I have a pen that has had flow trouble ever since I had the feed replaced (the original got clogged with a saturated burgundy ink - never again!) I thought perhaps I'd neglected it and it was clogging again but pulling the nib I found the feed to be perfectly clean and clear.

The feed has two channels but only one runs the length of the feed. The other stops about 3/4" from the end of the feed. I'm told that this partially-done feed is probably "opened" when the feed is fitted with a broad nib. Mine is a medium (that rights F-M) so technically (i'm told) it shouldn't require opening the second channel.

But it continues to be balky no matter what ink I use - including the famous "Ex-lax of inks" PR Tanzanite) and since I've had the pen for quite some time and only recently reached the point of just not using it at all due to this frustrating behavior, I do not wish to send it to the seller for replacement of the nib *again*. I'd rather try to fix myself and pay for a new feed if necessary than just send it off. If I send it off and get it back and have the same problem because of the feed design, then I will only get more frustrated.

babbling...

I think my only recourse then is to extend that second channel. or have it extended. I'd rather do the work myself if folks tell me it's easy and relatively safe. so... anyone here have any recommendations on the safest approach if I'm going to try it myself? the feed may be ebonite - we never determined that for certain. The pen is no longer in production.

Do I use a very fine, sharp tool to lengthen the feed? If so, should lengthening it to the end of the feed, like the other channel be done or should I do this in steps - that is lengthen it about halfway and see if that improves flow? should I start with a hairline channel? I can send a picture of the feed to someone via email if they want to see it before offering advice.

oh... i know it isn't the nib shape or tipping itself causing the balky behavior because it's a matter of it gradually losing flow as I write with it - like feed starvation.

thanks in advance,
KCat

KCat, I certainly have no advice as to solving your problem, but I do have a humble request. If you're going to take a pic of the feed before you begin work, could you post it, along with an after pic? It would be a wonderful learning opportunity for us newbies. Thanks either way.

KCat, I would be interested in seeing the feed, the brand and type of pen. Unless I misunderstand the concept, two channels are needed, one for the ink and one for the return air. Some manufacturers will use a hole in the feed instead of channels. The nib alignment with the channel can be critical.

Sorry for not being more specific but as you know there are so many variables with pens.

George.

i can post a pic - the one i have is a bit hard to see what's going on so I'll try later to get a better image as well as the other info. The seller (distributor as well) said he checked replacement feeds he had and they were all the same - one full-length channel, one partial and that he'd never experienced flow problems with these pens. I did not either - with the first one. I've had the replacement feed for over a year but just was so irritated with the pen that I never inked and used it long enough to really think about what was wrong and deal with it. Just assumed it was my ink choice. But - if Tanzanite won't work! ? it's a beautiful pen and i love the feel of the nib and as I said - I was initially very happy with it. I would even recommend these pens in general (there's still a few out there.) i think mine is probably an unusual occurence but it's hard to know because there were not many of them made to begin with. it is a Columbia Academia btb - i wrote a glowing review of the pen early on (before the feed change.)

Hi again KCat, some of my pens, specifically Parker 51s, would have a problem like the one you describe. A fix I found that works on some pens is to have a bottle of ink with a drop or two of dish detergent in it. Some of the ink manufacturers used to advertise their ink as having a secret ingredient to help the ink flow and keep the feed clean, the secret ingredient was good old palmolive.

Looking forward to seeing the photo's.


George.

hi george - yeah, I've done the dish detergent trick. i also have ink safe which takes very little to really get the flow going. but I'd like to not be limited to adjusting inks just for use in one pen.

Hi KCat, the question is, did the use of Ink Safe improve the flow. If the flow is good then you know that the chances are the channels are too small. If there is no change, then the problem could be with the air channel.

Can't wait to see the feed. If you can send a photo of the nib next to the feed it would be helpful.

George.

Hi Kcat,

Yes, use a sharp implement and go slowly, in steps, especially if you are going to open up that second channel. You'll find that removing a very, very small amount of material will have a marked effect of the flow. Also, I believe that widening the channel, rather than deepening it will have a greater effect (if you work on the already open channel).

have fun and let us know how it goes,
Chris

boy i have completely put this aside. After I get back from errands today I'll take a picture.

Yes, after using ink flow, the flow in *other* pens improved and certainly the initial "writes" (before the nib seemed to be starved) with this pen were generous.

thanks much, Chris. I wouldn't have really given the depth vs.width much thought but that makes sense.

so perhaps starting by a slight change in the open channel would be a safer place to start?

well - you don't have to answer that until I get the picture up - I think that will help and make more sense to others who may be reading this and thinking "EH?"

That would be my guess. Working on the existing channel is probably a "smaller increment" as compared to opening up a new (second) channel. Once that secong one is open, there's no going back.

happy ditch digging,
Chris

Don't think that its all that irreversable Chris. Although the fact that the channel was opened would be hard to hide, it could easily be blocked again if the flow was excessive. And it could be blocked temporarily for expermentation, enlarged and reduced, all by arranging a little bit of the feed / channel for adjustment (a block perhaps made with epoxy).

