Trouble with FP nibs...please advise...

[woodscavenger]

I have made a few Baron FP kits. They are beautiful but I have am having problems with a few things.
I sold one to a Doctor who brought it back to me with problems skipping and the ink stopping. When I first sold it to him after a few minutes I realized the nib had problems so I pulled out another one and just switched out nibs. It seemed fine. He brought it back today after only using it a few times becuase it is skipping. When it writes it does well but then the ink just stops flowing and you have to shake it or turn it 180 degrees and scratch on the pad with the nib upside down to get the ink to flow again. Then it does the same thing again.

The nib does not seem bent. The tips line up. When I hold it up toward the light the nib tips touch but there is a thin slit of light showing through along the length of the nib. I compared this to my own Baron which does not have the light slit. Is there something wrong with the nib? Are these problems that are inherent with all FPs? Can I bend/realign things? Should I stop making FPs and stick with RBs?

 

[Gary]

That's an interesting question. I'm looking forward to the replys since I'm about to make my first fountain pen in a Gentlemen's kit.

 

[PenWorks]

Shane, FP are like fine women, [] some are finer than others, some take a little more smoozin than other. []

All nibs have that slit. if you look thru a jewelers loop, you will see it, some are bigger than others, some may just be clogged.

Is your client using a cartridge of converter pump. There should be no air lock with the cartridge. Some converter pumps do develop air locks.

If you fill the converter, tip it up and let the air out by turning the screw, then tip it over, and screw until the ink bleeds out.

I have had little problems with gent & gent jr/ baron nibs. I have had problems with Brea nibs for the El Grande.

But so it is with FP. The 700.00 gold nib pen I bought at the show, took three days of writing to break it in. Skipped badly out of the box and would freeze up. There is a break in period on them, some is longer than others unfortunately.

Don't get discourage, play around with it, just like you would a fine women . []

Anthony

Forgot, wash it out with cold water several times to clear any dried ink.

Try other inks, I have real good luck with Private Reserve, seems to stay wet on the nib longer without drying.

 

[Gary]

Dang, Anthony...on the surface that sounds a bit discouraging. I read in an earlier post that one shouldn't make the FP functional by inserting the cartridge (let the buyer do that). I would hate for my clients to have those kinds of problems after buying a pen. It doesn't sound like it can be avoided though if one is going to sell these kit fountain pens.

 

[PenWorks]

Yes and No Gary, I have sold allot of FP's, and have yet to get one back. Except for one moron who had to play inspector and removed the nib from the sealed housing!

I suggest you keep the first one you make, try using the cartridge, then the converter, then try some different ink. All these variables can make a difference. But to me, that's half the fun of a FP.

 

[DCBluesman]

Shane--To start with, it is important that the nib assembly is broken in a bit before assuming there is a problem. After attaching the cartridge (or filling the ink sac), spend 2-3 minutes drawing large, flowing loops on a good quality paper. Do not use copier paper. It's just bad for fountain pens. This is just a basic break-in for the nib assembly.

I write with a fountain pen every day and I've purchased more than my fair share of them. I can't comment specifically on the Baron nib (and assembly) as I have not tried one, but here are a few comments on fountain pens in general, based on my experience and probably a lot of information that I <s>stole</s> borrowed somewhere along the line over the past 30 years.

There are three working components of fountain pens: the nib (which makes contact with the paper), the feed (the part beneath the nib that controls the ink feed) and the nib holder (the part that connects the feed to the reservoir where the ink is held).

The nib on modern fountain pens is always split such that the feed supplies ink through it and onto the paper. The split should be virtually unnoticeable except when the nib is held up to light. Even then, it's appearance should be faint. If the split is wide and noticeable, the nib is bent (or possibly poorly produced). That's the first thing to check in a case of leaks or skips.

The next area of potential problem is the feed. This is more difficult to check as the callibration of the feed capillaries is indistinguishable to the naked eye (unless it is REALLY messed up). Unless you see obvious damage, the best way to test the feed is by changing the ink (and accompanying reservoir, if needed).

Ink globs (for lack of a better word) over time. I discard fountain pen ink after 3-4 months, with the exception of Private Reserve ink, which I have found to be higher quality than most. I even discard Private Resserve ink after 6-9 months. To test the ink and feed capillaries, try changing the cartridge (or emptying the sac). When doing this, be sure to flush the feed and nib extensively. This is done by running cool water through it until the water runs perfectly clear. Attach a new cartridge (or refill the sac with fresh ink) and re-try the pen.

If this doesn't clear up the problem, you may have a defective nib assembly. In the case of our kits, it makes sense to just replace it. In the case of antique nibs, it may make sense to have it repaired.

 

[Gary]

Originally posted by penworks
<br />Yes and No Gary, I have sold allot of FP's, and have yet to get one back. Except for one moron who had to play inspector and removed the nib from the sealed housing!

I suggest you keep the first one you make, try using the cartridge, then the converter, then try some different ink. All these variables can make a difference. But to me, that's half the fun of a FP.

Thanks Anthony, I'll do that. I've also ordered some of the Private Reserve ink.

 

[woodscavenger]

Thanks for all of the info. I think the slit in this one is a little to big for my comfort. I may sacrifice this one to the experimantation gremlins tonight and take it apart.

Another question....I was looking at the WoodturnersCatalog site and they show a set of replacement nibs in 4 nib sizes. Are these the same thread pattern as the baron?
This it the link
http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=050-4095

 

[dougle40]

Could the problem be in the cartridge? If it's made in the far east it could be that there's small particles in the ink which would cause clogging . I know that I find that generic ball point re-fills made there don't work as well as the name brands do .

 

[woodscavenger]

I played around a little tonight. I completely disassmebled my Baron RP nib section. I cleaned it well and played a little with the alignment. I did not find any big problems. I found a different brand of ink cartridge at office depot and tried them. So far it works well. I am going to play with it a few more days before I give it back. I sold the pen for $85 and I want to get it right. Maybe it is just the ink. I think I may buy a bottle and use the plunger mechanism.

In doing this I realized that the nib is easy to change. Why do we have to mess with new thread systems, taps and dies instead of just pulling out the nib and sliding a new one in?

 

[Old Griz]

Here is where I get my Private Reserve ink... Anthony turned me onto the ink... this is probably the closest place to you and Pam is wonderful to talk too... and very knowledgable...

http://www.apenloversparadise.com/private.shtml

Since I started using this ink, I have had absolutely no skipping and I am using my Baron almost every day... even if the pen sits for a couple of days without use there is no skipping...

 

[Ryan]

It is funny this topic came up. I am getting ready to do a Statesmen and wanted to do some research on FP's. I found this info yesterday and you all might find it helpful.[]

http://www.nibs.com/PenMaintenance.htm

Ryan

 

[DCBluesman]

Thanks for that link, Ryan. The picture of the three feed mechanisms shows why we can't simply move a nib from one pen to another. They are quite different and will not allow for proper delivery of ink from the reservoir to the nib and unltimately the paper. Now if there was just one feed design...

 

[Old Griz]

Take a look at the articles section at that site also.. very informative
http://www.nibs.com/ArticleIndex.html