Someone Capable Of Removing/reseating Omas 360 Nib (In Usa)

July 20, 2015

I recently purchased a brand new Omas 360 from a seller in Spain. Last friday when I received it I immediately noticed an issue which also seemed to affect the flow of the nib, so was not just visual, some shots I took right out of the packaging after tearing the seal with the Omas quality control signature:

http://i.imgur.com/FMRwD3b.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JdYqfOQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/V14bYAV.jpg

I would not be oppose to just exchanging it, but would require paying the shipping cost back to Spain then a new one in replacement.

The retailer responded with :

Hello Karl.

Was talking with the boss and showing him the pics and said thats a problem on some new pen nibs, and it's easy to solve adjusting the tines. He said if you know anyone who knows to adjust it we pay you the cost of it.

Tell me if thats an option viable for you, thank you, and sorry for the inconveniences.

Best Regards.

So I'm wondering if anyone out there is familiar with Omas and has the tool(s) required for the removal of the modern nib units/collars and re-seating/checking the nib and reinstalling it.

This is the pen model in question (cartridge/converter): http://www.omas.com/creations-boutique/360-icon/360-o03a0050/

I would do it myself, but the nib/feed is in there tight, and seems both the feed and collar are ebonite and would require a skilled hand to tackle.

Edit: Additional response

Okay, he said its just open the tins, it's an easy adjust. Im sorry for
those problems.

I'm not sure how opening the tines would correct for misalignment, also it feels as if they're asking me to self-service the nib, which I believe would void the Omas warranty (but so would an 3rd party service provider who is not authorized, but least they would have less chance of breaking it then I would).

Edited July 20, 2015 by KBeezie

July 20, 2015

I have several pens with feed and nib not perfectly aligned, and I'm sure this has no effect on the ink flow of the nib.

The way my right hand hold the fountain pen while writing tend to disallign nib and feed even more, and again I never noticed any effect of disalligned nib and feed in ink flow.

Beside from that, I do not have your pen, but in all the Omas I own (probably more than 20), nib and feed are just friction fitted and I can easily take them out from pen with the use of an appropriate nib plyer.

July 20, 2015

John Mottishaw. But his waiting list is 6 months

July 20, 2015

John Mottishaw. But his waiting list is 6 months

I was thinking Dan Smith, once I got it to this point where removal wouldn't be necessary, managed to nudge the nib to the right so that it was lined up better to the feed channel, and heat set it. So right now it's sitting upright for the afternoon to check to see if it'll hard start or not after uncapping after that time period. I've updated the seller on this, and they just said to let them know if that works or not, if not then let them know the next step and how much (which in this case would be Dan Smith since he tuned my 1992 Omas Europa, and his turn around time is 10 to 14 days, and it wouldn't cost more than $30 or so for the tune service and return shipping)

It's either that or Kenro (Omas US Distributor), but I think they'll be at least 35 to look at it, and no clue on time frame, but Dan can get an official removal tool from them if he thinks he'll need it.

Anywho, write samples of it's present state on Environotes Sugarcane paper.

(click to zoom)

http://i.imgur.com/Zd72zlTh.jpg

And just a note... I'm doing way more than any 'new' user should be expected or advised to do (for future reference).

PS: The listing from where I got the pen : http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/12562-OMAS-Fountain-Pen-quot-360-Blue-quot-SPECIAL-OFFER!-(NEW)

July 20, 2015

Welcome to the world of Italian pens, beautiful to look at but dodgy writing QC. Although I wouldn't think this is typical of OMAS as I have not had problems with their pens. But then again, I have had problems even with Japanese and German pens.

John is an official OMAS dealer and he modifies and checks the nibs of the pens he sells. It might be worth the trouble since the Spanish dealer is offering to pay for a nib meister's service. My most recent OMAS purchase from John was for a Milord and I got him to modify a factory stub to an italic. It writes beautifully.

July 21, 2015

I am often on the Classic Fountain Pens site. John sells most of the modern Italian makes & would be able to expertly tune or repair them.

July 21, 2015

Welcome to the world of Italian pens, beautiful to look at but dodgy writing QC. Although I wouldn't think this is typical of OMAS as I have not had problems with their pens. But then again, I have had problems even with Japanese and German pens.

I had an Omas Europa (1992) and Omas FAO (1995) before getting the 360, and a Visconti Divina Desert Springs Limited Edition (which made me wonder if that's typical of Visconti's quality control as the build of parts of the pen wasn't what I expected for the price range). I still have the Europa, the FAO went back to seller (needed nib work, wasn't tested before hand), and I sold the Divina LE. The one I had that was second hand and other than just needing to be made a little wetter, is very nice is the Aurora Afrika.

