Need Help With This Old Pelican Nib?

[penman88]

so i am attempting to purchase this old pelican 140 for about $80 usd and i am worried that the nib looks a little funny? it appears someone filed or heavily polished the nib to bring the gold out. and there is an odd flat on the tipping i have never seen in any of my modern pens? was this just how they used to make them? can anyone tell me if this is f m or broad? can anyone help me with this?

Edited February 14, 2019 by penman88

[BlueJ]

It may be an oblique nib, perhaps OM or OF. Could you post a photo of the top of the nib?

[Bo Bo Olson]

Is not an Oblique, just the nib is half way out of the collar. It has to be pushed back in....after the dried ink that might be in the collar, has been wet down.

After the ink has been soaked, just wiggle it back into the collar over the feed.

Yanking it out becomes complicated, with screwing things back with the collar. I've had great luck and never had that problem...........so have no repair expertise.

You could ask in the Repair section....loose Pelikan nib in section.

 

That is a normal flat...stubbed tipping of the time....part fo the reason one gets the automatic flair of the time.

I had the same thought when I got my first German pens of that era... Some shade tree mechanic stubbed them....I was wrong, that is factory work.....It's just fine....and you will soon be spoiled.

From '50-to 70 a good 20 years outside of Lamy, the German nibs were that was so..

I don't have enough '30-40's nib but think they too were so.

 

First soak the nib and section half way in a cup of water for a few hours. To et dried ink get wet.

The fold a paper towel into the first joint of your left forefinger. Place the very delicate combs/rills of the bottom of the feed there. Place your left thumb on top of the nib, twist the pen to you to unscrew the nib.

It is important to do that with the towel or you can break the combs/rills.

 

You need to push the nib back into the collar....The wide part of the feed should come up even with the shoulders of the nib.

 

You will want to unscrew the nib unit for a couple reasons, you do have a rubber bulb syringe you clan your CC pens with? Just swish a bit of water inside the pen body....a fast way to clean it.

Then you need a tiny....half a rice corn of 100% pure silicon grease, you can put on a Q-tip, and wipe around the inside of the barrel next to the piston....when the piston's all the way up. That lubricates the pen for the next 3 years.

Do not buy at the plumbers shop unless it's for kuchen use....dive shops, camera shops....or somewhere on the net...............it was a royal pain, a decade ago to get some. I got given a thumbnails worth in a small container....still got some left.

Only need to grease you Pelikan very lightly and every three years, Rick recommends not more.

Rick Papas...the Pelikan Guru.

Edited February 14, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[penman88]

[penman88]

[penman88]

is this not a friction fit nib? is it one of those nib units like a modern pen?

[penman88]

i am impressed...super informative bo bo...

[Honeybadgers]

It's a friction nib. It can be pushed in a little deeper (it's sticking out a little too far for a 140)

[Bo Bo Olson]

i am impressed...super informative bo bo...

Thanks, if one spends a decade wandering around here, some things stick in the mind....especially when one says, whewwww...at least my pen/nib is just fine.

I'm sure I had nibs that were knocked a bit cockeyed/crooked, but not pulled out so far. so was able to wiggle it back to a fit easy enough.

 

My first semi-flex was a 140 OB.... . The nibs are 1/2 a width narrower than modern so an OB is a writing nib, like a fat M.

 

They are a medium-short pen that was so IN in the '50-60's. It has a long cap so posted is as long and as well balanced as a 400. The flagship of Geha the 760 was medium short. Kaweco Dia was medium short....Osmia made a couple medium short pens.......................perfect for any shirt pocket.

[penman88]

well i purchased the pen. about 90$ us with shipping, i am hopeful that my first vintage pen isnt a flop... it looks like someone tried to clean the nib(poorly) and may have scratched it a little. as to the nib position, is there any other reason then a build up of old ink/dust that would prevent it seating in the housing? the seller sent me a writing sample and if it is infact writing from this pen it is a beautiful writing pen. this is a piston filler, correct? so there shouldnt be many things needing to be replaced? thank you for all of your help!

[jekostas]

The previous owner(s) wrote with that pen a lot and wore a flat spot in to the tipping. It's not uncommon with vintage. The nib also isn't properly seated within the collar. Both of these issues can be fixed pretty easily by a competent nibmeister/pen repair person.

[penman88]

you think it requires new tipping?

i had asked around and several people told me the tipping was fine...that older pelicans Et. al. didnt use much tipping material

[jekostas]

Nah, there's plenty of tipping left. It just needs to be rounded off to take off the sharp edges.

