Repairs & Restoration

I provide repair service of lever fill, button fill, Parker vacumatic’s, Sheaffer snorkels, Touchdowns, and PFM’s. The repairs include disassembly of the pen, cleaning, replacement of sacs and gaskets and reassembly, then a light polishing.

Partial services are availabe as noted. If a needed service is not listed, please ask!

Note: I do not repair rollerballs, ballpoints or pencils.

Price list below is for pens received as of January 1, 2020.

Please inquire about any other pen repairs for quotes.

Make Checks, Money Orders or Cashier Checks to : Martin Ferguson. Personal checks will need to clear the bank before items will ship. If you wish to pay by PayPal, please contact me for invoice.

Who works on my pen, and how long do repairs take?

Only one person will work on your pen – Martin! Pens generally are repaired in the order in which they are received. Your pen, and every pen, is given exactly as much time as it takes to repair the pen properly. I like the line “Rush pen repairs, and you get bad repairs.” That may mean that it takes a little longer, but I think it’s worth the wait. Currently turn around is estimated to be at least 16 weeks. Note that this is only an estimate. Actual time will depend on the difficulty of the repairs on your pen, and the pens in the queue ahead of them.

The repair of plastic and celluloid is not an exact science. In fact, it’s more of an art. I tell customer’s that the time needed for the repair of cracks and other related flaws in pens is open ended.

Keep in mind that in some cases I’m working with plastics that are over 80 years old. There were variations in the formula for the materials supplied from one company to another, and even from one batch to the next. In general, I know what the material is and how it responds, but it’s impossible to predict precisely how the material will react every time. In some case the plastic has decayed to the point where it is very brittle, making it even more difficult to work, and requiring extra steps.

The solvents used need time to completely evaporate out of the repaired area between steps. There can be many steps with some pens; filling the crack, and then blending of the repair into the surrounding area a part of each step. Data from some companies indicates that full strength in a solvent weld is not achieved until a full week has passed, and in that time period the material will shrink to some extent. Extra layers to fill a defect are then required.

What all of this means is that sometimes the repair can be accomplished in a couple of days, sometimes it takes several weeks. I want you to be pleased with the repair, and you do too! Thanks for your patience while I try to do the best repair possible on your pen.

Note: Vintage fountain pens are old and can be brittle or have broken parts that you don’t see until restoration is begun. The repair prices above don’t include replacement of pen parts except as noted. Should other parts need to be replaced the customer will be contacted with costs. Repair prices don’t include shipping, handling or insurance (S/H/I). S/H will be charged based on address (generally in the USA – $10.00 priority mail). Insurance is extra and based on value of item(s).

Shipping within the United States (Shipping charges for other countries upon request)