Modern Pens: The Omas 360

[raging.dragon]

I've seen the ACS 360 in for sale ads and the OMAS website has a page describing how the ACS system works; however, I have never handled one in person and don't have any photos. I presume these were made near the end of the original 360 production run but haven't been able to find any information on the production dates of these pens. Curiosity about the ACS system has led me to consider buying one; however, so far I have refained from adding one of these pens to my collection due to concerns about the ACS system (see below) and general dislike of cartridge only fillers.

 

Appearance and Design: The external design and appearance of the ACS 360 is identical to the original 360; however, the filling system is different. Instead of a piston filler the ACS 360 uses OMAS's Advanced Cartridge System. I've only seen these pens in grey cotton resin with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib. Other colours may exist, but I haven't seen any hint of them.

 

Weight and Dimensions: Presumably identical to the original 360.

 

Nib and Performance: Presumably identical to the original 360.

 

Filling System: Instead the piston filler used in the original 360, the ACS 360 uses OMAS's Advanced Cartridge System. This is a cartridge only filling system that seems to work slightly differently from the 360 Mezzo's cartridge only system which is pictured above. To fill the ACS 360's the blind cap is unscrewed then it and the metal cartridge carrier are pulled out of the back of the pen and two standard international cartridges placed in the metal carrier. Unfortunately the design of this carrier makes it operate a converter normally, though it might be possible to fill a converter then carefully place it in the carrier. Which leads into my other unanswered questions about ACS:

 

• Is it possible to place a single standard international cartridge into the carrier? If not when the first cartridge is emptied, one would need to have another unused cartridge handy (negating the benefit of ACS carrying two cartridges) or place the empty cartridge in the carrier where the last drop of ink remaining in the cartridge is likely to leak out and create a mess.
  
• Is it possible to place a single long international cartridge into the carrier?
  

Edited November 20, 2012 by raging.dragon

[entropydave]

Thank you for this very interesting and comprehensive thread.

 

I have one OMAS 360 that I like very much. The nib, a medium, is very wet with a generous width.

 

At any rate, I have a few questions about it because I bought it second hand. I was told that it was from 2000 and it certainly predates the changes made in 2007. It has the older clip that narrows in the middle (and is very lovely). It is a piston filler, which works well though is a bit stiff as it finishes.

 

1) To my eye, my pen is about 157mm capped. Is there a larger model that existed or is my measuring a bit off?

 

2) To my eye, mine is a pure black resin with gold trim. I note that you list solely blue-black resin models. Was there a pure black model or am I simply not seeing the blue-black character?

 

3) I would like to lube the piston. Do the nib and feed simply pull out (i.e. is it press fitted) or is there something further I need to do (e.g. heat it, twist it)?

 

4) I had thought of getting the generous medium nib stubbed out to increase the line variation. Are there good reasons not to do this?

 

Thank you very much for any help you can give.

 

David.

[raging.dragon]

Thank you for this very interesting and comprehensive thread.

 

I have one OMAS 360 that I like very much. The nib, a medium, is very wet with a generous width.

 

At any rate, I have a few questions about it because I bought it second hand. I was told that it was from 2000 and it certainly predates the changes made in 2007. It has the older clip that narrows in the middle (and is very lovely). It is a piston filler, which works well though is a bit stiff as it finishes.

 

1) To my eye, my pen is about 157mm capped. Is there a larger model that existed or is my measuring a bit off?

 

2) To my eye, mine is a pure black resin with gold trim. I note that you list solely blue-black resin models. Was there a pure black model or am I simply not seeing the blue-black character?

 

3) I would like to lube the piston. Do the nib and feed simply pull out (i.e. is it press fitted) or is there something further I need to do (e.g. heat it, twist it)?

 

4) I had thought of getting the generous medium nib stubbed out to increase the line variation. Are there good reasons not to do this?

 

Thank you very much for any help you can give.

 

David.

 

There was a 360 Magnum (write up coming soon), and 157mm sounds about right for that model. I've heard of a variant on this called the Lawyer Pen that was in black cotton resin with gold trim. I've haven't seen one of those in person, I'm not certain whether or not it's numbered, nor even fully certain it exists! A sale or production date around 2000 would be about right.

