How to grease a Santini piston?

[collectorofmanythings]

Looking into possibly buying a Santini... was wondering if any of you have greased the piston on it or know how to. Thanks for your help!

 

W. H. Major

[Carrau]

I suggest you contact them directly-their customer service is very responsive and helpful.

[Karmachanic]

On 5/23/2021 at 3:51 PM, collectorofmanythings said:

have greased the piston on it or know how to

 

Santini pens are new to market, so there should be no need to grease the piston for many years.  When the need arises, follow the same proceedure as applies to Pelikan pens.  Unscrew the nib and apply to the inner wall.

[Turquoise88]

18 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Santini pens are new to market, so here should be no need to grease the piston for many years.  When the need arises, follow the same proceedure as applies to Pelikan pens.  Unscrew the nib and apply to the inner wall.

 

Agreed!  I purchased a Santini last year and the piston mechanism is smooth as silk.  

[Mysterious Mose]

21 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Santini pens are new to market, so here should be no need to grease the piston for many years.  When the need arises, follow the same proceedure as applies to Pelikan pens.  Unscrew the nib and apply to the inner wall.

I didn't know you could unscrew the nib.  I have a Santini Libra Cumberland ebonite and thought the nib was un-screwable.  Can you just unscrew it?

[Karmachanic]

12 minutes ago, Mysterious Mose said:

Can you just unscrew it?

 

Works for me. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Go for it.

[fabri00]

I dont think it will be necessary to grease the piston: it is made by Schmidt and it should not need any manteinance.

If you look at the Santini web-site, there is no mention of need to grease the piston.

In any case, as said also from other, the nib units are screwed in, therefore it might be unscrewed for greasing.

[sirgilbert357]

1 hour ago, fabri00 said:

I dont think it will be necessary to grease the piston: it is made by Schmidt and it should not need any manteinance.

If you look at the Santini web-site, there is no mention of need to grease the piston.

In any case, as said also from other, the nib units are screwed in, therefore it might be unscrewed for greasing.

 

I apologize for my ignorance, but does Schmidt market their piston mechanisms as "maintenance free"? Or is this just commonly known that Schmidt pistons never need any kind of grease? I wonder what materials they use that would allow such a thing.

[TgeekB]

Interesting question as I recently purchased a Santini Libra. I never thought of worrying about greasing the piston as it’s brand new. How long should these work properly under normal use?

[fabri00]

4 hours ago, sirgilbert357 said:

 

I apologize for my ignorance, but does Schmidt market their piston mechanisms as "maintenance free"? Or is this just commonly known that Schmidt pistons never need any kind of grease? I wonder what materials they use that would allow such a thing.

The piston mechanism from Schmidt is just a bit bigger in size than a normal converter, and tollerances in constructing it are probably more precise than when the body of a pen is used as chamber where the piston move, as well as the material used probably is more suitable than the celluloid or acrylic body of a pen.

As it is not that much important to grease converters, I think it should be the same also for the Santini mechanism.

In the website talking of maintenance of the pen they do not mention at all the greasing of the piston.

 

[Karmachanic]

1 hour ago, fabri00 said:

The piston mechanism from Schmidt is just a bit bigger in size than a normal converter, and tollerances in constructing it are probably more precise than when the body of a pen is used as chamber where the piston move, as well as the material used probably is more suitable than the celluloid or acrylic body of a pen.

As it is not that much important to grease converters, I think it should be the same also for the Santini mechanism.

In the website talking of maintenance of the pen they do not mention at all the greasing of the piston.

 

 

Hmmm.

[sirgilbert357]

1 hour ago, fabri00 said:

The piston mechanism from Schmidt is just a bit bigger in size than a normal converter, and tollerances in constructing it are probably more precise than when the body of a pen is used as chamber where the piston move, as well as the material used probably is more suitable than the celluloid or acrylic body of a pen.

As it is not that much important to grease converters, I think it should be the same also for the Santini mechanism.

In the website talking of maintenance of the pen they do not mention at all the greasing of the piston.

 

 

Hmmm. The issue is friction, not tolerances, though. The tolerances on a modern CNC machine milling out a pen body from acrylic rods should be highly precise. Probably not so much for the rubber piston seal though. Nevermind that...a rabbit hole we don't need to go down to address this...

 

Just my humble opinion, but...I think it's quite easy to grease a piston since the nib units just unscrew on the Santinis. I personally only grease the pistons on my pens when they start to feel noticeably stiffer than a freshly greased piston. It usually works out to about once a year...some inks seem to strip away the grease faster and I have to do it more often though. Probably also depends on how often you have to refill.

 

I don't think I'd ever tell someone that they'd never have to grease a piston though...how could you possibly know that their pen and the conditions under which they use that pen would never need any grease?

