How To Open A Kaweco Colleg

[cybeaer]

Hi,

 

i got my fingers on a 1934 Kaweco Colleg with a beatifull 14c F-Nib with the right amount of flex in daily writing, just the cork gasket is broken, so the whole ink leaves the pen on the wrong end

 

I allready tried to open it, continue screwing the piston back/out, tried screwing the "extra" part at the end... tried to "soak" it in water, even with a rubber/leather band and a pliers..

Nothing moved out... and i fear if i use more violence it breaks

 

so anyone know how to open this little guy?

 

It's an Kaweco Colleg 55 09 from 1934(?)

 

Picture of it is attached..

 

greets Mike

[dneal]

Does the filler knob have a blind cap?

 

The piston mechanism should screw out, but the barrel cracking is always a possibility. Perhaps Francis Gossens (Fountainbel on this forum) can help. He's in Belgium.

 

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of Kaweco Sports. This first one is from the 50's. The portion you have to grab is after the gold ring, but before the threads for the blind cap. They're threaded normally - counter clockwise to remove.

 

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa163/roomdog/Pens/50s%20Kaweco%20Sport%2011/50sSport003_zps5b359e27.jpg

 

This one is older, and is knurled for easier removal

 

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa163/roomdog/Pens/Kaweco%20Sport%20712/712006_zps71362c28.jpg

[whych]

The piece that has the writing on (09 in your pic) locks the piston into the body. If you unscrew this. it will come apart similar to the second set of pictures.

Look at the Pelikan 100/100N for an idea of how it fits together. Only difference is that Pelikan uses a left hand thread. Kaweco is right hand.

 

Soak the whole pen for a day or so before trying.

[cybeaer]

@dneal: nope, no blindcap. But it have a really tiny hole in it, where i cann see a little bit shiny brass/copper/mettalic beneath the black?

 

can it be that the celluloid had shrinked and jammed the mechanism? theres a little bulge near the end...

 

i try to take a picture of the hole and the bulge this evening, and starting letting it soak then.

 

ps. any ideas how to fix a hairfine crack in the cap? i just think about some liquid glue, but not sure if its the best...

Edited April 27, 2015 by cybeaer

[cybeaer]

i had it soaked a whole day, but its not moving a single...
and here are the pictures of the hole and the bulge..

the bulge it hard to take picture of... but you can feel and see it at the right angle..

[dneal]

The pin holds the threaded shaft in place.

 

Fixing the cap depends on if it's celluloid or hard rubber. Kaweco mixed materials at one point. I have Sports with rubber caps and celluloid end caps and barrels.

 

The bulge is because the barrel has shrunk. You need heat, not soaking. Apply heat with a hair dryer. Use your fingertips as a temperature sensor. If the hot air hurts your fingers, it's hurting the pen. Turn it off for 15-20 seconds, and apply more heat. It has to distribute itself through the pen material.

 

Can you take a picture of the piston knob when it's unscrewed (like if you were going to fill the pen)?

[cybeaer]

it's complete celluloid if i'm not mistaken. I believe hard rubber sounds different (tried "kocking" on some for sure rubber and celluloid pens)

 

What do you mean by pisten kob? the part i "spin" to make the kork going back and forth? Thats the part starting with the fluted part. Or to do mean picture of the mechanism?

Does this pin means i have to push it someway in to remove the mechanism too?

 

So holding in hand and applying heat from hair dryer, and if it starts getting "to hot" on hand/finger stopping for 15-20sec and repeating till it comes out?

[whych]

You need to loosen the locking part.

Screw the piston about half way and then leave the piston knob alone and undo the lock shaft.

This is the bit on the left, closest to the body and just after the knurled section.

Look at the instructions on the Pelikan 100/100N. It goes together in a similar way.

Edited April 29, 2015 by whych

[stephanos]

Good info, thank you. I got one of these some time ago, didn't realise they were so old. The steel nib is surprisingly wonderful.

[stephanos]

Update

I said back in May that I have one of these; mine's a Kaweco Colleg 55A, with Medium steel nib. Unfortunately, the original cork ended up failing after just a couple of fillings, so I took it apart and discovered that it is possible to replace the cork with the same little rubber O-rings that one uses for the Pelikan 100/100N models: they fit perfectly. If memory serves, I used dry heat to coax the pen apart. Just be careful to not lose the tiny locking bolt on the piston when you do take it apart.

 

(Unfortunately, although the pen now holds ink beautifully, it also keeps running dry. I suspect I was over-enthusiastic with my use of silicone grease when replacing the piston mechanism, and a little ended up on the feed, or something. So I'll be removing the nib and feed in the fullness of time, if trying a few different inks, flushing with warm water and using the ultrasonic cleaner don't work.)

[whych]

@Stephanos

Try flushing with warm water first. It should be enough to get rid of the excess silicone.

 

I did the same with a Pelikan M150. The pen would run dry after a few words, Shaking it around got the ink flow back, only for it to run dry again.

I flushed the pen with warm water and it was then fine.

[Bo Bo Olson]

"""The steel nib is surprisingly wonderful."""

I am trans-mailing one for a friend, in there are idiots in Germany who refuse to mail outside of Germany. I think is the first stage of superflex, Easy Full Flex.

 

1900 to 1914 Kaweco used the worlds best nib, a US Morton one. They made a deal with Morton, in April 1914, the machinery and American workers arrived to train the German workers. Then came August.

Women got a job.

 

Kaweco had the best nibs in Germany, Soennecken and MB were in second place.

The gold nib annealed with Bunsen burners were hand hammered on little tiny anvils, with the 'iridium' stuck in a potato so the tip wouldn't burn off.

 

1930 because of the Depression and Crash the owner went bankrupt....not the pen company.

It was bought up and the first thing was done was do away with the world's best nib....no more potato soup in the Kanteen. Kaweco nibs became run of the mill like Soennecken and MB.

 

............

A superflex Kiwaco Dia 14 K 803/07 is to be trans-mailed too....grumble, grumble...should have collected them too.

I must say I have seen a couple Dias that were only semi-flex.

 

I was told to, but with some Pelikans, Geha, Osmia/O-F-C and an occasional '50s MB...I was sort of at my limit.

Edited November 28, 2015 by Bo Bo Olson