Pelikan 100? Oddity- Help Needed.

[CrossFoot]

Hi folks. Perhaps Mr. Propas or other expert Pelikanos will see this and respond. Scenario: Replace 1 ink sac and you immediately become an expert repairman. Well ... !

 

 

I know, I know. Yes I broke the threads on this Pelikan 100 (is it ?). Forgive me Bo Bo! Yes I scoured all the threads and web resources I could find and moved very slowly with patience and care. No ultrasonic only cool water soaks & flushing where needed and no immersion baths, etc. The nib and feed unscrewed easily enough. Given enough inverted barrel soaks the piston started to yield without heroics and then fully cycled. The cork looked suspect and was not rehydrating as far as I could discern. I felt little choice but to unscrew LH thread piston knob. I did my best to play fair, non-the-less, the result is exactly as pictured by Lehmann, Propas & Westerich; barrel threads broken out at piston turning knob.

 

This pen had a hard life as the lower barrel is gouged out in a couple places. While the feed design looks correct for a 100 (3 rill center relieved in back) the nib ,obviously, is not Pelikan. There is no Pelikan markings other than the 4 chick logo on cap end. My real interest is not the tongue lashing that I might deserve , but whether this pen was previously repaired and if so by who? Look at the back end of the binde and you will see a semi gloss white paint or white wash (it flakes). This covers that portion of barrel hidden by the brown tortoise binde and also covered a 3/8" - 1/2" copper collar that abutted the turning knob. There seemed to be a very subtle step between the barrel and the copper collar which acting as a sleeve covered the thread area. The binde was slightly tapered (maybe took a set) appearing to allow it to slip over the copper band, one way only. Could this be Factory work or a certain repairman's signature for vintage Pelikan repairs? Interestingly, the barrel appears amber colored but a cross section of the broken threads looks translucent green. Chemical weld job, perhaps? Any thoughts?

 

Oh, where might a fella get a replacement vintage barrel and a correct 1930's nib?

 

Thanks to all in advance.

[penwash]

You can buy replacement barrel from David Nishimura (contact him here on FPN or buy from his website vintagepens.com).

 

I bought one and replaced my Pelikan 100 and made my own binde using ebonite. Here's the thread that I made to explain how I did it.

[mana]

The white stuff is a sort of caulking/cement to keep the binde in place. The good thing with your pen is that the binde seems loose and can be easily removed? Easier to just take it off and switch it to a new barrel.

Vintage Pelikan nib units for 100 of decent shape can be found more easily, intact celluloid barrels (just the barrel) like that? Good luck with that.

The thing is, those amber/orange celluloid barrels are not the most robust or always that chemically stable, I have one that looks otherwise pristine but crystallized in the cap threads > leaks... also, the nib I got with that was a "Warranted" replacement. Could be due to WWII, have seen quite a few 100 with either gold or steel non-Pelikan replecement nibs. The ones that are fully intact with 14k (18k for France) nibs are often pre-WWII versions exported out of Germany prior to war.

Easiest and fastest (could also be cost efficient) way to get a vintage barrel and a nib is to buy a 100 which has those parts intact and then grind out/remove the binde on that and replace it with the tortoise one.

 

Anyway, best of luck with that! Really love those vintage tortoises, I have one 101N that is just awesome... <3

[Bo Bo Olson]

:crybaby:That is a missing pen for me....a grail pen.

A close up of the nib would be helpful to me...........I could possibly tell you who made it. It does appear too big for the feed.

 

Watch Art, could perhaps do a full repair. He does wonders with binde's.

 

My Somegi greenish/non-striped 100N is after the war with a green ink window.

[whych]

You can ask fpn member kawuska if he still has barrel material left and get him to do the barrel and seal.

That was what I did with my one.

 

The barrel material gets brittle after a few years (40 or 50?) and the new barrel should be good for another 40 or 50.

[CrossFoot]

I did see your binde build previously Will. Mighty fine work! Likewise, I believe I did see that David had some replacement barrels made.

 

As Mana alludes, I am wildly optimistic thinking that a vintage barrel of sound character will show up. And thanks for the info Mana on the binde adhesive, and yes the binde does slip off. However, it is not split or broken in any way that I can see.

