How To Take Apart Visconti Nib

[Wael El-Dasher]

I have only one Visconti that I recently was lucky enough to buy from Bryant, its the Divine Comedy, which a wonderful writer with a B nib that feels stubby, but after filling it with MB Racing Green I decided that MB Oyster Gray would be a more appropriate color to use in that pen.

 

I still have a lot of ink left in it and would like to figure out how to flush it. I read on FPN a few old threads that recommend removing the nib. I've never done that before, do I just twist the nib and feeder unit-clockwise?

 

If so, then what's next? Do I need to seal the thread (I assume it's threaded) with silicone or teflon tape? Do I need any special tools?

 

If someone made a video that would be very helpful. It's not a cheap pen and would hate to ruin it, as it's a hard pen to replace. They've become rare these days.

 

cheers

 

Wael

Edited October 29, 2011 by Wael El-Dasher

[Wael El-Dasher]

On another note...if after I remove the nib, can I use something like the baby bottle nipple bristle brush to clean the inside of the barrel? The ink window looks like it could use a little cleaning, or should I just wet a paper towel, like Bounty, and shove that inside, the same way I clean the inside of my pen caps?

 

Cheers

 

Wael

[efchem]

From what I know, some Visconti nibs unscrew and some do not. I am pretty sure that all are friction fit so if you grab the nib and feed firmly, possibly with something to help grip, it should pull straight out. I would then only flush with water. I personally would not stick anything inside the pen.

 

Good luck,

Erick

[WendyNC]

Whether you can/should pull the nib really depends on your tools and level of experience. Michael Masyama, Visconti's USA nib guy, made it clear to me that this was not something I should be trying at home.

 

I fill and flush (repeatedly). Using a VTI helps with this. MBRG is an easy ink to clean, so it shouldn't take too much to remove. I then thoroughly wrap the nib and feed in a paper towel and put it in a narrow glass to wick out the cleaning water.

 

I've found that patience is the key with these things.

[Ghost Plane]

Just rinse well.

[Wael El-Dasher]

From what I know, some Visconti nibs unscrew and some do not. I am pretty sure that all are friction fit so if you grab the nib and feed firmly, possibly with something to help grip, it should pull straight out. I would then only flush with water. I personally would not stick anything inside the pen.

 

Good luck,

Erick

 

Erick,

 

I'm confused, are you saying it doesn't unscrew out? It's pulled out? I was under the impression it unscrews.

[watch_art]

If it unscrews, it will also pull out. Most open nib fountain pens have a nib and feed that can be pulled or knocked out. Lots of modern pens use a three piece nib unit: housing (with threads) nib and feed.

The housing is what unscrews from the section/gripper.

 

Look at this:

 

TWSBI, but others look similar.

 

 

[Wael El-Dasher]

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss78/waeleldasher/IMG_3914-1.jpgWell, I just found these photos that Bryant took. It seems like the threads are not used to screw/unscrew out of the section. I guess it just pulls out. Anyone can confirm this?

 

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss78/waeleldasher/IMG_3910-1.jpg

 

[watch_art]

The threads are used. They do screw in and out. If you just pull you'll only get a nib and feed out. The housing (see my above post) will still be in the section.

[Wael El-Dasher]

OK! That's good to know. I wasn't sure if its the angle the photos were taken in, but the threads looked more like evenly spaced ridges.

Edited October 29, 2011 by Wael El-Dasher

[fabrimedeiros]

From what I know, some Visconti nibs unscrew and some do not. I am pretty sure that all are friction fit so if you grab the nib and feed firmly, possibly with something to help grip, it should pull straight out. I would then only flush with water. I personally would not stick anything inside the pen.

 

Good luck,

Erick

 

Erick,

 

I'm confused, are you saying it doesn't unscrew out? It's pulled out? I was under the impression it unscrews.

 

 

Don't pull the nib out. They're screwed. What Erick said is true, my HS unscrewed the nib easily, but I couldn't do the same with OMD. I like to lube all my pistons fillers/ vacuum filler once a year at least, but I think I'll need a Visconti nib tool. Avoid misalign the nib and feed. And do not broke any fin under the feed. They're fragile.

Edited October 29, 2011 by fabrimedeiros

[WendyNC]

In order to remove the feed housing, you do indeed need a special tool. The nib and the feed are friction fit into the housing.

 

I believe that the units shown in Bryant's photo are those for the HS calligraphy set.

 

Edited to add that not all Visconti nibs use the more complicated system. For instance, the Ragtimes are simple friction fit and the feeds and nibs are easy to remove and replace on the ones I have.

 

The earlier version of the double-reservoir power filler was the easy one, where the nib unit screws out of the small reservoir. Now those really are easy to clean!

Edited October 29, 2011 by WendyNC

[efchem]

From what I know, some Visconti nibs unscrew and some do not. I am pretty sure that all are friction fit so if you grab the nib and feed firmly, possibly with something to help grip, it should pull straight out. I would then only flush with water. I personally would not stick anything inside the pen.

 

Good luck,

Erick

 

Erick,

 

I'm confused, are you saying it doesn't unscrew out? It's pulled out? I was under the impression it unscrews.

 

 

Don't pull the nib out. They're screwed. What Erick said is true, my HS unscrewed the nib easily, but I couldn't do the same with OMD. I like to lube all my pistons fillers/ vacuum filler once a year at least, but I think I'll need a Visconti nib tool. Avoid misalign the nib and feed. And do not broke any fin under the feed. They're fragile.

 

I have had the exact opposite problem. On half of my Visconti's, I can not unscrew them and they get misaligned when trying (this includes my HS). I found it very easy to pull the nib and feed without any chance of damaging anything. I also read in other threads that unscrewing the nib unit not recommended because of possible damage to the collar (ie. Stipula).

