact. It certainly isn't an example I'd use if I wanted sympathy!

That's exactly the point ray was making. He worries that revealing the technique will end up with someone else 'doing an Amazon' on him and his partner. He's painting amazon as the villain, not as someone to emulate.

[Jon Szanto]

That's exactly the point ray was making. He worries that revealing the technique will end up with someone else 'doing an Amazon' on him and his partner. He's painting amazon as the villain, not as someone to emulate.

It is still a vast over-reach. I can't imagine anything so monumental and at the same time so generic in repairing pen plastics that even comes close to the example of "don't you dare shoot a photo against a white background". I think the bigger blunder was simply putting it out there for comment in the first place, knowing that people would be curious and knowing that they would keep it all hush-hush. Ray has certainly been the benefactor of information and other offers here and on other pen fora, and it - as I mentioned - might be time to reconsider the way he posts this kind of material. If they want to be all secret-y, fine, just don't rub it in people's faces.

[tandaina]

That's the thing. The Amazon patent is patently (hah!) ludicrous. It wouldn't hold water in court on a bet. And the idea that someone might come after two small pen restorers over anything, certainly not some technique they came up with is even worse. The pen world just isn't lucrative enough. If we think it is, we're fooling ourselves. That's just a silly excuse with no bearing on an actual likely outcome.

If you want to be secretive, be secretive. But don't go waving something around going "look, look" and then refuse to let people really see. That sort of post belongs purely in the market as advertising under some "Super Secret Bite Mark Removal Service" label.