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Dear all, I have a question about fully disassembling a Homo Sapiens pens. I am specifically interested in removing the packing unit of their power filler mechanism. I have not found one that has attempted it yet, and there seems to be no resource for any potential complications online. The pen is made so that the only thing you can take off is the nib unit. Even the blind cap has no notches to help you unthread it, should you need to. They like their pens sealed. Nevertheless, this can be problematic and challenging for us fountain pen folks, and we love a challenge. So I have some questions. Notice that my main concern really is with the material as I have not worked with their resins before and don't want to badly affect this pen that I'm working on. Like its glass transition temperature or its reaction to any chemicals. Has a full disassembly ever been attempted? This mainly refers to removing the rear packing unit. If so, what is the best method for removing it. I suspect the threads in the barrel might be glued. If so, what is the best method for weakening the glue without affecting the barrel resin? and what does Visconti use to glue it in the first place? (for when I put it back). My second question is regarding cleaning staining ink off the inside of a clear barrel. If there is anything you suggest I totally avoid on this resin please let me know now. any ideas welcome. Thank you for passing by. I'm looking forward to hearing any input on this. Best regards KR

Hi all, I am starting this thread because my first ever Sheaffer pen is currently on its way to me, and I would like to ‘pick the brains’ of the FPN ‘Hive Mind’ for some information about it. Although the pen that I have bought (from an auction site) was listed as being an ‘Imperial’, I believe that the correct name for it should be ‘Triumph’ (despite it having an inlaid nib, rather than one of the conical ‘Triumph’ nibs). My pen has the ‘brushed chrome’ finish, chrome trim, chrome clip, and a stainless steel nib. I believe therefore that it is a ‘Triumph 444’ (not a ‘444X’, or a ‘444XG’). It is the same model that is shown on… https://www.sheaffertarga.com/Imperial and Triumph/444 Chrome C.T.html …although mine has a ‘short diamond’ inlaid nib, rather than the ‘rounded V’ inlaid nib shown on that page. Which detail makes me think that it is a 1980s example of the pen, as shown on this webpage (it is directly underneath the picture of an Imperial Triumph 797 gold-plated ballpoint pen, in the small picture on the right). So, on to my questions: 1- the Name of the Pen? do you agree that I should refer to this pen as a ‘Triumph Brushed Chrome CT’, or should I call it a ‘Triumph 444’, or something else (apart, obviously, from naming my individual pen ‘Lucille’ 😉)? 2- Converter compatibility? the pen is coming to me with one of the squeeze-converters that has a sac enclosed within a metal shroud, and a bar to compress the sac. I would prefer to use one of the Sheaffer twist-action piston converters in the pen (so that I can see how much ink I have left in the pen), but will one of those fit into this pen? I have looked for lists of models that are compatible with those piston converters, but I have not yet found one that says that they will fit into the ‘Triumph’ model (or into the ‘Imperial’ for that matter). I have also looked for lists of models that are known to be incompatible with the piston converter, but those lists also seem to not be exhaustive and, from what I can tell, the pens listed on them seem to mostly be the slender/slimline Sheaffer models. My hope is that any pen that can take the squeeze converter is also going to be wide/long enough to take a twist/piston converter - but I am also aware that Sheaffer changed the shape of its cartridges at some point, so I fear that the twist converter might only be compatible with pens that were made to take the later cartridges. I am wary about that because my pen is coming to me with two of the older type, flat-at-both-ends-cylinder, ‘Skrip’ cartridges, so is presumably built to accept those. So, can any of you offer me any clarity about the compatibility (or not) of the twist/piston converter? Will it fit inside my pen? Will its open end be compatible with the feed spike/grip-section of my pen? Or did Sheaffer change the geometry of the feed spike/cartridge mouth interface when they changed the shape of their cartridges, and is the twist converter made to those specifications? 3- Cleaning? As this pen has an inlaid nib, I suspect that the task of dismantling it to remove the feed for ‘deep-cleaning’ would be very much a ‘non-trivial’ task. Certainly not one that is as easy as unscrewing the nib/feed unit of e.g. a Parker 45, Parker Sonnet, or a Pelikan M205. I don’t intend to attempt it, unless my pen is severely clogged with old ink, or something else. I am hoping to only need to run water through the grip-section, flush the pen using the squeeze converter, and maybe soak the grip-section in plain water for a few days. If those actions don’t work, I may move on to flushing/soaking with a solution of ammonia, but: should I avoid using the converter in conjunction with ammonia solution? Should I avoid soaking the whole grip-section in ammonia, and only flush that stuff through the inside of the grip-section? If the worst comes to pass, and I find that I need to try to dismantle the grip-section to get at the feed for a deep-clean, how do I go about attempting that process? Would the disassembly of this pen’s grip-section e.g. require the same procedure as for dismantling the grip-section of an ‘Imperial’? Or a different procedure? My apologies for the length of this essay, and my thanks to you in advance for any clarification that you can offer me. Oh, I would also welcome your ink recommendations - given the inlaid nib/difficulty of deep-cleaning the feed, I don’t intend to use my i-g inks or pigmented inks in this pen, but are there are any inks (apart from vintage Skrip) that you think that it will particularly like, or particularly dislike? I have inks made by Waterman, Parker Quink, Pelikan (4001 & Edelstein), Diamine, Pure Pens, and also some ‘ancient & venerable’ Noodler’s Black, which may have ‘gorn orff’ by now. Again, my thanks to you all in advance Slàinte, M.

