How To Remove The Nib And Section From The Barrel?

[ebird732]

I have won an SJ with 9788 nib from eBay. I want to remove the nib and section apart to check the sac's condition, but it seems hard to do so (or maybe I was too afraid of breaking this little jewel.) I tried to unscrew the nib and feed anticlockwise but only the nib (the metal part) moved a bit. I stopped when hearing a little "crack" noise inside the section (again, maybe I was too sensitive).

 

Can someone tell me the right way to remove them please? I did a search but were not able to find detailed instructions. As far as I know, just unscrew the nib and feed together, then pull out the section, is that right?

 

Many thanks.

[SMG]

The nib and feed are a unit on these pens, and will come out as one. Do soak it overnight in some cold water to allow any traces of built up ink to dissolve.

 

Personally, I leave the nib and feed in the section when removing the section. It gives some support to the section so it is not crushed by the section pliers. Heat the barrel at the section/barrel joint with a hair dryer until it is warm. Then twist the section and pull at the same time. The section is not threaded into the barrel but the twisting motion breaks any seal which has formed there over the years.

 

Once the section is out, pull off the old sac, or scrape it off with a small scraping tool (dental scraper, dull penknife etc). Once the sac remnants are removed from the section sac nipple (always sounds slightly dirty that) then soak the section to clean it out in preparation for a new sac.

 

Cheers,

Sean

[JakobS]

The nib should come out by turning it counterclockwise, sometimes when these pens are bought off ebay, or from garage sales etc, they will have tons of caked ink in them that has the nib become stuck in the section, soaking the nib and a little of the section in a cup of water for a few hours will have the ink dissolve, and the nib will be able to be unscrewed as normal, sometimes it may take a few soakings. If you want to see the condition of the sac, you will have to remove the section of the pen, which is friction fit into the barrel, keep the nib in the section when you do this, heat the barrel with a hair dyer held about 6 -8 inches away from the section/barrel area, make sure you focus the heat on this area where the section and barrel meet, don't let it get too hot, when its just hot to the touch remove it from heat, and began to wiggle the section back and forth. It may take a few times of applying heat and wiggling, but the section should come out. You don't want the heat applied to be more than 140 F. Some use section pliers to help them pull the section out, you can find these at Richard Binders Site, and a few other repair sites, but many people just use their fingers, which I do, and have had a 100% success removing the sections. If you do use pliers, be sure not to put to much pressure in them, as you can crush the section, and that's why keeping the nib in the section while removing it is important. Hope this helps, and if anything needs clarification let me know!

 

Ah Sean was far more concise!! haha, still working on that!

Edited October 18, 2009 by JakobS

[ZeissIkon]

The nib and feed (and a thin plastic collar that has the actual threads) should unscrew from the section, but they're often very strongly glued in place with old dried ink; lots and lots of soaking (section only; try to avoid getting water in the lever slot to prevent rusting the J-bar and lever ring) will often improve things. It's recommended to have a nib unit mounted in the section when removing it from the barrel, to avoid collapsing the rather thin-walled section. And a little dry heat (up to about 140º F) at the barrel-section joint is a good idea, to avoid cracking the barrel as you pull the section out (it's a friction fit, and should come straight out, but heat will let the barrel give a little if necessary); don't rock the section, as that can wedge a crack.

 

The little "crack" you heard might have been the nib moving in the collar, but it might also have been the section moving a tiny bit in the barrel or the nib unit making that first move toward unscrewing; with my J, I just gripped with thumb atop the nib and finger hooked underneath the feed, with a good grip on the section with the other hand, and the section came out without much trouble and gave that little "crack" when it first moved (but see above about soaking to ease a unit from dried ink). My hands aren't the strongest around, but they're not lily-soft, either...

 

Edit: wow, two other nice answers while I was typing. I think that about covers it...

Edited October 18, 2009 by ZeissIkon

[SMG]

"Ah Sean was far more concise!! "

 

That's because the normally verbose Sean is fairly smashed at the moment on Wisers and Coke.

 

Cheers, literally!

Sean

[JakobS]

"Ah Sean was far more concise!! "

 

That's because the normally verbose Sean is fairly smashed at the moment on Wisers and Coke.

 

Cheers, literally!

Sean

 

Haha!! Sounds like a great time!

[Seville]

"Ah Sean was far more concise!! "

 

That's because the normally verbose Sean is fairly smashed at the moment on Wisers and Coke.

 

Cheers, literally!

Sean

 

 

No smashed ebaying Sean It really leaves a hangover.

 

Philip

[SMG]

No I am mostly just biding time until Lauren goes to bed, shortly, and then Chris and I will be heading upstairs for our weekly Hell's Kitchen fix. BTW, my daughter just told me that I smell, bad. Not sure what that is about, I did shower today.

 

Anyhow, no drunk ebaying, I learned that lesson YEARS ago.

