Ink Flow Problem ? Parker 45

[hood]

... I've heard mention that the 45 has a collector, somewhat like the P51 that is glued into place...

 

I've posted a picture of one here if you'd like to see what they look like.

 

... I've left the section (which contains the collector) soaking overnight, and ink is still coming out of it in the morning.

 

I seem to keep soaking for days with these and changing the water find it's still turning blue! Those collectors are certainly effective little blighters!

 

 

[honza]

Ultrasonic cleaner in this case speeds up the cleaning process from days to mere minutes. In fact, I always considered my P45s very easy to clean. P51 with dried (probably) Superchrome ink was more of a challenge

[hood]

Indeed, but I usually can't be bothered to get the ultrasonic cleaner out for a simple flush, it takes me less effort to just dunk the section in a bowl and swill the water for a couple of days when I go past But yes, P45s are relatively easy to clean once in good order.

[OcalaFlGuy]

One cleaning ago on the Red Arrow was with the converter ink glued in. Somewhat a PIA.

 

Yesterday I just tossed it in the soaking jigger for a couple hrs. Then got the converter out.

 

They clean much faster when you can ear bulb flush the section and syringe flush the converter.

 

Easy Peasy then.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Dr_P]

The 45 is an extraordinary pen. Very reliable, easy to clean, with a great nib, nice grip, etc. I have several ones, including one that did high school and engineering school (undergraduate and graduate) and I still use it. Some are a little bit drier some others wetter.

 

Considering that this post is about flow, my question is how do you adjust flow in a 45? (Without changing ink, nibs or other components).

 

I read posts and classifieds about "nib was adjusted for flow", but how do you do that?

 

Thanks

 

Claudio

[ac12]

 

 

Considering that this post is about flow, my question is how do you adjust flow in a 45? (Without changing ink, nibs or other components).

I read posts and classifieds about "nib was adjusted for flow", but how do you do that?

Thanks

Claudio

 

See post #9 above

[pajaro]

The best 45 I have is one with a medium nib made into a cursive italic by Pendemonium. The rest of them give me the trouble you have. I have to clean the fine ones out before each use, and then the ink flow is stingy. I love the style of the 45, though. Mediums flow better. You can find nibs on ebay and other sources.

[Dr_P]

 

 

See post #9 above

Thank you for the answer. I had already read post #9 when I asked the question, because I didn't find it clear. At the beginning you say that you have to "widen the slit in the nib" but later you say that you "pulled the wings upward".

 

Obviously I not reading clearly into this. Pulling up the wings means bending the nib upward, and thus, separating it from the feed. More ink should fill in a bigger gap making the pen wetter. Am I right? But "widening the slit" means opening the "cut" that the nib has at the front, so ... spreading the wings of the nib apart??

 

Claudio

[OcalaFlGuy]

I thought the post from Richard has you with the nib top touching the work surface, point forward, feed up.

 

Nib inverted. (Thunderbirds, Roll!)

 

When you lightly press down on the wings of the nib, that in turn opens up the space in the tines.

 

The secret is opening it enough to help the flow but not too much to change the way the tines meet at the front.

 

Your Widening of the slit can also mean by forcing something between the tines to open the gap up. Effective but

much more risky to the unknowledgeable that the pushing the wings method.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[ac12]

OK I have a 45 nib in front of me.

 

When you pull the wings out, I am pulling on the outer corner of the nib at the widest point of the nib just before it starts to taper to the tip, not the tines themself. This has the effect of opening up the slit between the tines.

 

I figure there are at least 3 ways to do this.

 

#1 as Bruce said, lay the nib down inverted (wings up), and push the wings down, CAREFULLY. You are pushing the wings/shoulder of the nib outward. This causes the slit to open up. I think this is an easier method than what I did.

 

#2 slight modification of what Bruce said. Lay the nib down (with the wings on the table) and push the top of the nib down, CAREFULLY. You are pushing the wings/shoulder of the nib onto the table and pushing it outward. This causes the slit to open up. I think this is an easier method than what I did.

 

#3 (mine) is to hold the nib in your hand, thumb on top of the nib, finger nail of your index finger under both wing. Then pull the wings up, while pushing down with your thumb.

 

I think #1 and #2 is easier to do than my method.

Thanks Bruce.

 

You WILL get ink all over your fingers when you are doing this. Because you have to reassemble the nib assembly to test and disassemble it to adjust. So wear latex gloves, or be prepared to SCRUB your fingers when you are done.

Edited March 18, 2015 by ac12

[farmdogfan]

I did´nt see this thread before now, so i´m a little late with my input.

 

I´m the one who gave Armand.d the pens , i tested it before i did send it and it wrote beautifully and smoothly, but i did use a squeeze converter, so i think that is where the problem is.

