Pelikan 100 Help

August 25, 2018

Hello,

I'm a lover of fountain pens but don't necessarily have a ton of knowledge fixing them yet.

I recently picked up a Pelikan 100 I believe. Based on some research, I think it's from 1931. I bought it on a recent trip to Romania for about $25.

It appears to be in great shape. I cleaned it up and filled it with ink. But, it looks like the ink leaks out of the feed. The nib is in good shape, just needs adjustment.

The feed does have a small bit of the feed broken off (hard to get a picture) but nothing major.

Any ideas on where to start or what I should look for?

August 25, 2018

What a great find!

Hmmm... the first thing I notice is that it is fitted with a post WWII nib, depending on the size it can be Pelikan 140 nib (about a similar size as an original 100 nib) or one used in the 400 series pens, 400/N/NN and also sometimes in the very latest 100N produced. Those nibs are a bit larger.

I would recommend swapping that one to an age and model appropriate nib, if possible. Btw. did you take the nib unit out when you cleaned the pen? Given that the nib is not original I would check if the rest of the nib unit (feed & collar) are appropriate for that model also. The way they sit in the pen just doesn't seem... right. The feed for example seems to sit way too far inside the pen.

Anyway... usually if a pen bleeds like that it can mean one (or both) of two things.

First one is the piston seal, if it doesn't hold and leaks air into the barrel from behind then the ink inside the pen will naturally follow the path of least resistance and gravity and leak out. That is something that happens naturally over time as the piston seals on Pelikan 100 of that era were made out of cork. If left unused they have a tendency to dry, shrink and eventually crack.

The second thing that can be at fault is at the fore end, improperly seated nib unit (or one with a broken collar) can also cause leaking. If both apply then then leaking is usually more prominent.

Given the nature of those particular pens, the materials involved (namely, celluloid) and potential age induced fragility I would definitely recommend sending that one to a professional restorer (Rick Propas would be *the* man when it comes to restoring vintage Pelikans in the US).

Edited August 25, 2018 by mana

August 25, 2018

Thank you. I emailed Rick Propas and another local pen restorer to see if I can just ship it off to someone to get it fixed. I would love this to be as original as possible. I feel the pen is in amazing shape for how old it is and really hope I can keep it original. I did take the nib and feed out when I cleaned it but didn't look very closely at them. Nor would I know what to look for...

Are there any good posts on how to restore a pen like this? Moreso the cosmetic aspect. Can it be polished by hand or anything like that?