Overall the packaging was in great condition and while some of the crayons were broken in half, the only crayon that was missing was the black. There was only two small pieces of the black.

The shape of these crayons is a flat rectangular shape so there are lots of edges to use for drawing and coloring.

The two images above show the full range of colors. There is actually a great range of colors in this set. When testing these, they definitely felt like a traditional wax crayon but the color deposit seemed a little better than a Crayola but its been years since I used a classic Crayola crayon so I’m just guessing here based on my memory. The big sticks of crayon is really fun to use and allows for a nice shading option.

Using the side of the crayon allowed me to shade in color and then used the corners or edges to create lines. Because of the shapes, its sometimes a little less precise then a round or pointed tool but it was sort of fun to be a little more loose and free with these.

While I don’t expect to use these a lot its so fun to see the quality of materials produced decades ago.

I did find a box of these crayons on Ebay at $7 right now in much better shape than the set I got.

Do you ever pick up old art or office supplies at thrift stores or yard sales? What was your best score? Share with us in the comments!

The post Retro Review: Tru-Tone Crayons appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I make an exception in this case because I want to introduce you to a type of pen rather than a very specific make and model. This is a telescoping dip pen. This was a traveling dip pen that was designed to retract the nib into the barrel by way of the  ring around the barrel and the length could be extended by extending the rear finial.

The model I purchased had no hallmark or branding on it and the nib said “SIGNATURE 6 Made in U.S.A.” I don’t think the nib is gold but rather is probably gold tone steel. The barrel, if it was gold was only gold plate and very thinly coated. I purchased it for about $30 on ebay via an auction (not a “Buy It Now”). The nib, which I suspected was probably bent or damaged actually writes quite well. I had planned on replacing it with a Zebra G or Nikko G but the matching SIGNATURE gold nib writes well enough for me to use for ink testing purposes for the time being.

I love the detail etching on the barrel and ring. The whole pen is very delicate and pretty. It’s about the width of a standard pencil so it’s much slimmer than most fountain pens. It is comparable to a lot of the pocket dip pens I’ve collected over the years.

I would compare the nib to a European medium nib. I tested the nib with the best vintage pen ink available — Waterman Inspired Blue (my bottle just has a weird label) on and Elia Note Tomoe River A5 notebook (totally sold out).

The slide mechanism is a little stiff so I am going to apply some silicone grease and see if that helps lubricate it a bit though the internet searches I’ve done suggest I look to other grease or oils so if any of you are experts in this area, please give me some suggestions.

I just wanted a chance to introduce you to a pen style you might not have seen or considered. It’s the kind of thing that in a flea market tray or pen show display, might look like a broken pen, weird mechanical pencil or some other freaky Victorian tool but might end up being something that with a little cleaning and a couple dollars for a dip nib could become you new favorite ink testing tool.

DISCLAIMER: I purchased this item with my own money but I do reference items available from our sponsors. Help support this site by shopping with our sponsors and be sure to leave a comment in your order that you heard about them from us. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Vintage Find: Telescoping Dip Pen appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

If you know me, you know I’m not super into vintage pens (sorry Jesi!) and I mostly stick to modern ones. So I put the pen carefully away and didn’t use it. Recently I’ve been thinking about it though, so I decided to pull it out and see what’s what.

The first thing I wanted to do was identify it. When I did a quick google search one of the first things that came up was “Which model is my pen?” from the helpful site ParkerPens.net. Kudos to Tony for creating such an easy way to navigate vintage Parkers! Basically I scrolled down the page until I found a pen that  looked like mine, clicked on the image and started reading. Partway down the page I discovered that my pen is a Parker 45 Classic GT (GT stands for gold trim) and was likely produced in the late 60’s. The body is Teal Blue (also listed as Blue Green) and the nib is a Fine (as indicated on the underside of the pen).

Getting it started writing was a bit rough – I went with a bit of Parker Quink Black ink just to see what was what. While the pen didn’t originally come with a converter, there’s one inside. It could probably use a good soak, but otherwise I’m excited that it writes!

