Pilot Myu Not Flowing

[smoothascactus]

I just purchased a 1973 PILOT Myu 701 (Nib-F) however I'm unable to get the ink to flow for more than a few characters at a time. I found that if I cap the pen and store it nib down for 10 minutes I'm able to write about 5 characters before it dries up again.

 

The eBay listing said the pen was in working order so maybe it has to do with being shipped from Japan? The ink does appear to flow fairly well, but I'm not expert. I've ordered new ink which I should receive early next week to try out.

 

I'm new to vintage fountain pens so I'm hoping there is just some cleaning I need to do and it's user error on my part. I have tried cleaning it with water, however I have not been able to get any water to come out the nib of the pen even if I use an ear cleaner bulb syringe.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[shumanfu]

First you need to cut it open like this....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/115495246@N05/12148952284/in/set-72157640305024165/player/

 

Jk.. sorry no idea.. try flushing it out a few times with ammonia&water solution or one of those pen flushy solution things. probably some shonky stuff on ur feed.

 

Always wanted a myu-701:) nice

Edited February 2, 2014 by shumanfu

[Inkling13]

I would give it a bath in an US cleaner. It should clean it up really good...

[smoothascactus]

Thanks for the cleaning suggestion. I have it soaking tonight and will take it to art store for US cleaning on Monday. I also ordered pilot ink cartridges so hopefully that will help.

 

It's a gorgeous pen and it's killing me that I can't use it yet!

 

That cut away photo is great!

[Dr.Grace]

If soaking in water doesn't work, you can try Rapido-eze, which is great for old dried-up ink.

[CS388]

 

I have it soaking tonight and will take it to art store for US cleaning on Monday. I also ordered pilot ink cartridges so hopefully that will help.

 

Hopefully that should do it. It's a pretty simple delivery system, so there's not a lot to go wrong (Famous last words etc)

 

It only takes a few flakes of dried up old ink to block the feed channels, there's not much room in there. Because it's from1973, it could have been lying around with ink drying for many years! I had problems with mine (a 1972 pen) at first, but it soon cleared up and now it writes like a dream.

 

Fantastic pens. Iconic. Congratulations!

Edited February 3, 2014 by CS388

[smoothascactus]

Thanks guys! I've been soaking it and put in fresh ink today... however I'm still not able to get any ink running.

 

When I soak the tip in water WITH ink in the pen, some ink does come out after a few minutes, but it's very minimal and when I remove it from the water I'm only able to write faintly for a short period of time.

 

I'm assuming this means water just isn't going to work and I need to try Rapido-eze? Or maybe I need to take it to a jewelry store and see if they'll run it through an ultra-sonic cleaner? Or maybe just more soaking with water and a bit of ammonia?

 

All I've tried is water and soaking so far, so there's still hope!

[Dr.Grace]

Given that 1) there's not a lot of ink coming out, and 2) you can't force water through the nib, it seems like there's a stubborn blockage somewhere in the feed. You might be able to free things up with Rapido-Eze and/or the ultrasonic cleaner, but if not, the pen probably needs to be taken apart to figure out what's wrong. Dillo (Dillon Ang) here on the board can do this, and probably some other repair-people.

[CS388]

That's good advice.

 

Also, you may not have soaked it enough, yet. It can take days.

Lifetimes!

And, yes, a cleaning fluid or ultrasonic may help.

Ink could have been in there for 40 years!

If it is an ink blockage, it'll take some shifting!

And I can't imagine what else it could be, assuming everything looks to be lined up properly.

Not likely to be a hardware fault.

 

Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

Thanks for the picture, shumanfu. Never seen that before. Excellent!

[smoothascactus]

I'll keep soaking it... The eBay seller claims it worked just fine in Japan and that I should "carefully clean the tip".

 

Hopefully that 5 day travel time just caused a blockage and all this soaking will help.

 

Thank you for suggestions. I'll keep posting with updates. At this point I REALLY want to start using my pen, it's teasing me sitting all pretty, inkless...

[smoothascactus]

Still soaking... I am trying a mix of water with tiny amount of ammonia tonight so perhaps that will do the trick.

[smoothascactus]

So I've soaked the pen for a week now and tried new ink with no luck. The seller recommended I clean the nib and I have noticed that there IS some ink in the circle at the beginning of the split nib (sorry, I don't know proper terminology).

 

Can someone recommend a fix to get the nib flowing? I'm hopeful that this is the issue since my soaking has been in vain so far.

 

Any suggestion are most appreciated. Thank you!

[CS388]

That's a shame. Extended soaking can shift old ink, but it seems not to have done the trick in your case.

 

I guess it's time to buy one of the cleaners available - eg the previously mentioned Rapido-Eze

(No afiliation. Have never used it, myself)

 

The hole at the top of the slit is called the 'breather hole'.

 

When I was messing with my pen, after soaking I put the section to my mouth and blew hard through it, in both directions, many times. However, I should warn you that some members don't recommend this - something to do with oral bacteria reacting with ink to cause fungal growth (in the pen, not the mouth!) - so I must hesitate before recommending this. It worked for me, but at your own risk, if you want - and all that.

 

Sorry that nothing's worked yet. Must be very frustrating. Fingers crossed that the cleaner does the trick.

 

Again, keep us informed. We'll get it working yet!

 

Good luck.

 

Edited to add: If you're 'handy' with technical stuff and fancied dismantling the pen for a thorough cleaning, here's an old thread which has useful information:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/231162-pilot-myu-repair/

Edited February 8, 2014 by CS388

[smoothascactus]

Thank you for the suggestions. I've tried blowing from both sides (not sure exactly where to blow into it from the tip though) and also used an ear syringe to push water and air through. I'm definitely not able to get any air through when I blow from the ink area. If I seal the ear syringe when I place it where the ink would go I"m unable to get any air to go through.

 

I've been soaking with water and ammonia so do you really think Rapido-Eze is going to do the trick? I'll order some but I'm not very hopeful at this point.

 

I also ready about using a brass shim between the nib. Is that something that could work or is my issue definitely in the feed system since I"m not able to force any water or air through the pen?

 

Another option is that I get a refund ($200) from the seller and send the pen back to Japan before trying to purchase another one.

[Dr.Grace]

In my experience, Rapido-eze works better than Ammonia; it is one of the few things that will remove India ink. Still, at times I've had to disassemble pens to clean out hardened stuff from the feed. Yours may be like that. I'd recommend either sending the pen back to the seller or sending it to Dillon Ang. Given the risk and cost of postage to Japan, that might be a better option. He worked on my Myu some years ago.