Hi All Hope you are staying safe with coid19 I inked up my pen and now want to clean and change the ink The instructiosn dont explain how i (1) remove nib (2) pulloff the whole nib section to clean the barrel. There are no videos on youtube. Some comments here talk about old and new Stipulas so I am not sure whether to just pull out the nib. Help appreciated/gary

Some backstory: A little under two months ago, I spotted a Kijiji ad for a box of twelve vintage Youth fountain pens for cheap. So my friend and I jointly purchased them. I took four pens while he took the other eight. My pens ended up being three Youth 206's (one teal, one red, and one green) and a black Youth 208. To my disappointment, they were very scratchy, especially the 208. I was able to adjust the 206's to write very smoothly, and they're now my reliable workhorse pens. But the 208's nib remained scratchy, no matter what I tried. I took the 208 to Scriptus in the hopes that a nibmeister there would be able to fix it, but alas, they did not recognize the pen. One of the vintage experts from Ottawa commented that the pen looked like it had been dropped, saw that the nib was jammed in, and suggested that I soak the 208 in hot water and try to pull the nib and feed out. The problem is, I don't know how. I cannot find any information online about disassembling a Youth 208 (or a Youth 206, either). And yes, I searched on Baidu as well. I eventually figured out how to disassemble the Youth 206. Have an exploded view: Note that the feed and the nib are friction fit into the translucent collar, which is then friction fit into the clear section that also screws into the barrel and the hood. The straw fits into the back of the feed. I found some spare time tonight, so I got a vice, a cup of hot water, and got to work on disassembling the Youth 208. Have another exploded view: The vintage expert was right: the nib was jammed in. Pretty tightly, too. I pushed the feed from behind with a screwdriver, careful not to warp the plastic. Then, once the feed was exposed enough, I strapped a rubber band around it, put it in a vice, and pulled. I finally got it out. These pens have some sort of grease between the parts that screw together, but they do not seem to leak after reassembling. I hope somebody out there finds these pictures useful. Now... to find a replacement nib that will fit the Youth 208...

