Drop A Pen, It Stops Working. How To Fix?

[Kuhataparunks]

Scroll to very bottom for my question to skip the story:

 

Among the things I despise about fountain pens, it is that they are ridiculously fragile. I sometimes feel I have an eggshell in my pocket.

I've dropped a Metro before, and no nib/feed combination would work in it, whereas such combinations would work in any other non-dropped pen.

Today... Alas, while inking up my Prera, the section slipped out my hands and hit the floor. It was about a 3ft (1meter) drop... On carpet. Which frustrated me because it now writes with nonstop skipping and interrupted flow.

 

TLDR/QUESTION:

What nib modifications can I make to fix a skipping nib after a drop? Every time I drop a pen it stops working. How can I fix this?

Any help would be appreciated, thank you

[kirchh]

What nib modifications can I make to fix a skipping nib after a drop? Every time I drop a pen it stops working. How can I fix this?

Any help would be appreciated, thank you

 

Depends on the specific damage you caused when you dropped your pen.

 

Given the frequency with which you drop your pens, and the fact that there are several things you despise about fountain pens, an obvious solution would be not to use them.

 

--Daniel

[Kuhataparunks]

Given the frequency with which you drop your pens, and the fact that there are several things you despise about fountain pens, an obvious solution would be not to use them.

 

--Daniel

Haha, good suggestion !

I'm quite hooked to them; maybe I'll get a few expensive ones and keep them just at home

[Consulting_Detective]

Well, on the Topic of repairing pens, kirchh does have point... it really depends on how you dropped it, on what part of the pen, and many other nigly little things...

 

If you dropped it on the nib, onto carpet.. It could be many several things...

 

1) The feed/tines are blocked with carpet fibers

2) The nib is pushed up or pushed down that its squeezing ink away from the travel-points

3) Mis-aligned the nib/feed

 

-C.D

[kirchh]

Haha, good suggestion !

I'm quite hooked to them; maybe I'll get a few expensive ones and keep them just at home

Or, better yet, get a few inexpensive ones, and write with them very, very close to the ground...

 

--Daniel

[Sasha Royale]

I am surprise tha tno one has offered the obvious.

Stop dropping your fountain pens !

[Consulting_Detective]

I am surprise tha tno one has offered the obvious.

Stop dropping your fountain pens !

 

There is that, but we won't have anymore use of a steady plethora of information!

 

-C.D

[Algester]

check the usual stuff tine alignment and the feed I have once used a cross century knock-off with 1 tine nearly falling at it's break point (I was able to align the tines but you know sometimes some pens just wont work longer than 2 years after being stressed) since this is a prera a metropolitan nib and feed will work...

[DonLeone]

Check with your doctor to see if you have any health issues. Specifically mention that you drop pens a lot. You may have nerve damage or squeezed muscles or something else entirely. Loss of grip strength is a symptom of many issues, even diabetes.

 

I lost grip strength in my left arm/hand. It started with a tingle, then later pain in arm, then pain in shoulder, then headaches, then everything altogether. Turns out my left side looks like it had been in a car crash a few decades ago. Let's just say I got into a bunch of fights I didn't want to get in in the first place. At first the big fear was a nerve being pinched but it turns out (for now at least) I merely have a muscle pinched. For unknown reasons my shoulders or actually most of my left side has hypermobility, meaning I can bend my joints much further than the average human. I have contortionist grade joints but never trained for it causing shortened muscles, causing more pain. Stuff like that.

 

You should really get that checked. For example I couldn't hold a cup in my left hand any more, it just gradually dropped down until it dropped, freaky.

 

 

Now for the nib, it sounds a lot like the tines have closed. From your description it sounds as if the nib fell onto the floor at an angle that had enough force to close the tines. I saw a video recently by sbrebrown

 

He seems to be quite rough with his nibs. I'm way more gentle than that.

[KBeezie]

If the nib doesn't appear to be physically damaged then your issue may be something caught up in the tines or feed of the pen, the simple solution to that would be to pull the nib and feed out of the metropolitan and wash them, and maybe even floss the tines with a brass shim.

 

Further when putting it back into the pen, check under the loupe to see that the tines are correctly aligned, and that the nib appears to be flush against the feed (as opposed to a gap between them).

 

If there is physical damage that you can see, Don's suggestion above may help.

[lordz]

Pull the nib and feed. Flush the feed, floss the nib. look at the nib with a loupe or magnifying glass to check for tine closing. If it is bent, bend it back. Good luck, and happy dropping!