Fountain pen leaking?

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bgio13

bgio13

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Joined
Nov 11, 2007
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260
Location
Oak Bluffs, MA, USA.
I was in the process of making a Triton fountain pen for myself so I purchased some Private Reserve ink and a steel nib from Exotics, cleaned the pump and nib and inked up. The pen started laying ink right away and I was thrilled with the way the pen wrote. The next day I went to use the pen and noticed some ink pooling behind the nib under the feed. I do not have a lot of experience with fountain pens so I was wondering if this is a normal occurance, or something that needs fixing. Thanks,

Bill
 
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Just a couple of questions, first how was the pen stored overnight, if left upside down gravity will make the ink flow, also as I've never done a Triton although it looks very simular to the Jr. series from CSUSA which has a spring in the final that needs to be removed if using a pump, did the Triton have a spring in the final?i
 
Roy,

The pen was laying on it's side overnight. I checked for the spring and there isn't one in the pen, I don't think it came with the fountain pen kit. Thanks for your help,

Bill
 
bgio13 said:
I was in the process of making a Triton fountain pen for myself so I purchased some Private Reserve ink and a steel nib from Exotics, cleaned the pump and nib and inked up. The pen started laying ink right away and I was thrilled with the way the pen wrote. The next day I went to use the pen and noticed some ink pooling behind the nib under the feed. I do not have a lot of experience with fountain pens so I was wondering if this is a normal occurance, or something that needs fixing. Thanks,

Bill
Click to expand...

Bill,

Either your pen's feed has a very good flow, or you have an air leak. If the ink collects around the feed inside the section, but the feed isn't saturated and the pen doesn't drip, you're probably all right, though you may want to store it nib up. A drier ink may help you as well.

If the feed is constantly saturated and/or the pen does drip eventually, check for an air leak, probably either in the converter (what you called a "pump") itself, or at the nipple where it fits at the back of the section. It may just not be seated properly. People often try to seat the converter or cartridge into the tubular bit at the back of the section and think that's how it seals, but it needs to fit snugly over the nipple down inside that tubular bit.

It can also be a defective converter; I've had a few whose inner bores were tapered and the piston seals would lose contact when fully retracted, i.e: when the thing was filled with ink. Ink wouldn't leak out around the stem, but air would leak in and cause the pen to drip. Try a cartridge in place of the converter and see what happens. If the symptoms remain, the converter is probably good.

Air leaks can also result from a poorly-seated nib and feed, a cracked or defective feed, or a cracked section.
 
I'm betting on one of two things.

First, remove the nib, front section and converter, as one unit.
Look for ink stains where the feed (little ridges under the nib) meets the converter. If there are ink stains there it indicates a faulty seal between the converter and front section. If there is ink there, remove the converter. clean the entire assembly and replace the converter with an international cartridge. If the leak stops, the problem was the converter. If the leak continues, and there is ink stains where the feed meets the cartridge, the problem is a defective "front section".

If there is NO ink stain where the cartridge/converter meets the feed and the ink is still leaking, the problem is with the nib/feed assembly. WITH THE TRITON, it is absolutely ESSENTIAL that the feed be (horizontally) centered on the nib. Most of the time, this can be corrected simply by unscrewing the nib and feed from the front section and realigning the nib. At this point, check carefully that the nib was not bent from shipping or assembly.

I hope this helps! A Triton FP with a Heritance nib is my favorite writing instrument.
 
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Thanks for all the replies. I went to use the pen last night while watching TV. I stopped writing for a moment then looked down and noticed some ink spots on the paper and all over my hand. I took the whole front section out and removed the converter, then tried to remove the nib and feed from the front section. Even soaking them in warm water would not help getting them out. I ended up twisting out the nib and that was clean, no ink. But the feed would not budge and I ended up snapping it in two, part of which is still stuck in the front section. I know you want the fit tight so it doesn't leak, but I wonder if that was my problem. Anyway, does anyone know where to get a new feed and front section for the Triton, I would really like to use this pen without it leaking. It's one of those pens you want to show a potential customer, but not if it's going to leak all over them. Thanks,

Bill
 
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