How to with the piston filling mechanism

[Laurion96]

Hello. This is my second time breaking the piston from a MontBlanc I own so I will need to get it sent off. The thing is, I don’t even understand what I’m doing wrong. I may be twisting it too much in one direction, but should I be going by a hard and fast thing with the piston filling? As in, do 3 180 degree half circles and back and forth. I have been unscrewing until it gets to the top, then screwing back in until it gets back to the base. I don’t use pressure, I just feel when it hits that wall. Every single thing I read about piston filling just says to unscrew and screw. I am not understanding what is going wrong. I just got this second one as a second hand pen so it is frustrating. I’ve been using fountain pens for about 2 years now, self/video taught. 

[Laurion96]

The reason I believe it is broken is i heard a tink. Then when I screw it back completely to the base it is very loose. It is loose for about one full turn, then ink will start going.

[Uncial]

If it's taking up ink and the piston head can be seen moving past the window, then it isn't broken. Just be gentle with it.

[Seney724]

Over the years Montblanc has employed some different types of pistons in their pens.

It might be easier for us to give you some specific tips if we knew exactly which model / series fountain pen you were using.

Are you able to post some photos of it for us?

[Laurion96]

The 149 could potentially still be used this way since the piston is completely off my hands. I had this happen to my Naruto pen a couple months after having it. Basically, with absolutely any touch in a direction the piston will just wiggle. Like resting on my hand, it slightly moves, the piston will wiggle and ink will spurt out. Just small drops, but still an annoyance. I sent it in and they said it needed replaced. 

 

The same issue is happening on the 149. See attached for more details. The first is the whole pen and I have the piston against the barrel. The second close up is the amount of space it can wiggle until it starts tightening up. I inked up the pen and tested it out to make sure it worked okay, and it does, but I just am not the smartest out there with fountain pens. Nobody irl around me has used them, but I found a pen club to join next month.

[Laurion96]

I verified the number on the pen. I have just really bad lighting at home and can’t get it right. My lighting is all yellow and the cap is gold.

[Seney724]

11 hours ago, Laurion96 said:

The 149 could potentially still be used this way since the piston is completely off my hands. I had this happen to my Naruto pen a couple months after having it. Basically, with absolutely any touch in a direction the piston will just wiggle. Like resting on my hand, it slightly moves, the piston will wiggle and ink will spurt out. Just small drops, but still an annoyance. I sent it in and they said it needed replaced. 

 

The same issue is happening on the 149. See attached for more details. The first is the whole pen and I have the piston against the barrel. The second close up is the amount of space it can wiggle until it starts tightening up. I inked up the pen and tested it out to make sure it worked okay, and it does, but I just am not the smartest out there with fountain pens. Nobody irl around me has used them, but I found a pen club to join next month.

Thanks for the photo.  It makes trying to help you an easier task.

I'm not sure I fully understand your problem.  Is it that you cannot get the turning knob to screw all the way down so it is flush with the barrel?

[Laurion96]

The pen will work mostly correct. The piston goes up and down like normal. The thing is, when the piston is flush against the barrel there is a lot of wiggle room. It doesn’t feel like it is moving anything. The space indicated in the second photo is how much room. Once it gets there then there is resistance like I would think, then I see the piston like normal. The thing is, whenever it wiggles, ink will spurt out of the nib.

[Seney724]

4 minutes ago, Laurion96 said:

The pen will work mostly correct. The piston goes up and down like normal. The thing is, when the piston is flush against the barrel there is a lot of wiggle room. It doesn’t feel like it is moving anything. The space indicated in the second photo is how much room. Once it gets there then there is resistance like I would think, then I see the piston like normal. The thing is, whenever it wiggles, ink will spurt out of the nib.

I would start "simple." I'd pull, reset and then replace the piston.  It is easy enough to do in the 149'a.. 

I realize that you would not (yet) be comfortable doing this but you've said the pen was recently serviced.  Get it back to the person who serviced the pen and have them do it.

[Mark from Yorkshire]

The pictures look like piston is not fully home and retracted if that makes sense.