• Papers: Crossfield Journal ($24.00)
• Pen: Parker 45 Classic GT
• Inks: Parker Quink Black (57mL for $12.00)

The post Eye Candy: Parker 45 Classic GT appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Thanks, Ana! A bit of a disclaimer — in order to keep this post to something that is useful to those who are not yet familiar with Esterbrook pens (or vintage pens in general), I have glossed over many of the fine details about the pen company.  In order to learn more about Esterbrook in the present, read this post.  If you want more details, please see the amazing Esterbrook.net by Brian Anderson including his page of links for further reading.

I am known for having a bit of an interest in Esterbrooks (understatement). I first became enamored with vintage pens when I realized how many fountain pens were available but unusable due to their condition.  I’ve always loved fixing and tinkering so I picked up some broken pens at a show; the rest is history.

Esterbrooks seemed to be present every time I looked for vintage pens that needed repair.  There are a few reasons for this; Esterbrooks were one of the most popular pens in the 1930s to 1960.  They were everywhere because they were inexpensive and sturdy; workhorse pens that were made to stand up to years of use. Esterbrooks that are sold now are anywhere from 60 to 90 years old, still ready to be used daily.

Most Esterbrooks on the market belong to the J series. They are easy to identify by the colors of the pen body (black, red, gray, green, copper or blue), the striated, swirled pattern and the clip.  Shown below is an Esterbrook J on the right with an earlier Esterbrook dollar pen on the left.  The J below on the right is also classified as a “transitional” pen, identifiable by the lack of a jewel on the bottom. This example includes a jewel with three ribbed lines and — Esterbrook was transitioning from the dollar pen to the iconic J pen.

Now for size.  The J series contains three sizes, J, LJ, and SJ. The J is the standard pen, 5 inches long and 1/2 inches in diameter.  LJ pens are the same length as the J pen, but more slender at 3/8 inches in diameter.  SJ pens keep the slender diameter of the LJ pens, but they are shorter as well at 4 3/4 inches.  The photo below shows an SJ pen between two J pens.

Pencils and ballpoint pens were also a part of the series, below is the photo of a pencil in the center. Ballpoint Esterbrooks can be difficult to find; the refill for these pens was a proprietary refill only manufactured by Esterbrook.  Once the company stopped producing these, the pens were nearly useless other than collecting and I believe many were thrown out.  However, due to the ingenuity of John Hubbard, adapters are now available to make these useful again.  Read this post to find out more.

You may also notice that the pen on the left in the photo above has a different pattern on the body.  This is called an icicle pen for the straight pattern of the striations.  Due to the rarity of this pattern, it is a more expensive pen and sought after by many collectors.  It’s not often you see pinstriped pens!

The final type of Esterbrook I will talk about here is the Purse pen, often called the Pastel pen.  The size on these pens is CH, as slender as the above SJ pen but shorter as well.  They were produced to be used by women and were sized to fit in a pocket or purse.  These pens were sold individually or as a set.  The Petit Pak refers to a set of matching fountain pen and pencil that included a plastic sleeve (shown below on the left).

The Purse pens were produced in two different series which can be identified by the color of their jewels.  Those with black jewels were made between 1954 and 1957 and are true pastel colors; pink, peach, yellow, blue, aqua, gray, lilac, and white. The second series of Purse pens were not actually pastel colors.  They have jewels that (usually) match the color of the pen; Trianon pink, Aloha Yellow, Country Green, Peacock Blue, Tempo Red, and Arctic White.

Finally, the feature that set Esterbrook pens apart from most other pen companies at the time: the interchangeable nibs. Esterbrook produced many different styles of nib units that could be changed by the consumer; the nib units are removed by unscrewing and could be replaced by screwing in a new unit.  These units were available at two different price levels, the less expensive solid Durachrome nibs (the red and white boxes below) and the more expensive Master series (green boxes below) that were tipped with iridium. Each series contained a wide variety of nib choices, including extra fine through broad, stub and italic, flexible nibs and rigid.  Any of the Esterbrook pens (except specific models that I won’t talk about here) could use any of the nib units.

I hope this guide has been helpful to anyone looking to start into the vintage pen world; I always say that Esterbrooks are a great way to dive into vintage pens and among the least expensive vintage pens to purchase.  Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!

The post Intro to Vintage Esterbrooks appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

It’s no secret that I (Jesi) love Esterbrooks.  I believe for the price and quality, there is no single pen better as an introduction into vintage pens.  Of the Esterbrook models, the one that is most prolific on the market today is the J series due to its popularity at the time of production and the durability of the pen itself.

