Omas 361

[ink-syringe]

Okay. The pen is here. It is the most James Bond looking thing ever. Crazy beautiful mid-century Italian design but the hood is indeed on 180º wrong so that the flex is inhibited. I can tell that nib wants to flex too but now it has the feed on one side and the long side of the hood on the other so I have 2 sides of rigid and no flex. The piston also is pretty stiff and needs some silicon grease.

 

Since this ain't no Parker 51 or Sheaffer Snorkel, I am not sure what to do. It is a a lovely pen and in pretty good shape, esp. the cap but I am not sure I can fix this myself and am afraid to.

 

Who would fix an vintage Omas 361?

 

So beautiful. I am tempted to ink it even with the hood on wrong just to see what it is like.

 

H E L P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[catbert]

Paolo at www.Zona900.it fixed mine.

Edited July 3, 2015 by catbert

[Frank C]

That is a very interesting pen. I wasn't aware of these previously. I hope you enjoy it. Please keep us posted. I enjoy reading about these pen odysseys.

[ink-syringe]

Thanks.

 

The hood won't budge. I have a bad feeling... a bad feeling this dude glued it in. If I could just rotate the hood.... I have never been so anxious to try a pen in my life. Exceedingly frustrating.

[ink-syringe]

I emailed the eBay seller to see if he has glued or shellacked the hood in place. I think it would be helpful to know that on the outset. Bummer.

 

Meanwhile? Warm water? I don't want to break this thing but I HAVE to rotate that hood somehow.

[ink-syringe]

okay several hours of slightly more than luke warm water. First with a few drops of dish detergent then clear water, changing frequently to clean and warm water seemed to do it. Very little ink came out so I was beginning to think it was glued in place even though I know what a hold old dried ink can have.

 

It moves. Very tight but once it budged it can move to any position you want it. I tried to eye ball it as best I could so that the breather hole was centered in the pocket of the cut out and the gold dot on the hood. I got it pretty close with a loupe but I am going to quit while I am ahead and stop moving it. I cycled some clear water through the piston. It seems pretty clear but that piston is pretty stiff and the piston turning knob is small and glassy smooth so perhaps it just seems harder to turn that it is as is it hard to get yer paws fixed on it.

 

but there...

 

Looks like it really is flex city. It is drying in a cup nib down in some paper towels... what to ink it with.... It is a pretty fine nib so Aurora black? Waterman FL. Blue? hmm... If I had Asa-Gao on hand I would do that as it is pretty free flowing. But with such a fine nib I really might just do black ... decisions decisions...

 

let it dry a minute.

 

gorgeous pen.... cap is in excellent condition. Much as I like the arco and all, for this model, I just like the black with dots or arrows. It has a P51/Aurora 88/Lamy 27/Batman/James Bond vibe.

[ink-syringe]

oh my goodness.

[ink-syringe]

So. I got the hood rotated. Cleaned it, let it dry and inked it.

 

The good: It is unbelievable. The flex side nib is just super. Very easy flex. Not merely springy but really great line variation from thin hairline to B and the feed keeps up. The pen itself is in very good condition. The hood does not seem cracked, filler works even if the piston is a bit stiff and the metal has all its plating. Handsome pen and great writer.

 

The bad: Leaks. Ink seeps out from around the cap grabby ring doodad. I imagine this could be fixed by pulling the hood off and applying some silicone grease. But I am afraid to try to pull it off. It is on there tight and I know the thin parts of the hood are brittle.

 

But the nib. Oh goodness. Very similar to a wet flexy Waterman 2A nib. Very easy flex. Is it a full flex wet noodle? no. But it isn't that far off. A very nice pen. Feels great in the hand. Not sure what to do about the leak. But one day out in the wild and it has already been a conversation piece. Cool factor is off the charts but that is second place to how well it writes and great it feels in the hand. The long thin nib really is a joy. The "rigid" side is pretty dry and less fun but I have already flipped it a few times to make some notes in tight margins. Handy.

 

Crazy great pen. I would wildly overpay for a reissue of this pen. I love it.

[Frank C]

I'm glad to hear you got the pen working and are enjoying it.

[ink-syringe]

I'm glad to hear you got the pen working and are enjoying it.

 

 

 

Thanks. The 361 and the Aurora 88 are my 2 favorite Italian pens. I never thought i would own a 361. This one is amazing. Fantastic nib but sadly it is leaking quite badly. Looks like I will have to have it serviced after all. The ebay seller is offering a refund but I am hesitant. You rarely see these 361 and the nib on this is so good.

[Frank C]

 

 

 

Thanks. The 361 and the Aurora 88 are my 2 favorite Italian pens. I never thought i would own a 361. This one is amazing. Fantastic nib but sadly it is leaking quite badly. Looks like I will have to have it serviced after all. The ebay seller is offering a refund but I am hesitant. You rarely see these 361 and the nib on this is so good.

 

If you like the pen, it is probably worth fixing. If you spend time looking for another, bidding on it, etc., you may not end up with as nice a pen. And then you have to start over again.

 

(Edited to remove a superfluous word.)

