New (To Me) Desk Set - Russian "rocket"

[trdsf]

I'm an old space nerd, so when I saw one of these it was a moral imperative to get one eventually. Well, the timing was finally right -- I got this yesterday, and from a seller in the states so I wasn't paying as much for shipping as I was for the item.

 

It's more than a little reminiscent of the Parker 51 at the business end -- hooded nib, small opening and all -- and the piston mechanism works just fine. It's very light, just 10g, but it doesn't feel flimsy.

 

However the nib does have some damage, so I'll have to figure out how to get it out of there and replace it. Anyone with experience with these, I'm all ears.

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/zl27vd.jpg

 

http://i60.tinypic.com/wvnz4o.jpg

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/rhvqtl.jpg

[willard]

Well played!

 

I almost bought it, this very one or its brother, on a renowned online betting site. It was coming from Russia, though, with love of course.

 

I almost bought it more than once, actually. The first time, I was too late. The second time, I just bought something else.

 

Perhaps the biggest problem for me is that I don't have a flat desk.

 

But I do (try to) have a chess table, and this would have been really nice.

Edited June 5, 2014 by willard

[DaveBj]

Nice. As a former Russian linguist (my BA is in Russian) with the USAF and later with NSA, I would count that as a score.

[grainweevil]

Ah, nice. I've eyed one of those before now, but desk space not being as vast and infinite as outer space...

 

Looks like it's by Soyuz, so if it's anything like it's less rocket-y comrade the hood should screw right off with a little gentle heat encouragement.

 

Cheers, Al

[trdsf]

The Russian language thing is a little bit of the reason -- I took Russian for three quarters in college. It's all gone now; I can read Cyrillic, and that's about it. I got it mainly for being an artefact of the Space Race.

[trdsf]

Ah, nice. I've eyed one of those before now, but desk space not being as vast and infinite as outer space...

 

Looks like it's by Soyuz, so if it's anything like it's less rocket-y comrade the hood should screw right off with a little gentle heat encouragement.

 

Cheers, Al

 

Yes, it's definitely a Soyuz; I've heard mostly neutral to positive things about them.

 

How hot? Hot water tap hot? Hopefully... I'll give that a try.

 

And thanks!

Edited June 6, 2014 by trdsf

[grainweevil]

Ah, I used a heat gun, so can't really say. And definitely another positive for Soyuz from me; very impressed with mine.

 

Cheers, Al

[trdsf]

Yeah, the hot tap didn't seem to be enough - it was worth a try, though. I may send it out to be professionally handled, since I really don't want to break it.

 

i've heard these Soyuz models have a surprising amount of flex in the nib, especially considering it's hooded. Don't know if I'll be able to get another Russian nib, but it might be worth crawling the Bay of E for them.

[betweenthelens]

Very cool!