Omas 361

[ink-syringe]

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.

[ink-syringe]

https://youtu.be/smNNOwGJkis

[ink-syringe]

https://youtu.be/WfHiYl63sUg

[Keyless Works]

I like the 361 it's a cool pen for sure. Depending on the size condition and style $218 could be good or bad. For a nice senior sized ogival shape 361 in black celluloid $218 is a decent price. For a faceted arco 361 that's a steal.

[ink-syringe]

I am somehow out of "upload" space so will have to figure a new way to share pictures but it is the black body and Gold Filled cap but with the dots and not the arrows. Looks in good shape and frankly have not seen one go that low even the black ones. A search on this site shows some pretty hefty prices but I will admit I did a shockingly small amount of detective work before bidding, though look as I might it does look okay.

[ink-syringe]

http://cl.ly/image/1S39172U030n/$_57.JPGhttp://cl.ly/image/0a2S37252i3z/$_57-3.JPG

[ink-syringe]

http://cl.ly/image/1x1J2w2Q471w/$_57-4.JPGhttp://cl.ly/image/3C0w3q3R2h2v/$_57-2.JPG

[ink-syringe]

Sadly no pictures of the other side of the nib and no writing samples.

[ink-syringe]

http://kem.akszugor.pl/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Omas-Extra-361.jpg

[ink-syringe]

http://www.stilografica.it/writable/Approfondimenti/Pen%20advertisement/790px-1960-Omas-361.jpg

[ink-syringe]

http://www.fountainpen.it/images/c/cf/Omas-361-Nib.jpg

[ink-syringe]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/50696-omas-361-flexiblestiff-axial-nib/

[catbert]

I got the same model late last year. It has been constantly inked ever since. I paid about the same as you after repair costs - maybe a bit less.

One thing about those photos: the nib and feed look rotated in relation to the hood. You can see in the ads that the ‘flessible’ side has a larger hole in the hood that reveals the tines of the nib, allowing a very pleasant softness/spring, while on the ‘rigida’ side the nib is mostly hooded and unable to move. The way that pen is configured, it looks like the feed will obstruct any movement on the ‘flessible’ side.

It may be a relatively easy fix to rotate the hood back to the other side but my (superficial) understanding is that the different writing styles are meant to come from rotating the whole pen, not just the rather delicate hood.

 

Anyway, it’s a lovely little pen and I am jealous. Enjoy.

[Keyless Works]

All these ads are making we want another one.

 

 

One thing about those photos: the nib and feed look rotated in relation to the hood. You can see in the ads that the ‘flessible’ side has a larger hole in the hood that reveals the tines of the nib, allowing a very pleasant softness/spring, while on the ‘rigida’ side the nib is mostly hooded and unable to move. The way that pen is configured, it looks like the feed will obstruct any movement on the ‘flessible’ side.

It may be a relatively easy fix to rotate the hood back to the other side but my (superficial) understanding is that the different writing styles are meant to come from rotating the whole pen, not just the rather delicate hood.

 

Anyway, it’s a lovely little pen and I am jealous. Enjoy.

 

 

Good catch. The material around the hood is very thin so you would have to disassemble it. Don't simply twist it.

[ink-syringe]

I always understood that the hood rotates freely. Perhaps I am wrong about that but, yes it does look like the hood is on wrong.

[Keyless Works]

No you simply turn the entire pen over to switch from flex to stiff. Nothing moves independently.

[ink-syringe]

No you simply turn the entire pen over to switch from flex to stiff.

 

 

Obviously I know that. Kind of the whole point of the pen.

 

 

Nothing moves independently.

 

However I did understand that (somewhat uselessly) the hood itself also rotated.

[catbert]

 

 

However I did understand that (somewhat uselessly) the hood itself also rotated.

 

 

I thought that too until I got one. We may both have been misled by the same ambiguous post.

In retrospect a rotating hood seems needlessly fiddly and capable of unhelpful configurations like the one in the photo. Also, unless there are click-stops, a loose hood might tend to move by itself, especially in the top-heavy ‘rigida’ position.

Edited June 16, 2015 by catbert

[ink-syringe]

Gosh. Live and learn. I had no idea (I have not had one of my own). but did (I think) read that.

 

How difficult do you suppose it is to rearrange that hood? I am nervous as I know these have a tendency to get brittle over time.

 

Also troubling is: If the hood is on wrong, then the person selling the pen might not know what he is doing and what else might be wrong with it?

 

Now I am nervous.

[catbert]

Gosh. Live and learn. I had no idea (I have not had one of my own). but did (I think) read that.

 

How difficult do you suppose it is to rearrange that hood? I am nervous as I know these have a tendency to get brittle over time.

 

Also troubling is: If the hood is on wrong, then the person selling the pen might not know what he is doing and what else might be wrong with it?

 

Now I am nervous.

 

 

Yup, I also read something online that made me believe the hood rotates. The instruction sheet is pretty clear (via Google translate) that you turn the whole pen.

See what comes in the mail. It could be fine. Personally, I wouldn’t mess with the hood - any issues with a pricier pen, it goes to an experienced repair person. But that’s just me.