[Laurion96]

11 minutes ago, Seney724 said:

I would start "simple." I'd pull, reset and then replace the piston.  It is easy enough to do in the 149'a.. 

I realize that you would not (yet) be comfortable doing this but you've said the pen was recently serviced.  Get it back to the person who serviced the pen and have them do it.

My apologies on the misconception. My Naruto pen was serviced a few months after purchasing it in 2022 because of this same issue and they said it needed repaired (MB). Since it was also my fault I had to pay for it. My Naruto pen has thankfully worked since, but this 149 is exhibiting the exact same issue the Naruto pen had in 2022.

[Laurion96]

10 minutes ago, Mark from Yorkshire said:

The pictures look like piston is not fully home and retracted if that makes sense.

Yes, that is the point. The first photo is fully home and retracted. I made sure by twisting until it couldn’t. Then the second photo I wiggled until it got to the point where it gave resistance.

[Seney724]

1 hour ago, Laurion96 said:

Yes, that is the point. The first photo is fully home and retracted. I made sure by twisting until it couldn’t. Then the second photo I wiggled until it got to the point where it gave resistance.

I'm sorry, I do not understand.  The turning knob is supposed to be flush with the barrel and the piston knob fully home & retracted.

Why would you want it opened up to the point where it wiggled?

[Laurion96]

2 hours ago, Seney724 said:

I'm sorry, I do not understand.  The turning knob is supposed to be flush with the barrel and the piston knob fully home & retracted.

Why would you want it opened up to the point where it wiggled?

The point of the post is there is absolutely no resistance between when it is fully retracted and when it gets to the point of the second photo. Even moving the pen will cause it to wiggle and ink will spurt out. Inside the cap gets wet.

[Laurion96]

There is something I am doing wrong with how I am using the piston filling mechanism, but I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I don’t know if I need to literally count how many turns I do before I need to stop. I have been turning it until it touches the wall as you may call it at the top, basically once it unscrews and starts giving hard resistance I immediately stop. I start twisting the other way until it is back at the base. I am focusing the entire time on not using pressure. I am very mechanical with my thinking so I have to think about how much pressure I am using.

[NoType]

2 hours ago, Laurion96 said:

There is something I am doing wrong with how I am using the piston filling mechanism, but I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I don’t know if I need to literally count how many turns I do before I need to stop. I have been turning it until it touches the wall as you may call it at the top, basically once it unscrews and starts giving hard resistance I immediately stop. I start twisting the other way until it is back at the base. I am focusing the entire time on not using pressure. I am very mechanical with my thinking so I have to think about how much pressure I am using.

@Laurion96 I am sorry that you are having so much trouble with the piston.  Everything you are doing sounds perfectly correct to me.  I use the piston in precisely the same way.

 

 

2 hours ago, Laurion96 said:

The point of the post is there is absolutely no resistance between when it is fully retracted and when it gets to the point of the second photo. Even moving the pen will cause it to wiggle and ink will spurt out. Inside the cap gets wet.

From what I understand, when filling the pen by turning the cone “closed,” you feel normal resistance until the cone reaches the position depicted in your second photo.  From that point until the cone is flush next to the barrel, the position that you show in the first photo, you feel no resistance at all.  

 

Although it is not unusual for the piston cone (knob) to be slightly loose just before it is turned to the end of its travel to sit completely flush to the barrel, ink should not be leaking out, much less under pressure so as to “spurt out.”  And in your second photo, the cone should be closer to the barrel before “losing resistance.”  

 

I concur with you that there is definitely something wrong with the piston, but to my mind you have not done anything wrong in how you use the piston.  It could just be bad luck that two of your fountain pens have faulty pistons.  It is not unheard of.  I believe @Cyrille81 received a brand-new Writers Edition Brothers Grimm 1812 FP with a faulty piston (frozen, if memory serves), and the brand-new Grimm 1812 FP that replaced the first Grimm 1812 FP suffered the same defect.  

