One of the main reasons to get a Fisher Space Pen is the company’s lifetime guarantee of its pen. This is an impressive offering given just how long these pens tend to stick around.
Still, we had questions. For instance, what is the warranty and does it cover? If a Space Pen was to break, what should you do?
Fisher Space Pen Warranty Explained
The language on Fisher’s website is not always the most clear, but from what we can tell the company offers a lifetime warranty on all its pens. The definitive return or replace page is here, and it clearly states that Fisher pens are “guaranteed against all manufacturing defects.”
What this means is that Fisher would repair/replace a pen if they did something wrong or a pen, say, fell apart in the course of normal use. If you were to drop your pen, causing it to break, or to use it has an ice pick, again causing it to break, the warranty would not cover the breakage.
As the warranty if a lifetime one, all Fisher Space Pens are covered as they are all sold with the warranty. Additionally, it appears that all vintage Space Pens are covered as well, as the warranty seems to have been active for as far back as we can see.
On Fisher’s Space Pen FAQ page the company says that the pens have an “unconditional lifetime guarantee” which seems to widen the scope past that of manufacturing defects, but this seems like an overly generous claim and one that you might not want to attempt to utilize.
Because this is a lifetime warranty and there are no exclusions specifically stated as to transferability, it stands to reason that the warranty is transferable from one owner to the next. This means that purchasing a used Space Pen would not void its warranty. The company does not have a mail-in registration form with its pens, reinforcing the ability to transfer a the warranty.
How To Use Fisher’s Warranty?
The best thing to do at the start is to email [email protected] and explain the situation. In the past they have been very prompt and thorough in helping with issues and talking through pen problems.
If your pen is in fact in need of repair they will provide you with an address and instructions on sending the pen in. If you are in the US you will basically have to box up your pen (don’t put it in an envelope)and ship it to Fisher in Yucca, Nevada, remembering to include your address and phone number with the pen.
You should get the pen back in 3-4 weeks.
Fisher’s Pen Warranty Tested
Recently a Space Pen B4 (the CH4 Shuttle pen but with a grid pattern finish) of mine started to fall apart when I was using it. The steel outside and the brass inside are not bonded together but rather the brass is pressed into the steel. This seems fine for most of the time, but my vintage CH4 was coming apart when I pressed too hard (not very hard!) when writing. What was happening was that the refill would push the top of the pen right off the brass piece that connected the top half and the grip section. I was about to start Krazy gluing everything together when I remembered the warranty.
I emailed Fisher and was prompted told my pen was applicable for repair or replacement. I was to send it in and wait to hear back. This was in early February 2020.
By mid-March I had received a call from Fisher asking for my preference on what to do with the pen. It turned out that the pen had a hairline crack, which was causing the issues. Fisher was happy to replace it with a new model, but my pen was from the early 1970s so it likely had significant value to me outside of the cost of a new pen. As such, they could attempt to fix the pen body with some kind of epoxy.
I opted to have the original fixed as opposed to receiving a new item.
As Good As New
By the end of April I receive the pen alongside a new refill, a receipt, and a nice note from a Fisher representative. The Space Pen B4 is in perfect condition. The epoxied area is impossible to locate, but the then is in like-new condition, so it wasn’t only fixed but cleaned as well.
I still have the pen and I couldn’t be happier with Fisher Space Pen’s customer service as well as the company’s willingness to honor their lifetime warranty. I’ll continue buying their pens and now I’ll even buy more expensive pens, like the Infinium, with a new confidence.