Resaccing A Fountain Pen
| Field | Non-electronic communication |
| Went Obsolete | Slowly, beginning in 1945. |
| Made Obsolete By | The Biro, a.k.a. ballpoint pen, and to a lesser extent cartridge pens and other filling-systems. |
| Knowledge Assumed | How to gently heat things. How to physically stress things with slowly increasing force. |
| When useful | When one's fountain pen failed to suck ink from a bottle, or sometimes when it leaked. |
Most true fountain pens internally employ a small rubber sac which is used in the process of filling the pen with ink. Often, the sac also holds the ink after filling. With time, the sac becomes stiff and/or brittle and must be replaced. This process is called resaccing the pen.
There are a great variety of methods for filling a fountain pen and for the general construction of the pen. As a result, there are a great variety of techniques for resaccing the pen. They generally involve disassembly of the pen, removal of the old sac, installing and affixing the new sac and then reassembly of the pen.
Disassembly of the pen can be as simple as pulling the barrel of the pen from the nib-and-section, or it can involve the removal of pins, screws, and other fasteners. The disassembly often requires the use of heat to soften pen components, sealants, or adhesives. It also often requires the use of force sufficient to break loose a joint but not so great as to break or crack the plastic or hard rubber that the pen parts are made of. Of particular note is the disassembly of pens made of celluloid (typically from the 20s or 30s). This often requires that the area of the barrel where the section is inserted be softened by heat. However, it doesn't take much more heat to cause the celluloid to combust, resulting in a great amount of smoke, a brief flame, and a long period of regret over a lost pen. Fortunately, the experience is vivid enough that one remembers with great clarity the smell that immediately precedes the start of combustion, and the pen repairperson quickly learns to remove a celluloid pen from the heat when a hint of that smell is first perceived.
Removal of the old sac, installing a new sac, and reassembling the pen are generally less demanding. And less dramatic.
Information about resaccing pens is surprisingly abundant on the web. For example, you can find a good introduction to the topic sufficient to try your hand at it at the following site: http://www.pentrace.net/article012901050.html(approve sites)
N.B. While generally obsolete, this skill is not absolutely so. Luddites, eccentrics, aesthetes, and the environmentally conscious everywhere still have occasional need of someone with this skill.
