Sierra Pens

[RKing]

I just made a sierra pen was not aware that the nib does not retract There is a note saying the is a single twist pen. Does that mean that the nib stays out all the time. Maybe I have the wrong kind of Sierra or did not make it properly.
Any advice?
Bob

 

[karlkuehn]

Heh...Hi Bob! I think you missed the 'Pen Turning' forum by a couple headings! Don't worry, the moderator will move it for you. In the future, though, that's where you should ask these kinds of questions, you'll get a much better response. Many of us *raises hand guiltily* kind of skip over this forum to get to the real 'meat' of the site...

The Sierra retracts fully. I'm wracking my brain trying to think of what you might have done wrong. Is the tube the right length, meaning, did you make it too short?

 

[Paul in OKC]

Make sure the refill is not stuck in the nib. I have had that trouble on occassion. Now I slide the refill into the nib to make sure it fits.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Originally posted by RKing

I just made a sierra pen was not aware that the nib does not retract There is a note saying the is a single twist pen. Does that mean that the nib stays out all the time. Maybe I have the wrong kind of Sierra or did not make it properly.
Any advice?
Bob

The nib should not retract, only the refill
The "single twist" means that the refill tip will be extended and retract only in one direction each, e.g. with clock out, against clock in. Double twist means it extends and retract in both directions.
The refill should come out and go back in easily, if not, the refill might be stuck in the nib. I remember one of our English friends here had similar problems some 2 months or so ago.
Edit: if the refill gets stuck in the nib, a small drill bit can be used to ream out the hole in the nib. Sometimes the plating gets a bit thicker in the nib hole area. This had happened to me with Flattop double twist pens, but only with the chrome plating. I also found that original Parker refills might be a tad thicker on the writing end of the refill (especially with the gel refills). I believe a number bit around the "40's" should do the reaming.

 

[stoneman]

This is probably a stupid question but... is the spring in place on the refill?

 

[Randy_]

Originally posted by Rudy Vey

.....I also found that original Parker refills might be a tad thicker on the writing end of the refill (especially with the gel refills). I believe a number bit around the "40's" should do the reaming.

The older Parker refills are exactly 0.1" and require a #38 drill bit for reaming.

As the result of a question here, some time ago, I measured up a bunch of refill tips and found all the generic Parker refills to be a few thousandths smaller. Not too long ago there was a report that Parker was reducing the size of their tips by a few thousandths and the ones I have now measure about 0.098". A #39 wire drill bit should be proper to ream pen tips for those.

 

[Brewmeister35]

Try pulling the barrel off and see if it will work properly by turning the mechanism. Sometimes if the sierras are a little loose, they try to unscrew instead of retracting.

 

[pentex]

Be sure the tube is free of excess glue. Also, as above, be sure the spring is in place. If there is excess glue in the tube, it will not twist properly.