I've got an GoldSeal Leverfill Manifold nib that I'm trying very hard to love.... It writes like a dream but I'm having severe ink problems...

I tried my first fill with Diamine Registrar's ink (a nice blue-black)... it leaked like no other from around the nib/feed. I reseated the nib and feed and found it was then leaking from under the nib... I guess its too "watery" for this pen. I then set the pen aside in frustration for a few weeks.

Over the past few days I've been trying Noodler's Eternal Brown, a wonderful copper color. It writes like a dream and doesn't leak from under the nib at all... *BUT* if I let the pen sit unused, capped, for 12 or so hours it totally gunks up the feed.
I have had to remove the nib and feed twice in the past three days to clean out all the "clotted" ink gumming up the works... it still somewhat writes a bit before the cleaning, just very dry with frequent skipping and the occasional drop onto the paper, so as one can guess I need another ink.
I feared that perhaps the cap wasn't "sealing" tight enough and allowing air to dry the ink in the feed/nib... but a small ring of paper I put at the top end of the section showed signs of rubbing when I capped and uncapped the pen... it seals fine, so mechanically my pen is working... but the inks just aren't working with it.

I'm begging all of you Wahl-Eversharp knowledgeable types... Please help me with an ink recommendation. What have you had luck with?

I'd prefer a somewhat "bullet-proof" ink, and would love to give the Noodler's Black a whirl, but I'm afraid of wearing out the section and feed by constantly removing and reseating it.

I wish I could give you a simple "ink" answer, but I am afraid your question begs a larger question. That is you are assuming that one or another ink is better or worse for the pen in question. The pen you are talking about will work properly with just about any ink. I have used just about any and every ink in my Wahl Eversharp Pens (and I guess including those I have repaired and tested before sending out that must be well over 2000). The inks I have used have run the gamet from the thinnest Private Reserve inks to the very thick high particulate inks.

I recommend a proper cleaning, flushing and nib/feed adjustment. However,If yours is a personal point, they sometimes develop a hairline crack in the nib/feed collar and that needs replacement if that happened.

The largest reason for leaking pens that act as your does is usually that the nib sits too far away from the feed. The best thing to try is to reset the feed with heat to conform to the position of the nib. If you need instructions on how to do that feel free to ask.

Inks are not all compatible and when mixed the different formulations can sometimes clot as you call it. When that happened in your pen it slowed the flow of ink and starved the point from getting enough ink. You did not think you needed to adjust the nib/feed position with the 2nd ink because it was not flowing properly due to the clogs.

Flush out the pen with a 1:3 solution of ammonia and water. The flush with clear cool water a few times. That should clear the ink channels in the feed. The reset the feed to the nib. If done right, your pen should work perfectly.

There may be other issues, but these steps usually are all that is necessary.

Hope this helps

Syd

I agree that a pen that is working properly will do so with any ink unless something is seriously wrong with the ink. IMO, something of an urban legend has emerged about inks and pens needing to be carefully matched.

I appreciate the replies...

I've already reset the nib using heat, did that prior to trying the Noodler's Eternal Brown.
I can vouch that the interior of the pen in question is as clean as can be, I've flushed it before and after using an ammonia solution... 1:10, so not as strong as you mention, but still pretty effective.

I re-cleaned the entire pen last night after posting and filled it with Lamy's Black... I then wrote a bit and found it to write fine. As a stress-test I then left it uncapped overnight. I just tried it out and found that after three downward strokes it started right back up and seems fine. So unless I find a disaster in my pen case later today or over the next several days... I think I've found my ink for this pen.

I would agree LBpens that needing "carefully matched" inks and pens is somewhat of an urban legend... but I will say that some of my pens have preferences... some inks do seem to work better than others in some pens. So carefully matched? Nah... but with a bit of trial and error... I'd say so.

OiRogers,

It's interesting to hear your complaints about Gold Seal pens.

I have two oversize Gold Seal flat top pens that leak terribly, like yours. When writing with them, they will begin to build up a lot of ink around the feed and then eventually blob it on the paper. And, if kept in my pocket or on the table (with the lid screwed on) for a while, they will gunk up the cap with ink, causing my fingers to be soiled because the ink has run down to the threads.

I have a 2nd generation oversize doric with the same problem.

I don't know how to fix this problem, and it really annoys me because they are quite beautiful pens.

Regards

Barry

The pens we are talking about here are relatively uncomplicated designs, yet there are enough possible variables in the assembly that it is very hard to pinpoint the cause for excessive ink-flow/leakage for each pen in which it happens. Proper cleaning, and re-assembly is critical for any pen to work properly. The only sure way I know to correct the problems of any pen is to take it fully apart and put it back together properly. Even something as simple as using the wrong diameter sac can throw things of. Close inspection of personal point sleeves for cracks, and proper tighening of the personal point collar into the section, using high grade sealing wax on threads, etc. can all make a big difference. Eeven the wrong size nib that someeone replaced that has a curvature variation due to over arching the nib can be off. When I am sent a problem pen to fix, I take it all apart and re-do it from scratch.

One friend has such hot hands (really, no fooling) that his pen barrel heats up enough to cause thermal expansion of the air in the sac and ink comes out in buckets. He fixed it with a double sac which puts a small sac inside a large one to make air insulation!

Anyway, these pens were and can all be reliable. I fly with mine all the time, and use them regularly and if I have an ink problem, SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE SET-UP of the pen.

Syd the Wahlnut

I would look at two possible sources for the problem.

The first is the seating of the nib and feed in the section. All this talk about routinely removing and replacing the nib and feed is cause for concern. A nib and feed should be heat-set, effectively molding the section (or the Personal Point collar) around them, creating a sound seal.

The second would be overlarge and overfloppy sacs. This is a real problem with oversize pens, since no one makes large sacs that are also proportionately thick-walled. Big sacs have to be extra-resilient in order to resist the forces of the vacuum created within. If they aren't, ink will blob out.