Namisu Ixion On Kickstarter

[Bill P]

I have TWO Namisu Fountain Pens, purchased in 12/17...

 

Both have Bock Titanium nibs, and both came with a Schmidt K5 converter.

 

I am waiting (forever) for a Xion, but similarly mine should come with a Bock titanium nib, and a Schmidt K5 converter .

 

I have never heard of Bock nib assemblies needing a Bock converter, or a Bock nib assembly having some sort of special requirements...

 

To my knowledge the Bock nib assemblies take an "international converter"...or at least a Schmidt K5...

 

Also, I have never heard of a Bock converter...

[woleizihan]

I think I was wrong and you are correct. It's indeed Bock housing because I just took it out and compare it with another Bock I have. However, it's true that the Bexley converter does not fit. I just assumed that the Bexley nib unit is Bock but they are apparently different.

Edited February 6, 2018 by woleizihan

[garyc]

 

Before you go to the micromesh, I'd suggest trying the following:

 

(1) Check the tines with a jeweller's loupe, or whatever magnifying equipment you have, to ensure they're aligned - slight misalignments can be easily adjusted by hand (forgive me if you know this already - it's good general advice for less experienced players either way).

(2) Try flushing the nib assembly with water (I don't usually bother with detergent, too fiddly!), and re-ink - in case there's any detritus caught in the ink channel etc.

(3) Check to make sure the tines aren't too tight.

 

IMHO, every nib should be checked by the pen manufacturer before they ship it in one of their pens - I know Goulet Pens do this, and even Lamy's mass-produced "cheapies" (relatively speaking) are at least machine-tested before they leave the factory. Maybe that's the price we pay for backing Kickstarter projects - but it gives manufacturers like Namisu a bad name, and that can be a real bear to overcome.

I checked it under a microscope at work and the tines were slightly misaligned, which I corrected and there was a slight improvement in that most of the scratchiness has gone - but it still had a tendency to completely dry up. I then flushed the section thoroughly with water and re-assembled and after a while the flow was much improved - too much in fact so I did slacken off the piston in the converter - and the skipping returned intermittently. A repeat of the 'abcd' test showed it would skip a letter or fraction of a letter about 1 in every 6 groups. Looking at the tipping under the microscope, I think there is some evidence of baby's bottom, which may account for the occasional skips, so I think the Micromesh should clear that up.

[garyc]

I think I was wrong and you are correct. It's indeed Bock housing because I just took it out and compare it with another Bock I have. However, it's true that the Bexley converter does not fit. I just assumed that the Bexley nib unit is Bock but they are apparently different.

I can verify that too, as I was checking the Beaufort inks website pictures against the nib unit when I unscrewed it and the Ixion has the regular Bock (not the so-called 'kit') housings.

[Bill P]

I think I was wrong and you are correct. It's indeed Bock housing because I just took it out and compare it with another Bock I have. However, it's true that the Bexley converter does not fit. I just assumed that the Bexley nib unit is Bock but they are apparently different.

Bexley does not have their own converter....they supply a Schmidt K5....same converter as used in the Boch or Jowo nib assemblies.

 

Bexley has in the past used Jowo nibs with a Bock feed and housing. I also believe that Bexley sometimes uses a custom thread on the housings...to my knowledge all Bexley C/C Fountain pens take an International converter, such as the Schmidt K5

[woleizihan]

Bexley does not have their own converter....they supply a Schmidt K5....same converter as used in the Boch or Jowo nib assemblies.

 

Bexley has in the past used Jowo nibs with a Bock feed and housing. I also believe that Bexley sometimes uses a custom thread on the housings...to my knowledge all Bexley C/C Fountain pens take an International converter, such as the Schmidt K5

 

That was what I believed until I figured out the Bexley converter did not work for my Delta pens, which use Schmidt nib. That's when I started to believe Bock and Schmidt have different converters. It's really wierd because the nipple on my Bexley nib units are significantly larger than that of the Bock units, visible by my eyes. The same converter works for all these Bexley pens and all the Jowo units but not for the Schmidt pens. And I can't even force the Schmidt converter to work for Bexley pens even if I push it hard.

[jjlax10]

I checked it under a microscope at work and the tines were slightly misaligned, which I corrected and there was a slight improvement in that most of the scratchiness has gone - but it still had a tendency to completely dry up. I then flushed the section thoroughly with water and re-assembled and after a while the flow was much improved - too much in fact so I did slacken off the piston in the converter - and the skipping returned intermittently. A repeat of the 'abcd' test showed it would skip a letter or fraction of a letter about 1 in every 6 groups. Looking at the tipping under the microscope, I think there is some evidence of baby's bottom, which may account for the occasional skips, so I think the Micromesh should clear that up.

Are you saying that it flowed properly and you did something with the converter to reduce the flow? What do you mean by slacken off?

 

Flow is often affected by the space between the tines and the ability of the feed to keep up with the nib. Baby's bottom occurs sometimes, but often it is another cause. But if the flow was heavy you probably need to reverse what you did and start from there.

