Vac700 Leaking Around The Section Ring.

October 27, 2017

I've been running Noodler's HoD in my Vac 700, and love the combination, but I've noticed some leaking around the section ring. I've pulled the nib unit, and the O ring is fully seated, and the nib unit is properly tight. There is no looseness, and gently trying to tighten the nib unit further shows it's fully down.

It currently is using a Goulet 1.1mm stub, but the problem has been present since before with the stock nib, and has not worsened. The feed holder tube did break a while back, but has been replaced.

What do I do to remedy this? Should I pack the ring with silicone? Ask TWSBI for a replacement nib unit? Replace the O ring?

October 27, 2017

Better to contact TWSBI customer service. Meanwhile you can apply silicone gel to section threads.

October 30, 2017

I did, and Philip is sending a replacement feeder tube. I don't think that's it. I need to get some clear silicone grease from the hardware store.

What size gaskets does this thing use? The gasket on the plunger end that is visible when you disassemble it is starting to show its age.

November 13, 2017

Silicon grease is required, the O ring itself isn't spectacular in fitment.

Your problem should go away with greasing the threads - silicon grease is hands down the most important tool for pen maintenance. Your TWSBI actually came with a stupid, nearly useless bottle of liquid silicon, you can use that in the meantime, but the bottle is awful and liquid silicon is messy and dumb.

Get some real grease and apply it to everything that should be moving or sealed on every pen you own regularly. It's also a godsend for a VAC plunger that isn't sealing great and the Vac rod itself needs to be greased regularly to stay smooth. It's a very grease-intensive pen (but thankfully easy to disassemble, unlike a visconti power filler that requires you to just grease the rod and hope it is good enough)

That said, TWSBI isn't immune to manufacturing defects, but getting Philip to actually do his job and replace a defective product is like pulling teeth. I hate that guy so much, he has almost single-handedly turned me off of TWSBI. Apart from replacing my stolen custom gold nib VAC700R, I'm likely not going to buy another TWSBI for a long, long time because of him.

Edited November 13, 2017 by Honeybadgers