Flea Market

So I've been thinking that I want to try a nice fountain pen. I prefer vintage things and wanted to know your thoughts on picking up a pen at a flea market. The one I'm going to on Sunday I've seen pens before for a couple dollars. From what little research I've done it looks like I'll have to clean up the nib and possibly replace the bladder. I just wanted to see if its worth picking up a pen from a flea market to use when I don't have any experience. I suppose I could just grab a couple and then post them on here and see what you all say I need to do to it. I know I can pick up a cheap fountain pen at Staples but I like the weight and feel of most vintage items better anyway.
By the way I introduced myself in the newbie check in but I'm not sure how many people here check all the other boards so I just want to say hello as well. Hopefully I'll be coming back for some more advice.

Fellow newb here.

I started with nib tweaking, messing up a few nibs, progressed to sac changing and ended up with polishing nibs on micro mesh

My first hurrah moment was when i successfully dismantled a Sheaffer Snorkel and managed to fix it up properly.

Let me just say that once change your first sac there'll be no going back ;-)

If you can find a cheap vintage pen and have the tinkering inclination, then just go for it.

It's fun and parts are cheap.

I recommend getting yourself a handful of vintage Esterbrooks to play with.

Nibs are interchangeable, they write really well when fixed, and they're usually dirt cheap.

A perfect way to practice ;-)

The main problem may be in recognizing what pens are likely candidates for restoration for someone who has never done this before. Simple lever fillers are generally easy, but not all are equally so. More complicated filling systems like the Snorkel or a Vacumatic can be done, but you may not want to do them first thing (then again you might ). It may help to have some experience in judging what condition a nib is in, whether it just needs some tweaking which you can do yourself, or needs professional attention.

At a minimum, with a lever filler, consider it a near certainty that you will have to replace the sac (or bladder if you prefer). There are a number of places that sell them, I've bought from fountainpensacs.com but there are others. It's not generally economical to buy one sac, so you would want to buy in quantity, most likely a sampler pack with different sizes. You may find that an internal pressure bar also needs to be replaced, although I've only had to do that a few times. You will want to take the opportunity of having it disassembled to give it a very thorough cleaning, inside and out. Here is a useful link on pen sac replacement.

Actually, if you can find some old Sheaffer School pens at the flea market, those can be nearly ready to use. They use Sheaffer cartridges or converters which can still be bought, and most likely would only need a thorough flushing and cleaning to get out the old ink. But you still have to be careful about damage, particularly to the nib. Bring a loupe if you have one.

None of this is to discourage you from picking up a few pens for a few dollars. Restoring a vintage pen can be very satisfying, and can give you an excellent pen for a reasonable price. There's a little extra pride in knowing that I've revived pens from as long ago as the 1920s and made them useful again. If you have never used a fountain pen before, though, I'd still suggest getting an inexpensive but good modern pen to give you an idea of what they should be like. There's a whole list of "usual suspects" for first pens, but I won't get into that right now.

A substantial portion of my collection came from flea markets. I'm fortunate that my local area has several markets that turn up fountain pens on a regular basis.

A few of my guidelines for flea market shopping:

* Go often. New material turns up every week. If you only go once or twice per season, I'm going to beat you to the good stuff!
* Go early...but not too early. You want to get there before I do, but not before the vendors have unpacked and set up.
* Ask. Many times fountain pens (and also razors, if you're into that) are buried in boxes or otherwise not readily visible. If even you don't see anything interesting, ask the vendor if they have any pens. Even if they don't, they might remember you for next time and bring grandpa's old pens to the market.
* Carry a loupe and use it. A 10X loupe is an essential tool for examining pens.
* When you find a pen, check for the following:
- Intact nib without damage. A broken nib is useless
- Cracks, particularly in the grip section. These are difficult to repair, if at all. Also, check for cracks in the barrel and cap.
- Hardware condition. Look for brassing (plating loss) and broken or bent metal parts.
- Check the condition of the filler system. Broken levers, missing buttons, etc. will probably mean you don't want this pen unless it's extremely rare. Anticipate that all lever-fill and button-fill pens will need to be re-sacced.
- Check that all pieces are accounted for. A pen with a missing cap is useless.
* Negotiate the price. Ask the vendor how much he wants for the pen. Most items are not price-tagged. Consider his opening price as a starting point. Offer less...even half the price...and see how he responds. If the price is too high and non-negotiable, walk away. The vendor may decide that half price is better than no sale.
* Finally, when you get your finds home, take some photos and post them here. We love to look at flea market scores and we can probably help you with restoration advice.

It sounds like I'll be picking up some pens this weekend. When I do I'll post some pics and get some advice.
Snargle, it sounds like we'll be fighting over some pens. I see you're from Harrisburg so I'm sure I've probably run into you before at Renningers. I use to sell there with my wife some times but now she's sticking to ebay. We still go looking for costume jewelry for her to sell though.

+1 on bringing the loupe. It can save you from buying a badly damaged pen.

I have a loupe, but what exactly am I looking for in a nib?

liveforpeas said:

I have a loupe, but what exactly am I looking for in a nib?

Click to expand...

Primarily, you want to check the nib to make sure that the "iridium" tips are intact and that the tines are not bent or otherwise misaligned. You also want to examine the pen for any cracks.

I'm probably not going to hit the fleas this weekend, so you have clear sailing! The antique shops/malls in the Adamstown area are also good hunting grounds. Some are ridiculously overpriced, but there are bargains to be had if you know what to look for.

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm probably putting to much thought into getting the right pens at a flea market. I'm sure I can look them over and tell if they're messed up or not; then again now that I said that I'll probably buy something I think is great and you guys will point out some obvious huge errors.

Snargle, if you're not already aware the last weekend of this month this years first extravaganza in the Adamstown area. I know there is some way overpriced stuff those weekends but there are always deals to be had hiding somewhere.