 

However, I am far, far from an expert with pistons or indeed any mechanical part of a fountain pen, and I leave it to others here to give you proper advice.  I merely contribute here to show that I understand what you are stated about the pen’s behaviour, and I hope you can find a solution other than paying Montblanc for another piston repair.  I also wanted to relay that in my non-expert opinion you are operating the piston correctly.

[Laurion96]

19 minutes ago, NoType said:

@Laurion96 I am sorry that you are having so much trouble with the piston.  Everything you are doing sounds perfectly correct to me.  I use the piston in precisely the same way.

 

 

From what I understand, when filling the pen by turning the cone “closed,” you feel normal resistance until the cone reaches the position depicted in your second photo.  From that point until the cone is flush next to the barrel, the position that you show in the first photo, you feel no resistance at all.  

 

Although it is not unusual for the piston cone (knob) to be slightly loose just before it is turned to the end of its travel to sit completely flush to the barrel, ink should not be leaking out, much less under pressure so as to “spurt out.”  And in your second photo, the cone should be closer to the barrel before “losing resistance.”  

 

I concur with you that there is definitely something wrong with the piston, but to my mind you have not done anything wrong in how you use the piston.  It could just be bad luck that two of your fountain pens have faulty pistons.  It is not unheard of.  I believe @Cyrille81 received a brand-new Writers Edition Brothers Grimm 1812 FP with a faulty piston (frozen, if memory serves), and the brand-new Grimm 1812 FP that replaced the first Grimm 1812 FP suffered the same defect.  

 

However, I am far, far from an expert with pistons or indeed any mechanical part of a fountain pen, and I leave it to others here to give you proper advice.  I merely contribute here to show that I understand what you are satisfied about the pen’s behaviour, and I hope you can find a solution other than paying Montblanc for another piston repair.  I also wanted to relay that in my non-expert opinion you are operating the piston correctly.

Yes, thank you for explaining it succinctly. I fail at that sometimes. I just thought I may have done something wrong because I heard a small tink when I unscrewed it completely near when I finished cleaning it. That’s when I screwed it back on and it was just loose completely. It was working really well before that, plenty of resistance up and down. The Naruto pen has been working well too since it was repaired. I’ve been extremely careful when I ink it, but on the Naruto pen it has solid resistance when flush with the base, like expected. 

 

Thank you for the input! I got the Ferrari pen recently also, but I’m having that sent in to get an OB nib. I just don’t want to mess that up too when I get that back haha. I really enjoy writing with these.

[NoType]

20 minutes ago, Laurion96 said:

I merely contribute here to show that I understand what you are satisfied about the pen’s behaviour,

@Laurion96 Forgive this autocorrect error; this sentence fragment was intended to read:

”I merely contribute here to show that I understand what you stated about the pen’s behaviour,” with the word “stated” in place of “satisfied.”  I trust you took my meaning despite the autocorrected word.

[NoType]

21 minutes ago, Laurion96 said:

I heard a small tink when I unscrewed it completely near when I finished cleaning it. That’s when I screwed it back on and it was just loose completely

@Laurion96 The piston mechanism is supposed to be far more robust than what you describe here, leading me to believe the piston is faulty somehow.

 

 

23 minutes ago, Laurion96 said:

Thank you for the input! I got the Ferrari pen recently also, but I’m having that sent in to get an OB nib. I just don’t want to mess that up too when I get that back haha

@Laurion96 Let us hope you have better luck with the Ferrari’s piston when it is returned to you with the OB nib!

[CS388]

My first suggestion would have been to lubricate the piston - then I read this:

 

 I heard a small tink when I unscrewed it completely near when I finished cleaning it. That’s when I screwed it back on and it was just loose completely. 

 

It sounds like something has broken.

I'd guess that the spindle has cracked (not fully broken). It may no longer be returning the piston to the very top of the barrel, hence the gap. This may have happened if the piston was getting stiff in the barrel

 

From your description, I don't think you are doing anything wrong.

 

I don't know where you are, but if you are near a Montblanc dealer, take it in and get their opinion. 

I find most of them friendly and the advice is free.

 

Good luck.