Vintage Kaweco Dia Repair

[AidenMark]

Has anyone managed to disassemble a Vintage Kaweco Dia (i.e. NOT a Dia2)?

 

I have given a home to a Dia 805 that needs repairs, including a new piston seal and nib repair.

I guess the pen is from the 50s or early 60s.

 

So far I have tried soaking in water for a week (which fixed the non-fitting cap!)

but I cannot unscrew or pull out the nib/nib-holder.

 

I am also unsure how to take the piston mechanism apart to replace the seal.

 

Any tips?

 

 

[siamackz]

The disassembly is pretty easy. I had written this while I was new to the practice of restoration - today I would use cork for the seal. But here it is in case it helps https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/321364-restoration-notes-pistons-on-vintage-kaweco-dia/

Edited June 20, 2019 by siamackz

[AidenMark]

Oh thank you Siamackz. Just what I was looking for.

[OMASsimo]

The Dia 805 is an excellent and much underrated pen and among my (many) favourites. Unfortuntately, there isn't a "single" 805, the model number was used over a period of time for different variants of the same pen. It's the successor of the 85, "8" for Dia and "5" for the largest ("gentleman") size as far as I understand. The versions of the earlier 50s had a blind cap and a cork piston seal. The later models from around 1960 had a fixed piston knob rather than a blind cap and a very reliable rubber piston seal. You can also tell from the colour of the ink window. The earlier versions had a green one that's usually amber or non-transparent by now, the later versions had a light blue one, which still should be light blue and transparent. The reason is that the material changed from celluloid to injection molded plastic during the mid 50s (Kaweco was a pioneer in that case). As far as I know, all piston mechanisms are screwed in from the rear as siamackz described. If you have the older cork seal version, the cap holding the piston ring is fixed with a splint. Be careful when knocking out that splint because the piston shaft has a tendency to crack when you do this. The nib and feed should be friction fit in pretty much all vintage Kawecos. I hope you get your 805 back to life because they have absolutely superb nibs.