Montblanc Meisterstuck 12 - Piston Mechanism (Yes I'm A Newbie)

July 12, 2015

I've just won an eBay auction for a Montblanc Meisterstuck 12. The pen has a couple of cosmetic issues, which do not trouble me. What may be a problem (as a newbie, I do not know) is the seller's comment that "The piston mechanism however needs to be looked after. With some care it still works, but it tends to 'skip a beat' when filling."

So are there replacement piston mechanisms? And if yes, should only a professional do the replacement/repair? By that I mean ship the pen to the USA Montblanc facility and pay the $80+ (?) to get the repair done?

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1960s-MONTBLANC-MEISTERSTUCK-12-FOUNTAIN-PEN-GREY-GT-18K-EXTRA-FINE-NIB-/141711283916

July 13, 2015

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell. I have really doubt MB has any parts for a 12, but they are really nice pens and pretty tough. The crack in the turning knob is a bigger worry for me. I suggest you contact the good folk at penboard.de and fountainpen.de and get them to fix the poor thing up.

July 13, 2015

You could also try Stefan Zeilinger aka fine-and-precious. He found a replacement Montblanc 12 section for me. (No affiliation, happy customer.)

July 13, 2015

You've received some good advice already, but what I would add is that it sounds like the problem is with the piston rod, not the seal. This is a lower issue for me, as you could probably learn how to work around the piston knob, but not holding ink due to a shot seal is a far messier problem...literally!

July 14, 2015

With this broken tuning knob it is not possible to fill the pen proper, it will overwind all the time you use too much force. Sure it is possible to fill the pen with ink, but this fault is more then a cosmetic fault.

kind regards

Max

July 23, 2015

Hello,

I also bought a 12 to accompany my 14 from eBay. The pen seems to be in great condition, albeit in need of cleaning. I have successfully disassembled every part of the pen except the piston mechanism. There was a lot of dried ink in the body of the pen and the barrel itself needs some attention but I haven't been able to remove the piston yet. I have looked around and it looks like the piston mechanism is friction fit into the barrel. I have soaked the piston end of the pen in warm water for a couple of minutes and tried pulling but I haven't had any luck. I'm going to try using a hair drier later today when I get home but I was wondering whether there is something else that I should try.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Can

Edit: I have managed to remove the piston assembly. It took me quite some time because I was hesitant to let the pen in front of the hair dryer for more than 30 seconds. I kept reading that people did it for 3 minutes so I decided to do just that. I kept rotating the pen for 3 minutes in front of the hair dryer and then I pushed the piston assembly with a chopstick from the nib end. It didn't take much force at all, it kind jumped out of there. If someone sees this in the future, if you can't get the piston assembly out keep it a bit longer in front of the hair dryer and keep turning the pen so you don't warp it. Assembly is a breeze, I cleaned everything, put silicone grease where appropriate and just pushed the assembly in. It just went in there securely.

Edited July 23, 2015 by canibanoglu

July 23, 2015

Everyone - Thank you for the many helpful replies to my query. I received the Montblanc 12 and keeping in mind the information posted on this topic, I was careful when turning the nob to draw ink into the pen. I've never had a Montblanc pen before, so I looked up information on how to fill the pen with ink. The instructions said to "turn the nob counterclockwise as far as possible" of course having the nib submerged in the ink and then turning the nob clockwise to draw up the ink into the pen. Keeping in mind that my pen is a bit "frail" with that crack on the nob, I was careful not to force it. But it did turn past a point and make a clicking sound. I turned it a couple of times past that click. It drew ink into the pen and it wrote beautifully with the EF nib (my passion is extra fine nibs). No leakage.

Maxpens - was the clicking sound indicating I overwound the pen? Maybe I am turning the nob too far - because I am going past this clicking sound (which is a warning)?

Thanks again!

Lynne