I thought it was just me being sloppy when I fill it but I've gone in, thoroughly cleaned the converter and threads and inside of the barrel and within seconds of this process there's ink at the spot where the section meets the threaded metal part that the barrel screws onto. Anyone seen this before? Is something like this something that can be repaired by a US Sailor rep or do I have to contact Sailor in Japan? I can't see cracks in the section so it seems like the seal between section and metal bit is just not secure. I pushed the metal piece in as if maybe it was not all the way in. I'm not getting the seepage at the moment so I'll let it sit for a few minutes and test again. Anyone know how these things are put together? Friction or screwed in?

Hmm my minis never done that. I guess I would start with the dealer you bought it from since it is pretty new. Meanwhile probably won't hurt to contact Sailor in the U.S., too. Good luck!

Thanks, Taki.

It seems my little nudge may have fixed the problem. I'm not getting the seepage at the moment. But I'll reserve judgement until tomorrow. If, as it has done today each time I uncapped it, I find ink on the section in the a.m., I'll freak out further.

Oh I hate to put this baby in the mail to go anywhere!

edit: I've never seen it in my minis either. hopefully this was just a little hair's breadth thing that I fixed. For that matter, maybe previous leakage from my filling efforts may have seaped into that tiny space and just finally wicked out.

Hrm, never seen that myself, either... Please keep us posted.

Hi Kcat, Hopefully you fixed it.

Hi KCat, I'm not sure it's exactly the same thing happening but sometimes when I'm overenthusiastic and can't wait for the pen to dry overnight after cleaning it, I'll notice a bit of water seeping from that location in my 1911M (which has the same basic build as my Sapporo). It seems to be residual washing water that gets caught maybe in the vicinity of the O-ring and seeps out slowly - maybe due to the warmth of the hand while writing? I'm not sure. I haven't had it happen with ink, though, so I don't know if it's the same thing that you're talking about. Is it possible that ink rather than water got caught in the same area?

I hope your issue resolve itself soon!

Hi all. It seems fine this a.m.

I don't know if it was seepage or not. Sure seemed like a lot of ink for that to be the case but anything's possible. I wonder if during my multiple cleanings and refillings and fighting with the converter that wanted to come apart if I didn't somehow work the section and the metal piece apart slightly. Seems like it would be hard to do but one of two things happened, it ran out of ink that had seeped into that area or when I pushed the metal piece in rather hard (though carefully - last thing I want is a cracked section!) I fixed the leak.

We may never know. It would be nice to know from the people who know, how these two pieces are connected. I may contact Sailor US just to find out if they know if it's just a pressure fit or screwed in or if there's any kind of sealant used or... ?

So - no ink on the fingers this a.m. so I'm happy. This purchase has been a little unnerving through no one's fault at all. A little of my own paranoia because I bought a pen that is not something I can just go get at the local pen store.

Thanks, all. And if you do know how these pieces are fitted, do tell.

KCat

Hi,

If I remember correctly, the rear metal portion unscrews to release all of the inner parts of the section, the nib unit and the parts. I'd take it apart and rinse it to remove any excess ink.

Dillon

Glad to hear that it's doing OK. I'm tempted to fiddle with mine, just out of curiosity, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

If that's the case, it sounds like it's very likely I worked it loose in my battles with the converter. I did two things in trying to fix it - I first assumed it was screwed in and turned it clockwise with a little force just in case. Couldn't feel any looseness but it doesn't take much. Then pushed on it in case it was friction fit. Probably should have just done the first since there's no way to know but i didn't notice a change from trying to tighten it by screwing it in.

Since mine is right here at my computer desk, I cannot resist attempting to unscrew it just as Dillo described. Yes! It's unscrewing! However, I have half a converter full of ink so I'd better stop before the whole thing comes apart. It's still good to know it can be done - thanks Dillo!

Three lessons.

Don't panic.

Ask questions.

If questions don't fix the problem, then panic.

I got brave and tried to unscrew one of the mini's first. Couldn't. couldn't get a grip. Then tried the Orange Sapporo. Yup, it unscrewed just fine and yes there was a bunch of ink trapped in that area. Cleaned it out, refilled, all is well.

One thing - I noticed a little bit of that pink rubber cement-like sealant that pen manufacturers use (MB has used it, I know) and wonder if this is something available to the general public and could avoid a similar loosening in the future.

Thank you for this sharing this trick. My obsessive-compulsive self will be appeased.

Yes, Dillon, thank you. I meant to say that and distracted myself.

Your help and limesally's are very much appreciated.

I've done precisely this with my Sapporo and my 1911.

Neil

I use carts in all my Pilots and, of course, in my two Sapporo minis. Starting to look preferable in my Standard Sapporo as well.

Thanks, Neil.

K

OH! I wish you had not started this. Now I am going to have to take mine apart to see how it works! Is yours OK now?

Warm Wishes,

Andrew

It's fine now. Though the converter came unscrewed again when I was filling the other day. I'm gonna break down and clean out a cart pretty soon. Oh well, I'll get a little more mileage out of that way anyway, even though the converter is a good size.

If sections unscrewing is a problem, a small nudge of shellac might help. You can always unscrew it by heating with a hair dryer. Just a thought.

i hate having to heat a pen. Don't trust myself. But, I believe replacing the converter with a cartridge will prevent any future loosening of the section. I'm pretty sure that as I kept fighting with the converter which kept coming unscrewed and did this multiple times as I tried 8 or more different ink combinations in one day, that I ended up loosening the section in the process. It's been fine since the day I tightened it and I've refilled twice. But certainly, if for some reason it becomes a problem that it loosens repeatedly over several weeks time, I have section sealant I can use on it if need be.

The converter is the only thing I've found to dislike about Sailor pens. I was used to the rather over-engineered Waterman, glass, metal and rubber type, so when I saw the Sailor open ended plastic tube, I thought I'd be in trouble. I'm glad KCats is OK.

Andrew

Hi,

Waterman's is polystyrene, not glass, and it is more prone to breakage than the Sailor converter (which may be made of PP).

Dillon

I bow to your experience. I thought that the Waterman was glass as it feels cool to the touch. To be honest, I still don't like the open ended design. but thank you for correcting me.

Best wishes,

Andrew