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This artcile is to discuss about the disassembly and restoration of a regular line Omas 361, the piston which with a pin, should also work for the old model of Omas Paragon from the 1950s. I got a NOS Omas 361 and a vintage Omas Paragon from the 1950's recently, the piston filling system with a pin really make them special, and I really enjoyed the restoration work. Special thanks to Tom Westerich from http://penboard.de and Richard Binder from http://richardspens.com, enjoy! Pic 1. Green Box of Omas 361 Pic 2. Open Box of Omas 361 with Papers Pic 3. Detail of Omas 361 Papers - Front Pic 4. Detail of Omas 361 Papers - Back Pic 5. Nib Detail - 1 Pic 6. Nib Detail - 2 Pic 7. Nib Detail - 3 Pic 8. Nib Detail - 4 Pic 9. Cap Detail - 1 Pic 10. Cap Detail - 2 Pic 11. Cap Detail - 3 Pic 12. Barrel Detail Pic 13. Fully DisassemblyFrom left to right: a. Cap b. Barrel c. Piston Cork Unit d. Blind Cap e. Pin f. Feed g. Nib h. Hood To disassemble the nib and feed 1. heat the Part H(hood), then pull the Part H(hood) out of Part B(barrel) 2. you will see Part F(feed) and Part G(nib) in Part B(barrel) 3. heat the Part B(barrel) slightly, then carefully pull the Part F(feed) and Part G(nib) out To disassemble the piston 1. pull the Part E(pin) out in picture 14 2. uncrew the Part D(blind cap) out 3. pull the Part C(piston cork unit) out from the Part B(barrel) To restore 1. fully disassemble the pen following the steps above 2. apply scilion to the cork(replace the wooden cork if your pen comes with a wooden one) 3. put the Part C(piston cork unit) into the Part B(barrel) and mark the position of the pin hole (IMPORTANT!) 4. push the Part C(piston cork unit) all the way down of Part B(barrel) 5. screw the Part D(blind cap) on the Part B(barrel), make sure the pin hole on Part D(blind cap) match the position of the pin hole of Part C(piston cork unit) 6. push the Part C(piston cork unit) all the way to the top and make sure the pin hole of Part C(piston cork unit) and Part D(blind cap) are aligned 7. push the Part E(pin) through the pin hole of Part C(piston cork unit) and Part D(blind cap) 8. install the Part F(feed) and Part G(nib) to Part B(barrel) 9. install the Part H(hood) Pic 14. Pin

Rolled the dice on a Omas 631 I have always wanted an Italian pen. My whole life I have really wanted an Aurora or Omas pen but price has always prevented me from making the leap. I often google around looking at Aurora 88s and such and for giggles, from time to time, I browse the eBay listings for Delta, Aurora and Omas pens, put them in my watch list and watch them skyrocket past anything I could pay. One of the pens that tickles and fascinates me is the Omas 361. I rarely see them on sale or even on eBay and when they show up they usually go for €350 and up or look frail and risky. Well a healthy, no-reserve 361 was at the top of my watch list and was still under $200 so I set my study timer to go off 4 minutes before the auction and went back to work. It was still sitting there at $160 when my timer went off. I thought to myself if someone walked in here holding that pen and said, “give me 2 bills right now and you can have it,” I would go for it. So I decided $200 sounded good, more than I could or should spend, but I recently purged about 10 pens on the classifieds here and some were tough sales and one was pen I hadn’t even listed or intended to sell. So I thought go for it. I bid a tad above what I really wanted to pay to give myself a change and … well wouldn’t you know it? $218 for a 361 not bad, or did I overpay? Meanwhile it is still a very risky deal as it needs to get here from Italy (a hem. Italian mail gods be kind) and well who knows what condition it is in and how robust it will be? I am nervous and excited. My heart was pumping pretty hard when I hit the submit button. I feel guilty about splurging but I am already looking at my desk for pens I might part with to ease the blow. I had no business buying this pen but … yeah. Meanwhile, no that is not a typo, it is not a 360 (though I love those too). It is a 361, which is (like the Parker 180) a double sided nib but unlike double sided nibs that do, say, F and B on each side this does flex and manifold(esque) on each side. The pen flexes when you write on one side, and is stiff on the other.

Some time ago I bought a superb Omas 361 - at the moment it is very difficult to get ink to the nib (shaking the pen helps) If I leave the pen overnight no ink to the nib, leave it for a half day then it starts writing but stops after a few words. Any advice re how to get the pen to start first time would be welcome. Currently using Omas black ink and have flushed the pen. Thanks for any advice. Roger