Hi, I have got two old Cross classic century gold fountain pens from my father. I'm not sure about the age. They are marked: 1/20 10KT GOLD FILLED with 14KT M nibs. They have problems with ink flow, dryness and scraping. The pens have now been cleaned in water for over 24 hours. No more ink is coming out. But, I have problems removing the nibs for further cleaning and adjustments. Is it possible to remove them at all or are they fixed? They are not moving at all when pulled. I'm trying with a rubber band between my fingers for better grip, but no :-( Hope you have som good solutions for me :-)

Hi y'all! I have a Montblanc 310 that has quite a gap between the nib and the feed and am not sure of what to do, as I'm not sure whether the gap is the result of the nib being bent upwards or the feed being bent downwards. There's a video showing this pen's tear-down here: https://youtu.be/H57t0ZLfs1Y?t=42 but no the clear piece that joins the section to the barrel on mine just won't budge. Any ideas? I would like to take it apart, so I can either fix the nib properly or apply hot air or water to the feed to bend it upward to have it touch the nib's underside. The pen writes well, but has issues starting after not using it for a day because the ink that fills that gap evaporates. Thanks!!! alex

I'm having trouble identifying exactly which model this Montblanc Monte Rosa is. Based on searches I think it's an 042 or 412 with a 14K gold nib, but what's throwing me off is that the other images I've seen have the star on the cap and sometimes the clip as well. Pictures are included, but here are the highlights: Silver metal screw-on cap with MONTBLANC in all caps and Monte Rosa in script at the base Gold nib stamped tip to collar: MONT / BLANC / 14C / MONTBLANC / 585 Diamond ink windows MADE IN GERMANY stamped above the ink window area Piston filler The tines are bent and the feed looks like something chewed on it. The nib also seems too loose, and I'm wondering if the unit isn't inserted as far as it ought to be. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to remove the piston. It seems like I ought to be able to remove the nib, but neither pulling nor turning seems to work (it's also super gunked-up and I'm still soaking it in water to try to get it clean. Ink and water will come sort of down the feed but the pen will not write. I'm chalking this up to the super dirty feed and I might try to floss between the nib and feed. Sometimes when filling with water or ink some of it bubbles through and comes out of the screw/piston area, so I think that a seal might be loose somewhere. That, or I need to fill and empty extremely slowly. Thanks for whatever insight you're able to provide. ETA: I managed to wiggle the nib out and it looks like the stamp is 342. So I guess the pen model is 342G? There's no G on the stamp but it's a gold nib, so it only makes sense. Still, it doesn't match any of the images I've found online and now I have to figure out how to get the feed out.

So today I was thinking it as a shame that the new Jinhao 85s are all glued together, because the feed in mine is cockeyed. The nib pulls out and pushes in the front for easy swapping, but I haven't been able to find a way to get ahold of the feed well enough to rotate it. This afternoon I thought I'd take another look. I went to unscrew the barrel and instead... the hood unscrewed! After watching ChrisRapp's video I wasn't planning to try and disassemble the hood; I hadn't given it a hot-water bath or anything. It just fell off in my hand! The coupler is *not* the same as the one from the Jinhao 51A. The threading is different, so the hoods can't just be swapped between them. I thought that, since I'd come this far, I might as well go ahead and see if I could get the feed drum out of the hood. If it was indeed the same as that found in the 51A, I have plenty of spares, so I don't mind destroying it to get it out. It was stuck in there pretty good, although I'm not sure with what. There doesn't seem to be a lot of glue residue inside. I mashed it pretty good getting it out. It does seem to be the same as the 51A assembly, except the collar is glued on (I haven't been able to get it to move, even twisting with two pairs of pliers) and the O-ring is missing. Here it is with a 51A assembly exploded for comparison. So, curiosity assuaged, I guess. UPDATE: Interestingly, the coupler on a 911 is thread compatible with the 85, although the reverse is not true (i.e., the 911 section will go on the 85 barrel, but the 911 barrel will not go on the 85 coupler - and for that matter, neither will the 911 hood). This gives a strange sort of gold/steel effect. The longer 911 section still fits in the 85 cap just fine, though, so I guess this is a way to save my 85 from the "dead pen drawer." UPDATE #2: After some further inspection under the loupe, it turns out that the collector drums aren't as similar as I first thought. The orienting fins are thicker on the 51A drum, so you have to shave them down in order to get it to fit into the 85 hood. In addition, the glued-on collar seems to be made of thinner plastic, giving it a slightly thinner overall diameter. The 51A drum wouldn't go in with the collar on *at all.* The reason for this seems to be that there's a counterpart collar, made of metal, integrated into the hood of the 85, and the 51A collar is too thick to mate with it. Oh well...

