Opening A Stubborn Osmiroid

[Fox Point]

Hi all,

 

Could you please advise/refer me to resources on how to get a stubborn section out of a pen? It hasn't responded to soaking or gentle, untargeted heat, and the sac just failed, thankfully after it had just run empty! It is otherwose in working condition, and I have a sac on the way to replace it with.

 

I also have a radiograph which I have no idea how to restore, in case anyone else does.

 

Thanks! Pens with swappable nibs are really fun.

 

Fox Point

[Mike 59]

The only Osmiroid pen I have is a calligraphy pen set, common enough.

This one has three width nib sections, plus one barrel. I know there are several versions of this, mine being fairly modern.

I just checked it to find out, the section + nib does pull straight out.

More soaking could be the answer, a day or two, and I use a gripmat wrapped around the nib/section to help.

I can post a picture of this pen in parts, if of any help.

[Czechmauseritis]

What flavor Osmiroid? The only sacked ones I have are 65's and the section screws out on both of those.... The 75 is a piston filler, so no need to remove the section. The 'modern' ones use cartridge or converters and the nib/feed assembly screws out on those as well...

 

I've never seen a radiograph.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Czechmauseritis

[Hooker56]

Hi all,

 

Could you please advise/refer me to resources on how to get a stubborn section out of a pen? It hasn't responded to soaking or gentle, untargeted heat, and the sac just failed, thankfully after it had just run empty! It is otherwose in working condition, and I have a sac on the way to replace it with.

 

I also have a radiograph which I have no idea how to restore, in case anyone else does.

 

Thanks! Pens with swappable nibs are really fun.

 

Fox Point

 

 

 

 

Fox Point,

 

If you can borrow a hair dryer from someone, try heating the barrel right at the section and use some rubber or other gripping material to remove the section, Whether it's threaded or not, treat it like it is and use an unscrewing motion to get it loose.

 

On the Rapidograph, the tiny writing tube unscrews much like a nib unit. There are two flat sides on the round 'nib' unit that you can grip with pliers to unscrew to clean the nib and barrel. There is a blind cap on the other end that comes off to expose the piston screw. Unscrew the piston. when it stops, exert more pressure to keep unscrewing and the piston unit removes to clean. Rapiographs don't hold much ink by design so the piston filler doesn't screw far.

 

Good Luck-

 

Clayton

[Mike 59]

Hi, If the Rapidograph is the tech drawing type, my experience is that to never take the needle from the tube, it will not easily go back,and it won't work again.

I ruined several in trying.

The ink dries inside the tube and the clearing needle will not move.

Assuming the ink used in it was Rotring drawing ink, then the answer is to soak the nib unit in the Rotring cleaner designed for it, it just works very well.

The pen is cleaned when it can be shaken, and a clicking noise can be heard, which is the needle moving freely.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Mike 59

[Ernst Bitterman]

Hi, If the Rapidograph is the tech drawing type, my experience is that to never take the needle from the tube, it will not easily go back,and it won't work again.

I ruined several in trying.

The ink dries inside the tube and the clearing needle will not move.

Assuming the ink used in it was Rotring drawing ink, then the answer is to soak the nib unit in the Rotring cleaner designed for it, it just works very well.

The pen is cleaned when it can be shaken, and a clicking noise can be heard, which is the needle moving freely.

 

My father, an architect doing the majority of his business pre-CAD/CAM, swore by Rapido-eze in an ultrasonic bath.

 

This didn't prevent him occasionally swearing at it, too, but nothing's perfect.

[Fox Point]

Hi everybody,

 

Thank you all so much for your replies! Thank you especially to Clayton and Mike 59, for the radiograph anatomy and cleaning solution. Nil Magnum, I will check to see if Rapido-eze is the Rotring cleaner... and I will ask my Grandmother if she has any idea what she used in it.

 

Current plan of attack: longer, multiple day soak (I did two days before), then a borrowed heat source for the Osmiroid (it is s 65).

 

Attempt to take the Radiograph apart, as per the do's and don't's advised above. Will report back how it goes! Swearing, heh heh heh...

