149 Loose Nib

[Forrester]

Good evening all!

 

I recently aquired a 1972-75 Montblanc 149 and started to flush it through.

 

I have noticed that the nib and feed are loose - loose enough that with small pressure, I can actually rotate them.

 

I'm wondering, how do I tighten the nib and feed from rotating?

 

Secondly, who is a good place I can send my pen to be properly cleaned/polished? I'm in Australia.

 

Thank you!

 

[meiers]

Could you post a few photos please? Show the nib and the feed in clear detail.

 

It may be possible to screw the nib assembly into its housing.

[meiers]

Montblanc Service.

See if this address is current.

 

Melbourne Service center:

Level 4, 450 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004

Tel: 03-8866 9500

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/218018-mont-blanc-service-in-melbourne/

Edited May 7, 2017 by meiers

[Forrester]

Thank you for your responses!

 

I will take a photo tonight when i'm back from work.

 

In the meantime, is there anyone recommended outside of Australia for something more simple like this? I don't want any modern parts put into this pen from Montblanc.

 

Thanks!

[meiers]

You may be able to fix it yourself.

 

I believe the nib screws it much like a lightbulb. You might try holding the nib and feed between your thumb and index finger and then turn it clockwise.

 

 

BEFORE YOU TRY THIS WAIT TO HEAR FROM FORUM MEMBERS WHO HAVE TRIED THIS MANEUVER.

 

I believe this might solve your problem.

Edited May 8, 2017 by meiers

[Forrester]

Yep, well noted! I will wait for other opinions before trying this! But that would be great if it is the case.

[Forrester]

Could you post a few photos please? Show the nib and the feed in clear detail.

 

It may be possible to screw the nib assembly into its housing.

When i'm home from work I will upload much better photos as I said, but, I realized I had this image of it on my phone. It may help in the meantime until I have better photos.

 

 

You may be able to see that the nib has a line near the collar that looks like where it was once tightened.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Forrester

[fountainbel]

The hard rubber screw-in nib housing can be slightly shrunken heating it up with a hairdryer.

This will restore a tighter fit on the nib and feed.

Francis

[RoSpectre]

It looks like the nib may be too far out? That line you see could be from where the collar is supposed to sit on the nib. By carefully pressing the nib and or feed further into the collar this will tighten things up if it's not the collar itself moving.

 

Don't try this without verifying though... Closer picture of nib and feed are needed... Underside too.

[zaddick]

While the nib and feed collar is screw un, it is affixed in old pens with a sealant. You may have seen reference to pink bubble gum sealant, due to the odd color. Anyhow, just pinching the nib in your fingers and twisting is most likely going to lead to a damaged nib or feed. You can manually pull just the nib and feed out, but it can be a little tricky to get them back in at the right depth.

 

I think pushing back in and then heating the section as Fountainbel recommends is easy and safe enough to try. How far is is a bit of a question. I think for most pens the 149 indicator on the nib is almost completely covered, but not on all my pens. It should be at least half covered, based on average depth I have observed.

[meiers]

Thanks to you all. I wasn't sure.

[Forrester]

That line you see could be from where the collar is supposed to sit on the nib.

 

The hard rubber screw-in nib housing can be slightly shrunken heating it up with a hairdryer.

 

 

While the nib and feed collar is screw in, it is affixed in old pens with a sealant.

I think for most pens the 149 indicator on the nib is almost completely covered, but not on all my pens.

 

Thank you so much for your replies and recommendations! I have attached some more images below, my phone camera however is pretty horrible with focus.

The line looks to be where it once sat, however, you can only just see the 149 stamp under the collar lip. It is maybe half showing so impossible for my camera to take an image.

So to confirm, should I heat the nib/feed slightly and try to push in, or should I try and heat and screw it in? I tried both without heating and couldn't get it further in.

 

 

 

Thanks again!

[meiers]

I would try fountainbel's suggestion.

[georgeb]

Maybe it's cross-threaded

[Forrester]

Hi all!

I heated up the nib and feed as suggested but was unable to move it any further into the collar. I'm also not easily able to rotate it anymore.

 

I have inked the pen up with some Kon Peki and it writes fantastically. One of my top 3 smoothest nibs I think. Would you suggest leaving well alone and just enjoying it, or is this something I should probably get looked at? I got a quote from someone in Sydney to reseat the nib which came to $80AUD, a bit much just to reseat.

[zaddick]

Leave it alone but be cautious with the pen to avoid a mess if it should leak.

[Erik Dalton]

I agree. Leave it alone for now.

If you have it apart again, The alignment of the nib to the feed looks perfect. So both the nib and feed need to go in just a bit.

 

With regard to the pink bubblegum sealant, it's not necessary. I have had repeated success using the thick Silicone grease similar to what Goulet sells. Never A leak. The challenge is going to be tightening the screw in nib unit itself. Don't try to tighten it with your fingers. The nib unit has two slots in it. I have wrenches to fit the various models. There are threads on here where people have made their on wrenches. or you can buy one from china on eBay.

Right now I'm trying to restore a Visconti dream touch nib from a Homo Sapiens that is really distorted from trying to unscrew the nib unit with finger grip. You need to be careful.

[Forrester]

Just an update: For some unknown reason, I gained superhuman strength and light feather touch powers today that allowed me to push the nib and feed back in to where the original marks were without ruining anything.

 

The pen is now what I consider a perfect medium writer on the wetter side. No railroading yet or hard starting since pushing in. I will update this post with an image of some writing when I get the chance!

 

Thank you to all who helped!

[Erik Dalton]

That's great to hear. Congratulations. Keep us posted.

[meiers]

Wonderful.

Edited May 11, 2017 by meiers