 

Thanks Whych for the lead to kawuska. Do you know, if his barrel material is vintage resin? What color was yours?

 

Finally, Bo Bo thanks for your help. I do hope your dinghy comes in with a brown tortoise 100 survivor tucked safely away.

[CrossFoot]

One correction, the brass band is about 3/16" in width not 3/8" let alone 1/2; it helps to actually measure things.

 

Also, the nib isn't all that readable. It is stamped with the following: Supreme, 14K, Gold Plate. The gold plate is worn off. It also has what I would call a "smile", an up-swept line on both sides of the round breather hole. Is this a period nib made by or for Wearever, during the 30"s?

[Xof72000]

The end of the piston know isn't visible on your picture, ... it's hard to tell if it's a 101 or a 101N model ...

It could also be a Magnum model : you should add an entire picture of the pen

[CrossFoot]

Here are a few more fotos. Do these help? I can keep trying.

 

 

 

Gotcha Xof2000.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2017 by CrossFoot

[Xof72000]

Yes, thanks !

Definitely an old 101 "Tortoise red" model.

A scarce one : I would advise to have it restored professionnaly.

[CrossFoot]

Thank you Xof72000, nice to know.

[Lelouch]

Beautiful 👍😄

[mana]

Did anything come out of this yet? I would love to see that old bird soar again...

[sargetalon]

Well worth restoring if feasible. Great looking pen. Would love an update if you get it flying again.

[CrossFoot]

Sorry Mana & Sarge, nothing to report yet. I have been side tracked with a 1st gen. green-marbled 100N with fluted clip and cap band and a CN nib. It was a gift, but not yet blessed with a gold nib. I have managed to tenderly get it apart in the requisite number of pieces, no more and no less. I'm not sure yet if the rubber seal (black) needs replaced.

I too have an Edel??? (black chased/molded plastic & chrome trim) piston pen that looks very Pelikan 101 like. However it was hopelessly seized and the pot metal piston screw broke. I would love to find a new piston unit for it.

[Bo Bo Olson]

A pal of mine just got a 400nn with a superflex CN nib.

My CN nib is only regular flex.

I'd always read of the superflex CN nibs, never the lesser.

 

What sort of flex does your CN nib have.

[CrossFoot]

Hey there Bo Bo

 

Don't know yet as I haven't dipped it nor inked it but I'll let you know when I do. It seems rather "springy" with light pressure on my thumb nail and suspect it will be very flexy. I am guessing that it is a fine point and the nib is in decent shape. Some corrosion in a few places with a small chewed out hole near the letter "P". It also has the letter "T" stamped below the CN.

 

 

Also have the matching pencil and case.

[Rick Propas]

First let me apologise for not having been aware of this thread.

 

There is help for the problem of broken barrels in the 100. As discussed here and on facebook there is no repair for these barrels, at least none that I am aware of and I tend to keep up on these things.

 

As one poster noted, about ten years ago David Nishimura and I had barrels made up to replace broken barrels on the 100/101/110/111/112 pens. And they do the job, although they are not pretty. Sadly there are no replacements for the early 100N series pens, I suspect because Pelikan varied the diamaters of the originals so much. Since then, however, I have been able to source some even better barrels in yellow and brown. The only concern I have for those is that they are so good that they might be mistaken for original. Unfortunately they are not cheap nor widely available.

 

So, for CrossFoot’s pen and any other Pelikan 100 there is redemption I have both the earlier barrels in clear and green colors (also red and blue, just for fun) and I have the much more refined barrels in light amber and darker brown.

[mana]

... any other Pelikan 100 there is redemption ... and I have the much more refined barrels in light amber and darker brown.

How much would a light amber barrel go for? I have a Pelikan 100 cap and filling mechanism in need of a new barrel (plus a fresh cork seal and nib unit).

 

I think I can salvage the binde from the old bird (section threads are completely full of micro cracks, sad because the light amber barrel is otherwise in a veeeeeery nice shape, clear ink window etc.).

[CrossFoot]

UPDATE: This pen was hand delivered to Mr. Propas on Friday at the Ohio Pen Show. He will do a complete refurb for me with new barrel.