Author Archives: Nathaniel Cerf

About Nathaniel Cerf

Nathaniel Cerf is the owner of ThePenMarket.com. He has been a fountain pen junkie since the age of 9, but his addiction got out of control around 2004, when he began to learn the art of fountain pen repair.

In addition to his pen activities, Nathaniel is a professional writer with a master’s degree in journalism from The University of Montana. A former Gannett newspaper editor, he has also been published in magazines as diverse as Montana Journalism Review, Nostalgia Digest, American Fencing (that’s swords not barb wire or picket) and True Confessions. His photography has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Argus Leader and American Fencing.

The blogosphere knows Mr. Cerf from “The Hat Chronicals” at www.hats-plus.com, where he created and currently maintains a blog committed to fedoras, pork pies and the history of headwear. He also originated a movie review blog for DVDPlanet.com.

Nathaniel is currently shopping an expose novel he has written about the children’s mental health industry. (Yep, he has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, too.)

If that isn’t enough to keep him busy, he coaches and competes in fencing. He maintains a national rating in foil, but he also dabbles in epee. (That’s the weird sword crossword puzzles always use.) He also continues perfecting the formula for peanut butter and mustard sandwiches and Flaming Hot Orgasmic Tacos from Hell.

How Do I Write a Love Letter?

The key to every good love letter is making it as personal as you can. Don't be indimidated by writing. Savor the joy it will bring.

The key to every good love letter is making it as personal as you can. Don’t be intimidated by writing. Savor the joy it will bring.

Okay, so now that you have a spiffy pen for writing love letters, how do you go about using it?

Writing a good love letter is an art form, but it is not one you need to be intimidated by. There is no one correct way to write one, as every relationship is different and in different stages.

As with any writing project, you must keep only two simple things in mind: 1.) Who is your audience & 2.) What is your objective.

The letter better not sound that cold, but it helps to take the edge off when you sit down to compose.

You are never too old or too young to write a good love letter. My first one was to a teacher’s aid in first grade. I was madly in love with Miss Mix. Perhaps, that’s where my flame for older women first got lit. I was 6. She was 21. She was pretty and kind and totally understood my inner soul way better than those immature girls my own age. It was ill fated, but I totally got a love letter back from her. She declined my proposal to marry, but she did encourage me to look her up after I grew up. Sadly, she moved away when her student teaching ended that semester and we lost track of one another. C’est la vie. That’s just the way love goes sometimes.

I digress.

First ask yourself what stage of the relationship you are in. What do you hope to achieve by writing this letter. Writing to someone you barely know will be much different than writing to someone you’ve been married to for 50 years.

Let’s say you are just getting to know someone or want to get to know someone. Be your quirky self, humorous and sincere. Don’t overdo it. A light touch is best. Include something about the connection you share.

“Every day it seems I spy you through the sneeze guard of our office cafeteria salad bar. Who is this amazingly hot woman with three and a half noses and 7 dancing arctic blue eyes peering back at me through the plexiglass refraction? I don’t know, but it seems we agree that croutons are the best part of any salad. Is this kismet or just a mutual fondness for crunchy salted carbs? I don’t know, but I’d like to find out. How about stepping out from behind the sneeze guard and joining me for a real lunch some time? Potentially yours, _____”

Nothing elaborate. It’s light hearted, flirty and fun without sounding stalkerish or dripping in innuendo. Yet, it leaves open many possibilities.

If you are already in a relationship, understand the difference between intimacy and lust. Both make for fantastic love letters, but it also is the point at which you really need to focus on shared experiences and end goals. Intimacy can lead to lust, but it is that special souls-laid-bare closeness that comes from shareing your lives. Use those close personal experiences to tell your lover why they are so important to you. Put your feelings and your self out there and make sure they know how incredible it is to have them in your life.

If a night of unbridled passion is what you are after, then tap into lust, and use your love letter as foreplay. Get it delivered midday at their home or office with flowers or a gift. Use your words to stir their desire.

THE BIGGEST MISTAKES GUYS MAKE: Unless you met your partner at a renaissance fair, lay off the knightly talk and overtly ardent courting of the 14th century. Methinks it goeth too far, and most fair maidens have second thoughts about a man who pretends he’s living in the realm of “Dungeons & Dragons.”

ALSO: Lay off the lust angle, unless your relationship has already crossed that line or is on the verge of crossing that line. Otherwise, most women will resent being objectified. Mostly, they’ll think you are creepy and/or scary. If it is meant to be, it’ll happen. Be patient.