[penman88]

what should i expect for cost to have a nibmeister do this?

[Bo Bo Olson]

It does not have to be rounded off , that is the the way the nib is supposed to be!!!!

German Stubbed....it is not the previous owner copied an encyclopedia.

 

I had thoughts someone did a shade tree mechanic stubbing of my first German vintage pen of that era.............in I didn't know better.

That flat stubbish is normal.

The only German pens of that era that have the American Bump Under, are the Lamy Nails of that era and Lamy's sub brand in regular flex the Artus.

 

The school pen, regular flex Pelikan 120 is half stubbed, with part of that American Bump Under, Geha's school pen also in regular flex has the American Bump under.......for school kids.

 

......also found on 'English" Pens...could be French and Italian also......................but the German Vintage pens of before 1970, were on the whole flat stubbish nibs of semi-flex.

That is part of the reason for such great flair line variation.

 

I do in I have a hell of a lot of semi&maxi-semi-flex, & have a couple of mid-'60 German no name semi-flex with the rounded American Bump Under nibs............a nice comfortable nib to write with but, no built in flair.

 

I imagine, the 2/9xxx Esterbrook semi-flex and the rare 'early' '50's Sheaffer semi-flex like the '40's Whal-Eversharp semi-flex are American Bump Under nibs.

My English made, '50's Parker Jr. Duofold semi-flex has the American Bump Under nib also.

 

So a flat...flattish, stub or stubbish nib on a semi-flex nib seems to be a German characteristic. And is just fine....no need to think one needs to round off the sides....in they are stubs already....not Italic or .....could be Cursive Italic had not been even invented in those days.

You are good to go, once you shove the nib in.

 

 

You need a half a rice corn of 100% silicon grease....to smooth the piston. Apply it to a Q-tip and rub right under the withdrawn piston.....you will have to do that every 3-4 years....so a little bit will last you a life time.

Back a decade ago when it was hard to get, someone sent me a thumb knuckle sized container that is still 1/3 full and I've got a lot of piston pens.

 

Rick...one of those guys with one name***....Rick Popas(sp) the Pelikan Guru, said...once every 3-4 years will do just fine. ***Like Richard or Ron.

 

Many of my old Pelikans, are still just fine, and they are much older than silicon grease...and I didn't need to grease them. Some do get or were draggy, so I grease them.

1/2 a rice corn....is plenty!!!!!!!

 

There is no reason to grease a Pelikan all the time....It is Not a Twsbi or an Ahab. Once every 3 year or so years.

[jekostas]

The tipping will need to be rounded off unless penmann88's writing angle is identical to the previous user's writing angle. If it's not, he's going to be writing on some very sharp edges.

[Honeybadgers]

Disagree. it shouldn't be sharp unless the OP rotates so hard that a tine starts to drag.

[carlos.q]

I see nothing wrong with the tip.

[mana]

The tip is fine. That said, if the OP does not find it to their liking they can always send to a nibmeister.

The only visible concern (as has been pointed out previously) is the fact that the nib is not seated properly. This might cause undue stress in the wrong places and lead to something breaking if the nib is stressed/pushed too hard when writing.

 

Adjusting that can be done at home but if the OP has no inclination (or experience) to do that themselves it is always a good idea to send it to a professional. Fixing this should not cost much at all but it might take a while, sometimes a long while depending on how booked the nibmeister is.

[Bo Bo Olson]

The tipping will need to be rounded off unless penmann88's writing angle is identical to the previous user's writing angle. If it's not, he's going to be writing on some very sharp edges.

I have from that era, some 28 semi-flex, 16 maxi-semi-flex....and of them in a mix of semi&maxi 16 obliques..

All (but two) are stubs....never thought of them as italic. Cursive Italic wasn't invented back then.

 

Pelikans...in I have some 10 semi&maxi from that era, and they do have a bit more tipping than some of the other companies, like Osmia.....

Osmia was always going broke, so used as little Osmium as possible. I do have an OBB where there is a little pad of osmium in the center of the nib and the edges are bare steel........yet that is not italic, in it don't hang up when I write cursive....with the fountain pen held behind the big index knuckle.

Italic is normally held higher (more vertical) before the big index knuckle....a straight nib would be canted @ 45 degrees to write italic.

 

I had never heard of vintage German nibs being refereed to as italic.....stub or stubbish yes, and often.