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ndw76
October 3rd, 2013, 08:05 AM
I have this Regia pen. I have been told that it is Italian from the 1950's. The piston seal is leaking but I have no idea how to remove it. I have tried screwing it with my ringers but need something stronger. I wanted to get some advice before I do something stupid and ruin this pen. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Nathan.

Jeph
October 3rd, 2013, 08:58 AM
More soaking.
Yet more soaking.
And still more soaking.
Only after that does not work would I consider gentle heat.

For leverage, my absolute favorite tool for piston housing removal is a narrow leather strap. Anything that can exert more force than that and you are very likely to break something, usually the barrel. On some pens even the leather strap is too much force without heat. The sound of failure is unmistakable. As always, patience is your most important tool.

Ernst Bitterman
October 3rd, 2013, 04:33 PM
First, remember that the threads are likely reverse; what every instinct tells you is loosening is actually getting the opposite effect. I came very close to destroying a Pelikan M30 because I can't convince my fingers of this inversion.

Section pliers, applied gently, may help-- I had a Swedish pen under my care with a similar problem and that's what ended up working. If you don't have that, the spring-style clothes-pin and a rubber band might stand as workable substitutes, as long as you can grip only the threads and not the knob or barrel.

ndw76
October 3rd, 2013, 04:55 PM
Would the threads that the blind cap screw onto extend into the barrel? If so that tells me I have been trying to loosen rather than tighten.

Paul-H
October 4th, 2013, 12:26 AM
It not impossible for a collar to have a left hand thread on one end and a right hand thread on the other, so the fact the the bit of thread that the blind cap screws to may not be the same as the thread that screws into the barrel, after all if you think about it they wouldn't want a tight fitting blind cap unscrewing the piston would they.

Another option is that they have used some sort of sealant on the threads, if they did hopefully some heat will soften it.

I would do a bit more research into this pen first though to find out for sure before you break something replaceable.

Its not mentioned in any of my repair books so cannot be of much help.

Paul

ndw76
October 4th, 2013, 12:47 AM
The only mention I have ever heard of this brand is that the Regia company made ball point pens in Spain just after WW2