Sierra / Le Roi Refill Sticking

[Bats]

I just made a Le Roi (D37) last night, and I'm running into trouble with the refill occasionally getting stuck in the extended position - a shame, since it's a nice looking kit. Has anyone else run into this problem/found a solution?

I've tried swapping out the transmission, and the issue seems to clear up (although, being intermittent to begin with, it's hard to be sure), but before I run crying to Ed and begging for a replacement, I was hoping someone here might've come up with a simple fix and/or an explanation of what's going wrong.

 

[mbroberg]

Take a small file and run it in and out of the nib to remove any burs.

Make sure you do not have any glue in the tube.

What kind of refill are you using. If the refill has a label on it it may be causing it to stick.

Sometimes just stretching the spring can solve the problem.

 

[Kenny Durrant]

I don't know what it is but there's a heavy oil or wax in the transmission. Remove the transmission from the pen and clean it in DNA or something similar to clean or dilute whatever it is. Then I use reel or light machine oil to lube it back up and that normally fixes the problem. Although don't rule out what Michael suggested because I've run across that a couple of times.

 

[sorcerertd]

Take a small file and run it in and out of the nib to remove any burs.

This was my first thought because I ran into it yesterday. Thought it was the label, but it stuck even without. Discovered why by just pushing the cartridge through the nib a few times with only the spring attached. I used the smallest of my transfer punches and just rolled it around in the tip opening.

 

[Bats]

Take a small file and run it in and out of the nib to remove any burs.

No dice - although it's something I probably should've thought of, since I have run into trouble on that front before

Make sure you do not have any glue in the tube.

Nope, nice and clean.

What kind of refill are you using. If the refill has a label on it it may be causing it to stick.

Right now, just the generic unlabeled Parker that came with the kit.

I should also mention that when it happens it's a hard stick. Not "just reluctant to go back in" but "ain't no amount of pressure gonna retract this sucker without damage".

Also of note, loosening the nib a couple rotations usually (well, sometimes) releases it and lets the refill snap back into place.

Sometimes just stretching the spring can solve the problem.

That's an interesting one... any idea the logic behind it? It doesn't seem to have helped (unless it requires more stretching than I was comfortable trying), but I'm curious.

 

[sorcerertd]

If it won't push back in at all, I'd suspect the transmission as the problem. I've seen a few that just have too much sticky gunk on/in them. Maybe try warming it slightly and see if that helps? Put it in some type of solvent that might soften/dissolve the lubricant a bit?

 

[Bats]

It looked like it'd actually cleared up - leaving me to figure the rate of failure had decreased to the point where it'll wait until I go to sell/gift it, only to jam up and make me look like an ass - but when I swapped out the refill with a fresh one, I promptly ran into the issue again, making me wonder if there were edges on the refill that were able to catch until they were worn down.

Aligning with that, I also noticed that there are scratches around the plastic on the back end of the refill, which would fit if it were catching on the edge of the transmission. I tried doing a quick deburring of the transmission end, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

The feel of the jam makes me disinclined to suspect a lubricant issue - it feels more like it was catching on the internal hardware somewhere - but the "oh, I'll start working now that you've twisted me a hundred times for troubleshooting" bit would also have made sense if that were the case.

 

[Bats]

Addendum: Played with it a bit more, this time with the lower barrel removed, and it does indeed feel like something on the refill is catching in the back end on/near the transmission, so when the center of the tranny retracts, the refill doesn't go with it. Still no closer to figuring out a general fix, though (sandpaper on the end of the each new refill might help, but it's not really something appropriate for a gift or sale. or sale for a gift. or gift that'll just be sold off. probably for drug money).

 

[KMCloonan]

I have also encountered this issue with several Le Roi kits. It was annoying, but I just worked the nib in and out when it stuck, I held the pen, nib down on my workbench, and pressed down while twisting the pen. In and out, in and out, and eventually it stopped getting hung up. I do think it's the refill catching in the nib opening.

 

[Bats]

I have also encountered this issue with several Le Roi kits. It was annoying, but I just worked the nib in and out when it stuck, I held the pen, nib down on my workbench, and pressed down while twisting the pen. In and out, in and out, and eventually it stopped getting hung up. I do think it's the refill catching in the nib opening.

Did it end up recurring when you eventually changed refills? Or were they out of the shop and out of mind by then?

 

[KMCloonan]

I probably still have most of the pens in my "inventory" (sales have been pretty slow). I could check to see if they resumed sticking, but I usually check that on all my pens just before I ship them out. I have not used one of these pens long enough to use up the ink and need to refill.