Edited February 6, 2018 by jjlax10

[garyc]

Are you saying that it flowed properly and you did something with the converter to reduce the flow? What do you mean by slacken off?

 

Flow is often affected by the space between the tines and the ability of the feed to keep up with the nib. Baby's bottom occurs sometimes, but often it is another cause. But if the flow was heavy you probably need to reverse what you did and start from there.

The feed had been ‘over primed’ if you like. I had flushed by just taking the converter off and running the section under the tap (yes I know it’s better if you use the converter to suck/blow through the converter but I was short of time and didn’t want to lose a converter full of ink). After that I re-attached the converter and primed the feed by a few turns on the converter. That left the feed quite full off ink. I just turned the converter a little in the opposite direction to pull some ink back.

 

So far I haven’t done anything apart from correcting a small tine mis-alignment and flush the section. I could see a continuous line of ink between the tines under the microscope all the way to the tip. I think the problem is just with the last leg from tip to paper. I have other Bock units (Nova and Orion and Karas Kustom) and none had these problems.

[gillum51]

to Namisu's credit, they got back to me pretty quickly with the suggestion that has been mentioned here. I did not realize that the nib and feed could be removed from the sleeve. i have done this and adjusted the feed and nib. i also flushed the whole thing out with water. that has helped the problem some, but not completely. i will continue to work with the nib some more, but i am encouraged that the maker got back with me so quickly and has offered to replace the nib should the problem not go away. So they are standing behind their pens and that says a lot about them in my opinion. i'll give the nib a couple of more days ( I have something tomorrow which will require a lot of note taking) and if things aren't what they should be, i will take them up on their offer of a new nib.

[garyc]

After spending a couple of minutes with 6000 and 8000 grit Micromesh the nib is now nicely smooth and the occasional skips have gone. The pen is now writing as it should and on a Rhodia dot pad it gives a properly fine line (unlike my cheap work notepad which spreads it to a M). I think I will enjoy the pen for a week or two before inking up my brass EF though.

[Phil_Dart]

Bock? Bexley? Schmidt? Blimey. If someone puts up a photo of the Ixion housing and the converter, I'll see if I can tell you what they are.

[AlexLeGrande]

My shipping notice arrived this morning. Keeping my ink-stained fingers crossed.

Edited February 7, 2018 by AlexLeGrande

[crahptacular]

Received mine today (all brass version). Pen is reasonably well-made, though the threading, as others have mentioned, isn't perfect--mine squeaks slightly when screwing the section to the barrel, though it doesn't feel rough. The titanium EF nib unit it came with is not great, however. The tines look misaligned to the naked eye (I'll have to find time later to get a loupe out) and the pen leaks terribly if held nib-down for longer than five seconds. Haven't done any adjusting or maintenance besides flushing the nib before inking, but even though I'm pretty sure it'll be easy to fix, it's a pretty disappointing result for such a long wait. I've yet to try the steel nib that came with the pen.

 

Overall I'm happy with the design and relatively satisfied with the construction, but disappointed by the lack of QC on the nib.

[SpecTP]

My Ixion's arrived today. One blue Aluminum and one Titanium. The Aluminum is excellent. The Titanium squeaks and the thread inside the cap has a dangling cut of thread. I'll be talking to Namisu about it.

[jjlax10]

I just got the shipping notification, and although I am in the US, it looks like the package was dispatched in the UK.

[TinyTim]

My Ixion's arrived today. One blue Aluminum and one Titanium. The Aluminum is excellent. The Titanium squeaks and the thread inside the cap has a dangling cut of thread. I'll be talking to Namisu about it.

Did you get any response specTP. I was going to ask if any lubricant around the screws would help smoother it ? Even I have same issue but I think better to live with it.

 

I actually have another issue am trying to find a clip or rolling stop for it. It keeps rolling on my desk and it will roll of one day.

 

Any suggestions ?

[woleizihan]

I don't think lubricant is a very good solution because whatever you use will potentially stick on the nib and get on your fingers. Slightly filing down the threads may be a better way. I have tried this on several Rangas with good results. But it's titanium so it's harder to file down and I also can't imagine how it will help the dangling cut.

[gillum51]

despite my best efforts, the steel nib on mine is essentially unusable. i have requested a new nib from Namisu and hope it arrives soon. unfortunate that this happened, but if they make it right i will be satisfied.

[GranTorino25]

I managed to get three really good nibs- a medium, broad, and titanium fine (which is really nice!!).

 

The brass pen is heavier than I though, but I quite like it, just not for extended sessions!!

[SpecTP]

Did you get any response specTP. I was going to ask if any lubricant around the screws would help smoother it ? Even I have same issue but I think better to live with it.

 

I actually have another issue am trying to find a clip or rolling stop for it. It keeps rolling on my desk and it will roll of one day.

 

Any suggestions ?

I have sent direct email and DM via KS. no response thus far.