THE BIGGEST MISTAKES GALS MAKE: Don’t put the proverbial cart before the horse. Guys love love letters, too, but you want to be careful about going too far ahead of where the relationship is really at. If your relationship is still pretty new, you might spook him if you start talking about marriage or seeing your yet unconcieved children in his eyes. It might be obvious that the two of you will be headed down the aisle one day, but don’t spring it on him out of the blue.

ALSO: If you want a more physical relationship, don’t be afraid to ask for it. We live in messed up times. If you’ve got a nice, caring guy who is a little reluctant to go too far at first, it doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t want you. He was likely raised to respect women and not treat them like sexual play toys who can be easily discarded. Mix that with a lifetime of news reports about rape and sex abuse against women, and he likely doesn’t want to be seen as a predator. A gentleman doesn’t take a lady; she gives herself to him. He likely desperately wants your permission to do all of the things you desperately want him to do. Don’t be afraid to write it out in black and white for him.

Fountain Pens Write Better Love Letters

Sheaffer's early nibs of the 1920s featured heart-shaped breather holes. Who says fountain pens aren't romantic.

Sheaffer’s early nibs of the 1920s featured heart-shaped breather holes. Who says fountain pens aren’t romantic.

It’s true. Fountain pens write better love letters.

As St. Valentine’s Day approaches, it is important to let those you love know how you feel. You don’t need to buy a diamond mine or hire pilots with a knack for skywriting. You need a pen that can help you express how much you care.

“C’mon,” says the cynic, rolling his or her eyes. “Imagine the owner of a pen company insisting fountain pens write better love letters.”

Gauntlet thrown, but hear me out.

When was the last time your received any hand-written letter, note or missive?

A hand-written letter means more today than ever before. Not only does it show more effort than a text (gag me), tweet (double gag me) or e-mail, it shows your distinct personality. Each letter drips your subconscious essence in every loop, curve and angle.

"Roseglow" is the name of this pink and purple-looking Sheaffer Junior. It is an ideal Valentine's Day accessory.

“Roseglow” is the name of this pink and purple-looking Sheaffer Junior. It is an ideal Valentine’s Day accessory.

A fountain pen only accentuates your personality and emotions. Even on a standard nib, you can add weight to certain words and phrases. A stub or flexible nib greatly increases the dynamics of your writing. The line and flow of your writing expresses far more than an emoticon.

Lastly, fountain pen ink is very easy to manipulate to better detail your emotions. Ink colors are easy to change. Some inks are (or can be) perfumed. If you are a truly passionate person, there is one other trick used by famous romantics of past eras.

Noted playboy and the 20th century’s greatest Olympic and professional fencer was an Italian man named Aldo Nadi. He won Olympic gold, countless prize fights back when fencing was almost as popular as boxing in the 1920s, fought real duels, stood up to Mussolini and eventually sought refuge in the United States and a career in Hollywood as an extra and fencing coach of the stars. Along the way he seduced countless women. His trick: Love letters spattered in his tears.

Perhaps the average American male will have difficulty shedding tears of love on to a letter, but the water-based ink ought to run and splatter nicely. Of course, I’m not sure the average American female wouldn’t have second thoughts after receiving such a letter.

But that doesn’t mean fountain pens don’t write the best love letters.

Join the Wearever Pen Bandwagon

Here is the Wearever Deluxe 100 in a grey and red pattern that looks surprisingly close to that of the Parker Parkerette below.

Here is the Wearever Deluxe 100 in a grey and red pattern that looks surprisingly close to that of the Parker Parkerette below.

To the astonishment of many long-time pen collectors, the Wearever brand has been gaining a lot of second looks in recent years.

Although Sheaffer and Parker routinely vied for the title of the biggest and best fountain pen manufacturer from the 1920s through the 1960s, another brand beat them out on sales volume: Wearever.

0639 ParkeretteHonestly. Although a second–and even third–tier pen company, Wearever sold huge quantities of pens, particularly in the 1940s and ’50s. How did they do it? Looks and price. Some of their highest quality pens, such as the Wearever Deluxe 100, only cost one greenback dollar. Their plastics proved very durable, and the company focused a lot of attention on making the pens very attractive…often stealing, I mean, being inspired by the designs of leading pen makers. Just look at the similarity between this Wearever Deluxe 100 and Parker Parkerette.

The cost cutting came on the quality control side of things. While some of their “special alloy” nibs wrote very smoothly, many were scratchy and troublesome.

