Vintage Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph

[Larry Barrieau]

I have half-a-dozen older ones and have screwed out the needle nib and replaced it with Esterbrook nibs.  Makes a nice pen.

[R.Stone]

Thank you, SamChevre. I've been looking for information on these older pens, and can't find much of anything at all. I have a nice No. 3/Green cap, and it writes well. I'd like to get a couple of sizes, such as No. 1 and No. 4. Thinner than No. 1 feels too tiny to me.

 

Do you know any resources for these pens? I'm coming up empty-handed.

 

Thanks.

[R.Stone]

Thank you, Larry. How did you get the Esterbrook nibs to fit? I'm not picturing how that would work. Can you please share photos and some details on that process? Thank you.

[SamChevre]

39 minutes ago, R.Stone said:

Thank you, SamChevre. I've been looking for information on these older pens, and can't find much of anything at all. I have a nice No. 3/Green cap, and it writes well. I'd like to get a couple of sizes, such as No. 1 and No. 4. Thinner than No. 1 feels too tiny to me.

 

Do you know any resources for these pens? I'm coming up empty-handed.

 

Thanks.

I don't know any resources other than this thread.  I just bought a point online (I think from Ebay - Dick Blick and Jerry's Artarama both sell them), and cleaned the pen very thoroughly with Rapido-Eze.

[R.Stone]

Thank you, Sam. I think that I am missing something in my understanding of the old, black-bodied, piston-fill Rapidograph pens.  A couple of things are unclear to me. And, by the way, I'm only interested in those older, black pens.

 

1) Are the nib key tools interchangeable between pens with different nib sizes? Can I use one nib key tool on all of my old Rapidographs?

 

2) You mentioned that you bought a replacement point online. Is there anything special to look for when purchasing a replacement nib other than just the same size as what I already have?  My No. 1 pen came with an extra nib. Is this the newer nib style? It looks that way to me. The older ones are black as far as I can tell.

 

3) Should the nibs be springy? I notice that my No. 3 is way springier than my No. 1. "Bouncy" is the word my wife used to describe the nib tip action.

 

Thanks again.

[BaronWulfraed]

17 hours ago, R.Stone said:

3) Should the nibs be springy? I notice that my No. 3 is way springier than my No. 1. "Bouncy" is the word my wife used to describe the nib tip action.

 

 

Remember there is a wire down the center of the nib tube, with a weight at the other end. Depending on exposed length and mass of the weight, you might just be experiencing the normal lifting of the wire as you press the nib down. You normally do not write with just the wire touching paper -- the nose of the tube should be touching paper.

 

[R.Stone]

Thank you for that explanation, BaronWulfraed. That makes sense. The action of the pen is quite nice and spritely. 

[Larry Barrieau]

If you look at the close up phone of the nibs in the above posts, you'll see the conical shaped nib.  Unscrew that piece counterclockwise and the screw in an Esterbrook nib.  I have had a couple of nibs that seemed too large, but I've forgotten what the number was.

[SamChevre]

I have only fixed one pen, and do not have a nib key--but the nibs are interchangeable, so I would expect that the nib key (which is basically just a wrench) is common among pens, and between new and old style nibs.

[R.Stone]

Hi, Larry and Sam,

 

Thank you both very much for replying. As I thought the nib-key matter over, it made no sense to me that there would be more than one size nib-key, so thank you for confirming that idea.

 

I picked up a No. 2 piston-fill, and the pen fills and drains, but will not write. It has an older type nib without any flat spots for a wrench, so I haven't gotten the nib out yet to clean and assess. While we're here, do you have any suggestions on how to take out the older, non-wrench-fit nibs? I'm certainly going to search the forum, yet I'm tossing out my call for help here, too.

 

Something i noticed about the pens I have so far --  No.s 1, 2, and 3 -- is that I prefer the larger nib size line quality. The No. 3 also seems to keep its ink flow better after sitting for a while. A few shakes and it is up and running. The No. 1 is a bit fickle that way.

