Hey folks, I know this is a pen turning forum but I figured someone might find this interesting.
Turning kits is still fun and I'm falling down the bespoke rabbit hole , too. But along the way I discovered restoring vintage pens has it's rewards. Cheap enough to find them in vintage/antique shops and after doing a lot of research before starting, they turn out ok. And some of the same skills used for kit pens came in handy on this old Watermans Sky Writer. It was pretty banged up, even had teeth marks on the barrel. Disassembled, cleaned, polished, replace ink sac and it came out pretty good, and writes beautifully.
Amazing that you can still get parts for a 70 year old pen and bring it back to life. I have a 100yr old Waterman lined up next.
Richard Binder's site and book paved the way. Well worth the cost of the book.
mart
Turning kits is still fun and I'm falling down the bespoke rabbit hole , too. But along the way I discovered restoring vintage pens has it's rewards. Cheap enough to find them in vintage/antique shops and after doing a lot of research before starting, they turn out ok. And some of the same skills used for kit pens came in handy on this old Watermans Sky Writer. It was pretty banged up, even had teeth marks on the barrel. Disassembled, cleaned, polished, replace ink sac and it came out pretty good, and writes beautifully.
Amazing that you can still get parts for a 70 year old pen and bring it back to life. I have a 100yr old Waterman lined up next.
Richard Binder's site and book paved the way. Well worth the cost of the book.
mart