 

The 360 Magnum was also available in blue-black cotton resin with either Gold or Rhodium trim and nib. I've had the oppurtunity to handle and write with a friends 360 Magnum and they're really nice pens. I'd like to add one or more to my collection but they rarely come up for sale.

 

The blue in the blue-black cotton resin is subtle, so you could have either the Lawyer Pen or a standard 360 Magnum.

 

The 360 nib and feed are indeed press fit, though they can be very tight and hard to remove. Heating would be a good idea as heat makes the ebonite feed and collar less brittle. The only argument against stubbing the nib would be that it might reduce you're pens value to collectors.

 

If you're in the US or Canada, you might want to contact John Mottishaw of Classic Fountain Pens (www.nibs.com) in LA - he does custom nib grinding and is (I believe) an authorized OMAS repair/maintenance centre so you could ship the pen once and get both the nib and piston seen to. I bought several of my 360's from Classic Fountain Pens, including a custom flex nib. John does good work, and his staff are pleasant and helpful.

Edited November 21, 2012 by raging.dragon

[entropydave]

There was a 360 Magnum (write up coming soon), and 157mm sounds about right for that model. I've heard of a variant on this called the Lawyer Pen that was in black cotton resin with gold trim. I've haven't seen one of those in person, I'm not certain whether or not it's numbered, nor even fully certain it exists! A sale or production date around 2000 would be about right.

 

The 360 Magnum was also available in blue-black cotton resin with either Gold or Rhodium trim and nib. I've had the oppurtunity to handle and write with a friends 360 Magnum and they're really nice pens. I'd like to add one or more to my collection but they rarely come up for sale.

 

The blue in the blue-black cotton resin is subtle, so you could have either the Lawyer Pen or a standard 360 Magnum.

 

The 360 nib and feed are indeed press fit, though they can be very tight and hard to remove. Heating would be a good idea as heat makes the ebonite feed and collar less brittle. The only argument against stubbing the nib would be that it might reduce you're pens value to collectors.

 

If you're in the US or Canada, you might want to contact John Mottishaw of Classic Fountain Pens (www.nibs.com) in LA - he does custom nib grinding and is (I believe) an authorized OMAS repair/maintenance centre so you could ship the pen once and get both the nib and piston seen to. I bought several of my 360's from Classic Fountain Pens, including a custom flex nib. John does good work, and his staff are pleasant and helpful.

 

Thank you again, that is very helpful information.

 

I looked at my pen again and I guess I can see that it might be blue black. The blue-ness seems to show best under bright light.

 

I decided to have a look at the booklet that came with the pen (the pen was sold as NOS with papers, though I don't know if these are complete) so that I might determine whether it was a lawyer pen. Here is the information under "Technical Information Fountain Pen":

 

Code: OM0300.

Shape: ergonomic and triangular, composed of 3 consecutive circles which form opposing 60 degree angles.

Length: 160 mm. closed. 190mm. open.

Max. width: 17.5mm

Material: proprietary vegetal resin.

Color: 360 blue.

Filling system: piston-filling system.

Barrel capacity: 1.5cc

Nib: 18 K. gold nib with special spherical iridium tip; nib sizes EF - F - M - B - BB - OM - OMD - OBD - OBBD.

Clip: gold-plated phosphorous bronze clip.

Bands: 18 K. rolled

 

I am giving you this information because I thought it might be helpful for your article on Magnums. The composition of the clip surprised me, I had assumed it was plated steel. It is nice also to know the stated ink capacity.

 

I am glad to know that I have the magnum one, because it explains why it is a bit too big for me. I have modest-sized hands. I think I will post an ad on FPN asking if anyone would like to trade a magnum for a non-magnum, i.e. normal.

 

Thank you for the opinion on the nib. Since I may trade the pen, I will wait on any nib modification. I'm in the UK, so while Mottishaw is a possibility, it would be the long way around.

 

Again, thanks for the thread, which has been fascinating.

 

David.

[jameswatts]

I've had a red resin 360 for about a decade, and unfortunately it has been nothing but trouble. a bad seal made ink leak from the blind cap, and after three months in italy, the piston is extremely difficult to turn and it draws in even less ink than it did before the original seal failed.

