I Decided To Remove The Nib From My Omas Pen

August 28, 2017

I've been burying my head in the sand about not being able to remove the nib from my Omas Revelations FP. I could see it wasn't in straight across between the slots in the feeder case, like it should have been, but it seemed to write OK. However, when I expelled ink or water from the piston, it shot out of the nib hole at a right angle, so I guessed maybe something was slightly blocking the feed channel somewhere.

I have read that Omas feeder cases break easily and are very fragile. Therefore the thing to do is to unscrew the barrel from the section and knock out the nib and feed from the grip. I still don't have a nib knock-out block, but I got my OH to drill me some holes in a block of wood. Even armed with the knock-out block I still felt nervous. I whizzed the section in the USC several times, until it was clean and nice and warm, then decided to go for it. No problem at all. It knocked-out straight away with no hesitation.

Then I was able to clean the nib and feed. I decided to make no attempt to remove the feeder case, because I didn't think that was necessary. So I checked the feed, and it looked fine. I gave the grip another couple of whizzes in the USC to warm it up again, but I couldn't get the nib and feed far enough in. I know Ron always says that you should look and see where the nib had been before, and make sure you reinsert it into the same place, but because it wasn't straight across between the feeder case slots I had decided it needed to move to a slightly different position.

With even more trepidation I unpacked my heat gun, and warmed the grip between my fingers about 7-8" away from it. I was careful to feel the heat on my fingers, to never stop rotating the grip and to not get it too warm, but the nib and feed still didn't want to go in any further. I knew the feed needed to be flush across the top of the grip, but I didn't know how to get it there. In the end I put a strip of tape across the top of the grip, held the nib and feed in my left hand with a thick wad of kitchen towel wrapped around them, and with my right hand I carefully tapped the top of the grip with the hammer to push it down onto the nib and feed. I was so relieved that it worked, and that there was no damage anywhere at all.

By the time I had finished checking that everything worked after replacing the barrel, my heart was beating really fast. But I was pleased I had done it. Now when I expel ink or water, it comes out exactly like it should.

I think I should treat myself to a proper nib knock-out block though.

August 28, 2017

How does that old song begin?

"Time and again I looked for adventure,

Something to make my heart beat the faster.

What did I long for? I never really knew..."*

From the rest of the lyrics I know it wasn't setting a nib in a pen, but it does have that effect sometimes.

Well done!

*All The Things You Are (one of my favorites to sing)

Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein

August 28, 2017

Nice work. Congratulations.

Only the brave succeed!

I'll bet you're already looking at nib block catalogues.

August 29, 2017

Congratulations!

I am not a "fix it, do it yourself" person by experience, but owning & living in houses of older construction sometimes make us adapt to our surroundings & NOTHING beats the feeling of accomplishment when you can "imagine a solution & see it to completion." Often times, I know persons of greater experience/confidence would have solved the problem, even more expediently or proficiently, yet at the end of the day, when the problem is solved, it really doesn't matter.

I know I felt very nervous when I pulled my first nib from a pen & since have been happy to remember a small piece of leather sometimes gives me the gripping assistance to enable same. I doubt I will be needing my own nib block but agree you deserve one!

August 29, 2017

Thanks guys. I was sufficiently nervous about the task ahead to find out that a replacement feeder case was available for purchase, in the event of a disaster, although I don't have a spare one at the moment.

I hope that in the event I buy myself a nib knock-out block, that I will never have to use it on the Omas again. I must admit that getting the nib and feed out was a lot easier than getting them back in. Tapping the end of the grip with a hammer was the most nerve- wracking part of the task for me. It seemed like the whole thing was just..... stuck.

I have one of those rubber nib grippers, but I was never going to be strong enough to just push it in.

October 21, 2017

I've been comparing this Omas Revelations with my Omas Paragon pen, and I don't think the nib and feed are in quite far enough. In the Revelations, the end of the feed is level with the top of the grip. In the Paragon the end of the feed comes past the top of the grip.

So how is it possible to make this happen in the Revelations? I would need a flat topped tool that has a hole in it big enough for the feed to come through, that wraps around the top and sides of the grip, so that I can tap that and the feed will come up through the hole and past the top of the section.

What on earth would that tool be?