Jump to content

Pulling A 149 Nib


efchem

Recommended Posts

So I had a 149 years ago and didn't like the weight with the brass piston threads. Most of the plastic piston threads that would go up for sale were F or EF. Finally a 70s 18c with a B nib was available at a fair price and I took it.

 

The problem is when I received the pen, I noticed that I could easily see the 149 stamp at the bottom of the nib. I tried to pull it with just my hands and it didn't budge. I have not tried nib pliers yet. I figured I would get advice first.

 

Specifics

Have not filled it yet

Nib and feed are aligned so both sticking out presumably

Feed is solid ebonite style

Collar is screwed in further then end of pen

 

What advice can any give me to try and fix this or should I just try to fill and write?

 

Thanks,

Erick

post-47127-0-43399400-1391912303_thumb.jpg

post-47127-0-39553000-1391912317_thumb.jpg

post-47127-0-11793800-1391912328_thumb.jpg

Edited by efchem
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 22
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • efchem

    6

  • Paul80

    6

  • rhr2010

    3

  • vates

    2

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

You need a special too to unscrew the nib from the pen. Once the nib with collar and feed are out, you can knock out the feed and nib from the collar. So first you need the tool to unscrew and then a knock out block. Also, they use a special sealant and you would clean it out and put some other sealant, such as rosin. All in all, with proper tools and know-how a few minutes job, but if you never did it, do not use a 149 as your first...do not take pliers to the nib :yikes:

" I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." -- Albert Einstein

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need a special too to unscrew the nib from the pen. Once the nib with collar and feed are out, you can knock out the feed and nib from the collar. So first you need the tool to unscrew and then a knock out block. Also, they use a special sealant and you would clean it out and put some other sealant, such as rosin. All in all, with proper tools and know-how a few minutes job, but if you never did it, do not use a 149 as your first...do not take pliers to the nib :yikes:

Not regular pliers but the ones with rubber grips specifically shaped for pulling nibs. The section does have the holes at 12 & 6 so maybe the visconti tool would fit.

 

The bigger question is why were they not in all the way? I know ebonite is easier to put back in the collar when wet. Any thing else to look for or at?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I assume the Visconti tool would work if it fits the section holes. I think the only way to safely reset the nib is to knock it out. It is difficult to judge what is going on without seeing the pen, hard to say why they are not in all the way. Maybe somebody took apart the pen? If you post a photo you might get more advice from people.

" I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." -- Albert Einstein

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I assume the Visconti tool would work if it fits the section holes. I think the only way to safely reset the nib is to knock it out. It is difficult to judge what is going on without seeing the pen, hard to say why they are not in all the way. Maybe somebody took apart the pen? If you post a photo you might get more advice from people.

Added pics to original post. Also noticed a horizontal groove near the bottom of the feed that I am guessing should sit at the edge of the collar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

None of mine have the 149 imprint, but I don't remember if they have it inside the collar. Overall it seems that your pen is fine, I would try and ink it and mess around with it only if it is flawed.

" I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." -- Albert Einstein

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would see how it performs first.

I messed around with one of my 146's and that led to a nib exchange and a complete rebuild costing me $315 courtesy of the Montblanc Service Center.

 

I sent in a ruined wreck and received a brand-new pen. Not a bad deal.

 

However, if I had been more cautious, an eighty-dollar tune-up would have sufficed.

 

Your pen doesn't look damaged and, at worst, requires a minor tune-up.

I would leave it in the hands of a technician.

Edited by meiers
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't be able to live with it while the nib and feed were hanging out that far though. It was never designed to have that much extended out of the feeder case, so at best it might break the feed, or at worst it might break the nib.

 

As I don't have a special nib removal tool I would have to send it to Montblanc and pay the 1st level service fee, which is the £60/$80 amount

Edited by Chrissy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi

 

Don't forget the other way to get the nib out, and that's to remove the piston and knock the nib out through the barrel, that way the collar stays in place and you don't disturb the sealant used. Ok so you still need a tool of some sort to get the piston out but it's much easier to make a piston tool than a nib collar tool.

