? For (Modern) Onoto Users...

[markh]

I just traded for an "Onoto the pen" Henry Simpole overlay pen. I think the model is a Magna. It's a plunger (vacuum) filler, not a cart/conv fill.

 

AFAIK, the pen was new/unused.

 

The pen fills and works, but has a few quirks and I would like to hear from other users if theirs has any problems.

 

1. For one, when I uncap the pen there is sometimes ink on the section. I have unscrewed the section and coated the threads with silicone grease, and also unscrewed the nib and coated both the section, and the top (where the nib "cup" that the feed and nib fit into) contacts the section.

 

Still waiting to see if this fixes the problem. I think ink may have been infiltrating between the outside of the nib "cup" and the inside of the section, but that's just a guess.

 

2. One time I had ink leak out the back, when I left the pen nib up and the cutoff not screwed in. Trying things out, I noticed that when I filled the pen there was a slight amount of ink on the fill post (that comes out of the pen to fill) when it was up. I'm hoping that always keeping the cutoff closed when the pen isn't being used will cure this. I coated the post with silicone also.

 

I noticed that the instructional video on the Onoto web site says open the cutoff only 1/2 to 3/4 turn. I was opening it 1 1/2 to 2 turns, as I have done with Namiki pens, but perhaps this is too much.

 

Not counting the ink where it shouldn't be, the pen fills and writes very nicely.

 

Comments or advice from other users is requested.

 

The classic black with Simpole overlay is sure beautiful.....

 

 

 

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Edited February 21, 2016 by markh

[hari317]

When you uncap a pen rapidly and the cap was well fitting to begin with and was not equipped with an appropriate breathing arrangement, ink can be sucked out of the section.

 

There should be no ink on the plunger shaft, indicates a failed rear seal.

 

Seek competent repair.

[Custom Pen Parts]

In my experience with Onoto plunger pens back seal failure always results in the vacuum being compromised. In your pen this has not happened so i would put the presence of ink on the plunger rod down to the pen not being used for a long time. Apply a smear of silicone light grease on the rod, work it a few times and this should solve the problem.

[markh]

In my experience with Onoto plunger pens back seal failure always results in the vacuum being compromised. In your pen this has not happened so i would put the presence of ink on the plunger rod down to the pen not being used for a long time. Apply a smear of silicone light grease on the rod, work it a few times and this should solve the problem.

 

 

This makes sense. The pen seems to fill/empty fine. But when I pull up the filler, it is coated with a very small, tiny amount of ink. If I wipe that off, and then push the plunger down the pen fills - with a lot of ink. So the silicone seems to be helping. This is a new (modern) pen - I would guess it had never been used.

 

I have siliconed everything. Where the section screws into the body. Where the nib "cup" screws into the section (both ends - the threads, and the front) . The fill post. And the threads on the back end where the blind cap screws in. The silicone seems to have eliminated just about all the ink where it doesn't belong.

 

The trick seems to be in limiting how much I open the flow valve to only the 1/2 to 3/4 turn recommended on the the Onoto web site. When I originally used the pen, I opened up about 2 or more turns, which is what I would do on a Namiki pen.

 

But if I limit the opening, the back cap is still fully threaded, so a slight amount of ink on the post can't go anywhere.

 

This may be the best this pen gets - it's fully usable, and I can live with the slight amount of ink where it doesn't belong by wiping it off (I have to wipe off the nib after filling anyway.) Not to mention I think the company is out of business or suspended - I have no idea who could fix this pen if it really didn't work.

 

That's the problem with buying a really cool pen (and really beautiful Simpole sterling overlay) without considering long term repair issues. Stick to BIC ballpoints and repair issues disappear

 

 

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