Ink Gets Drawn Back Into Feed

[strawberry]

Hello,

I have bought a new steel nib in f for my old pelikan M150. I have already flushed it with a dishwashing soap solution as well as a 10% household ammonia solution and put it into an ultrasonic bath to remove any factory residue. And I have also tried different inks out with it, but the problem stays the same: the ink gets drawn out of the nib slit and back into the feed whenever I pause writing for a couple of minutes or put the pen aside capped after writing. And when I want to start writing with it I have to shake it to get the nib slit filled with ink again. I have cleaned it a couple of times using the methods described above, changed inks and pulled a thin brass sheet through the slit to clean it mechanically and increase the ink flow lightly. The nib slit is constantly narrowing towards the tip of the nib, just as it should be, and it is also sitting correctly on the feed and there is no visible gap between the nib and feed and still the ink gets drawn back. I am using zero pressure on the nib when writing and if the nib slit is filled with ink I have no problems to write until I pause for one or two minutes.

So what can I do to get this new nib into normal functioning? When it writes it works nice and very smooth. I don`t want to return it.

[Paddler]

I think the nib is positioned too far away from the feed. If the gap is too wide, capillarity can't hold the ink all the way out to the end of the feed.

[strawberry]

You are right. Ihave tried to slip the thin brass shim between the nib and feed. It went in there easily. So there is a gap. But how can I cure my pen from that?

[wimg]

Try to reseat it first, by removing both nib and feed, hold them together in the correct position, and then reinsert, making sure you hold them together very well.

 

If that fails, you may want to heat up the feed, make it slightly pliable, and press it against the nib while still hot.

 

However, for the exact procedure, it probably is better to get someone else to explain the details, as I have never tried this myself - no need yet.

 

HTH, warm regards, Wim

[Paddler]

There is an instructional text on how to heat set a fountain pen feed. Google it.

[strawberry]

Thanks for the advice to dis- and reassemble the nib unit. I had to do this 34 times before the nib was placed on the feed in the correct position. Getting a modern Pelikan nib unit back together is a real pain. Heating the ring that holds nib and feed together didn`t work. It was still tight as hell. I finally widened it with pliers. It got so out of shape this way that I almost couldn`t screw it into the pen anymore. But finally the gap between the nib and feed is closed and the pen works as it should.