WTB M2xx black piston filler knob

[enricof]

Sorry if this is not the right place, apparently I can not post on the Mall forum.

 

My daughter broke the filler knob on her Pelikan M215 Lozenge; any suggestion about how to find the spare black knob (or the complete filler assembly) and try to replace it (I know it is press-fit)?

 

The local b&m shop told me:

You can leave the pen here, we ship it to italian Pelikan HQ in Milan, they ship it to Hannover where they will replace the complete body (with a different one, as your pen is out of production). It will take 80 EUR and 4-6 months. 

 

Considering a new M200 cost 100-130 EUR this solution does not make much sense (so in the meantime I purchased a new pen for my daughter 😉).

 

Thank everybody.

[whych]

Probably be cheaper to buy a plain M200 and swap the piston and knob.

[enricof]

Yes, I agree probably the donor solution is the simplest one, but honestly I don't like cannibalism 😉. 

 

[purplecloud]

Last year my Pelikan M215 Lozenge fell from a table and sadly the barrel broke in 2 parts
As it is not repairable and I have no use for the pieces, I could send you the piece with the filler knob

if you are interested please PM me

[Christopher Godfrey]

The power of FPN: this sounds <exactly> what @enricof needs!  Hopefully these two have already made contact...

 

Lovely gesture, @purplecloud: bravo!

[mana]

Just a word of caution, the filling mechanisms of the M200-M700 series pens were not designed to be removed. It is tricky enough with the vintage ones that are just straight up friction-fit, the design of the modern ones makes removing the mechanism quite a bit more hazardous.

 

[Karmachanic]

 

[mana]

8 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Hmm, thanks for sharing, that is a really neat video and trick, saved it to my fountain pen playlist. I read in the comments though that it didn't work for one person, and that someone had managed to damage their pen when doing this. So, I would still exercise caution when doing the disassembly operation, and taking it on with the knowledge that there is always a risk of the parts failing when they are exposed to mechanical stress they were not specifically designed to withstand.

[AceNinja]

11 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

 

2 hours ago, mana said:

Hmm, thanks for sharing, that is a really neat video and trick, saved it to my fountain pen playlist. I read in the comments though that it didn't work for one person, and that someone had managed to damage their pen when doing this. So, I would still exercise caution when doing the disassembly operation, and taking it on with the knowledge that there is always a risk of the parts failing when they are exposed to mechanical stress they were not specifically designed to withstand.

 

yes it could be done, but doesn't mean that it should be done.  Previously i found a post here in FPN with quite good pictures showing why it shouldn't be done unnecessarily.  I think its an important info for all the M200-400 (and maybe M600?) owners.

 

That YT video give people the impression that he wrapped the rubber band near the knob to increase gripping force so he can twist the mechanism out, which I think can be misleading, given the pictures I've seen in the that old FPN thread.

 

"Yes it can be done.  But don't do it"

 

[mana]

Well, the pen is broken anyhow as is the pen with the donor parts... so nothing ventured, nothing gained?

[carlos.q]

1 hour ago, mana said:

Well, the pen is broken anyhow as is the pen with the donor parts... so nothing ventured, nothing gained?

Exactly….

[TitoThePencilPimp]

Just a quick question. Are the pistons on the m215 series, rings, lozenge, rhombus? brass or do they use the plastic piston?

[mana]

Plastic.

[Christopher Godfrey]

If you want brass, Tito, then you have to look at 800 and 1000 series (AFAIK).  (ie, $$)

[TitoThePencilPimp]

21 hours ago, Christopher Godfrey said:

If you want brass, Tito, then you have to look at 800 and 1000 series (AFAIK).  (ie, $$)

Ahh okay. I am familiar with the 800 and 1000. Own 2 m1000 and 4 800.

I have been using my m215 rings as a daily carry, since it is my least expensive Pelikan to replace. Anyhow, I was just surprised how much it weighs compared to the m200, and was not sure if the extra weight was due to the metal rings, or if there was a neat piston. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[mana]

8 hours ago, TitoThePencilPimp said:

Ahh okay. I am familiar with the 800 and 1000. Own 2 m1000 and 4 800.

I have been using my m215 rings as a daily carry, since it is my least expensive Pelikan to replace. Anyhow, I was just surprised how much it weighs compared to the m200, and was not sure if the extra weight was due to the metal rings, or if there was a neat piston. Thanks for the clarification.

 

IIRC, the extra weight comes from the binde/barrel sleeve which is made of metal.

[Karmachanic]

  M215 has a brass barrel.

 

Current thread about the demise of the binde:

 

[enricof]

Update

First of all, thanks to Claudio (purplecloud) who graciously donated the donor pen.

 

Transplant done, and now my daughter's pen is as good as before (even better, because I took the chance of lubing the piston).

Removal of the piston units have been a bit nerve-wrecking, until I developed a technique to increase the grip on barrel and knob and simply forcefully extract the units.

 

Thanks again to everybody.

 

P.S.: in case it could be useful to somebody else

After several sweaty palms attempts using different methods (like elastic loops or credit cards...) I realized the trick was finding a way to apply enough brute force without breaking the knob body (or stripping the threads).

I had on-hand some of this thick/sticky/very extensible electric tape (normally used for sealing electrical splices or hydraulic piping): https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b00011942/.

I cut two half meter lenghts of tape and wound them very tightly on barrel and knob, forming two large diameter (5÷6cm) "donut" grips and this way ensuring the force was evenly distributed over the surfaces. Then I simply pulled hard. Worked simply perfectly and damage to the press fit unit has been minimal (but I will try to avoid doing it again).

[mana]

Wonderful news! Have a great weekend, @enricof

[carlos.q]

We all love happy endings!  👍