Many collectors, tired of being priced out of the ultra popular brands, are turning to these handsome vintage pens to beautify their collection while these pens are still affordable.

Overlooked for so long, there appears to be very little information about this company from North Bergen, New Jersey. Reasonable rumors state its history extends back into the late 1800s. We are very curious about this company and would love it if other fans of the brand were able to contact us with more details.

Space Pen to the Rescue

My dented rear wheel well provides the backdrop for my heroic Fisher Space Pen that I can vouch for working after sitting overnight in -13-degree weather.

My dented rear wheel well provides the backdrop for my heroic Fisher Space Pen that I can vouch for working after sitting overnight in -13-degree weather.

I was peacefully minding my own business in the left turn lane on the morning Chicago had a high temperature of -13 degrees Fahrenheit. As I watched the cross street’s light turn from green to yellow a crunching sound was seemingly deafening as my car lerched forward after some unlucky driver came careening into my rear quarter panel.

It was not the morning wake up I had wanted, but luckily the other driver and I were both safe and unhurt in the collision. Although it sounded terrible, the damage done to my passenger side was more cosmetic than structural. As luck would have it, a policeman had just pulled up to the other left turn lane to come up that same street.

If you are going to get rear-ended on the coldest day of the decade, that’s the way to do it.

Unfazed, I turned to the glove box for some scratch paper and my beat-up old Fisher Space Pen to get the guy’s insurance info.

I’m here to tell you, the advertising is all true. Fisher Space Pens can write in the coldest extremes!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Fisher Space Pen, it was invented for the exact reason it was named. Paul Fisher invented the Space Pen for NASA! NASA was looking for a writing instrument in space that didn’t need gravity to supply ink, was capable of writing in any environment on any surface. Paul Fisher realized it all came down to the ink refill. So he pressurized a ballpoint pen cartridge with a special formula ink that can write upside down, under water and on glass in any temperature range astronauts could conceivably experience from extreme cold to extreme heat.

The pens were a huge success on the Apollo missions and beyond. Fisher would introduce them to the public, where they have been an even bigger success. Police, firefighters, emergency workers and construction workers seem to universally love these pens that just don’t quit.

While I never disbelieved the advertising, I had never before put my old pen to the test in subzero temperatures. I am pleased to say it lived up to its promise. I just wish I had some for sale so that all of you could have the ultimate in emergency back-up pens or daily writers.

Oh, yes. Inevitably, someone will mention that the government wasted thousands of dollars helping to develop the Space Pen and that rival Soviet cosmonauts had a far cheaper solution to writing in space…a pencil. However, pencil shavings and graphite dust get dangerous in space. Without gravity, the graphite and wood dust build up quickly and become damaging to the lungs and sinuses. It also gets in the eyes, as well as the electronics and machinery. In the long run, the Space Pen is and was the way to go.

Eversharp Sells America on the Doric

We recently added a classic Eversharp Doric Junior to our vintage pens collection, and it is striking how handsome it remains, despite a great deal of wear. The layers of transluscent greens still flash through history as if impervious to age.

Here is the page from the 1932 Everharp catalog that shows the very Doric Junior model we carry. Notice how this rep's catalog is color but most of the pen ads are black and white. With such beautiful pens, why weren't all their ads color?

Here is the page from the 1932 Everharp catalog that shows the very Doric Junior model we carry. Notice how this rep’s catalog is color but most of the pen ads are black and white. With such beautiful pens, why weren’t all their ads color?

This made it surprising for me to have difficulty finding color advertising for these remarkable pens. True, the Depression was savaging America during the time these pens were produced. Also true, color ads were and are not cheap compared to black and white ads.

Nevertheless, the one thing that really stands out on the Doric compared to any other pen Sheaffer, Parker and Waterman had in production was the vibrant color and patterns in these pens. You would think they would want to make that the most prominent feature in the ad.

This page from the 1932 Eversharp catalog shows the very pen we now carry. It lists the color as Kashmir Pearl. The catalog itself is in color, which would have helped sell it to pen shops around the country. Yet, the print ad below it, which was published in “Time” magazine in 1935 is like all of the Doric ads my search turned up…black and white.

Here's an Eversharp Doric ad featured in Time Magazine back in 1935. Despite the cool adjustable nib, wouldn't you agree the color version would have helped sell many more pens?

Here’s an Eversharp Doric ad featured in Time Magazine back in 1935. Despite the cool adjustable nib, wouldn’t you agree the color version would have helped sell many more pens?

