Initial ink flow low.

I have a couple of pens that behave badly in the same way.
When I begin writing there is no ink flow. If I depress the nib
to fles it, ink does not flow in between the tines, even though I
can see ink on the upper part ( when held in a writing position )
of the feed. Either putting a small drop of water on the nib, or
opening the pen and forcing a bit of ink out using the convertor
I get it going. Another way to keep the pen going is to store it nib
down. Then it writes immediately. Once I get the ink going, it
works OK, no matter how long I write ( well OK I never write
for more than a couple hours ).

The ink I use in both pens is Private Reserve and I've used it in
other pens with no problem. Any suggestions?

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 05:22:59 GMT, (Strider) wrote:

I have a couple of pens that behave badly in the same way.
When I begin writing there is no ink flow. If I depress the nib
to fles it, ink does not flow in between the tines, even though I
can see ink on the upper part ( when held in a writing position )
of the feed. Either putting a small drop of water on the nib, or
opening the pen and forcing a bit of ink out using the convertor
I get it going. Another way to keep the pen going is to store it nib
down. Then it writes immediately. Once I get the ink going, it
works OK, no matter how long I write ( well OK I never write
for more than a couple hours ).


Can you use a lope to see if the tines are either misaligned or have
what people call 'baby bottom'. If the tines are too rounded at the
slit, ink will not flow. Makes for a smooth writer but the ink can not
be 'pulled' to the paper to write. Check the archives for more
background.

I have used a 8000x cermanic stone to flatted out the tines on two of
my pens that had the same problem. Very, very lightly and careful is
the way to go with 3-4 strokes is all it took.

Strider wrote:
I have a couple of pens that behave badly in the same way.
When I begin writing there is no ink flow. If I depress the nib
to fles it, ink does not flow in between the tines, even though I
can see ink on the upper part ( when held in a writing position )
of the feed. Either putting a small drop of water on the nib, or
opening the pen and forcing a bit of ink out using the convertor
I get it going. Another way to keep the pen going is to store it nib
down. Then it writes immediately. Once I get the ink going, it
works OK, no matter how long I write ( well OK I never write
for more than a couple hours ).

The ink I use in both pens is Private Reserve and I've used it in
other pens with no problem. Any suggestions?

There are many possible reasons for your problem, hence many
possible solutions. For instance, what type of PR are you
using? Some flow better than others. If you have any
Tanzanite, try that in the pen. It's been known to work
wonders for hard starting pens. You could also try one of the
standards in ink, Parker Quink or Sheaffer Skrip.

It could also be that the feed does not fit properly against
the underside of the nib. That might explain why the ink is
visible but doesn't flow to the tip. Repair of this involves
reforming the feed through application of heat and can ruin
the feed, if not the pen, if done improperly.

You mention the problem exists with more than one pen. Are
they the same model? Same manufacturer? It could be you got
lucky and the pens suffer from equifinality, i.e., different
paths to the same result, which means different solutions for
each pen are called for.

Hope this helps,
Mark Z.

"Strider" wrote in message
...
I have a couple of pens that behave badly in the same way.
When I begin writing there is no ink flow. If I depress the nib
to fles it, ink does not flow in between the tines, even though I
can see ink on the upper part ( when held in a writing position )
of the feed. Either putting a small drop of water on the nib, or
opening the pen and forcing a bit of ink out using the convertor
I get it going. Another way to keep the pen going is to store it nib
down. Then it writes immediately. Once I get the ink going, it
works OK, no matter how long I write ( well OK I never write
for more than a couple hours ).

The ink I use in both pens is Private Reserve and I've used it in
other pens with no problem. Any suggestions?

I would suggest you first try these solutions before taking the drastic
measure of grinding your nib:

1. Flush your pen with water; then soak the nib & feed in a water and
ammonia solution - roughly 15% ammonia - for several hours; then flush well
with water and then flush your pen with a water and a liquid dish soap
solution. One drop of soap to a cup of water is plenty. Flush well with
water and give it a try.

2. Try a different brand of ink. I would suggest Quink or Skrip. Most
pens will write with different flow characteristics with different ink. If
you find the pens write well enough with Quink or Skrip and you don't
particularly like the ink, at least you will know it's not the pen and you
can then begin finding the right ink/pen combination.

3. Floss the tines of the nib with a very thin metal shim. Fr. Terry used
to sell a .002" steel shim that works great. Don't use a razor blade as
it's too thick and can damage your nib.

4. Check nib alignment with a 20x loupe. If your tines aren't properly
aligned this could cause a problem.

5. There can be a myriad of other issues that will cause poor ink flow. Most
are simple to fix, IF you know how. If you don't know how and the pens have
value to you, send them to one of the pro's for evaluation & repair.

Or, you could just store them lying down.

I wouldn't suggest grinding on the nibs until you practice first on some
inexpensive or junk nibs. You can ruin a nib in a very short time if you
don't know what you're doing.

Kelly G.

On Fri, 26 Mar 2004 05:22:59 GMT, (Strider) wrote:

I have a couple of pens that behave badly in the same way.
When I begin writing there is no ink flow. If I depress the nib
to fles it, ink does not flow in between the tines, even though I
can see ink on the upper part ( when held in a writing position )
of the feed. Either putting a small drop of water on the nib, or
opening the pen and forcing a bit of ink out using the convertor
I get it going. Another way to keep the pen going is to store it nib
down. Then it writes immediately. Once I get the ink going, it
works OK, no matter how long I write ( well OK I never write
for more than a couple hours ).

The ink I use in both pens is Private Reserve and I've used it in
other pens with no problem. Any suggestions?

As kg pointed out, it's risky to try some of these repairs yourself.
Buuuut. ya gotta learn somehow if you're going to continue to
collect/enjoy FPs. That said - if these are expensive pens or not
easily replaced, I'd recommend going first with a high flow ink.
Second I'd try the flossing. It can be done safely by just about
anyone. As kg also pointed out - *don't* use something sharp. If you
don't have a metal shim - I have used a very high grit mylar or on
more than one occasion - my fingernail. I have very thin nails
though. If you've got thick, tough nails I'd say.. find something
thinner. :-)

from there - unless you're just really comfortable with trying to do a
minimal grind on the nib to fix the baby-bottom effect, it's time to
ask for a nibmeister to work on the nib.

For more detail on how this problem causes flow problems, check
Richard Binder's site (http://www.richardspens.com ), click on
"Reference Info" and scroll down to Nibs: The Basics and Beyond the
Basics. The baby-bottom effect is shown at end of The Basics
article. Very good graphics for understanding nibs.

if you *do* tackle the grinding yourself - go slow (very) and check it
repeatedly with loupe. While you do want to reduce the curve, you
don't want to really "flatten" the nib else you could end up with the
inside edges of the tines catching on the paper and making for a very
unpleasant write.

just my .02 and then some. :-)

KCat the Verbose