 

Thanks again.  

[Ron Z]

On 5/15/2021 at 6:34 PM, Larry Barrieau said:

If you look at the close up phone of the nibs in the above posts, you'll see the conical shaped nib.  Unscrew that piece counterclockwise and the screw in an Esterbrook nib.  I have had a couple of nibs that seemed too large, but I've forgotten what the number was.

I would suggest checking to make sure that the nib will clear the inner cap before you cap the pen though.  I tried a couple, and they didn't fit right.  Nib tips tend to lose in the  contest against the inside end of the cap.  

[SamChevre]

15 hours ago, R.Stone said:

Hi, Larry and Sam,

 

Thank you both very much for replying. As I thought the nib-key matter over, it made no sense to me that there would be more than one size nib-key, so thank you for confirming that idea.

 

I picked up a No. 2 piston-fill, and the pen fills and drains, but will not write. It has an older type nib without any flat spots for a wrench, so I haven't gotten the nib out yet to clean and assess. While we're here, do you have any suggestions on how to take out the older, non-wrench-fit nibs? I'm certainly going to search the forum, yet I'm tossing out my call for help here, too.

 

Something i noticed about the pens I have so far --  No.s 1, 2, and 3 -- is that I prefer the larger nib size line quality. The No. 3 also seems to keep its ink flow better after sitting for a while. A few shakes and it is up and running. The No. 1 is a bit fickle that way.

 

Thanks again.  

 

I removed the old nib by soaking it thoroughly in a shot-glass of Rapido-eze and water (to dissolve the India ink), and then heating it gently and screwing it out with a gripper (those rubber mesh things for opening jar lids) as I would a section.

[Larry Barrieau]

That's a good point Ron, I've run into that too.  When the cone won't unscrew, I put it in the ultra sound cleaner.  If it is still stubborn I let it sit in Rapido-Eze, this stuff was made to clean these technical pen.   Doing this, I have yet to use a wrench,  a couple of pieces  a bicycle inner tube gives plenty of pucharse.

[R.Stone]

Hi, Sam. Thank you for all of your assistance.

 

That approach worked great. No need for a wrench.

 

After repeated soaking in warm, soapy water, I started to see lots of ink in the pan I used for soaking. Then I used a thick rubber band and a pair of Vice Grips, and the nib unscrewed like a champ. Then, after even more soaking with the nib out of the pen, and pulling the weighted needle section out of the nib body, the No. 2 now works great.

 

I still prefer the larger Rapidograph nib sizes. One of these days I'll find a nice carrot-topped No. 4.

 

Thank you very much.

[Catpaws]

Hi, I found one of these. I have been able to take the point off and am soaking it. But the body of the pen with the piston -the piston knob only moves a teensy bit. I am soaking it and filled the barrel with Rapido eze. How do you take these pens apart? I am trying to be gentle with it. Little flakes of dried ink are coming out so I think I am on the right track.

[Ron Z]

Turning the color ring at the end of the barrel unscrews the piston mechanism.  Unlike a Pelikan, you can't push it out with a dowel from the front of the pen  because there is a partial  barrier at that end of the barrel.  Soaking the pen in the Rapidoeze is a good thing to do before you try to pull it out.  A little silicone grease on the piston seal when you put it back together doesn't hurt.

[Catpaws]

Thank you @Ron Z!

[Catpaws]

I love this pen. It feels really solid. Much nicer than my other technical pens which are from the 90s with a couple from the present day.

[Catpaws]

So I got another vintage koh i noor but it seems different than the other one. The plunger looks different and the nib doesn't come out. Is there a resource online or a book that gives the dates and differences with these pens? I have been looking around but haven't found anything useful. I'm not sure if this is supposed to fill like the others. I am going to experiment with water. 

[Catpaws]

Ok. so I am A dip......dicovered the blind cap and got the nib out