Not once mentioning the colors of the pen, it tauts a never-leak safety seal of some kind. That would have been an especially important feature on the pen at the time, but the only leak preventer I see in the pen is the inner cap, which most major brands had dating at least back into the 1920s.

Also peculiar is that the ad states the pen holds more ink. The Parker Vacumatic more successfully lays claim to that than any other pen that decade. ANNND, it never mentions the adjustable nib prominently featured in the illustration. That adjuster was supposed to help the pen write thinner and thicker lines, a feature you’d think Eversharp would be shouting to anyone in hear shot.

Then again, just listen to the radio or watch TV, and we still have ample ads that don’t discuss the product’s best features. Heck, sometimes, you can’t even tell what they’re trying to sell.

Don’t Forget Your Thank You Notes

Pen afficianados are a pretty polite group of people, but in case you weren’t sure to do about all the great gifts you got this holiday season, don’t forget to write your thank you notes.

Even notorious murderer and thief Clyde Barrow was courteous enough to write a thank you note. He made sure to take a quick break from life on the run with Bonnie in 1934 to thank Henry Ford for building superior getaway cars!

Even notorious murderer and thief Clyde Barrow was courteous enough to write a thank you note. He made sure to take a quick break from life on the run with Bonnie in 1934 to thank Henry Ford for building superior getaway cars!

The three-sentence thank you note is rapidly becoming a lost art form, and that is a shame. If someone goes through the trouble to find you a gift or do a favor, you should thank them. While an e-mail might be sufficient these days, a handwritten note or card is the ultimate way to go if you want to brighten their day. How often does anybody get happy mail in their mailbox these days?

Little thank you cards are ideal, as it is easy to fit in a 3-sentence message.

There is no great trick to composing the perfect thank you. Thank them for their gift, which you should name. Tell them why you like it. Tell them how you are going to use it. Sign it, and you are done!

Don’t limit your thank you notes to gifts. Write them for job interviews and other business matters. Job candidates who send actual thank you notes after an interview are statistically far more likely to get a call back or job. If it comes down to you and a less grateful job candidate, who do you think is getting the job? There are tons of reports out every year about this phenomenon.

You just closed a large business deal…send a thank you note. Thank yous help you stand out in other people’s memories. Who do you think they will turn to when a new product or service is needed? The guy or gal who sends a thank you note will stand out better in their memories.

If you need inspiration for a good thank you note, check out this link to 11 famous thank yous at the Mental Floss website. Notes range from personalities as big as President Reagan’s to Marilyn Monroe’s. My favorite was a missive written by notorious thief and murder Clyde Barrow (of Bonnie and Clyde fame) to Henry Ford! Barrow thanks Ford for making his V8s so fast and durable that they are the vehicle of choice when a getaway car is needed.

Santa: Fickle Pen Collector or Genius Fundraiser?

Celebrity endorsements don’t come cheap, but it appears that Santa has been in high demand with every brand who has approached him over the years.

Santa makes a celebrity endorsement of Waterman pens in 1904.

Santa makes a celebrity endorsement of Waterman pens in 1904.

In 1904 he says Waterman is the best. In 1939 he was hooked on the Parker Vacumatic. In between those years, and well after, old St. Nick has been quick to shill for just about every major and minor pen maker in the world.

At first I thought I should chastise Father Christmas for his inability to pick a favorite vintage pen.

Then I got to thinking about the bigger picture. That’s when I realized what a bloody genius Santa truely is.

Santa has to deliver presents to all of the good boys and girls around the entire planet in just 24 hours. This year alone we’re looking at approximately 3 billion children. True, not all of them are good, but for now we’ll give most of them the benefit of any doubt.

Santa also cashes in on Parker Vacumatics. Could it be that St. Nick cashes in on all of these endorsement deals to raise the funds necessary to give more than 9 billion gifts every year?

Santa also cashes in on Parker Vacumatics. Could it be that St. Nick cashes in on all of these endorsement deals to raise the funds necessary to give more than 9 billion gifts every year?

In many cases, Santa delivers more than one toy per child. Even if we average it out to just 3 toys per child, that’s 9 billion toys.

That is more than a boatload of toys. Perhaps in a bygone era Santa could get away with 9 magic reindeer, but the jolly old elf will need rockets and more on his sleigh to cart that type of tonnage around the world. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to imagine such a modern sled as that runs up to $500 million or even $1B.