 

I love the look and feel of the pen, and when it has a drop or two (literally!) of ink in it, it writes wonderfully. but it's such a hassle to deal with that I use it only rarely. Would greatly appreciate any suggestions to help remedy these problems -- beyond sending it on another lengthy and potentially fruitless trip abroad..

 

 

 

 

The original 360 was made was made in both celluloid and cotton resin, including two demonstrators. I've combined these into a single post since all are identical except for material, colour and pattern. This is the largest group of OMAS 360's made so far, and the representative examples in my collection are the two demonstrators, the Vision HiTech and Vision Bronze.

 

Appearance and Design: The OMAS 360 was designed with a large, rounded triangular shape, that was intended to provide an erogonomic grip. Triangular pens are not new and in theory this shape is ideal for the classic triangle grip. However, from the 360's inception, the triangular shape elicited love it or hate it reactions. Unlike the Parker 75 (one of the many preceeding pens with a trianglular gripping area), there was no easy way for a user to adjust the rotation of the nib and thus, depending on the specifics of one's grip the 360, will be either extremely comfortable or almost impossible to write with. While it is possible to pull the 360's nib and adjust it to suit one's grip, this is something few users are comfortable doing.

 

Weight and Dimensions: The OMAS 360 is a large pen, and while weight may vary a bit depending on the material used, other dimensions are constant across all variants. The 360 is a light pen, too light in fact, for the scales available to me to provide a meaningful reading.

 

• Capped Length: 5.92" / 150 mm
• Uncapped Length: 5.2" / 132 mm
• Posted Length: 7.1" / 180 mm
• Section Diameter: 11.4 - 13.6 mm
• Barrel Diameter: 14.7 mm
• Cap Diameter: 16.8 mm

 

Nib and Performance: The first 360's may have had nibs produced in house by OMAS; however, I believe the examples I've tried are all later production pens fitted with Bock nibs. These nibs are smooth, wet, and very soft - they are as close to a vintage semi-flex as you can get in a modern pen. The feeds are ebonite and in my experience have performed flawlessly.

 

Filling System: The original 360 has a piston filler. The mechanism works well, though like many OMAS piston fillers it can be a bit sticky. It also holds surprisingly little ink for a pen as large as the 360. Some 360's, otherwise identical to the standard 360, were made with OMAS's Advanced Cartridge System (ACS), but I'll cover those in a subsequent post.

 

Original Fullsized 360 Variants

 

Cotton Resin

 

The standard 360's were made from cotton resin, which is presumably closely related to celluloid but safer to store and easier to work with. The 18K gold nibs and base metal clip and trim are plated with either yellow Gold or Rhodium, with OMAS calling the latter Hi-Tech trim. Most pens came with a matching mono-colour nib, though at least some of the blue black pens with gold trim have duo tone nibs. The cap and section are both decorated with two metal bands. A wide band engraved with a greek key pattern and a solid narrow band. The traditional greek key motif contrasts with the otherwise very modern styling of the 360. The colours I know of are:

 

• Blue Black with Gold trim with tri-color (Gold & Rhodium dual tone) nib
• Blue Black with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib
• Venice Blue with yellow Gold trim and nib
• Venice Blue with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib
• Iceberg White with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib
• Red with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib

 

I've seen a few 360's made from grey cotton resin with with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib; however, those were all ACS filling pens so I'm not certain whether or not the original piston filled 360 was ever offered in grey cotton resin. Additionally, I've seen hints that the original 360 may have been made in Green and Yellow, but again I have no confirmation of this. Those pens might have been special editions, or they might have be 360 Mezzos confused for original 360's.

 

Vision Hi-Tech and Bronze

 

Two cotton resin demonstrators were produced, the 360 Vision Hi-Tech and 360 Vision Bronze. These were identical to the other cotton resin 360, but made from clear cotton resin. Unlike the later Vintage LE's, the original 360 Visions were made with clear inner caps leaving the nib clearly visible.

