My First Pelikan - Have Some Questions

[dragos.mocanu]

Hello,

 

Today I've received my first Pelikan, a 100N 'EXPORT' marked, with Pelikan D.R.P. around the cap top, which I got for an absurdly low price on the local flea market. The pen is in fantastic condition for such an old pen, and the nib is a sweet OF or OM with quite a bit of flex. The only thing that bothers me is that the piston seal is not completely flush to the interior of the barrel, and while the pen does fill almost completely, I'm afraid that some liquid can get past the seal into the back of the pen. I've tried to disassemble the piston assembly (I've read about them and I know that I must turn clockwise), but it doesn't budge...I didn't force it.

 

I'm guessing that the pen is made out of resin, but I may be wrong (can't quite tell the difference between celluloid and acrylic).

 

Here are a couple of pictures (sorry for the bad quality):

 

http://i.imgur.com/8DV453g.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EAzdOgU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1ajah2t.jpg

 

Is there any place in Europe where I could get a new seal for the piston? And also, what can I do in order to loosen the piston assembly, so I can remove it? Thank you.

Edited August 18, 2015 by Murky

[limt]

Quite nice catch. There are plenty places, where you can have your piston repaired especially in Germany/Italy (few of members are very good pen doctors) and it's not difficult task for skilled ones. However you may try finding someone in your country due to waitting time and maybe a bit higher costs.

 

Regarding the piston assembly you should use special tool to remove it and be really gentle since it's really easy to damege the barrell while doing it. I wouldn't do it myself - prefer to send the pen to someone who will restore it to original condition, espacially when pen needs only minimal work like one on pictures above

Edited August 18, 2015 by limt

[dragos.mocanu]

Thanks for the answer; however, I'd rather repair the pen myself. Would it be safe to soak the piston end of the pen in water, in order to loosen the threads? I'm guessing that the piston assembly is celluloid (it definitely doesn't smell like hard rubber).

 

Update: Ok, so I went on and did the sensible thing to do when celluloid parts are stuck together...I've added a little bit of (very controlled) heat, and with the help of some rubbery gloves I managed to take out the piston assembly..yaaay! The internals look perfect, but now I need a new piston seal...

Edited August 18, 2015 by Murky

[Erik Dalton]

Be very careful trying to remove the piston. The only Pelikans that have a piston assembly that is threaded and screws into the pen body is the M 800 and M 1000. The others are all friction fit with little ridges that hold everything in place. You can pull the piston assembly out but you will most certainly damage the fit.

If the pen is not leaking ink out the back end you might consider leaving it alone and enjoy writing with it. If it is leaking then I recomend sending it off to be repaired.

I service all my Montblanc and M-800's and other piston fill pens. I will not mess with other model Pelikans. They are not made to be taken apart.

In order to add silicone grease to lubricate the piston plunger you would unscrew the nib an go in from that end. There is no way to grease the "worm gear" parts of the piston assembly without attacking the back end, and that was not designed to be opened up.

I'm sure there are some pen restorers who would do a good job for you, but I would advise against doing it yourself, but if you do let us know how it all worked out.

[sargetalon]

@Old Salt: Those older 100 and 100Ns have threaded piston assemblies that facilitate removal. Backwards threaded. Similar to the modern M800 and M1000. I believe the M101Ns of today are the same.

 

P.S.: Great pen there! Enjoy it.

Edited August 18, 2015 by sargetalon

[Erik Dalton]

Sorry. Learn something every day. Thanks for the heads up.. When did pelikan stop threading the piston mechanism? How do would you know?

[sargetalon]

  On 8/19/2015 at 12:50 AM, Old Salt said:

Sorry. Learn something every day. Thanks for the heads up.. When did pelikan stop threading the piston mechanism? How do would you know?

It's just model specific. Stopped in the 50's. Merz & Krell picked it up again in the 70's. Now we have it on the high end Souveräns.

[dragos.mocanu]

Come to think of it, taking out the piston was relatively easy on this pen (I wonder why they dropped this design)...I'm now waiting for a new piston seal, ordered a couple from David Nishimura...can't wait to write with it, I'll post some new pictures once the restoration is finalized.