 

Cheers,

Fox Point

[Fox Point]

Well, no hairdryer yet, but soaking the osmiroid. The radiograph is just as stubborn. Significant force through pluers and a layer of rubber is not enough to twist out either the nib unit or the piston mechanism. Any other tricks to make it more likely to open? Can I soak the piston end of the radiograph? Sre there any non-stainless steel metal parts which I might rust if I try to soak the whole thing?

 

On the other hand, I have opened and resacced an esterbrook! Hooray!

 

Fox Point

[Fox Point]

Ok, I got the Osmiroid open with some jusdicious use of a hairdryer and cloth (it had been shellacked shut), and the pliable sac inside had leaked all over the interior, I can see ink on the bottom half of the J bar and on the underside of the sac shelf bit. The really worrying thing, though, was the scent which came out when I was peeling away the old sac - two parts chemical, one part my grandma's house, and possibly mould. If it is mouldy, what do I do? Should I get rid of/treat the samples I filled the pen from before I suspected it was leaking and decided to get it open? If I used two nibs in both it and another pen, should that pen be decontaminated as well? How likely is it that it is mouldy?

 

Can I use heat on the radiograph? Would that even help unscrew the piston mechanism or is it too buried in the plastic to help? I'm worried about breaking the piston knob.

 

Thanks,

Fox Point

[Mike 59]

With the Osmiroid pen, now it's apart, soak everything in water overnight, change the water, soak again and dry it all out.

If the ink has been in the pen for years, it won't be of any use now and can only cause problems.

The sac has clearly leaked probably just through age, and will have to be replaced with new.

------------------------------------------------

Is the Rapidograph pen of this type?;

http://www.rotring.com/en/93-technical-calligraphy-pens#

(The leftmost picture)

If it is, I would say not to take it apart, these are designed to be used with the cleaning fluid as supplied by the maker, water won't work.

Also these were designed to be cleaned almost every day in a professional office, they are very high quality pens but do need regular cleaning to keep them working.

The versions I had were cartridge fillers, so the entire nib unit could be covered with cleaning fluid in a small pot. There is no advantage to taking the nib unit apart any further.

This will dissolve the ink, could take several days though.

[Fox Point]

Thanks, will soak. What about the internals, though? Surely they aren't stainless steel!

 

The radiograph looks like this

 

[Fox Point]

What if it is mouldy, though? That is a rather scary idea.

 

Fox Point

[Czechmauseritis]

No worries, just clean it up. The 65 is made from very chemical resistant plastic and you could sterilize it with alcohol with no problem.

[Fox Point]

That means that I can clean the ink out from the barrel with alcohol without removing the fixtures, correct? That is very good news, thank you. Mine has a fantastic melted patch along one side, which says that not only is it tough but that it has lived a tough life!

[Czechmauseritis]

The 65s are good pens. The 75s with piston in my opinion are slightly better, but just because of the filling system. I put a #16 sac on the pair I have. I'd wash it out with water and a bottle brush first and then just flush it with the alcohol to kill the mildew. It's going to be harder if they used India ink. 😔. I've seen that before.

[Fox Point]

Should I remove the lever first, so that I don't induce rust when rinsing with water? I'm very hesitant to do so, but I doubt the lever mechanism is stainless steel. No worries about indian ink in the Osmiroid, though I have no idea what glued up the Radiograph! It is certainly a very comfortable pen to hold, I look forward to using it.

[Czechmauseritis]

No need to overdo it. Dry it the best you can and let it sit overnight in a dry spot with the section removed. If it's kept dry, corrosion won't be a huge issue.

[Fox Point]

Cleaned, dried, section thouroughly washed with alcohol and now smelling perfectly innocuous... time to check again, resac and assemble!

[Fox Point]

though now that I am looking, I can see some more old shellack between the internal threads of the barrel. A toothpick might get them.

[Czechmauseritis]

Dental picks work good for chasing plastic threads too if you're careful not to scratch across them. You'll want to make sure that all that shellac is gone. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would have shellaced it shut. I guess bubba exists everywhere!