 

• Vision HT: clear transparent resin with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib
• Vision Bronze: amber transparent resin with yellow Gold trim and nib

 

Celluloid

 

The celluloid 360's were identical to the cotton resin 360's, except they're made from real celluloid (cellulose nitrate + camphor). Celluloid is higly flammable and off gasses pleasantly aromatic camphor, making it expensive to store in large quantities. Additionally, celluloid shrinks as it off gasses and OMAS go to great lengths to avoid shrinkage and resultant cracking (first aging their celluloid for years, then letting parts age for months between manufacturing steps). As a result the celluloid 360's were significantly more expensive than their cotton resin counterparts. The following colours were offered:

 

• Wild celluloid with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib
• Pearl Grey with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib
• Royale Blue with Rhodium (Hi-Tech) trim and nib

 

OMAS offered several other celluloid colours in their Arte-Italiana line; however, I am not aware of them have ever been offered in the 360 line.

Edited November 29, 2012 by jameswatts

[raging.dragon]

I've had a red resin 360 for about a decade, and unfortunately it has been nothing but trouble. a bad seal made ink leak from the blind cap, and after three months in italy, the piston is extremely difficult to turn and it draws in even less ink than it did before the original seal failed.

 

I love the look and feel of the pen, and when it has a drop or two (literally!) of ink in it, it writes wonderfully. but it's such a hassle to deal with that I use it only rarely. Would greatly appreciate any suggestions to help remedy these problems -- beyond sending it on another lengthy and potentially fruitless trip abroad..

 

The first thing I'd try is running a fill or two of a Noodler's Eel ink through it. The Eel inks have lubricants in them that might help the piston.

 

I'd also suggest contacting John Mottishaw at Classic Fountain Pens (www.nibs.com), he's an OMAS dealer and a well regarded pen repairer, so I'm pretty sure he has considerable expreience with repairing OMAS pens including the 360. He probably has a long waiting list but he's in the US. I bought several of my 360's from him, one with a custom flex nib, though I haven't required any pen repairs yet and thus have no experience to share on various repair services available.

 

The furthest I've gone in disassembling my 360's is pulling the nibs to swap them. Lubing a piston should be fairly easy: pull the nib and feed (patience and long soaks in warm water help), carefully unscrew the collar holding the nib (it's fragile!), use a toothpick or some similar implement to transfer a few drops of silicone grease to the piston seal, then cycle the piston a few times to spread the grease. I haven't done this yet, but I'm thinking that my ebony 360 needs it's piston lubed.

 

I have no idea how to pull the piston from the pen, and it sounds like that might be necessary with your pen.

[kauloltran]

Eric advised me to fill the pen with Glycerin to lubricate the piston. Glycerin can be found at the pharmacy and is a very safe compound that can also be ingested. For Omas pens, especially the 360s, the best way to lubricate the piston is doing what I just said. I don't suggest taking the pen apart. Furthermore, one may also use kitchen vegetable oil, or olive oil for that matter, as they are inert compounds and will not harm celluloid. I heard that Pelikan's service techs at Chartpak uses vegetable oil to lubricate their pens. Just one of many possibilities.

Edited November 30, 2012 by kauloltran

[kauloltran]

I have a standard size black 360 and a blue celluloid 360. The black pen is longer than the celluloid version. Is this normal or did my celluloid shrink?

[jameswatts]

I've had a red resin 360 for about a decade, and unfortunately it has been nothing but trouble. a bad seal made ink leak from the blind cap, and after three months in italy, the piston is extremely difficult to turn and it draws in even less ink than it did before the original seal failed.

 

I love the look and feel of the pen, and when it has a drop or two (literally!) of ink in it, it writes wonderfully. but it's such a hassle to deal with that I use it only rarely. Would greatly appreciate any suggestions to help remedy these problems -- beyond sending it on another lengthy and potentially fruitless trip abroad..

 

The first thing I'd try is running a fill or two of a Noodler's Eel ink through it. The Eel inks have lubricants in them that might help the piston.

 

I'd also suggest contacting John Mottishaw at Classic Fountain Pens (www.nibs.com), he's an OMAS dealer and a well regarded pen repairer, so I'm pretty sure he has considerable expreience with repairing OMAS pens including the 360. He probably has a long waiting list but he's in the US. I bought several of my 360's from him, one with a custom flex nib, though I haven't required any pen repairs yet and thus have no experience to share on various repair services available.