 

Although there are quite a few piston and nib tools on eBay at the moment, going from 99p to £74 depending on which ones you pick up, there are four sellers that regularly sell them one in England, one in Italy, one in Germany and one in Japan or it might be China but he don't list them very often, but his are the cheapest when he does list them, of the others the English seller is the cheapest with the German being the most expensive.

 

If you are into your Resin Montblanc piston fillers and you like to service your own pens then the piston tool of some sort is a must have item, so that you can keep your piston greased so that the worm screw does not snap through too much force being applied to a stiff piston and with the piston out you can get the nib out if needed. Especially as there are at least 4 different nib tools needed and possibly 6, although I have only ever seen 4, but only one piston tool. So if you only have one tool have a piston tool.

 

Paul

Edited by Paul80
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need a special too to unscrew the nib from the pen.....

but if you never did it, do not use a 149 as your first...do not take pliers to the nib :yikes:

+1

 

Hi

 

1) Don't forget the other way to get the nib out, and that's to remove the piston and knock the nib out through the barrel, that way the collar stays in place and you don't disturb the sealant used. Ok so you still need a tool of some sort to get the piston out but it's much easier to make a piston tool than a nib collar tool.

 

 

If you are into your Resin Montblanc piston fillers and you like to service your own pens then the piston tool of some sort is a must have item, 2) so that you can keep your piston greased so that the worm screw does not snap through too much force being applied to a stiff piston and with the piston out you can get the nib out if needed. 3) Especially as there are at least 4 different nib tools needed and possibly 6, although I have only ever seen 4, but only one piston tool. So if you only have one tool have a piston tool.

 

Paul

 

1) Certainly one way to do it...hari tends to favor this method. I myself prefer to remove the the feed housing/collar. Probably the "dirtiest" part of a pen, over time, is the feed. Most flow problems start here, so I prefer to disassemble this completely to do a thorough cleaning. My feeling in trying to knock out the the feed from the back end requires:

a) a longer rod and is more of "blind" knockout as you can't see if your knockout rod is centered over the feed itself or worse case, sitting partly over the feed and the edge of the feed collar

B) IMHO, put's more stress on a threaded part of the assembly.

 

2) You can grease the barrel, and hence the piston seal from the bottom once the feed housing has been removed.

 

3) what 4 different tools are talking about unless you mean four different SIZES of the nib removal tool (i.e. for 142-144-146 and 149, and yes then 2 more more for "modern" 146 and 149)

 

Really the only time I ever disassemble the piston is when I purchase a beater pen to completely overhaul it or if there is a leak from the piston end.

 

To the OP, if your pen writes well and you have NEVER done any of these disassembles before, I would just leave it. Really it's only a few millimeters off (the notch in the feed should be just flush/at the level of the barrel lip.

 

My guess is that the original "bubble gum" sealant is gone as someone/somewhere/sometime has disassembled the pen and did this when reassembly took place. I doubt it would be MB service that reassembled it this way. Just hope whoever did it, did not use anything permanent to reseal the feed housing/collar.

 

My $0.02

 

 

Rick

MY-stair-shtook eyn-HOON-dairt noyn und FEART-seeg (Meisterstuck #149)

"the last pen I bought is the next to the last pen I will ever buy.."---jar

WTB: Sheaffer OS Balance with FLEX nibs

porkopolispennerslogorev1.jpg

Porkopolis Penners Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need 4 tools just for the 146 & 149 Resin models 2 for the 146 with the pins located at 180degs and 120degs and the same for the 149 size tool as well, so that's 4 tools just for the Resin models. It is possible to use just one tool with a bit of thought and that is how I made mine, one single tool and it fits most if not all Montblanc Pens with a screw in Collars. But the proper design calls for one tool for each type.

 

There are lots of DIY options though which is why you never get anyone agreeing with anyone else on these repair forums ;) hopefully that's why it is.

