Posted by 2manypenz on 27 December 2013 - 02:54 PM in Say Hello!

Posted by 2manypenz on 21 November 2013 - 08:17 PM in Elements of Collecting: Hunting, Valuing and Polemicizing

Posted by 2manypenz on 13 November 2013 - 03:06 AM in Elements of Collecting: Hunting, Valuing and Polemicizing

It's weird being in a picture, but never seeing the photographer...

I need to lose some weight...

Thanks....

If I'd known that was you I'd have given you a hug and a kiss! I still have and use that demi P51 whose cap you frosted....

Posted by 2manypenz on 10 November 2013 - 08:18 PM in Elements of Collecting: Hunting, Valuing and Polemicizing

Posted by 2manypenz on 06 November 2013 - 08:10 PM in Elements of Collecting: Hunting, Valuing and Polemicizing

This showed up on Neal Laver's doorstep recently and he graciously shared it with us on another forum....
Does anyone recognise the designer?

Posted by 2manypenz on 18 August 2013 - 06:23 PM in Elements of Collecting: Hunting, Valuing and Polemicizing

Per Henry's request, I am re-posting his explanation of the repair process here as it's easier for me than him....My pleasure indeed!

Posted Today, 12:41

This was a very difficult repair to undertake.

As you can see from the first few photographs which Neal has provided, it was a comparatively huge piece of the cap which was missing, and my first attempt at doing it, was to use a clipless Parker 51 cap, wrapped in a layer of tracing paper, and placed inside the mouth of the cap of the Namiki Pen, to support the resin [dyed black] which was 'poured' into the space provided so conveniently by the idiot who broke the pen!

Patience was the key word from here on, and I had to sit holding the pen cap and tilting it one way, and then the other until the viscosity of the resin had thickened to the extent that I could park the cap onto a piece of 'Blue-Tack' to set. I left it in that position overnight, and when I came down to the workshop the next morning, I removed the 51 cap, and then carefully peeled the tracing paper from the underside of the resin, which was really well-set!

As you can see from the 'before' photographs, the shape of the missing piece is that of a capital letter 'D'. Well, I fairly soon discovered that the two corners of the letter D shape [where the two ends of the curve meets the two edges of the lip of the cap] did not grip onto the cap!!! So, I had to think of another way of tackling the problem!

I took the resin piece out of the space!

I then went through one of my 'spares draws', looking for a pen cap with the same diameter cap mouth, and found one that looked appropriate, both in size, and colour. I then cut [with a piercing saw blade, which is as thin as a needle!] the cap lip off it [just over one centemetre from the lip of the cap].

I put the 'cylindar' shaped piece onto a tapered steel mandril, until it was firmly gripped, then I 'flat-filed' the curved surface of it until it fitted exactly the mouth of the Namiki cap. [BTW, I forgot to mention that I had sawn-off the Namiki cap back to the groove line, near the mouth of the cap!] After I was satisfied that I had a clean fit, I stuck it with Araldite, 'mopped up' any 'splurge' that had appeared inside the cap! And then I waited!

When all was dry, and set hard, I mixed some more resin, [dyed black] and 'dollopped' it into the now 'D' shaped space to receive it, I went through the 'tilting' procedure again, but not for quite so long this time, as there was considerably less resin involved, then it was placed onto the piece of 'Blue-Tack'. Then I just waited!

When it was set, I started to 'cut-back' the resin area, using ever increasing 'smoothness' of carborundum paper, until it was 'level' with the surrounding area, carefully avoiding the gold pattern on the pen cap!

And there you have it!

S'easy really!!!

Truffle Finder.


henrysimpole.com
Beautiful handcrafted fountain pens by Henry Simpole....

Posted by 2manypenz on 18 August 2013 - 05:08 PM in Elements of Collecting: Hunting, Valuing and Polemicizing

I have edited the OP to show I posted on behalf of Neal. He is not a member of this board just yet. Sorry for any confusion.

Posted by 2manypenz on 18 August 2013 - 02:17 PM in Elements of Collecting: Hunting, Valuing and Polemicizing

Posted on behalf of Neal Laver:

Posted Today, 04:11

Here's the story linked to Henry's intriguing "vision from far eastern lands!".



A couple of weeks ago I took a fancy to a pen that although very beautiful and desirable, was badly damaged... the photographs were poor, the seller a man of few words, and of course competition from others too. It was one of those heart or head moments really. In the back of my mind I knew someone who I thought would be capable of rescuing this pen, and so after many phone calls with Henry I took the plunge, and became the excited owner of a 1920's Dunhill Namiki. When the pen arrived I was relieved to find a pen far more beautiful than those awful online pictures had suggested.... but the cap damage was not for the feint hearted.... a huge chunk was missing and lost forever.









More conversations with Henry followed, and then the pen was packed off for surgery. More conversations, more sweat and tears (from Henry!) and finally after just a few days, Henry's call that said "it's done, and on it's way back to you!". The pen arrived yesterday.... and wow, what a fantastic job our Henry has done! Have a look at these "before & after" comparisons!










How about that for a restoration! Here's a few more images to savour....
















I can't thank Henry enough for his skill and expertise! I'll leave it to Henry to decide whether or not he will detail the steps he took to restore the damage. He will tell you that this is not a completely invisible repair.... that was almost certainly impossible, but you have to look damn hard to really see where restoration has taken place, and most importantly a beautiful piece of art has been saved!



Thanks again Henry.... I hope you enjoyed the journey!





Neal.

www.neallaverphoto.co.uk The original posting to the thread

Posted by 2manypenz on 11 June 2013 - 09:55 PM in Say Hello!

In Neal's stead....The Cloud's House 30th Anniversary commemorative....

Posted by 2manypenz on 11 June 2013 - 01:38 PM in Say Hello!

Welcome Truffle! I'm sure you'll find much to say and see here....right up your alley!