Frequently Asked Questions

what brands of pens do you repair? do you repair pencils and ballpoint pens? do you repair modern pens?

The short answer is: we repair all brands of fountain pens, older or younger. We also can repair many older pencils and ballpoint pens. The long answer is as follows:

Older pens (lets arbitrarily say: made before about 1970) were designed to be repaired. They came apart, and parts could be easily removed. Parts were made in a robust way, out of good-quality materials. After about 1970, the pen industry discovered planned obsolescence; they designed things to be replaced, not repaired. Materials were of lower quality, and pens were designed to have assembled portions swapped out entirely rather than repaired. Because of the lower-quality materials, the same parts will always fail in any given pen model, and thus finding a part will be impossible: they are all broken, by design!

More recently, modern makers ration their parts out, and eliminate them entirely when a line is ‘retired’ (which is when they want you to buy a new product.) Generally, the more expensive the pen, the more likely it is to break, and the less likely it is you will find parts for it.

This same situation affects pencils and ballpoint pens. Even early pencils were not made to be disassembled, although some were. And ballpoint pens only started to be made after about 1970, so they were always designed to be throw-aways. A few high-end makers produce ballpoint pens which can be repaired, but parts are very scarce (as above, they are deliberately designed so that the same part always breaks, after the same amount of use.)

how can i send you my pen? do you accept international shipments?

Repairs can be sent to us using any of the major carriers: Post Office, UPS, FedEx, Purolator, DHL. We only ask that you not use CanPar; in our experience they break and lose shipments far more often than the others.

We are happy to repair pens from all over the world. However, any shipping, duties, taxes, or tariffs, etc., are the responsibility of the customer. Please review our shipping advice for some suggestions.

how long will it take to get my pen repaired?

This is a complicated question. We can have most repairs on our bench within a week or two of receiving them (depending on workload).

This being said, there are many factors involved in vintage pen repairs. Plastic repairs vary in the amount of time required, with some repairs taking multiple treatments using solvents that, in some cases, require a week or more of curing time. Particularly complicated repairs need focus and attention; if we are not mentally or physically able to do such a repair on any given day, we will delay it, so that we don’t accidentally destroy your pen. We may have to find parts, and they likely have to be cleaned or re-furbished. (For more information on what it takes to find parts, please see our essay Where Are All the Cheap (Parts) Pens Gone?)

do you have an open shop? can we meet directly to discuss my pen or drop it off? Can I phone or text you?

We do not have an open shop. For insurance, and other, reasons we are not able to accept business visitors at our home.

As for consultation, we are happy to arrange to meet in the Greater Toronto Area; fees for this service are $150 per hour, including travel time, with a one hour minimum.

For personal reasons, business phone calls will not be accepted, and texts will not likely be answered. I really, really hate phone calls.

What we really like is email, although our responses may not be immediate.

what is a ‘bench fee’?

Bench fees are standard practice across most repair industries. A bench fee is a non-refundable fee that convers several expenses incurred by repairers, such as:

  • time spent receiving & unpacking your pen;
  • time needed to make an assessment of condition;
  • time spent documenting assessment & repairs;
  • time spent communicating with you;
  • time spent, and materials used, packaging for return shipping.

Because these activities are universal to all repair situations, it is a flat fee applying to all items sent to us, whether they can be repaired or not. However, if you decide to proceed with repairs, we are happy to apply the bench fee as a credit towards the work we do for you. (I have been told this is a terrible practice, which makes no financial sense. This is true, but we are not heartless greedy people just out to make a buck.)

do you sell parts? can you find a part for me?

We do not sell parts. We need our parts for our repair customers. Parts are becoming increasingly scarce.

Likewise, we do not conduct parts searches. It can take hours of effort, over days and months, just to find one part, and this usually uses readily available public resources (like: ebay?). If we offered this service, it would be the equivalent of us requiring $100 per hour to browse the internet for you, for an open-ended period of time. Pretty sure you don’t want that. Really sure I don’t want that. (For more thoughts on what it takes to find parts, please see our essay Where Are All the Cheap (Parts) Pens Gone?)