Inconsistent Flow In A Vintage Skyline

[mariom]

I have recently picked up a very nice Skyline demi which seems to have a very strange flow or dry-out issue. It's a bit hard to describe, but it goes something like this.

 

The pen will write well with a nice wet flow and absolutely no sign of ink starvation or drying out, even when flexing. There's not even any sign of railroading when flexed over a whole line of figure-8s. I can write an entire page without any problems. However, when left for anything from overnight to even a few minutes sometimes (capped of course), it will produce a few dry strokes before stopping entirely. A few taps on the page, and it starts up and keeps going. When it's writing well, I can leave the cap off for minutes at a time without any problems starting up at all.

 

The pen has been re-sacced, the nib and feed removed and cleaned, including all the ink channels in the feed. It looked like it may have had some India ink in it, so i paid particular attention to clearing the channels. There was a bit of a gap between the nib and feed, so I dry-heat set it, and the nib seems to be making good contact with the feed now. I've tried it with a couple of inks - currently my trusty and well behaved Visconti blue - with no difference in behaviour.

 

It's useable and quite a nice writer as it is, but it is annoying. Any ideas what the problem might be?

 

Thanks

Edited December 5, 2016 by mariom

[drop_m]

Since the problems occurs when the pen is capped and not when you write, i suggest you to shift the attention on the cap itself.

Maybe the inner cap is loose and is not able to properly seal the nib when the pen is capped, driving the ink to dry out.

I think we can rule out a problem of the nib/feed/reservoir unit since, as you say, it seems to supply the pen enough ink for flex writing..

[mariom]

 

Since the problems occurs when the pen is capped and not when you write, i suggest you to shift the attention on the cap itself.

Maybe the inner cap is loose and is not able to properly seal the nib when the pen is capped, driving the ink to dry out.

I think we can rule out a problem of the nib/feed/reservoir unit since, as you say, it seems to supply the pen enough ink for flex writing..

 

 

It doesn't seem likely given the pattern of behavior I've seen (it's fine for long periods with the cap off) , but it's certainly worth investigation. I'll try the cap from my other Skyline and see how it goes

[mariom]

 

It doesn't seem likely given the pattern of behavior I've seen (it's fine for long periods with the cap off) , but it's certainly worth investigation. I'll try the cap from my other Skyline and see how it goes

 

Well, the symptoms are exactly the same with the other cap, which caused no problems on its original pen.

 

As another data point, I can also get the pen writing again by pressing the outside curve of the nib flat against the paper, so I suspect it's still a nib/feed contact problem. While the fin structure is different to my other skyline, the shape is the same so I'm pretty sure the feed is original.

[drop_m]

Ok, from your test we can definitely exclude the cap

just speculating:

Strange the part you've said about pressing the outside part of the nib against the paper..

Since you've said you can perform flex writing without problems, seems strange there is a problem in the nib/feed unit but.. maybe you've to heat-set the feed again, have you tried the "sheet of paper" test?

Another suggestion: while reassembling the pen, have you fitted the feed/nib deeply enough in the section?

Little OT: i've seen your photos from the link in your signing.. very amazing work!

[mariom]

 

Ok, from your test we can definitely exclude the cap

just speculating:

Strange the part you've said about pressing the outside part of the nib against the paper..

Since you've said you can perform flex writing without problems, seems strange there is a problem in the nib/feed unit but.. maybe you've to heat-set the feed again, have you tried the "sheet of paper" test?

Another suggestion: while reassembling the pen, have you fitted the feed/nib deeply enough in the section?

Little OT: i've seen your photos from the link in your signing.. very amazing work!

 

 

The amount of nib and feed sticking out of the section looked OK (pretty much identical to my other Skyline which works just fine), but I figured there was ho harm in trying. I pulled the nib and feed, gave them another clean and re-inserted a bit further than previously. Then (ignoring advice to the contrary here), I heated the nib/feed in a cup of boiling water and re-set them, then re-filled with Waterman Blue. The feed - which I assume is hard rubber - does not appear to have suffered any discolouration from its hot bath.

 

It's now 24 hours on, and the signs are good so far with the pen starting up and writing well each time i try. It's too early to say that the problem is solved once and for all, but I'm hopeful.

 

Thanks for the feedback drop_m, and thanks for your kind comments about my photos.

[corgicoupe]

I, too, would comment on the beautiful photos. I particularly liked the bird.

[daljitgroup]

please post the image of that pen also. i would like to see it.

[mariom]

As requested, here's a couple of pictures of the Skyline in question.

 

 

 

Thanks for all the feedback.

[drop_m]

Hope the problem is solved! Glad to be helpful

Concerning setting the nib/feed with boiling water.. well, i've done it on all my ebonite feeds. The discoloration happens when you use water - boiling or cold - on HR which has been exposed to direct sunlight. Since the feed of a pen is generally covered by the cap or by the nib itself while writing, it will not - almost not.. ok - discolorate.
Beware when you do this process on a pen which has HR barrel too. The steam of the almost-boiling water can fade the barrel. Sadly, experienced on one of my pens

Edited December 12, 2016 by drop_m

[mariom]

 

Hope the problem is solved! Glad to be helpful

Concerning setting the nib/feed with boiling water.. well, i've done it on all my ebonite feeds. The discoloration happens when you use water - boiling or cold - on HR which has been exposed to direct sunlight. Since the feed of a pen is generally covered by the cap or by the nib itself while writing, it will not - almost not.. ok - discolorate.

Beware when you do this process on a pen which has HR barrel too. The steam of the almost-boiling water can fade the barrel. Sadly, experienced on one of my pens

 

 

Well, three days after the treatment and there's no sigh of the problem at all. Thanks for your help and suggestions drop_m.

[drop_m]

you're welcome