Diy Nib Replacement

[Vlad Soare]

Hello,

 

Some time ago I sent my 146 to Montblanc to have its nib replaced. As it was already past the six week period of free replacement, I had to pay for it, so I received the original nib back. Now I have an F-nibbed pen, plus one extra B nib.

 

I was wondering, if I wanted to switch between those two nibs from time to time, would it be easy enough to do it myself? I understand I'd need a nib removal tool, to unscrew the nib/feed housing. OK. What next? Once I unscrew the nib housing, how do I remove the nib? Is it friction-fit? Can I simply pull it out?

 

I happen to have some silicone grease. Can I use this to seal the nib housing's thread when screwing it back in? Or do I need some special sealant?

 

Thank you.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Vlad Soare

[etzbseder]

It would help to know if this is a more modern 146 or an older one. It is fairly simple to swap out the nibs once the section housing is separated from the barrel. It is friction-fit and you simply need a knock out block or something similar. The grease is just to put the nib and feed back in not to use on the housing threads. I just took apart my 1950s 146 and it was fairly easy (easier than I expected). You will want to pay attention to where the feed sits compared to the nib if you're new to it and at what angle the nib and feed go in the housing. They may have settled in a spot and you don't want to be moving it all around as it introduces the potential for leaks.

[Vlad Soare]

Sorry, I forgot to mention, it's a modern 146, bought new last year.

I believe the pen has some sort of sealant on the nib housing thread. That sealant will have to be replaced, but I haven't got any, so I was wondering whether silicone grease will do instead.

 

On the other hand, if the nib and feed are friction fit, couldn't I simply pull them out of the pen without unscrewing the entire housing?

[etzbseder]

The newer ones are MUCH more annoying to change the nibs on due to the pink stuff. The brand new 149s are getting a gasket fitting instead of the pink stuff, but I don't think that is available yet on the 146s.

[Mister Mont Blanc]

I have read in a thread that the newer models no longer use sealant as technology has allowed for precision-fit threads to be leak proof on their own. I have an older 149 that was opened and silicone grease was used in place of the sealant and I haven't had any problems yet! Also, once this switch is made, it is MUCH easier to remove the nib assembly going forward.

 

In terms of trying to remove the nib/feed with the assembly screwed in, that's probably something I would try to do too. My guess is though that enough force is needed to remove & replace the nib/feed that it could potentially break a plastic part or connection while in the pen.

[Vlad Soare]

Update:

Yesterday I was feeling adventurous and, as I had no nib removal tool at hand, I tried to see if I could unscrew the nib housing by simply grabbing the nib and turning it. So, I wrapped the nib and feed in a piece of microfiber cloth and tried to rotate them counterclockwise, very gently. I applied just a tiny bit of force, being prepared to give up in case it didn't move easily enough. But it did! It took a very small amount of force to turn. And guess what? The nib and feed came out, while the nib housing remained in place, inside the section.

Then I placed the other nib over the feed in the correct position (as indicated by a small notch in the feed) and screwed them both back into the nib housing, making sure they remained aligned to each other.

 

It works perfectly. There's no leak whatsoever, and the pen writes normally - no skipping, no starting issues, no nothing.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Vlad Soare

[canibanoglu]

The feed and the nib on 146s can actually be removed from the nib assembly by pulling them off. I was surprised to see that myself because you can't do that with 149s. I believe SBRE Brown has a video showing how to remove the nib and the feed from a 146