Reliability and Maintenance of Piston-Filling Pens

[008]

Hello

I'm new to the forum and from Paris. I'm a beginner, and I have a preference for piston-filling fountain pens. The models I'm most interested in are some of the more popular ones: the Sailor Realo, the Pilot 823, and the Pelikan MXXX. Pelikan pens have a solid reputation for reliability, but what about the other two, which are newer compared to Pelikan? I was also wondering about maintenance for piston-fillers. I've ordered a Realo, but I imagine at some point I’ll need to either replace or lubricate the silicone seal, right? Whether it’s in 10 years or less, I’m not too keen on handling that kind of maintenance myself or sending it to a specialist who will charge a lot. So, I’m considering that it might be better to go for models with converters, don’t you think

 

Thank you 

[davisgt]

I love my custom 823. Excellent writer.  Smooth nib. Unbelievable ink capacity.  Just remember to unscrew the end cap when writing. Otherwise, it stops the ink flow from the barrel to the feed. Learned that the hard way.  

[rickap]

I have multiple Pelikan piston fillers and they, as well as other brands, work great. I've never had a problem with a piston filler I own except the rare need to lubricate the piston.

 

I do not have a Pilot Custom 823 but I understand it is a vacuum filler and not a piston filler.

 

Enjoy,

  Rick

[Mercian]

45 minutes ago, 008 said:

Whether it’s in 10 years or less, I’m not too keen on handling that kind of maintenance myself or sending it to a specialist who will charge a lot.

 

Hello, and

 

If you buy a piston-filling pen made by Pelikan (or a Lamy 2000), the pen's nib/feed unit can be unscrewed out of the grip-section by hand, without any need to use any tools.
This means that it is very easy for you to clean the pen and the nb/feed very thoroughly.
This feature also makes the 'task' of re-lubricating the piston really easy. Seriously, even I can do it, and I am the most cack-handed scapegrace klutz that you could ever care to meet.
And one only needs to use a tiny amount of grease at any one time.

 

SCUBA-supplies shops sell little tubs/tubes of silicon grease.
If you are buying any, you must make sure that it is 100% pure silicone grease, without any scent/perfumes.
I bought a tub that contains 7g (seven grammes) of grease about a decade ago. It cost me a few £. I recently looked at prices again, and a similar amount of silicone grease will still only cost you something like 10€.
 

I currently have 5 piston-fill Pelikans, a Lamy 2000, and a Geha Schulfüller. So, 7 piston-fill pens in total.

I have, at one time or another, re-lubricated the pistons of all of those pens (and also the pistons of a couple of my converters).
I use iron-gall inks, which means that I have to clean my pens often, and very thoroughly. And that I probably have to re-lubricate my pens' pistons more often than most people do.
At my current rate of usage of my silicone grease, I estimate that I have enough silicone grease left in my 7g tub to last me for 100 years.
As I expect to be dead within 30 years at most, that 7g tub is certainly going to last for far longer than my lifetime!
😁

 

Slàinte,
M.

[torstar]

Only problem in 20+ years with piston fillers was after I dropped one on a concrete floor and it's kinda loose and I'll pull the whole section up if not careful.

 

Otherwise fine, convertors gave me a lot more grief.

 

 

[008]

Indeed, the Pelikan M800 seems quite accessible (I’m not drawn to the Lamy 2000). However, in the video I watched, I noticed it requires a specific tool, and if I’m not mistaken, the brand doesn’t provide it. Honestly, that’s pushing it. Also, it’s a shame that the Pilot 823, 92, and Sailor Realo weren’t designed to be easily disassembled and rely on fairly fragile plastic mechanisms. In that case, I’ll probably lean towards an M800 (when I can afford it), but otherwise, I’ll go for models with converters for peace

[Mercian]

15 minutes ago, 008 said:

However, in the video I watched, I noticed it requires a specific tool, and if I’m not mistaken, the brand doesn’t provide it. Honestly, that’s pushing it.

 

If you want to actually remove the whole piston unit from the pen's body, you will need a tool.
Some people use the 'piston wrench' tool that is supplied with TWSBI Diamond 580 pens; other people have improvised other tools.

But one can re-lubricate the piston seal from the front of the pen, without any need to remove the piston.

Which is good news for owners of any Pelikans that are less-expensive than the M80X, M9XX and M100X pens, because those models are the only ones that have the brass piston mechanisms that are screw-threaded into the pens, for ease of removal/maintenance/replacement.
The less-expensive models (M2XX, M4XX, M6XX, and perhaps the M7XX too?) have plastic piston-mechanisms that are friction-fit into the body of the pen, and are not designed to be removable.

 

 

15 minutes ago, 008 said:

otherwise, I’ll go for models with converters for peace

 

A perfectly wise decision

After all, whatever anyone else ever recommends to you, no matter who they are, you should only ever do/buy what you are comfortable doing/buying.

