New Acrylic Konrad - piston removal not possible?

[sapient]

A couple of weeks ago I got a new acrylic Konrad, and the construction of the pen seems different from all the pictures and videos of it that I have seen. There is a clear ring after the blind cap, instrad of a black one. The ring, as well as the threads for the blind cap, seem to be part of the body. Moreover, the piston can not be removed in any way that I can see. The piston knob is affixed to the piston with a metal pin. Removing the pin allows the knob to be removed. The piston shaft can then be pushed in to the barrel, but that's about as far as I got. The section is too narrow to push the piston out through the front. Moreover, not having noticed the difference, i tried to remove the piston the way it is removed from the creaper (by rotating the piston knob counter-clock-wise beyond its limit): the result being that the piston knob know turns without retracting the piston. Pushing the piston up with a chopstick I was able to help the piston to re-engage; however if I lower the piston enough to be seen through the ink window, it becomes disengaged again. I am sure this could be fixed if the piston could be removed from the barrel, but I can't see a way. 

The instructions that came with the pen refer to the old construction of the pen and do not apply to the pen I have.

Does anyone have any experience with this newer Konrad? Is there a way to remove the piston? It seems uncharacteristic of the brand to make their pens non user-serviceable any more.

 

[inkstainedruth]

I only have the resin and ebonite ones, none of the acrylic ones.  But the photo of the piston knob looks really similar to mine.  It may just be that it needs a little extra effort.  You might try contacting Noodler's/Luxury Brands on their website.

I have the *opposite* problem sometimes with my Konrads, and unscrew the entire back end instead of just moving the piston.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[sapient]

You were right, it needed a lot of persuasion, but the transparent ring was NOT part of the body, and it finally unscrewed. So it seems the construction is the same, just different materials. The transparent piston assembly looks better than the black one, but it is brittle. It seems I cracked it by turning the knob too far. Some superglue fixed it.

 

BTW, the piston assembly seems to be made from the classic stinky vegetal resin, even in this acrylic version. So purchasing the acrylic to avoid the odor seems to have been pointless. The rest of the pen has a different, acrylic smell, that is also unpleasant. So now I have to deal with a mélange of stinkiness - not an improvement.

[Karmachanic]

Idle curiosity here. Why do we need to take the pen apart?

[sapient]

On 4/17/2021 at 9:57 PM, Karmachanic said:

Idle curiosity here. Why do we need to take the pen apart?

It helps with cleaning and re-greasing as well as repair, when the need arises (as in my case)

[Karmachanic]

Hmm. I manage to clean by unscrewing the nib. As the shut off valve is not a piston I've not had the need to "re-grease" it in the 3.5 years that it has been continuously inked.

[BlueJ]

Karmechanic, your post confuses me. Every Noodler's Konrad I have had (I'm on my third, all of the acrylic material) has had a friction-fit nib and feed, not a screw-in unit, and has been a piston filler with nothing I could call a shutoff valve. Was there a radically different version of this pen?