While I don't have any specific experience to offer as a guide, a thought that I had re the one existing channel was that if KC is sure that channel is free and has been flossed properly with shim stock, then perhaps it should be left as cut. Alteration of that channel might prove to be more irreversable than reversing the new one. In other words, it will be difficult to duplicate the controlled cut made at the factory, especially if it is like the majority I've seen - a wider channel with two extremely fine deeper channels on each side. On the other hand, since the original starting place for the additional channel is no channel, returning to a no channel origin seems to be a fairly simple matter - just block off what you just dug...

So there you go KC. I never said I'd make it easier - just something else to consider.

Good luck. I'll be keeping pretty close to this topic to see how it turns out. Lots of pictures, hear...

Regards

Gerry

okay - well here are pics. i hope they give the information needed. I'm not entirely clear now that I've had it in good lighting, what constitutes a "channel" and what doesn't. you'll see what I mean below:


The "top side" of the feed where the nib would actually be pressing against the feed. one very long very fine "channel" that is so fine I hadn't really considered it to be as critical to flow - but might it be? this is kinda new territory for me obviously.


nib against feed - just so you can see how they go together. Hard to verify in the pic but I'm trying to show that there's no major gap due to misshapen feed or nib and from what I can tell when it's in the pen, it isn't too snug either.


the "underside" of the feed. Note the channel on the left side of the feed doesn't extend the length of the feed. This is where I started with this discussion.


okay - now that you have pics - maybe a better idea of where to start? top side? underside?

sorry for the fuzz - misplaced my bulb.

Don't think that its all that irreversable Chris. Although the fact that the channel was opened would be hard to hide, it could easily be blocked again if the flow was excessive. And it could be blocked temporarily for expermentation, enlarged and reduced, all by arranging a little bit of the feed / channel for adjustment (a block perhaps made with epoxy).

Hi Gerry,

You are quite correct that the process is reversible. It's just that I'm simply too lazy to do that sort of micro-surgery, but it certainly could be accomplished.

Hi Kcat,

I would begin on the top. I don't think that a modification of the bottom channels would have any great effect, but then I'm not sure about what their purpose is to begin with.

could those have more to do with air return for the feed, vs the top side which I would assume based on it's proximity to the nib, would be for ink flow? or have I got that backwords? uuh backwards.

That would be my thought. The slit on the top is definitely the "ink out" portion of the feed.

thanks for the input everyone - wish me luck!

Good Luck KC.

If it helps, after seeing the photos, I also think altering the top channel would be best for starters.

If you wanted to try enlarging in stages - to avoid too big a change at once, I'd enlarge the channel down to the hole in the nib, then progressively continue down the length of the slit. I have no special reason for recommending this, just an idea that beginning with a larger ink flow near the hole would allow the capillary action of the slit to control the flow somewhat, without as much risk that it becomes overfed.

Gerry

well, i made a first go at it. closer examination showed that the channel near the end of the feed was so narrow as to almost non-existent. the very fine edge of a scalpel blade would not slip in. hmm.....

so... i did one pass basically with the blade, very gently. Have put the pen back together with ink and will test drive it for a few days. it seems like it wouldn't be enough to really alter things - *except* for that "bottleneck" area might have been the problem. it was hard to see without magnification.

you can sort of pick up on it in the picture - about 1/3 of the way up the from the reservoir end the channel looks "pinched"

Hi KCat, sorry I'm late in getting to see the photo's. One thing I noticed was that the slot in the center " feed" does not line up with the top feed, it may just be the photograph. If that "feed" is not lined up with the hole in the feed the pen will be starved for air. You can check this by blowing through the centre feed and seeing if air passes through. Some of the older pens I have worked on have had this problem with the centre feed. You may give this a shot before trying to modify the top slot. If you are starved for air, enlarging the top feed could end up with blotting.

Good luck and let us know how you made out.

George.

If that 'narrowing' does appear to be a factor, you should try flossing with a .002" brass strip to see if it clears (ie cleans). The blade will probably not do it as it thickens rapidly to beyond the channel thickness.

If flossing doesn't help. you will have to continue widening with the blade.


Gerry

hmm.. i didn't see this. i'll check it out after this first run if there's no improvement. I made very little change but since I don't want to suddenly have a firehose...

no improvement - next step... clean out, check that alignment mentioned.

i'm leery of trying to align the two pieces as I've broken one of those darn internal "feed" stems (don't know what the proper term is) before.

Hi KCat, some refer to it as the breather tube, same as the parker vac's. Before you try to relocate the breather whatever, check to see if air will pass through it. You may also try to clean it with a thin wire.
Hot water is my preferred mode to loosen parts. I also use my wife's jewelry cleaner to vibrate the parts. Vibrations are very useful as they tend to loosen parts, as any Hog rider knows.

Good luck and as before keep us up-dated.


George.

thanks George - i'm gonna take it slow on this. and if after a week or so of dinking I still can't get it right - it's goin' to a pro. Cause I do want to use this pen. I miss the feel of it. It's a CN pen - I just love the warmth of CN compared to other materials. Don't worry - i won't put any heat source anywhere near the barrel or cap!

vibrations and loose bits (sounds a bit kinky): Lawnmowers with collapsible handles are a huge pain because of this. mow a little, bolts loosen, reach down to tighten bolts, mow a little, loose bolts, reach down...

fortunately, I had to give up my mowing job a few years ago and it's hubby's grief now.