The J series contained fountain pens, pencils and, later on, matching ballpoint pens (which were denoted FJ).  These three used a black jewel on the top of each, but the shape was slightly different for each tool: domed for the fountain pen, concave for the pencil and pointed for the ballpoint (below, the ballpoint pen is the one on the left).

This small detail allowed the user to find what they needed without looking.  An amazingly helpful detail if you had chosen all three in the same color or if the were grabbing a pen from a shirt pocket or a purse.

As a person who loves to collect, I mean sell, Esterbrooks, especially the J series, I have been hesitant to sell the ballpoint Js.  Esterbrook used propriatary refills for their ballpoint pens and until now I have never found a suitable replacement.  But a then I was sent a sample from John Hubbard whose company, Bamapens, has invested thought, time, and knowledge of vintage pens into creating a solution!

First, let me apologize.  When I received the adapter, I didn’t stop to take a photo.  I popped it into the nearest Esterbrook ballpoint and started writing.  Since these are vintage pens, most of the time they are not clean inside by the time they come to me.  Hence the ink and dirt residue on the adapter.  It was actually a beautiful white when received!  However, I think the reside lets the labeling stand out beautifully.

John was kind enough to include a pen refill with this as well and he chose a great one.

This is a D1 sized Uni JetstreamSXR-200-07.  It seats perfectly in the adapter, no wiggle room but also easy to install.

The adapter itself is 3-D printed by John through Shapeways where they are available for sale and are printed to order.  You need an adapter?  Well, let me just print that for you.  I love it. So much like the Jetsons!

The adaper fits perfectly into the pen.

But how did it perform during a writing test?  Once again, perfectly.  The D1 refill is a great fit and this adapter still allows you to click away and annoy those around you.

I am a recent convert to Uni products and I love using them.  Combine that with an Esterbrook?  As far as ballpoint pens go, I think it just doesn’t get any better.  Thank you, John, for bringing life back to the Esterbrook FJ!

The post Vintage Review: Esterbrook Ballpoint Pen Brought Back to Life appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Zack asks:

I have been looking for a full-sized green/teal body fountain pen for the longest time. I haven’t seen many that are within my budget of <$200 that are to my liking. I was wondering if you have any in mind that could fit my specifications. Nib material is not important, but of course if 14k gold is within the budget, that is the best. I’d like to fill them with my everyday inks, which are more of a teal or green black colour, like Sailor Jentle Miruai, Noodler’s Air Corp and Cult Pens Diamine Deep Dark Green.

I have a couple that I’m choosing between, like the Karas Kustoms Decograph Green, or the Taccia Spectrum Forest Green, but I am open to more suggestions! Thank you!

Laura responds:

Zack! You are a man after my own heart because I love teal pens.  You are also somewhat in luck because the current Sailor Pro Gear Slim Special Edition Ocean ($200) is a teal pen right up your alley.  The next pen that came to mind is the Pelikan Classic M205 Aquamarine ($152).  Even with the color name Aquamarine, I think this one fits in the teal category.

Another completely different route would be looking into getting a custom pen made.  Many custom pen makers are happy to work with you and find the perfect color blanks (blocks of acrylic or other material that they turn into pens) for your perfect pen.  A few custom pen makers you could contact include Newton Pens,  Edison Pen Co., or Woodshed Pen Co.  All have Instagram accounts you can follow to see what kinds of pens they make, and all can be contacted through their websites regarding custom orders, though some may have a wait list.

Editor’s Note: But you are right, the  Opus 88 Koloro Blue with Blue ($93), the  Taccia Spectrum Forest Green ($127) and the Karas Pen Co Decograph Green ($140) are all good options as well.

Russ asks:

I am interested to know which dip pen nib would you suggest I use with watercolor painting. I currently apply diluted watercolor paint with a Bamboo dip pen for outlining shapes on watercolor paper. Once the line has dried, I then apply water inside the shape. The clear water then activates the outline line and bleeds (vignettes) into the interior of the shape. This makes for very interesting paintings.

To see an example of one of my paintings employing this technique, go here.