[Mysterious Mose]

6 hours ago, fabri00 said:

The piston mechanism from Schmidt is just a bit bigger in size than a normal converter, and tollerances in constructing it are probably more precise than when the body of a pen is used as chamber where the piston move, as well as the material used probably is more suitable than the celluloid or acrylic body of a pen.

As it is not that much important to grease converters, I think it should be the same also for the Santini mechanism.

In the website talking of maintenance of the pen they do not mention at all the greasing of the piston.

 

OTOH, if a converter goes bad, you just get a replacement for about $10.00.  If a captive converter goes bad, you're out hundreds of dollars in repair costs.

[A Smug Dill]

4 hours ago, sirgilbert357 said:

I don't think I'd ever tell someone that they'd never have to grease a piston though...how could you possibly know that their pen and the conditions under which they use that pen would never need any grease?

 

My view is, short of situations in which the piston is completely immobile and the filling mechanism must be disassembled for servicing and/or repair, there is no plausible need to smear silicone grease or lubricant directly onto the piston plug or reservoir's wall. Partially filling the pen with a suitable lubricating fluid, including (as much as I have no love for the brand) Noodler's lubricating inks, through the nib and feed as one would any ink, then positioning the pen nib-up and moving the piston up and down a few times its range of travel, ought to have a similar effect. The lubricating fluid/ink can then be expelled and the pen's nib, feed and ink reservoir flushed clean.

 

If the owner of the pen prefers not to buy Noodler's for whatever reason, or not to ‘waste’ ink with which one doesn't want to write, or not to expose the nib and feed to such fluids, that's a personal choice to exclude certain viable solutions to a problem, not a need to achieve the outcome in a specific or preferred manner.

[fabri00]

19 hours ago, fabri00 said:

In any case, as said also from other, the nib units are screwed in, therefore it might be unscrewed for greasing.

 

Good to know that we have different opinions about this subject, and in any case I think the main question of the thread has been answered already, as the greasing is possible removing the nib unit, like for the majority of fountain pens existing.

In this case it is an easy operation, as the nib unit is screwed in.

[sirgilbert357]

10 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

My view is, short of situations in which the piston is completely immobile and the filling mechanism must be disassembled for servicing and/or repair, there is no plausible need to smear silicone grease or lubricant directly onto the piston plug or reservoir's wall. Partially filling the pen with a suitable lubricating fluid, including (as much as I have no love for the brand) Noodler's lubricating inks, through the nib and feed as one would any ink, then positioning the pen nib-up and moving the piston up and down a few times its range of travel, ought to have a similar effect. The lubricating fluid/ink can then be expelled and the pen's nib, feed and ink reservoir flushed clean.

 

If the owner of the pen prefers not to buy Noodler's for whatever reason, or not to ‘waste’ ink with which one doesn't want to write, or not to expose the nib and feed to such fluids, that's a personal choice to exclude certain viable solutions to a problem, not a need to achieve the outcome in a specific or preferred manner.

 

True, there is also the option of lubricating inks. Good point.

 

My reason for wanting to keep the piston travel smooth is simple: longevity. The piston rod is usually made of plastic (even in a Pelikan), so undue stress from the piston not traveling smoothly and easily through the barrel could cause a premature failure of that rod, or the turning nob, however unlikely. Lube should also, in theory, extend the life of the piston seal. Either way, pens last a remarkably long time as it is and we are all free to maintain or not maintain them as we see fit. YMMV, etc...

 

When it comes to stress, less is more -- in life, and also in my fountain pens' internals. LOL.

[collectorofmanythings]

On 5/24/2021 at 9:28 PM, Mysterious Mose said:

OTOH, if a converter goes bad, you just get a replacement for about $10.00.  If a captive converter goes bad, you're out hundreds of dollars in repair costs.

The C/C is my favorite filling mechanism for that reason (don’t get mad at me). I asked this question because the Libra looked interesting but I am super cautious with piston pens and I like to know if the mechanism is easy to grease and maintain.

[Carrau]

On 5/27/2021 at 9:31 PM, collectorofmanythings said:

The C/C is my favorite filling mechanism for that reason (don’t get mad at me). I asked this question because the Libra looked interesting but I am super cautious with piston pens and I like to know if the mechanism is easy to grease and maintain.

If C/C is your favorite, Santini Toscana pens are C/C.

[DipIt]

The only two Santini that I have are the Libra and a Nonagon. Both piston fillers. The nibs unscrew and they sell additional nibs and include instructions on the web sight. I have not had the need to lube the piston but it seems simple enough with the nib removed. I have two pens and three nibs.....good pens AND REALLY GOOD NIBS.

[Bo Bo Olson]

 

AH HA!!! Read Piston...didn't see Converter.

So removed BS about piston pens...........when every your converter gets sticky...grease it.