[limt]

Great to hear you managed to do it your self Please update how the repair went after you finish it

[Erik Dalton]

It's a beautiful pen, I'm glad you are able to bring it back to life, and give us all an opportunity to learn.

[Joe in Seattle]

Terrific find!

[dragos.mocanu]

I've noticed something while closely inspecting the pen; inside the barrel (the transparent part that is) there are some small crack-like artifacts...are these some sort of stress cracks? After soaking the section for a couple of hours, with water inside the barrel as well, I could see no droplets on the outside, so probably these fissures won't affect the functionality (or will they?)

 

As I've mentioned before, the pen has been seldom used (judging from the appearance), and I would be glad to hear opinions on this matter. Thanks!

[sargetalon]

Cracks in the ink windows of these older pens are not uncommon. If it doesn't leak, I wouldn't be too concerned. I'm not sure that there is too much to be done about it. If it does start to leak, I know aftermarket replacement barrels can be sourced for the 100. I'm not sure how they look compared to the original or if they are compatible with the 100N. Just keep an eye on them. They may never go any further.

[risingsun]

I've got cracks/crazing on the windows of some of my 100Ns. Under magnification, the cracks don't appear to come to the outer surface of the window. Haven't had one leak yet, and I do use them regularly. Just keep an eye on the crack, and avoid tightly squeezing the window which might cause a crack to propagate further. Some of these have many fine crazing cracks and others appear cloudy.

[dragos.mocanu]

There aren't many of these in my ink window (maybe 3-4), and the longest one is about 1cm; the rest are a couple of mm long...The ink window is quite transparent, you'd have to look really closely in order to see the little fissures.

 

I'm really anxious to receive the new piston seal now, I've tried the nib by dipping it in some Pelikan Königsblau, and it writes like a dream

Edited August 22, 2015 by Murky

[dragos.mocanu]

The seals arrived, I've installed one of them and now the piston is functional Gave the nib a small polish with a Sunshine cloth and now it's a permanent EDC, filled with Pelikan Königsblau (which looks really good with this pen, saturated and very well behaved).. here are two more pictures, I know the quality isn't great, but I don't have a proper camera:

 

http://i.imgur.com/mTlTamV.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/EIrSKcn.jpg

 

Question: Is there any way to protect the paint on top of the cap (the pelican engraving)? It is in almost perfect condition, and I would hate to rub it off. I'm quite careful with the pens I use daily (especially the vintage ones), and always carry them in a leather case.

[fly_us]

  On 8/28/2015 at 8:37 AM, Murky said:

The seals arrived, I've installed one of them and now the piston is functional Gave the nib a small polish with a Sunshine cloth and now it's a permanent EDC, filled with Pelikan Königsblau (which looks really good with this pen, saturated and very well behaved).. here are two more pictures, I know the quality isn't great, but I don't have a proper camera:

 

http://i.imgur.com/mTlTamV.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/EIrSKcn.jpg

 

Question: Is there any way to protect the paint on top of the cap (the pelican engraving)? It is in almost perfect condition, and I would hate to rub it off. I'm quite careful with the pens I use daily (especially the vintage ones), and always carry them in a leather case.

 

 

It is a beautiful pen.

 

How about transparent nail polish? never tried but i think it might work

[sargetalon]

I would just leave it be. Anything applied to the cap top could have unanticipated adverse consequences. If it's not broke, don't fix it.

[dragos.mocanu]

A few months after restoring this beautiful 100N, I come back with another question. Recently I inked it up and while it held ink alright, I couldn't but notice that ink was getting in between of the two 'disks' which comprise the piston seal (modern replacement seal), and just a little bit, smeared along the barrel, behind the seal. Should I be worried? After emptying the pen, I've noticed that the upper seal 'disk' doesn't quite sit flush to the barrel, while the lower one does.

 

http://i.imgur.com/937ZWWQ.jpg

 

Please let me know what you think.

[Raif79]

Gorgeous 100N! I've got the fever for one too. I'm also curious about the rubber seal. I've seen a few converted from cork. I'd like to know whether I should focus on a cork one, or if these rubber replacements are top notch.