In nearly every filling system the part that ages is something soft, like a rubber sac, a diaphragm, a gasket or a seal. Binder's word for rubber that ink has slowly hardened is ossified, and he describes a pliable sac turning leathery and then stiff. So for any listing you want to know what kind of filler the pen has, whether its soft part has been replaced, and whether it takes in water today. Here's every system in our catalog.
Lever and button fillers
Both squeeze a rubber sac inside the barrel. On a lever filler, like the Sheaffer Lifetime Balance, a lever in the side of the barrel presses a metal bar against the sac. On a button filler, like the Parker Duofold Senior, you unscrew a blind cap at the end and press a button that bends a spring-metal bar against it.
The sac is what fails. An original sac from the 1920s or 1930s will have hardened or split, and Binder has seen old sacs die and dump ink all over the inside of a pen. One of his cardinal rules is that in a fight between an ossified sac and a lever, the sac wins every time, so never force a stiff lever. The cure is a new sac, which is the simplest restoration of any filler here. Binder points out a trade-off in sac materials. Silicone doesn't give off the sulfur that can turn some celluloids brown, but it lets gas through, so a silicone-sacked pen can leak if it's stored lying down or nib down.
In a listing, look for the words new sac or resacked, and ask whether the pen takes in water. If the seller doesn't know, plan on a resac.
Parker Vacumatic
Parker's Vacumatic of 1933 to 1948 holds ink in the barrel itself, and the striped celluloid lets you see the level. Under the blind cap is a plunger. Pressing it pushes a rubber diaphragm that drives air out, and releasing it draws ink in. The Vacumatic Major, the Debutante and the first Parker 51s all use it.
The diaphragm is the part that fails. Binder describes ossified diaphragms that shatter at a press of the plunger, and others that glue the pump in place so it won't move at all. Replacing one isn't hard for a restorer, but Binder says it's less straightforward than a sac, with some definite pitfalls. The plunger changed over the years, from the early lock-down type to the Speedline of 1937 and a celluloid plunger from 1942.
Ask the seller whether the diaphragm has been replaced, and ask for a photo with the blind cap off. A restored pen draws ink after a few pumps and holds it without leaking. A plunger that won't move is a pen that needs a restorer.
Parker Aero-metric
In 1948 Parker moved the 51 to the Aero-metric. Under the barrel is a sac of Pli-Glass, a PVC plastic, inside a metal sleeve with a ribbed bar, and a few presses on the bar fill the pen. The 51 Aero-metric uses the full sleeve, the Parker 21 a simplified version, and the 51 Demi from about 1950 a cheaper hoop filler, a U-shaped bar around the sac.
Parker expected about 30 years from Pli-Glass, and most sacs are now more than twice that age, so it's still the part to test. Look for a photo with the barrel off, ask whether the pen fills and holds ink, and check that nothing has wept into the barrel. A 51 that writes dry may only need old ink flushed out of the hood.
Sheaffer Touchdown and Snorkel
Sheaffer's Touchdown of 1949 squeezes the sac with air. You pull a wide tube out of the end of the barrel and push it back down. The Snorkel of 1952 adds a thin tube that slides out from under the nib, so only the tube goes into the bottle. Binder calls it the most complex filling system ever fitted to a fountain pen. The Snorkel Statesman, the Snorkel Crest, the PFM and the 1949 Touchdown Tuckaway all work this way.
There's more to wear out. A Snorkel needs a sac, an O-ring and its gaskets, and Binder says an old O-ring isn't all right even when it looks fine and feels pliable. The Snorkel tube is delicate, and old leaks can rust the parts inside. Binder calls restoring one a longer and more complicated job than an ordinary resac.
The water test tells you most. Ask the seller to fill the pen with water and push the tube down quickly. A sealed Snorkel shoots a strong jet, while a weak dribble means it needs seals. Our Snorkel anatomy guide goes deeper.
Sheaffer Vac-Fil and other plunger fillers
Sheaffer sold its Vacuum-Fil plunger pens from the mid-1930s until the Touchdown replaced it in 1949. There's no sac. You pull a rod out, push it down, and a gasket on the plunger head builds a vacuum that pulls ink straight into the barrel. Lifetime Balances and Tuckaways were both made with it, so check which filler you're getting. A Vac-Fil has no lever and a knurled blind cap at the end.
Binder says these fillers have mostly died because the materials failed. The original white felt shaft packing dried out, and the rubber plunger-head gasket has to be replaced even if it looks perfect. Restorers can rebuild them, often with an O-ring in place of the felt, but it's harder work than a lever pen. Ask whether the filler has been rebuilt, and assume it hasn't if the seller doesn't know.
The Pilot Custom 823 is a modern plunger filler. Binder calls it essentially the old Watanabe plunger design brought up to date, and pushing the plunger home seals the barrel shut. It relies on a seal too, so look in the photos for ink behind the plunger at the back of the barrel.
Piston fillers
Turn the knob at the end and a screw drives a piston up or down the barrel. Pelikan's first pen of 1929 was a piston filler, and Montblanc was among the German makers that patented telescoping pistons with nested screws for a longer stroke.
The seal on the piston is the part that ages. Early pens used cork. Pelikan switched to synthetic seals by 1942, so a 1930s Pelikan 100 almost always needs its cork replaced, and The Pelikan's Perch notes that early synthetic seals can shrink too. The 1950s Montblanc 146 and 144 use a cork-sealed telescopic piston, and getting to a dried-out cork means warming off a celluloid section that can break if it's forced. Modern pistons, like the Pelikan M400 or a 1980s Montblanc 149, usually need only a clean and fresh grease, or a new seal if they weep.
Ask the seller to turn the knob through a full stroke and to say whether it draws water. Through the ink window, look for ink behind the piston, which means the seal is leaking.
Cartridge and converter
A cartridge pen has no filler of its own to wear out. You push in a disposable cartridge or a converter, a small refillable reservoir. That makes pens like the Parker 45, the Parker 75, the Sheaffer Targa and the Pilot Custom 74 the easiest to live with. The catches are elsewhere. Parker and Pilot use their own cartridge sizes, and Binder says most 1960s and 1970s Japanese pocket pens won't take a converter at all, though the Pilot MYU and Elite S take Pilot's CON-20 or CON-40. Some Parker 45 and 75 sections shrink with age. Check that the right cartridge or converter comes with the pen.
Which last best
- Cartridge and converter. Nothing inside to restore, and a missing converter is easy to replace.
- Parker Aero-metric. Parker adopted it for reliability, and the PVC sac has outlasted its rating.
- Modern pistons. Occasional cleaning and grease, and a seal now and then.
- Lever and button. One sac, and the simplest restoration.
- Vacumatic and cork-sealed pistons. One part, but harder to reach and replace.
- Touchdown, Snorkel and Vac-Fil. The most seals and the most specialized work.
A pen lower on this list can be a great buy once it's been restored, so check whether that work has been done.
