Cleaning A Mont Blanc 145 Vintage 1982

[RetiredAdman]

I am cleaning my Mont Blanc 145 and I saw on a Mont Blanc video that it appears you need a mont blanc tool to remove the nib and feed. I think I got it pretty clean just by flushing warm water through it many times. (I haven't used it in years and didn't clean it before I put it down-- I know better now). Does anyone know if the nib and feed pull out or screw out and/or does it take a special tool to remove the nib.

 

The good news is that the piston seems to be working fine.

Thanks,

Ed

 

This is my only good pen. All of my others I bought for <$60. This one some one gave to me in 1982. Now I see they cost >$400.

[Chrissy]

This should be in the Montblanc forum, not Members helping Members, so hopefully it will be moved to the right place by a moderator.

 

You don't need to worry about removing the nib and feed from your Montblanc 145 in order to get it clean. It can easily be cleaned using the converter to push soapy water through the nib and feed, or you could also use a rubber ear bulb to push cold or soapy water through it to clean it.

 

Alternatively, you can buy some pen flush and leave it to soak in there for a couple of hours.

[RetiredAdman]

This should be in the Montblanc forum, not Members helping Members, so hopefully it will be moved to the right place by a moderator.

 

You don't need to worry about removing the nib and feed from your Montblanc 145 in order to get it clean. It can easily be cleaned using the converter to push soapy water through the nib and feed, or you could also use a rubber ear bulb to push cold or soapy water through it to clean it.

 

Alternatively, you can buy some pen flush and leave it to soak in there for a couple of hours.

 

Thanks, Chrissy. That is the path I will take. And thanks for the advice on where to put a post like this.

Stay warm,

Ed

[eidola]

There was no 145 in 1982, perhaps a 144?

[meiers]

Maybe it is a 146.

May we see a few pictures?

[Freddy]

Maybe it is a 146.

May we see a few pictures?

 

After readin'.....

 

"I am cleaning my Mont Blanc 145 and I saw on a Mont Blanc video that it appears you need a mont blanc tool to remove the nib and feed. I think I got it pretty clean just by flushing warm water through it many times. (I haven't used it in years and didn't clean it before I put it down-- I know better now). Does anyone know if the nib and feed pull out or screw out and/or does it take a special tool to remove the nib"~ Ed

.

Clearly a pifiller....which? Pictures would help.....

 

Fred

[Kalessin]

("pifiller", short for "piston filler")

[RetiredAdman]

There was no 145 in 1982, perhaps a 144?

Maybe so, are they marked in any way with the number?

Ed

[Chrissy]

Maybe so, are they marked in any way with the number?

Ed

 

No they are not; 144 has push on - pull off cap & gold plated band next to nib on end of section.

145 has screw on cap and no gold plated band next to nib on end of section. Both are C/C fillers

146 has screw on cap, no gold plated band in centre of barrel, and has a fixed internal piston that you use to fill the pen by turning the end cone.

[niksch]

146 has screw on cap, no gold plated band in centre, and has a fixed internal piston that you use to fill the pen by turning the end cone.

 

The 146, or Legrand, DOES have a gold plated center ring (unless it's Platinum trim) between two smaller rings on the cap. It's been a hallmark of the 14x series pens since the early 1950s. All 146 models have a piston mechanism that you use by turning the piston knob. You turn the knob left to advance the piston & seal into the barrel, once it stops, you dip the pen into a pot of ink, and then turn the knob right to retract the seal and "suck up" ink into the barrel.

 

Additionally, you should know that the piston mechanism of the 146 is not "fixed", as the previous commenter states. Fixed, in an engineering perspective, means unmoveable. The piston mechanism of the 146 is quite simply removable with the correct tool. I tend to believe for that most users can disassemble and maintain modern 146s on their own with the correct tool.

Edited April 13, 2018 by niksch

[Chrissy]

 

The 146, or Legrand, DOES have a gold plated center ring (unless it's Platinum trim) between two smaller rings on the cap. It's been a hallmark of the 14x series pens since the early 1950s. All 146 models have a piston mechanism that you use by turning the piston knob. You turn the knob left to advance the piston & seal into the barrel, once it stops, you dip the pen into a pot of ink, and then turn the knob right to retract the seal and "suck up" ink into the barrel.

 

Additionally, you should know that the piston mechanism of the 146 is not "fixed", as the previous commenter states. Fixed, in an engineering perspective, means unmoveable. The piston mechanism of the 146 is quite simply removable with the correct tool. I tend to believe for that most users can disassemble and maintain modern 146s on their own with the correct tool.