Edited July 5, 2015 by Frank C

[ink-syringe]

Agreed. I am emailing some repair peeps now. My luck, I would return the pen, buy another (actually I probably wouldn't as I am broke) and pay more and that pen would leak too. ha! The hood is not cracked as far as I can see. Mr. Google tells me that these often leak and folks have had success fixing them. So... fascinating pen. If I had video equipment I would do a video of it. The flex side is tremendous. I know I keep saying that but yeah, so nice.

 

Cheers!

[Keyless Works]

Agreed. I am emailing some repair peeps now. My luck, I would return the pen, buy another (actually I probably wouldn't as I am broke) and pay more and that pen would leak too. ha! The hood is not cracked as far as I can see. Mr. Google tells me that these often leak and folks have had success fixing them. So... fascinating pen. If I had video equipment I would do a video of it. The flex side is tremendous. I know I keep saying that but yeah, so nice.

 

Cheers!

I would send it back for a refund. These pens aren't that rare and going the repair route is going to be a headache. If you are patient you will find a good one. Zona900.it has a gold filled one for sale and LetiziaJac on FPN classifieds has a OMAS VS (an updated 361) for $240.

[ink-syringe]

I sent it back. Italy. What a huge pain in the neck and expensive (and Italy does not participate in the EMS mail program, ugh!). But the seller says he can get it fixed and send it back to me.

 

I asked for a refund but then was weak and gave in. The nib on this pen is heavenly. I never experienced a nib like that outside of a vintage Waterman but it is even different from that, the tines open and close almost like they are 2 separate spring loaded pieces. Weird. The long shoulder-less shape of the nib just makes it unique. The nib sings as well. It is oddly soothing to write with. It also has way more flex than I expected and the pen is really wet (other than leaking) as the feed is ebonite and I believe very simple (I don't think there is a finned collector from what I understand).

 

Anyway I was grumpy about it but I just love the pen so much. I know (Italy, Italian pens, Italian mail, eBay, sunk costs, etc.) I might end up regretting this but I also worried that I would regret returning it. The seller so far has been really responsive so I decided to roll the dice. Maybe in ___ months (haha) this story will have a nice ending to it.

 

Meanwhile, I sold a few pens off and, and contacted LetiziaJac, who checked that pen out for me (the VS she had for sale) noticed some problems, had them addressed and now that lovely pen is on it's way to me too. I hope the nib is a fun as the 361 is. Really a unique writing experience.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I had not realized a VS was for sale. Thank you.

 

 

 

I would send it back for a refund. These pens aren't that rare and going the repair route is going to be a headache. If you are patient you will find a good one. Zona900.it has a gold filled one for sale and LetiziaJac on FPN classifieds has a OMAS VS (an updated 361) for $240.

[ink-syringe]

None cares BUT I DO.

The Omas 361 went back to get repaired or possibly refunded. (my intention was to get a refund but the seller has sort of talked me into taking the pen back, he says it can be fixed and he will also pay for shipping both ways, I am tempted since I love the nib so very much and will sell some other things off and maybe just take it back)...

What was meant to replace the leaking 361 was the VS I purchased from LetiziaJac here. There was an issue which she found when testing the pen, the issue was resolved and the pen found it's way here way faster than I could have reasonably expected. So, I must say A+++ on LetiziaJac. A joy to work with. Super nice and clearly an expert on these pens. Along with the pen I got a lot of interesting information.

 

The pen is indeed an updated 361 but somehow feels more robust. The piston turning knob and the cap have six sided facets and the pen becomes perfectly round by the barrel. Elegant. The nib on this one is less springy than the 361 but the pen is overall in much better shape.

 

It writes well and fills easily. One small issue with the pen is that the nib is ever so slightly bent from the previous user using the "rigid" side. Very very subtle. The issue with this (don't laugh) is that the nib hits the paper at a steep angle (like if you held the pen high, almost straight up and down) and because of that angle and the long thin tines the nib sings very loudly. In my many decades using pens, I have had plenty that made noises, and some that squeaked but this one is exceedingly squeaky.

 

I love the pen. It arrived in great shape. Fills and writes well but any tips on taming the squeak? It is pronounced. Enough that my the person next to me shot me a look.

 

When I get a chance I will try to take a picture of the 361 and the VS side by side. The 361 has the charm but the VS is much more robust pen.

 

 

[FP Newbie]

Glad to hear that is on the way to a happy ending. I would like to get an Omas at some point, but the credit card is screaming at me right now. Enjoy and please post some pics to drool over....

-John-

[katanankes]

 

 

Crazy great pen. I would wildly overpay for a reissue of this pen. I love it.

 

Well... I have heard from reputable sources that Omas is indeed working on a reissuance of the 361...

[roberto v]

Well I have right now something like 14 (yes, 14) Omas 361, from the faceted models (standard size in black, brown arco and green arco) to the ogival (from the smallest to the biggest), a fully laminated ogiva and several black pens with laminated cap :-) in various conditions, but all restored

 

Surely too many to keep them all.

 

Anybody interested?

 

[katanankes]

Tell me about the arcos...

[roberto v]

Ok these are the pics of my duplicates

@katanankes : the arcos are standard sized pens, the gray is in extremely good conditions, while the brown arco has some issues that have been fixed but are nonetheless visible: using the same material, the caplip has been replaced and a hole in the cap filled. Of course this causes a strong price drop, although the pen is really very scarce.