I've disassembled a couple of Parker 51s for cleaning and tuning. On one of these pens, the sac came off even though I didn't really want to take it off. I assume when I heated it up in order to take off the hood, it must've also destroyed whatever was holding this sac in place. The sac itself is somewhat discolored but it doesn't seem torn or damaged in any way. Is it okay to reuse this old sac by shellacing it back to the connector when I reassemble the pen? Or is this something that I shouldn't do?

I have had this ASC Bologna Extra for about a year, and was always curious about how to disassemble it because one day I will have to re-sac it. Today, with a thought derived from another thread on FPN, I was feeling brave and did it. First of all, I would like to thank FPN member sannidh and Youtuber sbrebrown for their answer and video to help me with this disassembly. sannidh's original post is here (a different topic but indirectly related to this because of the same filling mechanism): https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/351582-a-review-of-the-wahl-eversharp-decoband-in-rosewood/page-1 sbrebrown's video relevant to disassembly of this model is: Please see minute 4:44. Please see below photos: You can unscrew the nib/feed unit out of the section. You can unscrew the section out of the barrel. Observations: 1. There was no shellac or other heat sensitive adhesive on plastic nib collar threads so unscrewing was rather easy, both the nib unit and the section. 2. The nipple size seems to be for size 22 sac (or one size bigger or smaller), but the sac seems thinner in diameter. I could be wrong but it looks at least in my case, the sac size might be chosen to accommodate the narrow diameter of the brass casing. Otherwise the pen had to be made even girthier, which may not be possible depending on the diameter of their celluloid rods available. Or it's just fitted off centre in this case that it appears to be a smaller sac for the nipple. But my guess is the former. I didn't re-sac the pen, as it's still relatively new. When I do, I will first have to see if the sac with the right nipple size fits the brass casing. If not, a smaller size sac will have to do, even though it might be a tighter than ideal fit on the nipple. 3. The section is rather thin (partially inner-lined with brass). Be careful not to over-turn the nib unit when you screw it back on, to avoid any chance of cracking the section. Hope this satisfies your curiosity as it did for mine, and might be helpful to you one day. Regards, como

Hello everyone. Trying to open the rear (piston) end of a Geha (model 790, I think). Saw Bo-bo's suggestion if using a paper clip in the hole below the piston threads, and am unable to figure out how to use the paper clip to open it. The paper clip only goes in a couple of mm. I've bent the ends of a couple of paper clips and can't figure it out. Thank you in advance. Nick[ attachment=484016:Geha piston detail.jpg]

Was getting stiff after nearly 9 years since purchased new. Homemade 7.8mm spanner. LH threads. Another way to do is from nib unit end. Easy access and no tools needed. But I prefer to remove the filler on pens its possible on and grease the seal walls. Ymmv. Hope the pics help someone else attempting DIY.

i am having a bit of a trouble dissasembling the whole feed.. nib... section can't find any place that i could open it so i can clean the inside if anyone can please help me that would be helpful

I saw a rather interesting tool on eBay for disassembling Pelikans : https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tool-for-disassembling-Pelikan-120-140-M400-M200/163938321950?hash=item262b7c461e:g:tecAAOSw-s5dx8Id I cannot comment whether this is the appropriate tool to use compared with some of the knockout block assemblies that we've seen over the years, but I was fascinated with the video. It appears from the video that the barrel screws into the tool, so as to retain it when the piston assembly is being removed. Part of the tool appears to be wood, part steel. Pretty obviously, this is only valid for certain models of Pelikan (and is so noted within the ad, "Tool for disassembling Pelikan 120, 140, M400, M200"), but it did seem to be a solution that could allow for a modest amount of force instead of a solid whack to the piston assembly. US$65 (including shipping) is a bit steep for me to entertain this just to play with it, not forgetting that I do not pretend to be a pen engineer/repairer ! Still... John P.