 

I´m sure that it would work perfectly if Armand used the right squeeze converter.

Edited March 18, 2015 by farmdogfan

[Dr_P]

Ohhh OK. Now I got it. Exactly perpendicular to what I was thinking

 

Now it makes a lot of sense. Thank you guys (Bruce and Richard-AC12)

 

Richard, I noticed that you wrote "carefully" in capital letters, twice in your message. I assume that you talked to my wife and she said that subtle is not my thing when repairing things, right?

 

Cheers.

 

Claudio

[ac12]

CAREFULLY, because it is VERY easy to overdo it, and get the slit too wide. Then you have to close the slit down. Adjusting a nib slit is a very imprecise process, and there is a LOT of trial and error, as you narrow in to the desired ink flow. And if you have never done this before, you don't know how much to adjust. And even if you have done it before, the same nib slit gap on 2 different pens could/will give you 2 different ink flows.

 

I use a set of brass sheets (0.001, 0.002 and 0.003 inch thick) as a feeler guage, to tell me the spacing between the tips. That makes it easier to adjust as I am not totally blind when I make my adjustments.

[Dr_P]

I'm not actually planning to do it, as I am very happy with my 45s, but I can appreciate that is a very delicate process. I would say that the chances of ruining the nib are not small.

 

The brass sheets is a bery good tip.

 

Thanks again.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Look at it this way.

 

You can unscrew the nib section and have the bare nib in your hand with no tools in less than 30 seconds.

 

A 45 nib separated would be in a pretty easy to work with position.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[corgicoupe]

Ultrasonic cleaner in this case speeds up the cleaning process from days to mere minutes. In fact, I always considered my P45s very easy to clean. P51 with dried (probably) Superchrome ink was more of a challenge

I am in agreement about the ultrasonic cleaners. Harbor Freight has a small one that you can get for under $30 with the 20% discount coupon in many magazines. It really does speed up the cleaning process.

[tryphon]

The 45 is an extraordinary pen. Very reliable, easy to clean, with a great nib, nice grip, etc. I have several ones, including one that did high school and engineering school (undergraduate and graduate) and I still use it. Some are a little bit drier some others wetter.

 

Considering that this post is about flow, my question is how do you adjust flow in a 45? (Without changing ink, nibs or other components).

 

I read posts and classifieds about "nib was adjusted for flow", but how do you do that?

 

Thanks

 

Claudio

 

It's all explained here:

 

 

 

http://www.newpentrace.net/articleGA04.html

 

 

Ciao,

 

Giovanni

[Dr_P]

Grazie Giovanni. Molto interessante.

 

Claudio

[tryphon]

Grazie Giovanni. Molto interessante.

 

Claudio

Di nulla! Ciao!

[Armand.D]

 

In college I used a F nib in my P45s.

This was for 3 reasons.

1 - I had small handwriting, such that the F nib matched my writing size.

2 - the thin ink line let me fit more writing on a line, so I could write more on a page

3 - the F nib used less ink than a wider M nib, so my ink lasted longer

 

Personally, I see no difference in using a stainless steel or gold nib in a P45. The nib is so short and supported that the nib really can't flex. The other is, for note taking in school, I want a HARD nib. A nib that flexes or is springy will just get in the way of fast note taking.

 

As for the Esterbrook nibs.

• Unfortunately, the Esterbrook quality control was not very good. I have an Esterbrook M and F nibs that write almost identical ink lines. I also have M nibs where you could can clearly see that the tip size is smaller than other M nibs, and similar to the F nibs. But you can't really do much about it, unless you are able to pick the nib that you want out of many nibs.
• All the Esterbrook nibs that I have tried (so far) are a bit wet, so a wet F could put down a wider ink line and look like a dry M nib. Because of the ink flow, my Esterbrook F writes wider than my Lamy M nib. But then again my Lamy M nib seem narrower than I think an M nib should be. I have not measured the width of my Lamy M nib yet.
• Unless you know you have a new nib, you need to SOAK the nib (tip down) overnight, to clean out the old dry ink from inside the nib assembly.

 

Thank you for your answer.

From what you're saying I should stay away from esterbrooks unless I have a lot of nibs to test, testing other pens and inks I saw that what people call "western medium" can varies a lot from the ink/brand.

 

Actually for now my Safari Fine is the one that is doing the best for me about line width and flow, it's buttery smooth with my Noodler's ink that is more wet than dry imho (even if FD).

I have tested pilot medium nibs (="F"), and with the same ink it is too fin for me, and more difficult to write fast, so everything is relative..

 

In fact, I am currently experimenting in the sub <50€ pen range, A little confused about my next pen choice, maybe above these ?

What are the pens known for their great "out-of the box" experience ..