Hello,

My Pelikan 805 (F nib) has some issues which might be nothing, but I thought I'd ask about.

First, the pen uses ink fairly rapidly, Noodler's Legal Lapis. I am storing the pen on its side, which I suspect might make the pen more inclined to lose ink (or water) by evaporation. Does that sound like a reasonable hypothesis?

Second, I notice "mystery gunk" in the green window, increasing as the pen runs low on ink. When I refill the pen I flush it with tap water. The water is a little hard and has some iron in it, pH ~8. The solids disappear during this process. Maybe this is an effect normal with Noodler's, or due in part to possible evaporation? My Waterman Phileas shows no such gunk with the same ink, but it gets more thoroughly dried after flushing.

The third issue is more bothersome: the nib was in perfect allignment as it arrived from Richard Binder. But now it is a little misalligned. I write alot with the pen. My only other FPs are a Phileas and some Lamy Safaris, which have stiffer nibs than the Pelikan. Obviously my use of the pen caused the misallignment. My question is whether I need to worry about it or correct it. The 805 still writes fine.

Scott

I would be concerned about gunk and solids. A couple options: (1) flush with a mild solution of water and soap, (2) unthread the nib/feed assembly and inspect carefully.

I wonder if filling the pen with only distilled water would be safer than using hard water. It's an inexpensive treatment.

I can't comment on the ink; I've used only Pelikan Royal Blue and Waterman Florida Blue. You might try to distilled water and a milder ink for a while to see if it helps correct the problem.

Thanks, Russ.

How hard is it to unthread the nib?

Scott

I don't know. I have a 1953 Pelikan 140, and unthreaded it for the first time today. I gripped the nib on the top and bottom (not on the shoulder sides), and very gently applied pressure counterclockwise. It came loose easily.

I thought that pens like the 805 had a little wrench - ? You might look into the front of the section closely for signs of flat spots, etc.

I'm sure other Pelikan users on the forum can help more at this point. But I wish you well!! Let us know what happens.

There are two notches in what I guess is a bushing between the nib/feed assembly and the part you grip. The notches are at at the top of the nib and at the bottom of the feed. It looks like it is intended for a special tool.

Scott

To take the nib and nib assembly out of a M805 is just simply unscrew it. The whole assembly just unscrews. I love my M805, it is a daily user for me. Even thinking of getting another one, current one is black, thinking about getting a blue one. And then I could keep blue ink in the blue and black ink in the black, makes it easy to remember which ink I am using...lol. Good luck cleaning it out.

I usually clean it out in the sink under running water, then give it a final rinse in distilled water, and leave the nib assembly out on a piece of paper to air dry and the pen in a cutlery drainer standing up to air dry. Then I just fill it in the morning before going to work. They are getting used to seeing me with inky fingers!

Just a follow up -- I was able to unscrew the nib. I cleaned the pen as I always had, with tap water. However, I added a flush with distilled water at the end, before filling with ink.

No more gunk so far. Evidently my tap water is not suited to pen flushing.

Thanks for the helpful replies.

Scott