I understand that no matter what nib I use I will need to refill the nib often. My concern is the fact that the pigment of even diluted watercolor will be thicker than standard dip pen inks. I also prefer a thicker line than the fine lines that stainless steel nibs produce. I can modify my Bamboo pen points if I want a thicker line. But, Bamboo pens wear out too soon. And, I don’t think a calligraphy-style (wide flat edge) nib would be the answer for the line boldness that I’m looking for.

I’m not looking for barrel-loaded pens. I am interested in dip nib pens that I can charge with diluted watercolor or colored inks on the fly. I may only need one color solution for an inch – then change color for another passage somewhere else in the painting.

So, which dip pen nib type would you suggest that would provide the best pigment ‘flow’ characteristics – and a slightly bolder line (if possible)?

P.S.: I know that a flexible steel nib can produce a wider line width. But, this would require a consistent pen pressure throughout the painting. If there was a nib that provided a naturally bolder line (without added pressure), this would be more comfortable and produce a consistent line width.

Thanks for your input. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Jesi responds:

Thank you for sharing your artwork, Russ.  I enjoy your unique use of both watercolor and dip nibs!

My first thought after reading your question was to recommend that you look into Lettering nibs, either modern or vintage.  These nibs, which come in varying widths, are designed with two pieces clipped together.  The space between acts as a reservoir, holding more ink (or in your case, watercolor) and helping you to write longer with a more consistant flow.   Lettering nibs are often used for styles of writing like Blackletter that were designed with with quills in mind rather than the thin point of a fountain pen.

You can find these nibs in a huge variety of widths from .3mm up to 4mm.  Choices also include the shape of the tip: sharp, round, or flat.  Each shape will give you a unique line style that will add more fun tools for you to choose from.

For larger line widths, you can look into Poster nibs, Brush nibs or Automatic pens.  These give an even wider variety of choices.

Good luck with your artwork and please come back to show more in the future!

John requests:

I want to write letters to my friends and others using very good stationery. All of my letters will be written using fountain pens.
I don’t want to just peel off a page Rhodia and stick it in an envelope.
Let’s accept that elegance is more important than price, but functionality is critical.

Ana responds:

There are some great, simple stationery options available that will look good without breaking the bank. Original Crown Mill and G. Lalo are the “go-to” papers for letter writing in the stationery community. G. Lalo pads are available in half sheet and full sheet sizes for $12 and $16 respectively and Original Crown Mill paper is available in pure cotton or a laid finish in A4 or A5. Prices for the Original Crown Mill range from $14-$58 depending on the package configuration. Both companies offer envelopes to match.

Of course, we cannot forget Crane & Co. They are the classic American stationery company that makes boxed letter sheets with matching envelopes starting at $26 for a box of 20.

And last, let me plug the firm and say that Hallmark Gold Crown stores feature a selection of letter sheets and envelopes. I can’t guarantee all will be fountain pen friendly but I’ve had good luck with a lot of them. The flat cards are particularly nice. I recommend the cream or white cards or paper over the ones with a lot of color printed on them. Some options are even available for purchase on the web site.

The post Ask The Desk: Teal Pens, Dip Pens and Stationery appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Mike modified his Display stand to fit the Lady Sheaffer Skripserts and it holds a ton of them too! The display holds a total of 22 pens (or pencils).

The initial plan was to use the block in reverse and have the pens currently in use in the solid part facing forward. I, however, have been keeping the pen and pencil sets in the open sections as there is a perfectly drilled hole at the bottom to rest the pencil tip into. I have four pen and pencil sets now so its almost filled in the “front” with matched sets!

I also have both of the leaf designs now – one in black and one in white – which occupy the last two slots in the “front”. A keen eye might notice that one of the pen and pencil sets is from the later “white dot” Lady Sheaffer line and not the original Skripsert line. It still has the netting etched design and opens to reveal a powder blue grip section and “fingernail” nib so its still a Lady Sheaffer in my book! The other “cheat” is my Sheaffer Imperial that I bought early on. It has a beautiful inset nib in 14K gold and a gold barrel so its still a pretty chic edition. It can stay until the Ladies run him out.

I have a couple pens away for nib tuning and one that seems to permanently live in my Story Supply Co. notebook cover in my bag (yes, it’s just a travelin’ Lady!) so I only have a few slots left. I can’t believe how quickly this collection grew!

If you are building a special pen collection you want to display, definitely drop Mike a line about making a custom display for you. I know he’s made several different pieces for folks over the years.

DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Dudek Modern Goods for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

The post Dudek Modern Goods “The Lady” Display appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I wanted to do a follow-up to what happened to my Parker Duofold in Atlanta. I wanted to share a GOOD repair story that happened at the Chicago Pen Show. I bought a low-priced Lady Sheaffer Skripsert on Thursday night on a vendor’s table only to discover that there was a crack in the nib plastic a couple days later. Now, I didn’t look closely enough when I purchased it to discover the crack so I know this was my fault.

I mentioned the crack to someone at the show on Sunday and was told that Ron Zorn at Main Street Pens was the man to see and that he might have parts to fix a Lady Sheaffer Skripsert. Later, he happened to come by the Vanness table while I was working and I mentioned my broken Lady Sheaffer and he told me to come by he table right then. I followed him into the ballroom and was able to watch him disassemble the complicated assembly of the partially hooded nib from the cracked housing. He had a spare housing and even had new-old-stock nibs and housings so I purchased a spare fine nib as well as having him replace the housing for the original nib.

He did the work quickly and talked me through the procedure. He even told me he had a lot of additional  parts for Lady Sheaffers and that if I had any others that needed repairs to let him know.

I thought it was interesting to see that the dolphin nose angle of the nib is less severe on the X-Fine nib than on the medium nib. They are both 14K nibs and very smooth.

I thought it would be good to share a repair story with a happy ending.

When I got back to Kansas City, I put a turquoise Sheaffer cartridge in it and was actually quite pleased with the color of the ink. I noticed a little bit a a red halo to it which was a pleasant surprise. I plan to use up the ink and then refill the cartridges because finding a converter to fit the Lady Sheaffers is kind of a challenging. The X-Fine writes beautifully and I love it!

The “new” gold Lady Sheaffer Skripsert came with a little carrying case but I thought I’d show the whole collection together — two Lady Sheaffer Skripserts and the Sheaffer Imperial plus the extra nib unit. Now to find some of those exotic Lady Sheaffer beauties in blue and red!

The post When Good Repairs Happen to Good Pens appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

One of the pens I was hoping to find at the Atlanta Pen Show was a vintage Lady Sheaffer Skripsert. A friend of mine showed me hers and I fell in love with it so I knew it was definitely a pen style I wanted to keep my eye out for.

The story behind the Lady Sheaffer Skripserts were that they were pens (and pencils) designed specifically for ladies in decorative patterns and posh finishes as fashion accessories from the late 50s into the 70s. They were available with either steel or gold nibs and some of the designs included raised, jeweled bands around the middle of the pen for an even more glamorous look.

This ad for the Lady Sheaffer, lovingly known to collectors as “the shopping list” was published in Pen World magazine in 1994 and posted to the Fountain Pen Network Forum in a thread titled “Ladies in Tulle!” back in 2008.

Well,I totally lucked out because I found a vendor who had several different models to choose from including a very rare Christmas patterned one with holly berries on the cap (not to my taste but in retrospect, its incredibly rare!). I had a hard time picking just one of the many designs and he made me a deal on two different models, both with 14K nibs.

From what I understand, the later the Lady Sheaffer was produced, the more likely the ends are to be flat instead of rounded. So my guess is that the two I purchased are probably late 60s or early 70s.

Once I got home and could start doing more detailed research, I was able to determine that the black pen with gold “tulle” is definitely a Lady Sheaffer. The nib is referred to as a Stylpoint nib as it partially hooded. There’s also a bit of a flip up at the end of the nib which if you didn’t know that was how the nibs were designed might make you think the nib had been sprung. But its not. They were designed that way.

Upon further study, the gold pen with black diamond pattern is actually a Sheaffer Imperial Sovereign rather than a Lady Sheaffer Skripsert. The inlay nib should have been the givaway but I did not know enough about the long history of the Skripsert line to know all the nib variation so I took a chance because it was beautiful. I ended up with a great pen regardless.

The Lady Sheaffer Skripsert was NOS (new old stock), complete with its original sticker, so really how could I pass it up?

And the Sheaffer Imperial was hallmarked on the barrel with a crown and “14K G.F. Sheaffer U.S.A.” So I think the barrel and cap are gold plated as well as the nib. Swank!

