Ahoy! I won poorly labeled eBay auction for a Pelikan 100. Awesome B nib with the effect of a modern stub/cursive italic. Delicious. Everything seemed to check out, so I filled it. And I ended up with vintage Skrip Purple (from vintageinks.com) oozing out the bottom of the piston. I'd filled it with water a bunch before to test, but perhaps I rinsed enough caked ink away to make room for liquid to flow.

Anyway, long story short, I need a new cork seal for its piston. The filler assembly came out easily enough, and I can see that the cork is very inkstained and looking not quite big enough.

I'm not set on cork, but it would do. I've not been able to find a place to buy one yet. I'm planning on using this pen rather than selling it, so a more modern material would be fine as well. I think Rick uses a plastic, though historically accurate, seal. I've not asked Rick Propas in private yet either, but that'll be the next step.

Thanks!

Aaron

Rick will not sell plastic seals for Pelikans. I have tried already.

Cork is fine and also correct for that model pen IIRC. You would have to have it installed and then turned down, and finish sanded to the correct fit (notice I did not say dimension, fit is correct here). Then the cork should be treated with parrafin prior to installation.

The reason that I stress fit over dimension is that each barrel will be slightly different and one must trial and error the fit of the cork to the barrel to get one which will seal correctly and not be too tight as to cause excess radial (hoop) stress on the barrel.

Cheers,
Sean

So far as I know, the plastic seals that appeared on the 100N and later pens are not correct for a 100. (But I've been wrong before...)

I turn my corks to size, paraffin them, install them, and then heat very gently to allow the paraffin to form a really good seal fit.

Richard, do you heat the parrafin'd cork prior to installation in the barrel, or do you warm the barrel with the cork seal installed?? Inquiring minds want to know. That would be me, actually, who wants to know.

Cheers,
Sean

I'm personally quite open to a plastic seal, as I'd like to use the pen rather than make it collection- or sell-worthy.

After doing some more reading, I'm wondering if it is a bit of a frankenpen- the cap doesn't like a 100 or 100N cap, with the slight taper, but rather the cap top goes straight up in a cylinder, rounded at the top. The clip is unadorned, two thin camp bands like many of the other 100/100Ns I've seen. The cap top does have a Pelikan engraving at the top, and "Pelikan PATENT" engraved in a ring just above the clip, though it's very worn. The pen itself looks like a 100, the turning knob is scored, unlike the 100N's. A dark green (stained, I assume it was green) ink window and the binde is a greenish marble.

Is the cap from a Pelikan 100 or something earlier?

Aaron

I wax the cork by immersing it in a bath of molten paraffin and squeezing it to drive out air that is in its pores and draw in wax to replace that air. I then heat the pen slightly after I've installed the piston with the new cork.

Sorry about Nits 'R' Us, they sneak in occasionally when I'm looking the other way.

Wouldn't the paraffin wear away after awhile when the piston is moved up and down?

John

The Germans, note, soak their corks in paraffin oil -- liquid at room temperature -- which can be obtained from a pharmacy.

Acting as a hydrophobic (or at least, non-polar) sealant?

How long of a soak? Long enough for it to penetrate deep into the cork, or just for the first 1-2mm on the surface?

Aaron

Couldn't figure out the conjunction of parrafin and soaked, it came out parrafin'd. Sorry there Nits 'R' Us, I know you are looking now and will endeavor to do bester, I mean better. Oh and it should be "has noted that your spelling of" instead of "has noted that your spelling". Back at 'cha.

Cheers,
Sean

Sorry, but you is mistook. For "of" to be there, the phrasing should be 'your misspelling of "paraffin"' Which is still the case, by the way. Should be paraffin, not parrafin. I didn't sit through double English courses for nuttin'!

You would have to pick on the dylexic guy then (me), I looked at your spelling and my spelling and they looked identical until I saw yours with the colors.

Cheers,
Sean

getting back to the seal thing, I have one Pelikan 100N that's been in the family since new and it has a plastic seal (much like a tintenkuli's) and have a bunch of pushing 30's 100's that has a rubber o ring type of seal.The plastic seal 100N is marked EXPORT on the binde.

For the lubrication part I'm using some synt lubricant that I got for musical instruments (clarinet and saxophones has tenons with corked joints) and it was too lubricating for the originally intended use. Does not wear with moisture, doesn't attack plastics, doesn't smells and it's clear. Ultimax cork grease is the name, and you may be able to get that thru any woodwind supplier store. My friends Rich and Curt at musicmedic.com sells the stuff (no affiliation other than a happy customer who works with them on a regular basis). That said I don't like cork seals, cork's too abrasive for celluloid!

If you, Aaron, can take a good measure of the inner diameter of your barrel and care to give a synt seal a try I'll turn it for you and send it for free.

You are to good for this world Juan !



If you, Aaron, can take a good measure of the inner diameter of your barrel and care to give a synt seal a try I'll turn it for you and send it for free.
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I couldn't have said it better myself, fountainbel!

I'm actually pretty surprised at how hard it's been to find one of these.

How do you recommend I measure the inner diameter? To me it seems that you'd need a caliper that was smaller at the bottom but wider at the measuring tips- the area threading where the piston screws in seems smaller than the ink chamber part of the barrel. I've a few ways to do it, but I'm not sure how accurate they are.

/me goes a lookin'

Aaron

actually if the old seal hasn't lost shape, and still fits somewhat snugly into the barrel (let's say, if it offers a certain resistence when you try to push/pull it from the barrel) just measure the cork seal without compressing it when taking the measure.