Pelikano school pen

[ElaineB]

Last week, in my favorite local stationery store, I noted that they had a display of several different brands of European school pens. I tried out a Pelikano and decided it needed to come home with me. Cute little transparent red barrel, smooth medium nib, chrome cap.

 

We go home together, and I unscrewed the barrel. Inside was a long European ink cartridge, which I promptly took out and put aside, because I prefer converters. I tried to swap in every converter that I happened to have lying around (Pelikan, Parker twist, Parker slide, Rotring, Scheaffer) but none of them fit. Hmmmmm, says I. Looks like a cartridge-only pen.

 

Then I happened to receive Gerry's very generous sample of plumbers wax for ED conversions. Hmmmm, says I. I opened up the barrel again and looked around. Only plastic. Nice transparent barrel. Looks like a perfect candidate. Very excitedly, I got out my ink bottles, filled up my dropper bottle with my new custom mix of garnet red (to match the red barrel of the pen) and started to squirt some in....

 

...and had garnet red ink spill all over the table, my jeans, my hands. Hmmmm, says I. I peer at the bottom of the pen barrel and there sit two little vent holes which I'd completely overlooked in my previous inspection of the pen. Okay, well, no ED conversion for this pen.

 

After mopping up the piles of ink (which was, btw, a perfect fresh-from-the-artery blood red. The trash bucket looked like a crime scene...) I finally gave up and stuck an ink cartridge into the section to see how this pen writes. It laid down a very fat, wet blue line. After about five seconds I got bored. I'd really wanted a different ink in this pen.

 

So this morning, I pulled the blue cartridge off, pulled out a spare empty that I'd saved from a Rotring, got out the red bottle of garnet and filled a syringe with a little of the red. Squirted it in...

 

...and had garnet red ink spill all over the table, my jeans, my hands. Hmmmm, says I. I peer at the bottom of the empty cartridge and see that it's not a cartridge at all. It was an empty spacer tube that just looked like a cartridge. I have no idea why Rotring had stuck it in the barrel of the pen I'd received, but it was not something that would ever hold ink.

 

So, after mopping up yet another pile of suspicious looking blood-red stains, I emptied out the blue cartridge, washed it out, dried it, and filled it with garnet red ink. (No mishaps this time.) I washed out the pen nib and dried it by shaking it in a paper towel. I stuck the ink cartridge into the section, reassembled the pen, began to write.... and nothing. No line. No inkflow.

I shook it. Nothing. I took the barrel off and squeezed the cartridge. Nothing. I wrapped the nib in paper towels and shook the pen like a thermometer. There was a big ink stain on the towel, but when I tried writing... nothing.

 

Figuring I'd broken the cartridge somehow when I refilled it, I pulled out the original ink cartridge that came with the pen and stuck it on instead. Same thing. No ink flow. I flushed out the nib again, confirmed that water would go through it, dried it, and put it back on the pen. Nothing.

 

I am so frustrated I'm ready to throw this pen in the trash -- even though I know it must somehow be my fault, not the pen's. If anyone can figure out why this thing isn't writing, what I did wrong (besides believing that that ink would stay in containers with no bottoms...) I'd be grateful.

 

ElaineB

who is going to buy stock in the company that makes Amodex ink remover

[Claes]

Hm...

Since you are so nicely coloured already - what happens

if you put the section & nib in your mouth (nib pointing

inwards) and blow?

 

Towel debris in the slit?

[inkyfingers]

Did you by any chance have any of that plumber's wax on your fingers or towel when you gripped the pen by the nib?

 

This is a dangerous newbie exploit, but since you and your work area are already inky, what happens if you gently shake the pen (like a thermometer) by gripping it from the top of the pen so you're forcing ink down through the nib? You should get a good spattering of ink. Or you could tap your pen vertically on (orthogonal to) your paper a few times and see if that helps induce flow.

 

I can't wait to hear the resolution to this one.

Edited April 19, 2005 by inkyfingers

[Keith with a capital K]

The prize here should be some Amodex...

 

Strange...convertors that fit my Future (Parker and Schmidt) will not fit the Pelikano.

 

As to getting that pen working properly, flossing the ink channel might solve the issue as there could be some debris in there keeping ink from reaching the point... .002 brass shim or a little piece of mylar polishing film is generally adequate to remove any nasty bits.

[wimg]

Hi Elaine,

 

I loved your description of your exploits with the Pelikano, and really had a good laugh. I hope you don't mind (too much). Sounds a lot like me. You should have seen my first attempts with a Visconti traveling ink well, which I tried to use without reading the instructions .

 

It's a pity it won't write, but it likely has something stuck in there, either between the nibs, or the ink channel.

 

Try Keith's suggestions, that should do the trick, unless somehow the red ink clogged up the channel. Bit strange though, that water will seep through, and not ink.

 

Have you tried flushing with soapy water?

 

HTH, warm regards, Wim

[pizza_eater]

This is the funniest thing I have read in a long time. Thanks for making my day!

[Leslie J.]

LOL! I'm sorry, but that was a hilarious story. I think every FP afficionado should be provided with an ink room. All stainless steel with a hose and sink.

 

I'd like to hear more about the pen if you can get it working.

[ElaineB]

Well, I'm glad you all found the story amusing. Honestly, by the time I got to the part with the bottomless Rotring "cartridge", I just started laughing, myself. I am really one of the clumsiest folks I know. But at least I didn't knock the entire bottle of ink over!