Even a living saint can’t magically generate enough cash for a rocket sled and 9 billion toys in one year…unless…

Unless he cashes in on his celebrity endorsements! By advertising every brand of every product imaginable, St. Nick could easily gin up trillions every year! Coca Cola alone has likely paid him hundreds of billions. Why else would a single bottle of Christmas Coke cost nearly $2?! A dollar of that must go to pay for Santa’s likeness on the bottle and packaging.

As inspired as Santa’s marketing and fundraising is, he can always use a little extra help from the rest of us.

To help the big guy out, it is not too late to visit Toys for Tots today and make a donation. Just click this Toys for Tots, and you will be directed straight to their donations web page.

Thank you, and have a Merry Christmas!

Holiday Shipping Update

Sands are quickly passing through the hourglass.

We cannot ever guarantee the delivery date of domestic standard USPS shipping, but Tuesday is likely the last day we can ship something to you and have it arrive in time for Christmas.

Priority Mail’s last day for U.S. customers to receive a pen in time for Christmas is a Friday ship date.

Express delivery is an option, but please call ahead before making a purchase.

Happy last-minute shopping!

A “-” Typical Cerf Family Christmas

Among the many great holiday traditions in the Cerf family is a contest to see who can come up with the most ingenius gift for another family member at Christmas.

This is not a greedfest. The most expensive gift rarely wins. Hard-to-find and/or extremely clever often carry the day. The competition is fierce but loving, as we’re all going out of our way to find something the others will truely cherish. Some years are better than others, and there is no shame in average gifts. And in other years, average gifts are presented in such a way that trumps the gift itself.

When roughly 15 years ago my sister, dad and I all wanted the video tape of “L.A. Confidential,” instead of buying three copies, Mom gave us one copy held in a trust known as a tontine. The contract of her tontine was hilarious and not one of us can claim ownership of the movie until the other 2 are dead. (All three of us still have a working VCR. I told you the competition is fierce in my family.)

To be a true Cerf, you must have a thick skin and dark sense of humor.

When Christmas rolled around last year, I was at a total loss as to what to get my father for the holiday. Mostly, we had spent the better part of the six months leading up to it arguing about movies and movie stars.

Here's the "Life of Pi" box cover. My dad couldn't wait to see it, while I was more resistant.

Here’s the “Life of Pi” box cover. My dad couldn’t wait to see it, while I was more resistant.

The biggest battle was over the merits of going to see the film “Life of Pi.”

Me: That looks like it’ll be the most boring movie ever made.

Dad: Are you kidding?! It has a guy, and he’s trapped on a boat with a tiger. A tiger!

Me: Clearly, as a feature-length film, the tiger isn’t going to eat the guy. So you’re going to spend 90 minutes staring at a guy on a boat with a tiger doing nothing. It isn’t even a real tiger.

Dad: But it has a tiger in it! Guy, boat, TIGER. What don’t you get? It is going to be amazing.

Me: If you want to watch tigers so badly why don’t watch Animal Planet. They have tons of tiger specials. And they are real tigers.

Dad: But this is a movie…with a tiger in it.

This conversation could drag on for hours. So let me inter splice a different differing conversation.

Me: I just watched the world’s longest, most boring movie called “Far From the Madding Crowd.”

Dad: With Julie Cristie?

Me: Yeah, some bland blonde chick? It was made in the 1960s. It is 3 hours of nobody doing anything in some small farming village in England.

Dad: Bland?! Julie Christie was the most beautiful woman ever filmed.

Me: It isn’t like she got naked or anything. And even if she did, it wouldn’t have improved the 3 hours of my life that were wasted.

Dad: Who cares if she got naked. She’s beautiful.

Me: She didn’t do anything for 3 hours, except pine away for some lying, cheating lover.

Dad: But it is Julie Christie. She was also in “Dr. Zhivago.”

Me: She was Lara, right?

Dad: Yeah, and she was stunning.

Me: She was boring in that, too. She was only vaguely interested in Omar Shariff who ends up divorcing his arguably more beautiful, and certainly more lively and engaging, wife played by Geraldine Chaplin. I’d run off with Chaplin’s character in a heartbeat. Julie Christie was just kinda blah. Pretty for a one-night stand, maybe. But she’s got no anima.

Dad: What?! How can you say that? You’re not my son. She’s Julie Christie.

Me: This coming from a man who just wants sit in a theater staring at a CGI tiger for 90 minutes

Dad: [Gives a strangled scream of exasperated frustration]

***

And now you ask: You guys argued over that for 6 months?

To which my dad and I proudly reply: You’re not a Cerf.