I've not had any problems with new in box Japanese pens from Pilot/Platinum (only had a vintage and secondhand modern sailor, both were fine), and most of the Pelikans I have/had if they did have an issue were relatively easy to correct as they weren't designed in such a way that made them difficult to self service. I don't normally buy brand new pens unless it's Japanese, as the problems if needing *something* done seems higher with western brands out of the box, least used someone has tested it before me to an extent.

Needless to say, I thought that the Visconti was maybe a fluke, but then this on a new in box Omas, either I have really bad luck or it's a trend to sometimes expect from the Italian brand unless you want to pay a premium for some retailers to do what the manufactures should have already been doing in the first place.

The pen was from this listing OMAS Fountain Pen "360 Blue" SPECIAL OFFER! (NEW), which had the blue one, and it was just short over 200 usd shipped (160 + 20 shipping, 180 euro then conversion by paypals rate from USD), looking at what they normally go for, I'm feeling like it may be a case of you get what you pay for. Also not sure if http://www.cruzaltpens.com/ is Omas Authorized or not.

I am often on the Classic Fountain Pens site. John sells most of the modern Italian makes & would be able to expertly tune or repair them.

Except it seems like it would take 6 to 8 months with them, Dan Smith takes 10 to 14 days, and he already did my Omas Europa and Montblanc 146 but doesn't have the official tool for the modern Omas, but can get one from that Kenro distributor.

Anywho, the way it's right now, and writing immediately after sitting upright for 12 hours, I may not need to send it off, but if I do, it'll likely be to Dan Smith of NibSmith.com

July 22, 2015

I had an Omas Europa (1992) and Omas FAO (1995) before getting the 360, and a Visconti Divina Desert Springs Limited Edition (which made me wonder if that's typical of Visconti's quality control as the build of parts of the pen wasn't what I expected for the price range). I still have the Europa, the FAO went back to seller (needed nib work, wasn't tested before hand), and I sold the Divina LE. The one I had that was second hand and other than just needing to be made a little wetter, is very nice is the Aurora Afrika.

Just curious, did you sell the Divina due to the quality issues or due to the writing experience?

July 23, 2015

Just curious, did you sell the Divina due to the quality issues or due to the writing experience?

Tiny bit of both. Nib was decent but not stellar, had it tuned before selling. It was the filling mechanism of the limited edition that annoyed me the most not that it didn't work, but the extra effort to fill and clean was getting annoying, also the little ring around the ink window rotates every time you cap/uncap. The pen felt great but other little aspects didn't live up to the rest of the pen. (Also my Omas and Aurora have a better feed and filler than the divina)

The sale was mostly to afford me some other goods that I may enjoy more. May not be as pretty or as elaborate as the divina but I would more likely use them day to day. (plus I needed some funds for school)

July 23, 2015

I recently purchased a brand new Omas 360 from a seller in Spain. Last friday when I received it I immediately noticed an issue which also seemed to affect the flow of the nib, so was not just visual, some shots I took right out of the packaging after tearing the seal with the Omas quality control signature:

http://i.imgur.com/FMRwD3b.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JdYqfOQ.jpg

Looking at these two images and comparing them with 360 Vintage re-issues I've purchased from both Classic and Chatterley, several of mine appear asymmetrical from the horizontal axis as well. They are all pretty much flawless writers.

Are you sure there is something wrong with this pen? I'm looking at your writing sample and I don't see any skipping.

July 23, 2015

Looking at these two images and comparing them with 360 Vintage re-issues I've purchased from both Classic and Chatterley, several of mine appear asymmetrical from the horizontal axis as well. They are all pretty much flawless writers.

Are you sure there is something wrong with this pen? I'm looking at your writing sample and I don't see any skipping.

*sigh* (cuz you're like the 20th person to comment, only concentrating on how centered the feed is, but ignore the feed channel) in an actual writing inked usage there was dry or inconsistent flow in the initial state, and it's not so much the issue of the feed being 'not centered' perfectly to the nib, but where the feed channel is when you look at the second picture where none of the 'channel' itself goes under the nib slit which is where it's important. The nib/feed are seated very tightly so it took a bit of work and careful turning to get the nib to slide over the top of the feed to where the slit would be lined up to the feed channel. The initial look at seemed like it was over more than expected and flipping over to the top revealed the concern where the channel is not even in contact with the slit.

Also if you have read, the writing sample was *After* I did the step above of getting it turned over and hoping I wouldn't snap the feed/etc. (also since it's an ebonite feed, heat setting it to the new nib position seemed to have helped some).

Edited July 23, 2015 by KBeezie