 

The furthest I've gone in disassembling my 360's is pulling the nibs to swap them. Lubing a piston should be fairly easy: pull the nib and feed (patience and long soaks in warm water help), carefully unscrew the collar holding the nib (it's fragile!), use a toothpick or some similar implement to transfer a few drops of silicone grease to the piston seal, then cycle the piston a few times to spread the grease. I haven't done this yet, but I'm thinking that my ebony 360 needs it's piston lubed.

 

I have no idea how to pull the piston from the pen, and it sounds like that might be necessary with your pen.

 

Thank you! I'll give the Eel ink a try first.

[raging.dragon]

I've added a 360 Magnum to my collection, photos and a writeup should be coming soon.

 

Also the silver section fell off my Ebony 360 while I was swapping nibs! The section has a plastic or ebonite (not sure which) core to which a thick silver piece is glued with what appeared to be black rosin. While heating the section to loosen the nib, the rosin let go. This will be easy to repair (the hardest part is going to be finding an appropriate rosin or equivalent!), but I'll take and post some photos first as this provides an interesting insight into how the silver section 360's were made.

 

Finally, I've noticed that my metal sectioned 360 fountain pens (Ebony, Titanium and Imagination) have thinner feeds than my 360's with plastic sections (Vision HT, Vision Amber, and Vintage LE). I believe all the metal section pens are using the two part section construction described above, and even with the thinner feed the walls of the interior plastic piece are quite thin. I suspect that using the larger feed would've either made those walls too thin and fragile or required a making the section larger. Again, photos coming soon.

 

Once that's done, I'll throw together a quick summary of what I know about the post 2007 and Lamborghini pens.

Edited December 6, 2012 by raging.dragon

[Mags]

Vegetable oil in my pen to lubricate it. REALLY? Is this for real. I have never lubed any pens is it something to be done every 2 yrs or does it not need to happen if you keep ink in and use the pens?

[raging.dragon]

I'd use Glycerin, adding a tiny amount to a vial of ink before filling. Or one of Noodler's Eel inks which contain a lubricant (possibly Glycerin).

 

I wouldn't worry about lubricating the piston unless it feels stiff.

[georges zaslavsky]

Nice collection Raging Dragon I have the following 360s in my collection

-1997 Omas 360 Magnum HT full flex m nib

-2002 Omas 360 Colonial with Rose Gold trim flex f nib

-2002 Omas 360 Arctic white HT flex m nib

-2002 Omas 360 Ebony Blue with Yellow Gold trim flex f nib

-2005 Omas 360 Extra Lucens HT flex f nib

-2004 Omas 360 Vision HT flex m nib (reserved at my penshop)

-2005 Omas 360 Burkina HT flex f nib (reserved at my penshop)

 

I am hunting for these 360s: 360 dlc, 360 t2, 360 in any celluloid, 360 75th anniversary, 360 erasmus, 360 year of Imagination and 360 zenith

[raging.dragon]

Nice collection Raging Dragon I have the following 360s in my collection

-1997 Omas 360 Magnum HT full flex m nib

-2002 Omas 360 Colonial with Rose Gold trim flex f nib

-2002 Omas 360 Arctic white HT flex m nib

-2002 Omas 360 Ebony Blue with Yellow Gold trim flex f nib

-2005 Omas 360 Extra Lucens HT flex f nib

-2004 Omas 360 Vision HT flex m nib (reserved at my penshop)

-2005 Omas 360 Burkina HT flex f nib (reserved at my penshop)

 

I am hunting for these 360s: 360 dlc, 360 t2, 360 in any celluloid, 360 75th anniversary, 360 erasmus, 360 year of Imagination and 360 zenith

 

Thanks! You have a nice collection of 360's too. I think we're FPN's biggest, or at least most vocal, 360 fans.