Wahl aficionados, I recently got a Wahl Gold Filled Pen, frequently referred to as a "Coronet" (67S97), which is in the process of restoral. Step one is always inventory, followed by disassembly. I was actually surprised to learn that I was not the first person in the pen. The dried out sac was clearly labelled Esterbrook. I managed to pull the splined assembly out of the body without cracking the ink view portion (yeah! take the minor wins). Now I want to remove the section out of the splined ink view portion. I have pictures below. One of them is a zoom of the nib, section and splined ink view part. In the zoomed picture, There is an arrow drawn where I believe the joint for separating is located. Could someone confirm it for me? I am unsure if it is a press fit, or a screw-in fit. If someone know the answers to these two questions, it would be a great help. There have been so many of these all metal Coronet pens ruined during repair, that I don't want mine to join the scrap pile with it's brothers.

Hi, I took my Vac Mini apart for a thorough cleaning today and found an o-ring when emptying the tank of my cleaner. I have no idea where it goes, but I bet someone here does. Any idea based on the attached photo? Thanks!

While I had this apart, I thought I would take a picture to benefit others. The pen is a solid 14kt Command Performance. It had a very dented body. To gain access to the inside, to fix the dents, the pen had to be broken entirely apart to burnish the dents out. When burnishing the dents, it is better to get most the dent out and stop, than over do it and create a surface (outward) bump. The metal bodied Skylines have a plastic piece which presses and glues into the metal body, it is the threaded part in the picture which is next to the gold shell; I refer to it as the "Plug". This layout is true of both the Command Performance and the Gold Award. The body shell does not have plastic/hard rubber/celluloid under it (part of the reason why they dent). The cap Does have an inner liner. It has the usual fault that the cap liner has shrunk, and the shell is no longer bonded to it. This will be addressed in the restoration. To replace the sac the Plug must also be removed. The Sac is NOT glued to the section on this model, it actually glues to the Plug. The section needs to have a good seal where it presses into the Plug, otherwise, you can get leakage. This is an earlier model Command performance, you can tell by the fact the "tail" of the body is more pointed than later produced Command Performance pens. The same is true on Gold Award (gold filled) pens as well. A little background on this pen, it was an eBay find. The seller originally listed it as a "gold plated coronet" in his first (brief) listing. After a day he re-listed it as a gold plated pen. I made an offer on the pen, which took the dents into consideration (and the risk of destroying the pen getting it apart to fix the dents. He accepted the offer, he probably wondered why his dented "gold plated pen" got such a large offer, but he accepted the offer within 3 minutes. Some kind of insidious purple ink had been used in the pen, and the sac was so tender you could pull it apart with your fingers. The sac had the strength and consistency of properly cooked pasta. Tomorrow it hits the ultrasonic cleaner, and then a bit more burnishing will be done on the dents. A new Skyline sac will be installed, and the nib may take a few tweaks to get it perfect. It always feels good to save a pen from being sold for parts, or gold scrap.

