R.i.p. M400

[olifant]

Hello

 

Something strange and unexpected happened to me recently (well, yesterday to be exact ). I ran out of ink in my white tortoiseshell M400 so I flushed it and wanted to refill it with another portion of ink. As usual I submerged the nib in ink and twisted the piston knob...and as the piston reached the front of the pen barrel...well the pen literally fell apart The piston mechanism completely detached from the pen body and remained in my hands. Turns out that the threading on the mechanism holding everything together decided to break - you can still see the remains of it inside the barrel.

 

I bought the pen in mid-January this year so it's relatively new so I believe it must have been some factory defect or something. I'll try to contact the seller and I hope the faulty pen will be replaced with a new unit. It's reputable seller so I hope everything will be sorted out

 

Did any of you heard of similar story or maybe it happened to you?

 

Also please note that I didn't use any excessive force. In fact I didn't use force at all...the greater the shock

 

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/4585/p7233144.th.jpghttp://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6494/p7233147.th.jpg

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/8291/p7233149.th.jpghttp://img153.imageshack.us/img153/6884/p7233153.th.jpg

Edited July 24, 2010 by olifant

[Russ]

Wow!! I'm shocked at the damage! Selfishly, however, I admire your great photos ! I hope you receive a favorable answer. I've never heard of this happening before. And I have a black M400. Let us know what happens!

[fuchsiaprincess]

The exact same thing happened to an M200 that was a gift from a fellow FPNer. Again, it occurred when I was merely flushing the pen with water. The end knob came away from the pen! I was devastated, and so was my friend

[olifant]

So I'm not the only one. Well that's most definately bad thing to happen to your pen. And I mean BAD...This was my favourite pen so far and I really hope the matter will be sorted out. Or I will have to glue it all together permanently

Edited July 24, 2010 by olifant

[WendyNC]

Wow--you have my sympathies. I certainly concur with your conclusion that this was the result of a factory defect.

[hari317]

Or I will have to glue it all together permanently

 

No please not, glue has no place here!

 

Do you have a nice thin tweezer? the piston with its shaft is still inside the barrel of your pen, gently pull it out straight. The piston knob will unscrew from the back, do not remove it all the way, back it off a few turns. now insert the flat threaded piston shaft into the rectangular slot in the bottom of the filler assembly, you will feel it engage with the lead nut tube inside, now operate the filler knob to tighten it down, the piston will move towards the retract position as the knob is operated. You may have to repeat this a couple of times so that you get full retraction when the piston filler knob is fully tightened down. once the adjustment is complete, apply silicone grease to the piston seal and just push the entire filler tightly from the back(piston fully retracted)

 

Good luck!

Hari

[OldGriz]

Contact Chartpak, they are the US distributor and authorized repair center for Pelikan.... they are fantastic in taking care of customers...

[DeScribe]

Hari definitely has the solution to the problem.

 

However, since you did not purchase the pen for long, replacement from the seller may be a better solution? You probably will have to do without the pen for a short period of time during the replacement though.

Edited July 24, 2010 by DeScribe

[olifant]

No please not, glue has no place here!

 

Of course I was kidding Thanks for your tips. But I will first try to get a new pen

 

Good luck!

Hari

 

Thanks

 

Contact Chartpak, they are the US distributor and authorized repair center for Pelikan.... they are fantastic in taking care of customers...

 

Thanks for the info but I'm located in Europe (and so is the seller - pelikanpens.co.uk) so it's much easier for me to ship it within EU. As far as I know Ray from Pelikanpens is a reputable seller and I've had great contact with them when I ordered anything from them so I HOPE they will be willing to help me. Now, where did I put my warranty card and invoice...

[ToasterPastry]

Contact Chartpak, like OldGriz says!! Do not touch the pen until you've contacted them.

[printhardcopy]

Let pelikan solve this problem for you since you got valid warranty booklet. Good luck to you !

[Tobleron]

Thanks for the info but I'm located in Europe (and so is the seller - pelikanpens.co.uk) so it's much easier for me to ship it within EU. As far as I know Ray from Pelikanpens is a reputable seller and I've had great contact with them when I ordered anything from them so I HOPE they will be willing to help me. Now, where did I put my warranty card and invoice...