 

The 360 Magnum was the closest thing to a "grail pen" for me. I now have one with Gold trim and wouldn't mind adding a Rhodium/Hi-Tech trimmed example to my collection as well. I'm planning to get the 360 Lucens with Gold trim and the PC pen - at which point I could declare my 360 collection complete. I might also pickup an ACS and Mezzo to satiate my curiosity about them. Finally, I'd have a hard time resisting the Zenith or MoMA if I ever found one.

 

Did you have the nib on your Magnum customized for additional flex? I find mine has a slightly stiffer nib than my other 360's.

Edited December 7, 2012 by raging.dragon

[georges zaslavsky]

The 360 Magnum was the closest thing to a "grail pen" for me. I now have one with Gold trim and wouldn't mind adding a Rhodium/Hi-Tech trimmed example to my collection as well. I'm planning to get the 360 Lucens with Gold trim and the PC pen - at which point I could declare my 360 collection complete. I might also pickup an ACS and Mezzo to satiate my curiosity about them. Finally, I'd have a hard time resisting the Zenith or MoMA if I ever found one.

 

Did you have the nib on your Magnum customized for additional flex? I find mine has a slightly stiffer nib than my other 360's.

My 360 magnum from is a standard one but as Mr Mora said the previous owner of the pen used to a lot of calligraphy with this m nibbed 360. Perhaps has the previous owner requested through a nibmeister to add more flex I don't know.

[JeffPDX2]

Additionally, I've seen hints that the original 360 may have been made in Green and Yellow, but again I have no confirmation of this.

 

Please see the picture below of my Omas 360. It was purchased some time in the mid-1990 time frame, though not sure of the exact year. As you can see, green with Rhodium Trim. No idea whether it is celluloid or not. Nib is medium, for what it is worth..

[enricof]

My humble 360 collection is the following (all old style piston filler, I really don't care for the new design):

• 360 blue-black HT fine
• 360 Magnum blue-black GT medium
• 360 Vision Bronze bold
• 360 Vision HT factory italic
• 360 Vintage red medium
• 360 Vintage blue medium

And I must say they are among my favourites pens and nibs (in all size).

 

Minor complains:

• small ink capacity (expecially when coupled with the luscious B or wide italic nibs)
• no easy way to lube the piston (but Eel inks help)

A few pics

http://i384.photobucket.com/albums/oo288/enricofacchin/SANY0560.jpg

[novelli]

raging.dragon, what a great collection of 360, congratulation!
I simply love this pen and I can't stop ordering them from Omas and stocking some different pieces to offer to my clientele.

 

During '90s Omas was receiving some pens to be repaired because, the owners said, they did not write properly. After checking the pens carefully Miss Malaguti realized that most of them were used improperly as the owners held them in a wrong way. So she decided to produce a pen that can be handled only in the proper way, and the result was not only a good working pen but also a wonderful and revolutionary deigned writing instrument. Technically the big challenge was to use a standard cylindrical piston in a triangular section, this is why the traditional "medium size" was a big pen and the capacity was not proportioned to the size.
For all these reasons the Mezzo (cartridge) and the new edition with the round nib section, are not even close (on my opinion) to the charming original 360 piston system pen.

The first production was made in 1996 (Omas book by Dolcini, page 73) in the large size and the oversize (only for the notaries), produced only in what the called "blue black", a so dark blue that you can hardly tell it is not black! Since the first production they make many different models, all great successes!

Enjoy them.

 

Marco
www.novelli.it

[youstruckgold]

Here is my little lot (including an original oversize - at the back):

http://youstruckgold.smugmug.com/Other/Omas/i-nr5VGq6/0/M/IMG_0498-M.jpg

[novelli]

help me to find all the models and colors ever produced, I'm sure I will miss some editions:

Resin:
Oversize blue black (for notary)
standard blue-black
green
red

white

blue royal HT

Wood:
snakewood
ebony
palmwood:

celluloid:

wild

pearl grey
blue royal
burkina

Blue Lucens GT (limited)

Blue Lucens HT (limited)

Metal:
Immagination (limited)
FPC (limited)

Titanium HT
Titanium DLC

Demonstrator:
Vision HT
Vision GT fumee
Vintage blue (limited)
Vintatge red (limited)
Vintage turquoise (limited)

 

Am I missing anything?

Marco

Novelli.it