First Fountain Pen Mishap... With My Twsbi

[schadowrider]

If the ink supply was low, setting it next to the bottle could cause the air inside the ink chamber to contract, drawing more air inside. When it warmed, the air would again expand and if the ink was closest to the exit...

Except he said it was full to the hilt. Very strange indeed.

Just thinking out loud here -- not remembering my chemistry and all ... Don't liquids also expand at the freezing end of the spectrum (I'm thinking water in pipes, beer or soda in the freezer, etc.); wouldn't a water based ink do the same?

[Lsarios]

The best way to describe the first problem is for you to look at this youtube video:

 

My pen had the same problem as the old feeder adaptor. Now Speedy told me that no pens shipped with the old feeder adaptor so I am not sure what was causing this. The pen would completely stop writing and I had to tap it or shake it until the ink flowed down the feeder. Very frustrating! Next I figured I would take it home and completely disassemble and clean it to see of that would fix the problem. I watched speedy's video several times before attempting. When I tried to remove the piston assembly, it would not budge. It was put on so tight during production assembly that the metal wrench supplied would just strip the plastic so I stopped trying. I would also say that I have been able to restore most of my own pens including a pair of Sheaffer snorkles and the most difficult of all a Sheaffer plunger.

 

So now I have a pen designed to be taken apart that will not come apart!

Were you turning the wrench in the correct direction? The piston mechanism has a left handed threading. Instead of righty tighty lefty loosey, it's lefty tighty righty loosey.

 

Yes I was turning it the right way . I watched the video several times before I attempted.

[Lsarios]

My TWSBI had the no flow ink problem once. With all the inks I've used in it, Montblanc, Pelikan, Noodlers, Diamine, uh, Parker... ummm... yeah, the ONLY 'ink' that wouldn't flow in the pen PROPERLY, like in the video, was homemade ink that I mixed up with food coloring and water.

 

When I dumped it and put reg'lar ink back in it, it worked just fine. So... maybe the ink.

 

I was using Montblanc Royal Blue, the ink that has solved every flow problem on every pen I have ever tried it on.

[ethernautrix]

I'm sorry for your los--wait, what? A little ink got in the cap? Sheesh, I'd hate to hear what happens when you notice a little smudge from your fingers and have to wipe it off, much less if you did actual damage to your pen.

 

Hee. If you could hear me, you would know that I was saying that with my Funny Voice.

 

But, yeah, it's not a "sad, sad day" when a little ink gets in the pen's cap. Or maybe I should have your problems. *Rimshot* Bahzzzah!*

 

 

 

 

*Funny sound to lighten the tone

Edited October 28, 2010 by ethernautrix

[Northwoods]

Just thinking out loud here -- not remembering my chemistry and all ... Don't liquids also expand at the freezing end of the spectrum (I'm thinking water in pipes, beer or soda in the freezer, etc.); wouldn't a water based ink do the same?

 

Most substances, liquids included, contract when colder. Water is an odd substance. By rights, it shouldn't even be a liquid. It's too light. But, thanks to an odd chemistry in which the hydrogen atoms can't quite decide which oxygen they want to belong to, the whole mess ends up bound together. It's this same odd chemistry that makes water expand as it freezes solid. Just getting cold wouldn't do it.

[millerb7]

Hahaha. Yeah I've been blessed so far with all my pens/inks. I'm pretty meticulous with them. Always flushing, cleaning, etc. I find that as half the fun. I always fill via syringe so I never have any messes at all. In my "VERY" lucky FP world, this was quite a mishap lol.

 

Im not sure what I was thinking putting it into the bag on the ice heh. No coffee this morning. Thats who I blame!

 

 

So whats the weirdest mishap you folks have had? Bad stories etc?

[Silvermink]

I'm sorry for your los--wait, what? A little ink got in the cap? Sheesh, I'd hate to hear what happens when you notice a little smudge from your fingers and have to wipe it off, much less if you did actual damage to your pen.

 

Hee. If you could hear me, you would know that I was saying that with my Funny Voice.

 

But, yeah, it's not a "sad, sad day" when a little ink gets in the pen's cap. Or maybe I should have your problems. *Rimshot* Bahzzzah!*

 

Seriously.

[redisburning]

Don't liquids also expand at the freezing end of the spectrum (I'm thinking water in pipes, beer or soda in the freezer, etc.); wouldn't a water based ink do the same?

 

water gets denser as temperature drops until about 34 degrees without additives or additional pressure. I dont have any idea what the pigment and other stuff does to that.

 

I dont know fountain pen design that well, but here is an unlikely scenario:

 

ink is chilled, air present in tank contracts, reducing pressure.

pen is jostled, air comes in to equalize pressure.

ink fills the channel into the nib, blocking air flow.

water warms up, ink warms up, air warms up and expands, pushing ink out of the nib.

 

Im not sure the design of the pen would allow for that.

Edited October 28, 2010 by redisburning

[Enai]

 

Just thinking out loud here -- not remembering my chemistry and all ... Don't liquids also expand at the freezing end of the spectrum (I'm thinking water in pipes, beer or soda in the freezer, etc.); wouldn't a water based ink do the same?

 

Water does expand below 4 degrees C (negative thermal expansion coefficient). So if the ink chamber was full, and the pen was by the frozen water bottle...

[ethernautrix]

So whats the weirdest mishap you folks have had? Bad stories etc?

 

Oh, honey, I'd be afraid to tell you. I wouldn't want to be responsible for your jaw breaking when it hits the floor....

[ethernautrix]

Oh, don't we love the inadvertent double post. Sigh.

Edited October 28, 2010 by ethernautrix

[watch_art]

So whats the weirdest mishap you folks have had? Bad stories etc?

 

I dropped my P51 nib down at school one day, knocking the tines completely over at a 90 degree angle. Ugh... bought a replacement nib though. Easy fix. But very sad about it. Other than that, not too many problems... except for melting the section on my green gremlin 1930s Sheaffer balance... ugh... but I fixed it... sorta.

[millerb7]

And how might one melt a section?

[watch_art]

too much heat will melt it if it's celluloid like my old sheaffer's is. i heated it back up to warping, pushed against the nib and feed to 'straighten' it out (so i could cap it) and held it there until it cooled off. seemed like it took forever, but I can use my favorite beater pen again!

[Silvermink]

I melted part of the feed on one of my Lamy AL-stars while trying to "gently heat" it to remove a stuck nib. And then I burned myself on the hot nib, too.

[watch_art]

No!! You use scotch tape on lamy nibs. And to get the feed out you put it on a knock out block and hit it with a nail. A blunt nail. THat fits the end of the feed perfectly.

[Silvermink]

No!! You use scotch tape on lamy nibs. And to get the feed out you put it on a knock out block and hit it with a nail. A blunt nail. THat fits the end of the feed perfectly.

 

I had tried the Scotch tape and the rubber band by this point already. It was REALLY on there.

[watch_art]

a small thin blade between the flat part of the nib, under where it says lamy, M, and the section.

[ethernautrix]

You had me at scotch....

[Silvermink]

a small thin blade between the flat part of the nib, under where it says lamy, M, and the section.

 

I'll try that if I ever have trouble with one again - fortunately, they've all been pretty well-behaved since then. The one whose feed I partially-melted actually still writes fine, believe it or not.