With any kind of antique item, restoration can be close to vandalism! However, if applied sympathetically and with care, an old fountain pen can be restored to an attractive cosmetic appearance and full functionality. Read below to see what we do.

All the pens we sell have been treated with at least some of the restoration techniques listed below. The objective is to restore a good cosmetic appearance without damaging details or removing imprints, etc.

Every pen is completely dismantled and all components are examined for damage or wear beyond acceptable limits. All parts are thoroughly cleaned by one or more of the following:

• Water bath
• Ultrasonic cleaning tank
• Use of solvents

As far as possible, damaged parts are replaced from stock. In some cases, cracks or deep scratches can be filled - this will always be declared in the description, but such repairs can be very successful and usually very difficult to see. Bent nibs can usually be straightened out and damaged or worn tips can usually be re-profiled. Some nibs are still available and we often replace the nib on hard-working pens such as the Parker 51.

Rubber ink sacs or diaphragms are always replaced irrespective of the condition of the original and any rubber seals are always replaced. The plastic ink sacs used on Parker aerometric pens don't perish like rubber, so these are only replaced if damaged in some way - spares are difficult to find.

We always carefully re-polish each pen and this is what really gives it back its appearance. All exposed threads and the maker's imprint are first masked with tape and then the plastic parts are polished either by hand or with a buffer as appropriate. The aim is to do the minimum necessary to bring back the appearance.

The metal parts are hand polished, using jewellers' rouge and if there is any brassing to plated parts, they are finished off with a spot of wax polish to delay the re-oxidation of the exposed brass. By the way, if this waxing is repeated by the user every so often, the appearance can be kept really good.

Hard rubber pens, particularly in black, present their own problems. Very often the surface is oxidised by exposure to light and moisture and if the surface is patterned (chased) as is often the case, there is little that can be done to remove the brown oxidation. We have a number of techniques which sometimes work and sometimes don't. If we sell a pen with visible oxidation, it will always be mentioned in the description.

This is an effect which afflicts some of the earlier coloured and patterned plastic pens. What happens is that pigments from the ink and from the rubber ink sac react with the plastic, producing a characteristic amber colour. This is usually most visible in the pen barrel after the ink sac has perished and leaked. It is also often seen around the middle of the cap. Although ambering can be improved a bit by thorough cleaning, it is really an irreversible problem and the buyer must decide if the pen is still attractive enough to buy. The jade pearl Parker Duofolds of the 1920s are particularly vulnerable to this problem and in fact I've never seen one completely free from ambering, even in books.