Pilot E95S Nib Removal...

September 30, 2018

I want to remove the nib and feed on a E95S. Before I do something regrettable I thought I would ask if anyone has done this or knows how. Thanks.

Edited September 30, 2018 by ElviStylo

October 19, 2018

I want to remove the nib and feed on a E95S. Before I do something regrettable I thought I would ask if anyone has done this or knows how. Thanks.

HOLD EVERYTHING! I did some research on this after I posted below and the nib is GLUED onto the section so DO NOT FOLLOW MY ADVICE as I originally wrote it. Apparently Pilot pens with this style nib are not designed for disassembly and if it disassembles there's something wrong or it's broken. I'm going to leave my original post below with this edit above so that you and others can see what I've said and what my experiences have been but DO NOT try to take the nib off of your pen. The "black stuff" I mentioned below on the underside of the nib is an ADHESIVE that has failed.

I'm going to keep using mine in the condition it is currently without trying to reapply an adhesive and see what happens but on my pen the adhesive has already failed and I can fix that when/if I choose to. The nib seems to be held solidly enough not to get lost or have problems so I'm not going to try gluing the nib back on YET.

People complain about ink seeping around the foot of the nib where it should be glued, I'm not having that issue with my pen and I don't grip it down there anyway ... So maybe I can get by with it the way it is.

That said, if you follow my original advice you will break your pen and I cannot advise you to do that. I edited my original post so that you (or someone else) wouldn't read it and do it, then read a subsequent post telling you not to. Sorry for the confusion.

Original Post--

Look at the nib under a good magnifying glass. See those rails on the outside edge of the section that the nib slides into and grips with a U shaped bend on the outside edge of the nib? Those U shapes slide into and grip in those grooves. You can just pull the nib off, it comes off pretty easily with a slight "snap". Same for putting it back on again. Remember it's a gold nib and it's soft so be careful not to bend it out of dimensions.

I discovered this by over-enthusiastic "flexing" of the nib while writing. It popped off, hit a water bottle and then lay there on my desk like a dead beetle. I thought "OH (bleep)! I BROKE ONE OF MY FAVORITE AND NOT SO CHEAP PENS!!" I thought I had snapped the nib in half ...

After examining the situation It became clear what had happened and how to fix the issue. If you get over-zealous about trying to flex that nib it straightens out enough to eventually let go of the rails/grooves it fits into and it goes flying because it is under spring pressure from being flexed. So heads-up about that.

Just pull the nib straight off and slide it straight back onto those grooves. If it gets loose you can bend it a VERY tiny amount to increase the tension and get it to grip properly again. I had to do that to mine but it got loose due to my fault in trying to over flex the nib. It should mount with a faint but very noticeable "snap" when it is properly seated and it should sit on the pen firmly enough not to be in danger of falling off and getting lost somewhere.

The nib sort of looks like it slides up into the section, like a fingernail on a finger, but it doesn't. It's the same shape as the cutout on the section that it fits into. There's a slight lip to hold it in place but it doesn't slide up in there so don't push on it so hard you bend those soft gold tines. Look at where it is on the feed to see if it's properly seated and check with a magnifying glass to be sure that it's sitting down in the relief cut in the section properly.

The feed is a dull black material that if it is not ebonite certainly resembles it closely. The feed is entirely covered up when the nib is in place except for the tiny bit past the fill hole and directly under the tines. That part looks shiny like lucite but the feed itself under the nib is dull black and entirely enclosed by the section with the exception noted. I do not see any way to remove the feed and I'm not willing to apply enough force to risk damage to the pen so ... You're on your own with that. I find I can get the pen clean enough by removing the nib, soaking and then flushing everything with pen cleaner and a snot bulb.

There seems to be some sort of dark coating under the nib that's not dried ink. I think it's something to aid capillary action for the ink. Be careful not to scrape that off. I've had the pen apart for cleaning only a couple times and that coating or whatever it is seems to be uniform and precisely applied so I have not tried to remove it. That "fingernail bed" area under the nib is always full of ink when the pen is wet so it looks to me like that provides the same sort of reservoir action that fins do on a more conventional feed.

All in all, I love my Pilot Elite (It's a Japanese pen from Japan, in the US it's the E95s due to some branding or trademark issue with another pen company). It writes beautifully and is very reliable, I really like the looks of it too. Just don't try to get more flex out of the nib than it's willing to give.

I hope you find my accidentally and unintentionally acquired information useful

Edited October 19, 2018 by CloaknDagr

October 20, 2018

I want to remove the nib and feed on a E95S. Before I do something regrettable I thought I would ask if anyone has done this or knows how. Thanks.

They can be removed. But why do you want to remove them? They are usually not required to be removed at all.

You can find some hints on nib removal here:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/210524-inset-nib-on-the-namiki-silvern-removing-and-re-sealing/

The feeder removal involves some more steps. You basically unscrew the connector and unscrew the cartridge piercer. You will need to fashion a tool for unscrewing the piercer. Once thr piercer is out push the feed from front and it will slide out from the cartridge side.

Hth.

Edited October 20, 2018 by hari317

October 20, 2018

They can be removed. But why do you want to remove them? They are usually not required to be removed at all.

You can find some hints on nib removal here:
https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/210524-inset-nib-on-the-namiki-silvern-removing-and-re-sealing/

The feeder removal involves some more steps. You basically unscrew the connector and unscrew the cartridge piercer. You will need to fashion a tool for unscrewing the piercer. Once thr piercer is out push the feed from front and it will slide out from the cartridge side.

Hth.

Thanks, it was the post you linked to that caused me to come back here and tell the OP not to follow my advice.

Unlike in your photos on the linked post, the adhesive on my nib has come away from the section intact. There's no adhesive on the section, it's all on the nib in a nice, smooth, even layer. You have more experience with this kind of nib than I do so I was wondering what you thought about just leaving things the way they are on my pen? The nib "clips" seem to be holding it well and the pen works and writes as it should.

I was thinking about maybe putting a thin line of pen lacquer/sac shellac at the place where the plastic meets the nib in the area where the glue sits under the nib. Just to seal the nib down a little tighter. It wouldn't take much lacquer and I doubt it would be visible.

Any thoughts on this?

Edited October 20, 2018 by CloaknDagr

October 20, 2018

The nib needs to be sealed to the section to prevent getting inky fingers. It depends on your grip really. If no inky fingers then i would not bother to epoxy it. But please I request you not to flex the nib.