 

That all being said, I agree that good old flushing and patience is really the best method.

[eric47]

Some Viscontis are friction fit, some have screw-in nib units like the ones in Bryant's photos.

 

While the nib/feed are friction fit into the collar of the screw-in units, the Bock hardware ain't that great -- so I wouldn't make a habit of pulling the nibs and feed on those. The collars used on these screw-in unit are different from the ones that Stipula use, which efchem mentioned above.

 

Even with pens that take the screw-in units, it doesn't mean they're always easy to unscrew (by hand). Some are easy, some are not. My Wall St. LEs are impossible by hand, my Voyager Anniversarys are easy but those came with a user switchable Rapiograph tip. When they're not easy to unscrew, it's very easy to mess up the nib alignment -- again the Bock hardware ain't that great. Probably best to use the tool to remove when they're difficult *if* it's absolutely necessary.

 

I don't really see the need to remove the nib for flushing a double-reservoir. The double-reservoir has its downsides and this is one of them -- they're a bit of a pain to flush. Like other plungers, change the water often since they spew their contents into the water when filling (even with water). Once the water inside the pen is reasonable clear, let it sit overnight with the plunger knob unscrew and partially pulled out to allow the water to pass freely between reservoirs (like what people do for those extended writing session). Diffusion take time. Then repeat as necessary to get it clean. Takes some patience to get these clean.

 

I've never bothered to grease the barrels for the seals on Visconti plungers, never seen the need on those over a decade old. Sticky pistons are a different story. The only bit of maintenance with silicone grease I perform is that recommended in the Visconti instructions: applying some silicone grease the the plunger rod once a year. That helps smooth the plunger action and probably ends up protecting the rod which sits in the ink. Not all Viscontis have titantium rods like the HS, and corrosion can happen on the others.

Edited October 30, 2011 by eric47

[raging.dragon]

Whether you can/should pull the nib really depends on your tools and level of experience. Michael Masyama, Visconti's USA nib guy, made it clear to me that this was not something I should be trying at home.

 

I've done this but wouldn't recommend it. The 18K and Palladium nib units screw out; however, some are very tight and can't be unscrewed without the special tool. Even with the units that screw out easily I find doing so by hand usually leaves the nib misaligned, though they're rather easy to realign. Pulling the nib and feed out of the casing is also possible, though moderately difficult, and there is a risk of damaging the feed, nib and/or casing (I thoroughly messed up the nib alignment of one my pens this way, though again I was able to get it realigned. Eventually). Based on my experience I recommend getting the tool for nib swaps and repairs.

 

I wouldn't consider pulling the nib to clean the pen

 

Just rinse well.

 

And repeatedly. It will take some time, but eventually you will get the ink flushed, and with far less risk of damaging your pen.

[Korybas]

I must say I agree with watch_art and fabrimedeiros here.... If the nib is a Pd Dreamtouch, it unscrews and then you pull it out. Done it with my HS at least 5 times already.

However, since the pen is a rare one and you obviously are fond of it, I will endorse GP and go with the good, repeated, flushing!

Edited November 1, 2011 by Korybas

[eric47]

I must say I agree with watch_art and fabrimedeiros here.... If the nib is a Pd Dreamtouch, it unscrews and then you pull it out. Done it with my HS at least 5 times already.

However, since the pen is a rare one and you obviously are fond of it, I will endorse GP and go with the good, repeated, flushing!

 

It's may not be so much the nib per se, but usually the section which is determining factor of whether the nib unit unscrews easily.

 

The HS should have nibs that are easily unscrewed because that pen is also packaged in the calligraphy kit with all the other nibs.

 

Removing the nib, if I recall also impacts the function of the plunger. So you'll be filling the pen from the section hole with a bulb, syringe, etc. Again, aside from a bit of speed, I don't really see the need to remove the nib. About the only thing it does is help clean out ink between the section and the screw-in unit.

[raging.dragon]

The HS should have nibs that are easily unscrewed because that pen is also packaged in the calligraphy kit with all the other nibs.

 

I believe the calligraphy kit includes the nib removal/installation tool.

[Wael El-Dasher]

Thanks all for the advice. I actually removed the nib/feeder/holder very easily. I unscrewed it by turning it anti-clockwise by gripping the nib/feeder between my thumb and forefinger, while turning the barrel. It was a piece of cake.

 

This pen is a used pen when I bought it, and it seems I can't clean the ink window very much, it's stained blue so I suspect that permanent ink was used in it and dried up or something .

 

I asked Bry what's involved in switching out the parts and he told me he's had a pen for repair with Visconti for 5 months now and still hasn't gotten it back.

 

I figured, its just not worth sending it back to Visconti if they're likely to take that long to switch out the parts.

 

Overall, it was good that I unscrewed the nib/feeder/holder out as I was able to properly fill the barrel with water and clean it out by alternating between using a Q-Tip and Bounty. I used the baby Q-Tips that have the bigger ball of cotton. I am sure I'm gonna get many comments warning against what I just said , but it worked for me.

 

I am very glad I did this exercise and plan on cleaning this pen using this method whenever I swap ink colors. Encouraged by this experience, I ordered a Palladium Broad nib from Bryant to use on this pen.

 

Given the prolonged service periods with Visconti, I would love to be able to take apart the rest of the pen in the event that I need to replace the O-ring on vacuum piston (not sure what to call it other than that).

 

Thanks again for all the advice.

 

cheers

 

Wael

[Korybas]

I am glad that everything worked out for you!

Good job