 

Don't worry about it. Like what you have said. Pelikanpens is a reputable seller. I am sure both Pelikanpens or Pelikan will help you even if you are not able to locate your warranty card or invoice. I have heard of many positive stories about Pelikan services. Just too many.

[Lorna Reed]

I'm sure Ray will look after you - he is a very reputable seller. I bought my white tortoise about the same time from Ray but havn't had a problem so far. (touch wood)

[Bo Bo Olson]

Thank you Hari317,

 

All my Pelikans are a bit out of warrenee, one by a year perhaps, an other by a decade and a half, and the others are from the 50's.

 

Your info has been saved.

Was that a three or a five pound hammer? :embarrassed_smile:

[fountainbel]

The rather fragile axial "snap-fit" ridges on the filler just snap in the mating grooves in the barrel

Given the weakness of the thin locking ridges, the ridges will easily deform, ply permanently or shear-off when turning the filling knob slightly to far. When this occured the locking efficiency is lost.

Even after dis-assembling the filler unit a few times for cleaning, the locking efficiency gradually decreases.

This is an inherent weakness of the modern Pelikans ( except for the 800 & 1000 which have a sturdy brass screw-in housing) Note that nothing else will be damaged when this occurs, only the piston housing is ruined

This is surely not a sound & maintenance freindly design approach, since at that moment the only alternative is buying & installing a new housing with fresh untouched locking ridges.

As long as your pen is in guarantee Pelikan will replace the worn housing.

The potential problem however remains : turning the piston a little to deep will again (gradually) shear off the locking rigdes.

In last instance one could possibly use shellac to hold the worn filling system in place

Francis

Edited July 25, 2010 by fountainbel

[hari317]

The rather fragile axial "snap-fit" ridges on the filler just snap in the mating grooves in the barrel

Given the weakness of the thin locking ridges, the ridges will easily deform, ply permanently or shear-off when turning the filling knob slightly to far. When this occured the locking efficiency is lost.

Even after dis-assembling the filler unit a few times for cleaning, the locking efficiency gradually decreases.

This is an inherent weakness of the modern Pelikans ( except for the 800 & 1000 which have a sturdy brass screw-in housing) Note that nothing else will be damaged when this occurs, only the piston housing is ruined

This is surely not a sound & maintenance freindly design approach, since at that moment the only alternative is buying & installing a new housing with fresh untouched locking ridges.

As long as your pen is in guarantee Pelikan will replace the worn housing.

The potential problem however remains : turning the piston a little to deep will again (gradually) shear off the locking rigdes.

In last instance one could possibly use shellac to hold the worn filling system in place

Francis

 

Francis, when this happens after the warranty has expired, is it possible to effect a repair other than shellac? Is it possible that the locking ridges on the ruined filler housing is replaced by a ridge made of spring wire like in a locking spring? Is it practical?

 

Thanks!

Hari

[Sonnet]

Ouch, your poor pen! I hope everything works out. I think I need to go check on my Pelikan, just to make sure it's still intact...

[fabrimedeiros]

:blink: Sorry, I've never heard such a thing. If it had happened to me, I would cry for 3 days and 3 nights. I hope seller can replace it as soon. Keep us informed about the results.

 

Fabricio

 

 

[olifant]

Ray offered to send the pen back to Pelikan for repair. So I contacted Pelikan Poland directly to save some time on international shipping. Waiting for their response now. Hope they will repair it free of charge :embarrassed_smile:

[fountainbel]

 

Francis,

When this happens after the warranty has expired, is it possible to effect a repair other than shellac? Is it possible that the locking ridges on the ruined filler housing is replaced by a ridge made of spring wire like in a locking spring? Is it practical?

 

Thanks!

Hari

Hari,

Given the small wall thickness of the housing I think installing a sort of spring clip is not possible nor desirable.

 

Complementary the increased force needed to get the piston housing out would then damage the barrel groove.

 

Securing the filler housing with shellac is an acceptable solution for me , at least when the Pelikan guarantee is over.

 

I've sealed a few of these housings succesfully applying shellac in the barrel entry, so the shellac is in the lengthwise anti rotation grooves.

 

Doing so one has a large contact surface on the lengthwise ridges of the housing .

 

Applying a little heat on the barrel end the filler assembly comes easily out.

 

Francis