 

Paul

Edited by Paul80
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Update: Went to clean the pen to get ready to fill when another pen empties. Some ink was coming out so I thought good, it was used like this. As I flushed it more, the piston became stiffer instead of smoother. I stopped and realized that I might need to pull the piston mechanism. So looks like a MB tool is in my future. Any advice? Would anyone at the Chicago Pen Show be able to do this or sell the tools?

 

I have worked on other pens so I feel I should be able to complete the task without screwing it up. I just want to know why I have to knock the feed out instead of pulling it? I have pulled nibs and feeds from a variety of pens with no problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One reason to knock rather tan pull is that the fins on the feed are very fragile and by pulling, even when using a soft jaw tool you stand a very good chance of damaging the fins.

 

The safest way is to unscrew the collar and then knock the feed out using the correct size knock out block and punch, it is possible to knock it out through the barrel once the piston is removed, but as Rick said, you need a longer than normal drift and you need to be sure the drift is only sitting on the end of the feed or you risk damaging the collar as well.

 

As with most things there are a number of ways to do them and sometimes the proper way is best.

 

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for the tool to remove the piston, if you don't want to buy a ready made one or you find the asking price to be too high, do a search on this forum there are quite a few pictures of some home made offerings, including the one I made ;) IIRC it also shows pictures of nib collar tools as well.

 

They are quite easy to make if you are that way inclined, its not rocket science or brain surgery after all.

 

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Knocking the nib+feed out of the collar was a surprisingly easy job. However, I have really hard times placing them back again. Still can't figure it out: the collar is too (very-very) tight.

Edited by vates

 

Gottes Mühlen mahlen langsam, mahlen aber trefflich fein

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would anyone at the Chicago Pen Show be able to do this or sell the tools?

 

That's the best answer yet. Of course there will be folk at the Chicago pen show that can handle it for you.

 

My Website

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Knocking the nib+feed out of the collar was a surprisingly easy job. However, I have really hard times placing them back again. Still can't figure it out: the collar is too (very-very) tight.

 

If it is ebonite, then I was always told to wet it and insert with quick, steady force. Mike Masuyama told me this when I had been working on an Omas pen but could not reset the nib and feed. Also be careful if the feed has a slot to orient it within the collar. I usually test the feed alone to see if there is a special orientation for it to go all the way in.

 

 

That's the best answer yet. Of course there will be folk at the Chicago pen show that can handle it for you.

Any recommendations? I am a tinkerer so I might not be able to wait. The threads here give me confidence to work on the pen.

 

Another question for all. Should the holes in the collar be at the wings/sides of the nib or top and bottom or it does not matter?

Edited by efchem
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

If it is ebonite, then I was always told to wet it and insert with quick, steady force. Mike Masuyama told me this when I had been working on an Omas pen but could not reset the nib and feed. Also be careful if the feed has a slot to orient it within the collar. I usually test the feed alone to see if there is a special orientation for it to go all the way in.

 

Thanks! Yes, it's ebonite. I tried to wet the feed, no luck so far. Also I tried liquid soap trick. Nada. Heat the collar. Nope.

Maybe I just needed to go a little further in each case. Or maybe I'm still missing some special technic buried in old threads of this forum...

 

 

Another question for all. Should the holes in the collar be at the wings/sides of the nib or top and bottom or it does not matter?

 

On my 1985-1990 they are on top and bottom.

 

Gottes Mühlen mahlen langsam, mahlen aber trefflich fein

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the are 180 deg apart then it normally top and bottom and if the holes are 120 deg apart then it's normally either side.

 

Paul

Link to comment
Share on other sites

post-74913-0-41002200-1392232237.jpgHave you noticed the very shallow recess for the nib. It is between the lines at 10 and 3 o'clock in the picture. You will not be able to push the nib and feeder into position in any other orientation. Align the nib and feeder and hold together with thumb and forefinger whilst inserting them.

You don't know what you need until you realise you haven't got it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

Announcements


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...