What should have also been the give away that Imperial was a different beast is that the barrel is a bit wider than the Lady Sheaffer. They are the same length but the Lady Sheaffer is a little bit more tapered overall for a slightly more diminutive silhouette. Its not good or bad but it shows that doing your homework prior to a show is important. I ended up with a happy surprise and learning more about vintage Sheaffers in general but more research would have made me better informed overall.

Both the Lady Sheaffer and the Imperial wrote beautifully. The Lady Sheaffer had a medium nib which wrote pretty wet and its flip up angle took a bit of getting used to. I had heard the flip was designed to enable writing at more angles but could not find any information on the internet to corroborate that so I’m not sure. If you know why the Stylpoint nibs were designed with a flip, please leave a note in the comments. I theorize that it is a bit like the Fude de Mannen Japanese nibs that allow for a wider range of stroke widths at a wider range of angle but again, I don’t have any proof nor have I used the pen long enough to prove my theory.

The Imperial has a fine nib that is perfect! It writes beautifully and as soon as I get cartridges or converters for these two pens, I have a feeling that they will end up in regular rotation. They are both comfortable in my hand, lovely to look and and beautiful writers. How can you beat that?

In the end, I’m pleased with my vintage Sheaffer purchases but I would have been happier with myself if I’d been better informed before I got to the show. But knowledge comes with time and asking the right questions.

For more information about Lady Sheaffer Skripserts:

• Pendemonium has a full catalog of the Lady Sheaffers from 1959 online if you want to see more of the pens in detail.
• Sheaffer Targa has a visual reference list of the Lady Sheaffers and the Sheaffer Imperials available on their site.

The post Vintage Fountain Pens: Lady Sheaffer Skripsert and Sheaffer Imperial appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

I’ve spent a lot of time this past week trying to decide the best way to talk about what was the saddest part of my Atlanta Pen Show experience. I mentioned to a vendor that I had a beloved vintage Parker Duofold vac filler but that the vacuum-filler didn’t work and he said “Oh, there’s a guy here who specializes in fixes those. You should take it over and have him look at it.”

I was very excited at the possibility of getting my pen in full working order so I hopped over to the repairman and he seemed fairly convinced that for a reasonable fee and a couple of hours he could get my pen in working order. I left him my pen and my phone number and headed off to lunch.

This is where things went sideways and I should have probably talked to people with more experience getting pens repaired to know what questions to ask and what outcomes I could expect.

I dropped off my pen around noon and did not hear back from the repairman by 4pm. I started to get concerned but didn’t want to pester him. I know how busy tables can get and the potential to get backed up but I also knew that the show floor closed up at 5pm and if he was not going to get time to work on my pen, I wanted to be retrieve before 5pm and either bring it back next year or make arrangements for shipping.

When I got to his table, he informed me that the prior owner of the pen must have epoxied the vac into the end of the pen and, as a result, when he attempted to remove it, the barrel of the pen melted and warped. In other words, my pen was returned to me more damaged than when I left it with him and I only received a cursory apology and a “these things sometimes happen”.  I was not charged for the mishap but I was not compensated in anyway for the damage either.

As one of my first vintage fountain pens and a thrift store score at that, I have a lot of sentimental attachment to the pen. Yes, most of my love is a result of the pen having a beautiful, slightly flexible gold nib but still!

So, from my cautionary tale, I want to provide some advice to anyone seeking pen repairs, nib tuning or other manipulations from someone, either at a pen show or online:

• Be sure to ask is there a possibility that the pen might sustain additional damage?
• If so, whose responsibility is it? (Go into the transaction knowing ahead of time if the repairman is not held responsible for someone else’s janky repair work like epoxy so you are not taken by surprise like I was)
• Does the repairman have spare parts on site should the pen need to be modified due to breakage or damage? At a show, he might not have all his spare parts but might be able to take the pen back to his shop and finish repairs and mail the pen back to you.
• Get good cost estimates up front. If the repairman want payment up front, verify what refund policy he has should he be unable to complete the repairs.

In the end, it can’t hurt to ask all the questions and if a repairman (or person) is unwilling to answer them, feel free to share my experience as the reason you’re asking. Not that you distrust them but you know that bad things have happened to good pens.

The post When Bad Repairs Happen To Good Pens appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.