Herons Mooncake
vintage writing restorations
waterman
wahl eversharp
conklin
mabie todd
aikin lambert
moore
onoto
omas
namiki pilot
platinum
sailor
montblanc
geha
pelikan
leboeuf
bayard
paillard
sheaffer
parker
diamond
salz
morrison
waterman wahl eversharp conklin mabie todd aikin lambert moore onoto omas namiki pilot platinum sailor montblanc geha pelikan leboeuf bayard paillard sheaffer parker diamond salz morrison
me, if i was the father of my adopted south carolinian tabby named Billi
heronsmooncake@gmail.com
I'm a hobbyist restorer learning from a few esteemed restorers and collectors in the vintage space, my day job keeps the ship running smoothly so I'm not looking to make extra income from this hobby haha. Prices mainly reflect the increased cost of spare parts, crumbling materials and tooling required to do a proper job and really keep these icons of history writing for decades to come. (My goal is to not lose money this year HAHA!)
Especially nowadays, it's harder to find pens in good condition as there has historically been really bad restoration practices that have degraded pens beyond saving but are sold as if nothing is wrong. I want to make vintage pens more accessible to people looking for more sustainable purchases and lower that hurdle of fear when buying vintage. Not everyone has the time or tooling to worry about these things so happy to be a resource! Especially with the increased price of pens and gold, gold nibs on vintage fountain pens are still priced reasonably and accessible with such beautiful and unique characteristics that are so different from nib to nib and pen to pen.
Resources and Links
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Vintage Fountain Pen Care Guide
Learn the basics on how to take care of your pens and all the different mechanisms that vintage pens have to offer! Actively being further researched and developed.
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My Restoration Process
My business partner and I have a restoration process (formulated and made here in Maryland) that's different from many others where no dyes, simichrome, ammonia, bleach, or toxic-to-human chemicals come in contact with the pens. This process rejuvenates the pen's virgin material integrity (strength + color) of ebonite and celluloid while preventing continued build up of hydrogen sulfide (ebonite) and acetic/nitric acid (celluloid) by removing microscopic layers from the heavily oxidized sections, which means the colors should not fade for another 20+ years if stored correctly.
Additionally, all parts are dissembled, cleaned, coated/waxed with carnauba wax, and polished/buffed, which is particularly important for any plated trim where off gassing by ebonite/celluloid causes plating loss. All pens have their ebonite feeds heat set, nibs tuned, and all pens come with brand new ink sacs, freshly talc'd. Pens will come with either latex or silicone ink sacs, please reach out with questions if it matters for your ink type. Silicone sacs are hard to get in bulk and at decent prices so I reserve these for celluloid pens for the most part, as they prevent even more off gassing effects in the pen.
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Quality Control Testing Pens
Flexibility Standard, it's super subjective so it's not accurate, but it's at least precise [Acaia Lunar Scale] and consistent to the pens I flex pressure test. Wish there was an actual standard for comparison as different restorers and sellers grade nibs differently. All pen flexibility tests are done on an Acaia Lunar Scale (±0.1g), yes I'm an espresso nerd too, to cut down on subjectiveness and overblown stats.
For Reference:
Waterman (13) #3 is ~230g
Lottery Waterman (12/42/52) #2 nib is ~250g
Waterman Pink (54/94) #5 is ~230g
Waterman Pink (55) #7 is ~220g
MTB Swan 1500 is ~200g
MTB Swan Chatelaine ~260g
Wahl Eversharp Doric #10 is ~250gLine Variation, I am using a line variation standard that I'm still perfecting that is non-linear as the way we perceive line thickness is highly relative to scale, i.e. a 0.10mm seems much thinner than 0.15mm, but 2.10mm vs 2.50mm looks not that big of a jump.