 

I never intended to mention anything about the bands on the caps. I only intended to point out the differences on the pens themselves.

 

I know what the piston is like. Some people refer to converters as pistons, so the word fixed just differentiates between the two types. I wasn't trying to be pedantic.

 

"Most" people will not be able to remove a Montblanc piston and replace it whether they have the right tool or not. It's certainly not straightforward.

[niksch]

 

"Most" people will not be able to remove a Montblanc piston and replace it whether they have the right tool or not. It's certainly not straightforward.

 

Then I guess we disagree on the straightforward of this action on modern 146s and 149s. Maybe because I've done it a few hundred times it seems very straight forward to me.

 

Now if you were talking about removing the piston on an early to mid-1960s friction fit 149 piston mechanism as not being straightforward, then I would wholeheartedly agree.

Edited April 15, 2018 by niksch

[kandarp]

 

The 146, or Legrand, DOES have a gold plated center ring (unless it's Platinum trim) between two smaller rings on the cap. It's been a hallmark of the 14x series pens since the early 1950s. All 146 models have a piston mechanism that you use by turning the piston knob. You turn the knob left to advance the piston & seal into the barrel, once it stops, you dip the pen into a pot of ink, and then turn the knob right to retract the seal and "suck up" ink into the barrel.

 

Additionally, you should know that the piston mechanism of the 146 is not "fixed", as the previous commenter states. Fixed, in an engineering perspective, means unmoveable. The piston mechanism of the 146 is quite simply removable with the correct tool. I tend to believe for that most users can disassemble and maintain modern 146s on their own with the correct tool.

Assuming you have the tools to unscrew the piston or the nib, can you use any silicone sealant? Also, I was looking at my 145 and am pretty sure that I can remove the nib / feed without any special tools. Did the vintage ones needs specialized tools?

[niksch]

Assuming you have the tools to unscrew the piston or the nib, can you use any silicone sealant? Also, I was looking at my 145 and am pretty sure that I can remove the nib / feed without any special tools. Did the vintage ones needs specialized tools?

 

There are a few types of lubricants used by repairmen of vintage MB pens. They all are inert, meaning they have no chemical reaction to MB materials. And there are long threads previously posted that discuss this.

 

Please elaborate on the nib / Feed tool question. There were no vintage 145s.

[jschwerin]

I agree with Chrissy...a good soaking with pen flush should do the trick.

 

I bought a used 145 myself which had been stored with ink in it for several years. The water in the ink evaporated and left red dye/pigment caked all over the nib and feed.

It was so bad it developed mold and smelled funny...

 

An overnight soaking in Goulet's pen flush did wonders and it smells like a champ now!

Don't forget to flush it with distilled water afterwards though.

[Claud]

Just the informative thread I was hoping to find. Having purchased a MB 144 in our Classifieds section, I was wondering what the difference was between a 144 and a 145. Lots of good info in this thread. I wonder if a 145 is a redesign and replacement for the 144?

[Chrissy]

Just the informative thread I was hoping to find. Having purchased a MB 144 in our Classifieds section, I was wondering what the difference was between a 144 and a 145. Lots of good info in this thread. I wonder if a 145 is a redesign and replacement for the 144?

 

Yes, the 145 did replace the 144. It benefits from having the threaded cap and not having the gold plated band next to the nib. The 144 suffers from frequently losing the gold plating on that band next to the nib, and in time the slip cap used to become loose, resulting in either drying out the ink in the pen, or in extreme cases it could drop off.

[jschwerin]

Chrissy, does that mean the 144 uses the gold nib as the pressure point for the cap to stay on?

I'm considering adding a 144 to my collection and many times on used pens see what you've described (the plated band next to the nib has lost it's plating). I found a website white sells replacements and offers instructions for installation (see pics). Is this something you've done yourself? I'm wondering how hard this is to do...

[kandarp]

It's not hard at all. I usually take them apart to clean up clogged pens.

[Chrissy]

 

Chrissy, does that mean the 144 uses the gold nib as the pressure point for the cap to stay on?

I'm considering adding a 144 to my collection and many times on used pens see what you've described (the plated band next to the nib has lost it's plating). I found a website white sells replacements and offers instructions for installation (see pics). Is this something you've done yourself? I'm wondering how hard this is to do...

144 ring replacement.JPG

144 ring replacement 2.JPG

 

 

It's not something I've ever done myself, as I don't have any 144 pens. Obviously the push on pull off cap uses some sort of an internal clutch in order to stay on. It's possible that clutch might use the gold plated band as the pressure point for the clutch, but it won't use the nib itself..