Repairing pens made by someone else.

[Dave_M]

Hey guys,
Have you ever been asked to repair repair a pen made by another pen turner or perhaps a Libelle, Waterman, Mont Blanc? I was asked to look at a Libelle Vortex Rollerball Pen today. The cap isn't tight fitting any longer so the gentleman wants me to see what I can do with it.

I'm a bit hesitant to attempt any work on the pen because I'm not familiar with the construction. There is a plastic insert up inside the cap the the ower thinks has slipped deeper inside the cap causing the fitment issue. The plastic sleeve appears to be right where it should be, which is inserted all the way inside to the clip end of the cap. Personally I think the cap is fine other than its worn out. It's a friction snap on cap and I beleive it's time has come. You know how difficult it can be to convince a customer his assessment of the problem is incorrect.

Anyhow, I was curious if any of you ever tear into other pens besides your own. This is a guy I just met and I wouldnt mind getting on his good side by repairing his favorite pen. Ideally I wouldn't mess with his Labelle. I'd get him hooked on mine, which will probably happen anyway.

Thanks for your input.
Dave

 

[Buzzzz4]

Personally, I wouldn't touch a pen made by the big box makers. Mess that one up, and you'd be out quite a bit. Too many unknowns with those pens. I've attempted fixing ones made by other penturners, and I usually just end up making a whole new pen at cost. I will do minor fixes or shine ups, but that is about it.

 

[seamus7227]

Wow, dave i have taken on a similar situation, however, the pen ended up being one that i was able to replace the kit components, strange thing was the customer only wanted a friction polish on the mesquite wood (which was all dark from the oils in his skin and did not have a nice appearance, but that is my opinion). so basically i took just the top layer of the wood off to revamp it, so to speak, and it looked great! ordered him a new kit and he was good to go! In your case, while i realize you are trying to help a guy out, i think you should steer him in a direction that would potentially make him consider a new pen from you!

 

[LanceD]

If it was a kit pen I would do my best to repair it. A name brand pen, I would do him a favor and get the contact information and customer service number of the brand pen in question. I would be honest with him and tell him that you have no experience in repairing his pen and that he would be way better off having his pen repaired professionally. I think you'll make a better impression on him by being up front and honest than trying to repair and maybe screw it up even more than it is.

I've been in that situation more than once and have taken the advice I just gave you with more than one thank you from the person asking me if I could do the repairs on his pen for being honest with him in the first place. By the way the two guys that asked have been regular customers for about five years now.

 

[IPD_Mr]

If it is a kit pen and you know the workings of the kit, then I would say not a problem. Modern name brand pens I would be hesitant with. I think I would send my Pelikan out before I tried anything with it. Vintage name brand pens are a different story. If it happens to be vintage and you have questions, feel free to PM me. We have gotten pretty heavy in the vintage arena and have a ton of information available on different brands and fill types, lever, button, vacuum, piston and snorkel to name a few.