Nevertheless, I was wracking my brains trying to figure out what to get Dad last year when inspiration struck. It required the help of my graphic designer friend Paul Szymczak, but it was the best gift I had given my old man in a good 20 years.

My friend Paul S created this sequel movie poster to the "Life of Pi." My dad looked at it confused for all of one second when I said, "It's a girl. In a car. With a tiger!" One year later he is still laughing at it.

My friend Paul Szymczak created this sequel movie poster to the “Life of Pi.” My dad looked at it confused for all of one second when I said, “It’s a girl. In a car. With a tiger!” One year later he is still laughing at it.


I simply gave him a movie poster.I had it framed. When my dad unwrapped his gift he looked at it with puzzlement for one whole second when I shouted out: “It’s a girl! In a car! With a tiger!”

Then he laughed and laughed. The poster now hangs in the hallway of my parents’ house, and my dad is still laughing at it.

May you find such joy in all of your gift giving this year

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas

P.S. I finally watched “Life of Pi” with my dad, and it was way better than a Julie Christie movie.

P.P.S. Just this past weekend Dad asks, “Do you want to go see ‘All is Lost’ with me. It stars Robert Redford.”

Me: Not this again.

Dad: What?

Me: Its a guy. On a boat. No tiger.

Make Your Own ‘J’ Pressure Bars

See how the needle nose pliers have started making a box in the end of the brass flashing as I restored this Sheaffer 5-30.

See how the needle nose pliers have started making a box in the end of the brass flashing as I restored this Sheaffer 5-30.

When I first learned the art of fountain pen restoration, there weren’t as many readily available modern replacement “J” pressure bars to fix most standard lever-filling vintage pens. You could try to scavenge J-bars, but they were so old and brittle, they were prone to breaking.

Fortunately, the man who taught me the art of pen repair was a master of improvising repair work. He taught me a lot about do-it-yourself repairs and engineering. As our goal was fully restored pens that worked as good as new, instead of featuring only all original parts, we had a lot of leeway.

Probably the best and cheapest trick he taught me was to fashion a J-bar out of brass flashing that sells for about a dollar a foot at your local hardware store.

Insert the new pressure bar J first, and make certain the length of the new spring is resting on the lever. Pulling out the new J-bar can risk damaging the lever-filler assembly, so try never to pull the new J-bar if possible.

Insert the new pressure bar J first, and make certain the length of the new spring is resting on the lever. Pulling out the new J-bar can risk damaging the lever-filler assembly, so try never to pull the new J-bar if possible.

I suppose you could use steel flashing, but brass has the advantage of not rusting. Either way, be sure to select a very thin piece that has a lot of flexibility. You will also need scissors that can cut it and a pair of needle nose pliers. Once you get everything together at your work bench, follow these steps.

1. Cut the flashing to be the same length as the barrel of the pen you are restoring.

2. Trim the edge of the flashing along its length to get it to fit in the pen barrel. Remember, keep it wide enough to be engaged by the pen’s lever. Some levers don’t push straight down. Some slip to either side. Make sure you cut the flashing so it is wide enough to accomodate this deviation.

3. Test the flashing by inserting it–still straight/unbent–into the barrel to see if it fits well and gives the lever enough space to manuver.

4. Slip the flashing back out of the barrel.

5. Using your needle nose pliers bend one end of the flashing into an arc. You will only want to bend the last 1/4 inch to 1/2. I like to bend the flashing into 2 90-degree angles. This makes a boxy J. It is perfectly fine to make an arched J.

6.  Test to make sure the J is just wide enough to slide into the barrel, while also providing enough resistance against the barrel walls to anchor it.

7. MOST IMPORTANT: Before final installation, remember to line up the J-bar J first into the barrel with the outside portion of the pressure bar against the lever.

8. Insert the new pressure bar assembly into the pen with your needle nose pliers. Push it all the way into the tail. Be careful not to push the pliers deeper than they are meant to go into the pen. They can easily split or shatter the barrel.

9. Insert the resac’d section, and make sure it all fits okay. If it doesn’t you can either trim down the sac or pull out the new J-bar with care and trim it to make room. *** It is important to note that many lever fillers have a pin or pin-ring that holds the lever in place. Pulling out the new J-bar can snap or ruin that thin piece of metal holding in the lever, and that is a lot harder to fix.

It is always best to make sure you got all of your cuts measured correctly the first time.

Your new J-bar will likely never be as effective as the old one, but it will fill your pen reasonably well. Plus it will also have saved you plenty in parts and labor. Believe it or not, you’ll feel a lot closer to your pen once you’ve restored its guts on your own.