 

Keith, when you say "floss" the nib, where do you actually stick the brass/mylar? Between the nib and the feed? Between the two tines? I don't have either the brass or the mylar on hand, but I'll go look around the local hardware and art supply stores to see if I can find something suitable.

 

Meanwhile, I did more water experiments and saw that the water was coming out of a hole in the feed under the nib, down near the section. There was none coming from the tines. So there's probably some sort of blockage as you all suspected.

 

I just reread Claes' suggestion and realized that he suggested I blow through the nib to clear the feed. Aha! I thought I had done this earlier, but in fact I had blown through the section into the nib. (Which means I probably lodged the debris even tighter under there!)

 

I can't play with the pen now, have some late work to do, but I hope to have time later this evening. I'll see if I can get it cleared out...

 

Thanks for all the help, everyone!

ElaineB

[Maja]

Elaine,

Thanks for a good laugh (at your expense, though...sorry!) and please let us know what happened with your attempts to get it working

[Keith with a capital K]

When you floss a nib, you gently run the brass shim between the tines.

[Gerry]

Elaine,

 

You should enter that description in the writing section. Under humour.

 

I'm afraid I laughed out loud. These things happen to me too. Glad to have the company.

 

A flossing kit will be winging its way to you in the morning in trade for the story.

 

Cheers

 

Gerry

 

PS: I generally test ED conversions first with water or by blowing through the barrel or both...

 

PPS: if you are realy determined, you could try sealing the vent holes with rubber cement or other sealant that you can clear if you want to convert back (of course you have to cure the flow problem first)

 

PPPS: a Radio Shack desoldering bulb (I forget the number - but it is a red rubber flexible bulb with a nylon insert for sucking up molten solder one wants to remove) is excellent for cleaning / flushing Esterbrook nibs because of the 1/4 inch hole. Just remove the nylon nozzle and use the bulb by itself. I just tried it on my Pilot and the entire nib will fit since the rubber is quite flexible. If the Pelicano nib unit is similar, you might be able to use the RS bulb to reverse flush the nib and feed channels.

 

You can generate moderate flushing pressure this way, and works well everywhere I've tried it.

[ElaineB]

(Gerry, remember when you sent me the plumber's wax and I said I was a little afraid to try an ED conversion?? Now you see why! )

 

Well, no good news at the moment. I tried blowing the debris out as per Claes' instruction, but that didn't help. I tried to slide some fine wire into the feed, just to see if I could clean out a channel as I'd done on a Waterman nib a month ago. But the nib unit doesn't appear to have an opening that runs the length of the feed. So the pen still isn't writing.

 

I looked around my local hardware store, found some silicone grease and teflon tape, but no brass or mylar I could use for flossing. But there's a Radioshack in the mall with my grocery store nearby, and I'll look for the RS bulb. And Gerry, thank you so much for the flossing kit! You folks are the best!

 

I haven't given up yet!

 

ElaineB

[whv]

richard has a bit of .002 brass shim in his nib working kit.

.

you might also try an auto parts and/or model train store - they usually carry brass shim stock but i am not sure if they will go that thin.

.

better luck as you go!

[Keith with a capital K]

Most hobby shops will carry packages of assorted brass shim for very little money.

[Guest Denis Richard]

I'm one of the lucky fellows who received Gerry's sample too. Thank you Gerry ! I have not tried it yet, but will do and report this week end.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Maybe if you remove the nib and feed from the section and clean them thoroughly it might help.

 

Dillon

[Mannenhitsu]

Hi Elaine:

 

You kill me! Your story was the best laugh I had all day long. However, I can feel your pain and anguish. Nonetheless, is it possible to remove the feed section and nib separately? I have a feeling that some foreign substance or object has found its way into that area and is blocking the ink flow.

 

Please keep us posted on any further details regarding the fate of the pen in question!

Edited July 8, 2005 by Mannenhitsu

[ElaineB]

Unfortunately, that pen has ended its existence on this moral coil. I hate to admit this, but it beat me. I tried everything. I tried to figure out how to pull the nib and the feed, but no matter what I turned or heated or pulled at, nothing budged. I even got it writing for an hour one afternoon, then it just went dry again.

 

So there it sat there on my desk, mocking me. It's a school pen, for goodness' sake! It should be an easy fix. But ha ha, it sat there laughing at me, ha ha ha. Daring me to try fixing it again. So I finally threw it away. It felt good, honestly.

 

ElaineB

[Roger]

Atta girl, Elaine! :bunny1:

 

It's wise person who knows when to cut their losses. With an inexpensive instrument like that, it's just not worth the trouble after you've made a few goes at it ; those goes based on the good advice received here.

 

I've stayed out of this, so far, except to be laughing politely at your tale. One, in my early stage of apprenticeship, doesn't give advice to others. Though, if I do say so myself, I'm getting pretty good at aligning tines with my fingernails. After all, I watched Frank D do it in a film clip, so I figured, why not?

 

What I might have done, rather than trash it, would be to keep it for all manner of practice. That would serve the little bugger right; serving as a cadaver for your further instruction!

 

Edit: "their" spelled wrong.

Edited July 9, 2005 by Roger

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

If you really want to, you can fish it out and mail it to me.

 

Dillon