I recently purchased a pair of Sheaffer pens. They are Balance models which are lever filll. Both are white dot, one with a lifetime nib, the other with a feather nib. Is the Section a friction fit with the body on these models, or do they screw in like the Triumph nib versions of the pens? Pictures:

I snagged a couple Balance pens which are lever fill. Both are white dot, one with Feather nib, the other with Lifetime nib. The quick question is whether the Section is a friction fit in the barrel, or a threaded assembly like some of the later pens which are piston fill (which have Triumph nib). Pictures of pens:

I recently purchased a pair of Sheaffer pens. They are Balance models which are lever filll. Both are white dot, one with a lifetime nib, the other with a feather nib. Is the Section a friction fit with the body on these models, or do they screw in like the Triumph nib versions of the pens? Pictures:

I have recently inherited a couple of pens from my father. I'm mainly a Parker freak, and one of them was a battered P75 I've repaired and put back on the road. The other takes me out of my comfort zone: a Conway 87 - see photos below. It's in quite a bad way and needs a good deal of TLC. It is inscribed 14CTGOLD on the nib, and 'Conway 87 made in England' on the barrel. I've found a website that sys these pens were made (or started being made) in 1960. The sac has totally perished. It looks to me as if the squeeze filler is not a removable converter, but is fixed into the pen. Is this correct? I don't want to apply too much force. What is the best way to disassemble the pen? I've recently successfully replaced a sac on an old Parker Duofold, with the help of advice from people in the FPN and a couple of Youtube videos, but there seems to be nothing equivalent for Conway Stewarts. Is it the black ring that unscrews, with the help of a hair drier and section pliers? I imagine the nib must be removed outwards, but is it a straight pull or does it unscrew? All help and advice gratefully received. It would be really nice to put this veteran back into working order. Peter

Hi, I just got a Parker 75 with a Medium nib, possibly 1970's, as the nib's marked with a letter and the tassies are dished, but it's incredibly dry (see sample). I already left the nib and the section soaking all night (not much came out), and then a few hours this morning, in warm water with a drop of dishwashing soap. There was some serious muck under the nib (at the tip of the feed), which I used an exacto knife to remove - you can see some of it in the photos, and there's also some in the slots where the nib slides into the feed. After the two soaks, it's somewhat better, but writing with this pen is still anything but pleasant. I suspect there's more dried ink between the nib and the feed, but I can't get to it unless I take the assembly apart. I've disassembled this kind of nib before. It took a bit of coaxing, but it was doable. This one, however, isn't budging one bit and, of course, I don't want to break anything, so I'm curbing my super-powers for now. I still have to try 10% ammonia, but that'll have to wait until I'm back home tonight, as I don't want to do that for more than an hour at a time (unless some learned expert considers that it's OK to leave it for longer periods - and how long, btw). Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how to remove the nib from the feed? Thanks! Alex

My older Nakaya & Platinum pens have friction-fit nibs and feeds that make it very easy to clean the pens, and to exchange nibs between pens. This year I picked up a new Nakaya Piccolo and a Platinum 3776 "Shungyo". Both of the nibs are very securely fitted, and seem difficult to remove. Can anyone advise, please, if it's possible to remove the newer nib and feed assemblies without using excessive force? Any help or advice will be appreciated

So I have a bit of an issue with a new style Omas Paragon that Ive had for a while. The pen ran great when I bought it secondhand. For quite a while actually. The section threads have a bit of friction before the facets are aligned when capped though. This is my only resin section Omas so the feel was new to me. One day I ran the cap about half a facet passed tight with the facets lined up. I was distracted and slightly over tightened the cap a hair. Since then, Ive had an ink leak at the silver trim where the section meets the body (green arrow). Im in the process of taking the pen a part and have the piston out along with the nib and feed (disassembled passed both red arrows). The feed/nib collar are still in the section. Is there a joint where the round section meets the faceted body at the green arrow? Ive taken a part several metal section Paragons and am familiar with the joint from section to body on those pens. Is the Milord made in the same way? I dont see a clear tube reservoir as I did on the new Paragon. The pen body looks to be the reservoir on the Milord and the section is made of the same material as the body. The joint location is a little mysterious to me in this case. I dont want to attempt to find a joint where one does not exist if you catch my drift!! I did find that some ink had made it passed the piston filling assembly on the other end though despite not seeing any ink seeping here when assembled. Its a great writer so I would love to get it back up and running again. Thanks for your help FPN! Cheers!