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How can a piece of fluff trapped in the ink chamber of an old Pelikan 342 be removed, and is professional disassembly worthwhile for this?

Montblanc Vintage pens / oldies FAQ entry

On the 342, often first the feed together with the nib can be carefully pulled out; subsequently the chamber can be thoroughly rinsed; with success, the piston mechanism does not have to be further disassembled. A complete disassembly requires suitable tools and is not trivial – in the specific case the unscrewing succeeded with a coincidentally available tool. Economically, sending to a specialist like maxpens.de hardly pays off with a 342, since market prices for used examples are around 10 euros and the postage alone exceeds the value; exceptions are rare features like a music nib. Alternatives are to leave the fluff, to acquire a replacement 342 or to seek help at a collectors' meet-up.

Note: The fountainpen.de FAQ knowledge base is based on collector discussions from over 20 years. Specific market prices may be outdated — the underlying methodology remains valid. Back to FAQ overview ›

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