Pelikan 400 advice

[Binky7]

Good morning all. I have just acquired a lovely little Pelikan 400 and would appreciate any help and or advice regarding the following. The nib and feed are as one would expect frozen in place. It has clearly not been used in a number of years. Would you advise soaking in distilled water and attempting to remove the nib/feed or leave well alone ? The piston does move freely but I would like to grease if it turns out it’s possible to get the nib/feed removed. Secondly I can’t find any identification on the nib fitted. It would appear to my untrained eye to be a left hand oblique medium or broad. I’ve included some photos to aid those amongst you who are far more knowledgeable than l ( that means everyone ) Many thanks. Kevin 

[Azulado]

If there's ink, it's mandatory to leave the nib soaking. You need a lot of patience; soaking for a week for the thread to loosen is normal. In extreme cases, even a month.

If, after soaking, the collar that holds the nib and feed unscrews easily, perfect. If not, you will likely need a tool, otherwise you risk breaking the feed or the collar.

I have two frustrating experiences. The first, a second-hand Pelikan 120 that came with a cracked collar. Someone had tried to remove it before without due care. The second, a Pelikan M150 inherited from my aunt. It was an extreme case; it had probably been sitting with dried ink for 20 years or even more. After a week in water, I tried unsuccessfully to unscrew the housing. Then I pulled the nib. The feed stayed inside. I ended up breaking it after further attempts to extract it.

My advice is to leave it in water for as long as necessary. If you can't unscrew the housing, fill and empty the reservoir until it's clean —you mentioned the piston moves without issues—. Then fill the pen with ink and do a writing test. If it works well, use the pen normally.

If the piston starts to get stiff, then you'll have to find a more professional solution. There are plenty of tutorials that can help you. Otherwise, you'll need to seek help from a professional. In any case, I'm sure there are people on the forum with the necessary experience to guide you through a successful repair.

Coincidentally, I tried this pen last week. A friend of mine bought it in Madrid, with a different sized nib (KF). He also restores them. He always insists that you should use a special tool to extract the nib and feed from the collar/housing.

I suppose you already know this site.
https://www.pelikan-collectibles.com/en/Pelikan/Models/Revised-Piston-Fillers/400-Basis/index.html

About the nibs:
https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/365910-chart-of-vintage-pelikan-nib-choices/

 

[Binky7]

This is as I suspected might be the case. I understand that delicacy and patience are the key ingredients when dealing with vintage pens such as these. I think as you say I may rinse it thoroughly and then ink it up as I’m intrigued to know how / if it writes. This will at least shed light on any further issues and determine what further course of action needs to be taken. If it works ok I will leave well alone and hopefully enjoy a new old pen day. Thank you for the advice. Obviously I’ll let you know what I find. 

[Azulado]

24 minutes ago, Binky7 said:

This is as I suspected might be the case. I understand that delicacy and patience are the key ingredients when dealing with vintage pens such as these. I think as you say I may rinse it thoroughly and then ink it up as I’m intrigued to know how / if it writes.

My aunt's pen wrote very well after spreading the nib tines a little. I made the mistake of trying to remove the feed and nib. I ended up buying another Pelikan M150 in perfect condition.

[Binky7]

Well things haven’t gone well for plan A. So it would appear that the piston seal is not sealing as it would not suck up the distilled so it would seem that complete disassembly is going to be required. So my next questions will be these. Given that I need to remove the piston assembly as well as the nib and feed is it safe to leave the entire pen soaking in distilled water ? And secondly how does one remove the piston assembly assuming that this will be as stuck as the nib ? More soaking ? Thirdly are new piston seals available ?   Thanks in advance. Kevin 

 

Edited February 25 by Binky7

[InkyProf]

If I were in your shoes, I would not soak the whole pen in water, lest this damage the tortoise-patterned cellulose acetate sleeve or "Binde" on the exterior of the barrel.

 

In the case of the 400, the piston mechanism is friction-fit into the back end of the barrel and is removed by being pressed or knocked out with a dowel or rod from the front end of the pen (not pulled out from the back) after the nib assembly is removed (and with the piston fully retracted), and with gentle dry heat to help the parts separate. Replacement seals for the 400 are available; I bought mine from https://www.vintagepens.com (no affiliation other than as a customer) but there are other sources, including outside the US (not sure where you are).

 

All that said, removing the mechanism is risky, and reinstalling it is both risky and fiddly (setting the piston to maximize retraction, and thus ink fill quantity, at the point at which the piston knob is fully closed, takes some trial and error). You know more about your own experience, skills, toolkit, and risk tolerance than I do, but I will say that it's a really nice pen and there's no shame in sending it to a pro (not that I am one). Either way, good luck!

 

One other thing: if and when you do try again to remove the nib assembly (and give it time!), hold the nib and feed firmly between your thumb and forefinger, but rotate the pen, not the nib assembly. If you put twisting force on the nib and feed you risk breaking the fins on the feed.

 

 

[Christopher Godfrey]

Protopens also has them -- Dragan is in Macedonia and his service is great!

[Binky7]

Give that I came here for advice it seems that the advice given implies that this isn’t a straightforward simple task. Whilst I feel I could tackle the feed the seal seems to be a bit more challenging. So as I do not wish to destroy this lovely pen I will seek a professional to undertake repairs. I think you all know what my next question will be. I live in the UK. Can anyone here recommend someone capable of undertaking the resurrection of my poor Pelikan ? Many thanks to those who offered their sage counsel.

Kind regards. Kevin 

.

[Christopher Godfrey]

Are you going to be at tomorrow's Pen Show in London-town, Binky?  George Parapadakis will be there at the Writing Equipment Society people's desk, where I shall be collecting two jobs he has done for me.  His email address is as follows:

george.parapadakis@gmail.com

 

I hope this is useful?  You may tell him I reccommended him, if you like. 

[Binky7]

Unfortunately Christopher I won’t be able to attend. But thank you very much for the recommendation. I will drop him an email and hope that he can assist me. I will keep you updated via this thread as to the outcome. I hope it is a positive one.

  Kind regards. Kevin

[Christopher Godfrey]

Good luck, Kevin!

[Christopher Godfrey]

@Binky: BTW, I used to know a Binky long ago -- we were part of a bachelor household (six of us) -- was that you?  He was a great rugby forward.  That was at 29.8587° S, 31.0218° E  🙂