[inkstainedruth]

@008  I don't have some of the pens mentioned, but I have a number of Pelikan M200/M400 size pens, and I love them (the M800/M1000 size pens are too big and heavy for me).  While most of mine are modern, I do have one Pelikan pen from the mid 1950s as well.  All of mine are good writers, and I love piston fillers.

There is nothing wrong with getting a pen with a converter, though -- A lot of my pens are c/c pens and I'm just grumpy that some of them (the Sheaffer school pens in particular)  I have NOT been able to get converters for (I prefer converters over cartridges because I hate tossing spent plastic converters into the trash but trying to flush them out/refill them is a major PITA; additionally, pulling ink up through the nib and feed into the pen helps prime the pen for writing, IME...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[008]

thank you for reply

[Merrick]

Take a look at TWSBIs as well, they're made to be completely disassembled and it's easy to unscrew the section from the barrel for cleaning and TWSBI provides a wrench for disassembling the piston mechanism. Very handy.

 

C/C pens are extremely easy to clean but of course will have lower ink capacity than most piston fillers. I have pens with a variety of filling systems, C/C and piston being the most common in my collection. The other advantage of C/C of course is that many pens are only ever made in C/C format so you would lose a lot of options if you chose to forgo C/C pens.

 

In terms of cleaning, Pelikans are the easiest for me. Unscrew the nib unit, rinse and soak it, rinse out the barrel, done. Even more convenient than C/Cs. 

 

I do have a Sailor 1911 Realo, and I like it a lot, but it barely has more capacity than a Sailor cartridge and Sailor sells empty reinforced cartridges so not a huge incentive to go with the Realo.

[008]

Do the TWISBI steel nibs have iridium tipping

[Merrick]

To the best of my knowledge all the TWSBI nibs except the stub nubs are iridium tipped.

[langere]

I would just not worry about working on piston fillers.  They are good for many, many years and it's not really a big deal if one needs a bit of lubrication.  Repair of piston fillers does not need to be a concern in terms of getting some.  Of course, if you just prefer converter pens, go for it!

 

Erick

[lamarax]

As long as we're not talking OMAS, you've nothing to worry about 😛

[Driften]

5 hours ago, 008 said:

Do the TWISBI steel nibs have iridium tipping

Other than steel stub nibs most all fountain pens have hard tipping. I don't think any companies actually use iridium any more but special alloys. The nibs to worry about are the ones marked iridium. Those are the cheapest nibs and lie about it.

[lascosas]

I have all of the piston fillers mentioned above & have never had a problem.  On the other hand I bought two new Stipulas that arrived with broken pistons.  But in general I wouldn't worry about pistons breaking.  Though I am somewhat careful about what inks I put in a piston filler that isn't easy to take apart.  No shimmer inks. 

[EricTheRed]

Like Lascosas, I also have all the piston fillers mentioned and have been using fountain pens extensively since discovering them during a trip to Fahrney’s in Washington, DC in 1997.  Prior to that I only used ballpoints and rollerballs.  Anyway, during that time period I have never lubricated a piston and have had no issues with any of my fountain pens so I think the “requirement” to do this is greatly overblown.  You will need to regularly clean out and flush your fountain pens with freshwater however…

[Penguincollector]

  I’ve had my M800 for over 30 years and have never needed any more maintenance than cleaning. It’s never been stuck or balky. If I ever need to grease the piston, I’ll do as @Mercian does and remove the nib unit to do so. 

[008]

Merci pour le retour. J'ai déjà entendu dire par d'autres que leur Pelikan fonctionnait toujours aussi bien après 30 ou 40 ans, alors que le piston n'avait jamais été démonté. C'est étonnant car les joints en silicone ont une durée de vie... Les joints des montres doivent être changés tous les X temps, sinon ils peuvent se casser ou se fissurer et ne plus assurer leur fonction.

Edited October 27, 2024 by 008

[PantaRhei2024]

What about Montegrappa, Visconti and Leonardo Officina Italiana? 

Why do you consider those three brands in particular? Pelikan, Sailor and Platinum? 
 

My piece of advice is that you take services provided by the seller into consideration as well. Leonardo Officina Italiana has a similar warranty to Pelikan, arguably better, and their pistons are known to be equally reliable. The true testament of time will show whether they are as good.

 

I could add TWSBI, Conklin and Monteverde, Diplomat, Cross, Franklin-Christoph, to the list of lifetime warranty and excellent support. Pelikan and Leonardo Officina Italiana are therefore not the only companies in regard to services.

 

Montegrappa and Visconti have great piston-filling pens, although their warranty is not a “free of charge” repairs and services for a lifetime.
 

Leonardo Officina Italiana and TWSBI should do provide great services that only include costs for delivery under their lifetime warranties, making them similar to Pelikan high end series.