 

Jakob, I only do this once in a blue moon. Last time I was drinking and FPN'ing I started a whole thread about Canada Pist instead of Canada Post. It seemed pretty funny at the time.

 

Cheers,

Sean

[ebird732]

Wow, what a forum! Thanks for your very helpful and quick answers. It seems that I need to soak the pen with lukewarm water for a longer time. I was just too eager (as always when a new pen comes.) Also, I let water come into the level slot. Now I know it's not good, but anyway, the pen dried quickly after that so I hope nothing bad happened.

 

I'll let you know if there is any more problems with the pen. Thank you.

Edited October 18, 2009 by ebird732

[ZeissIkon]

Also, I let water come into the level slot. Now I know it's not good, but anyway, the pen dried quickly after that so I hope nothing bad happened.

 

Unfortunately, the water that got down inside the barrel takes a lot longer to dry than what was visible through the slot; now you need to get the section out so you can dry inside the barrel (you'd want to anyway, to check the J-bar for previously existing rust, even if the sac is okay). I'd put this ahead of getting the nib unit out of the section (and once the section's out of the barrel, you can just drop the whole section, nib, feed, and all, into water or even ammoniated water if need be).

 

Edit: oh, if the sac is okay, you wouldn't want to soak that in ammonia solution; in addition, you'll need some talc to put the sac back in, but you would anyway.

Edited October 18, 2009 by ZeissIkon

[ebird732]

Oops, didn't know that before... I filled the pen with ink and started writing. It writes beautifully so I don't want to fiddle with the section any more. Maybe later when I change ink or maintain the pen. Should I open the lever slot and dry it with a hair dryer for a while?

[ZeissIkon]

Oops, didn't know that before... I filled the pen with ink and started writing. It writes beautifully so I don't want to fiddle with the section any more. Maybe later when I change ink or maintain the pen. Should I open the lever slot and dry it with a hair dryer for a while?

 

Opening the lever will pretty much empty the pen, but if you wait until the next time you change ink, you'll have allowed a lot of time for the J-bar to rust -- and a rusty J-bar can damage a sac (I've seen one with a well defined double row of pinholes that I believe came from the rusty edge of a J-bar). Even by now, it may be too late to prevent rust, though a little rust won't hurt the J-bar that much (it's fairly heavy metal). The bigger concern is the lever ring, which is pretty thin and won't dry all the way around even with a hair drier blowing in through the lever slot (the sac keeps air from flowing and removing water). You really need to have the section and sac out to completely dry inside the barrel.

 

That said, getting water inside once might not be a big deal; I don't know how much dampness it took for the J-bar in my Estie to get as rusty as it was when I received it, or how much time (it varies from one steel to another), and my J-bar was okay after I rubbed the rust away with steel wool.

 

You don't need to remove the sac from the section for this, BTW, so there's no reason to believe your pen won't write just as well after drying the inside of the barrel as before.

[ebird732]

with my J, I just gripped with thumb atop the nib and finger hooked underneath the feed, with a good grip on the section with the other hand, and the section came out without much trouble...

I did exactly the same but... only the nib moved a bit. The feed was stuck in the section. Because of its shape, the nib can't move without the feed moving together. I'm afraid to deform it so I don't want to use much force. I've soaked it in water for one night. And I really need to remove the nib/feed unit to have the feed cleaned.

 

Do you think a pair of pincers would help?

[ZeissIkon]

with my J, I just gripped with thumb atop the nib and finger hooked underneath the feed, with a good grip on the section with the other hand, and the section came out without much trouble...

I did exactly the same but... only the nib moved a bit. The feed was stuck in the section. Because of its shape, the nib can't move without the feed moving together. I'm afraid to deform it so I don't want to use much force. I've soaked it in water for one night. And I really need to remove the nib/feed unit to have the feed cleaned.

 

Do you think a pair of pincers would help?

 

Ixnay on the pincers -- more soaking is the ticket. Remember, the nib and feed are both installed in a threaded collar; it's the collar that has to move in the section for the nib unit to come out, and that requires both nib and feed to move together to take the collar with them. I've seen reports here of people having to soak sections for several days before the nib unit will move -- you may even find you need to soak in a solution of one part clear household ammonia to nine parts water (this will help soften the dried ink that's most likely acting as glue to hold the threads).

[OcalaFlGuy]

It might help to put just the first 3/4" of so of the nib/section into some slightly warmer than warm water but just for a minute or 2. Some sections will discolor (brown) if left longer than that. That may break it loose.

 

As ZI alluded to, you need to FIRLMLY hold the nib and feed together as one unit when you attempt to unscrew to stop them from shifting within the collar. If you are holding them firmly you can apply a pretty good amount of turning force safely. (Also the nib/feed as one unit as close to the section as you can get a good grip on.)

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[ebird732]

Thanks. I'm still soaking it. Just a quick question to make sure I did it correctly: with the nib pointing at me, I have to turn it anticlockwise right?

[OcalaFlGuy]

Correct.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL