Nib Dying Of Ink Starvation - How To Turn A Pen Wetter?

[sdbruder]

I was sending a cheapo Jinhao 159 to my father as intro-gift into fountain pens (that Jinhao and 2 bottles of ink), but testing it before sending Ive discovered that initially that pens write well (I think the nib is ok on the dryness-to-wetness aspect), but after a page or so the pen can't keep up and it dries, really dry.

 

If I ‘force’ it with a quick turn of the converter to push ink out, it writes really beautifully for some more time until it dries again.

 

So I think nib-wise Im ok.

 

Ive already tried a second converter, same behavior: initially the original Jinhao converter and in the second attempt a unbranded converter bought locally.

 

Already tried different inks: Nemosine and Diamine, same behavior.

 

How to modify / change the pen to be more ‘wet’? Can I modify the feed? Give it more air flow? What can I do?

Edited December 16, 2017 by sdbruder

[Bluey]

It's caused by an air bubble and it's the reason why I don't bother with any pen that has a narrow nozzle on the converter. Soak the inside of the converter with water and a touch of dishsoap overnight and then it should be fine for a while.

Edited December 16, 2017 by Bluey

[IndigoBOB]

That is reminiscent of my air bubble experiences with jinhao's.

 

I don't like to use Jinhao's without Jowo's.

[Bluey]

That is reminiscent of my air bubble experiences with jinhao's.

 

I don't like to use Jinhao's without Jowo's.

It's nothing to do with the nib or feed. I would much rather use a Jinhao nib than a Jowo because the latter haveproved to be consistently troublesome. Using a Jowo with a standard converter is just asking for trouble.

[DasKaltblut]

Adding an agitator to the converter might also help.

[IndigoBOB]

It's nothing to do with the nib or feed. I would much rather use a Jinhao nib than a Jowo because the latter haveproved to be consistently troublesome. Using a Jowo with a standard converter is just asking for trouble.

 

 

I've had flow problems on jinhaos, changed the nib to a Jowo, and the problem didn't come up again unless it stood nib side up for a while. Jowo's are definitely better quality than what comes with a Jinhao.

 

I haven't found Jowo's to be troublesome at all and I've used them with all sorts of pens and they usually help with the flow. I have read a lot of reports of people having similar flow problems in their Jinhao until they switched to a Jowo. Of course there are other companies that make #6 nibs that can be tried, but I consistently hear about better overall performance from swapping in a Jowo.

 

I'd definitely check the feed and see if the channel wasn't Effed up or make sure there's no residue in it.

 

Since the Converter was already swapped and the problem persists, there's only the Feed and the Nib to troubleshoot and swap out.

[Bluey]

 

 

I've had flow problems on jinhaos, changed the nib to a Jowo, and the problem didn't come up again unless it stood nib side up for a while. Jowo's are definitely better quality than what comes with a Jinhao.

 

I haven't found Jowo's to be troublesome at all and I've used them with all sorts of pens and they usually help with the flow. I have read a lot of reports of people having similar flow problems in their Jinhao until they switched to a Jowo. Of course there are other companies that make #6 nibs that can be tried, but I consistently hear about better overall performance from swapping in a Jowo.

 

I'd definitely check the feed and see if the channel wasn't Effed up or make sure there's no residue in it.

 

Since the Converter was already swapped and the problem persists, there's only the Feed and the Nib to troubleshoot and swap out.

I'm happy for you that you've been lucky to find a Jowo that doesn't have problems, but their nibs are given for free on the back of Cornflake packets they're that bad. Problems with Jinhaos are almost exclusively down to the converters and/or the section and converter not being flushed. Jowo flow issues, whether used with a converter, vac, or piston filler, are commonplace, routine, and expected.

 

The problem isn't caused by any one individual converter, it's caused by the air bubble which is much more likely in the standard converters where the nozzle is so narrow. As I said, it's got nothing to do with the nib or feed.

 

The OP should add some dish soap to warm water, and leave the converter(ensure that the water and dish soap fill the converter) and nib section to leave over night, then rinse with water.

 

 

Adding an agitator to the converter might also help.

+1

Edited December 17, 2017 by Bluey

[IndigoBOB]

I'm happy for you that you've been lucky to find a Jowo that doesn't have problems, but their nibs are given for free on the back of Cornflake packets they're that bad. Problems with Jinhaos are almost exclusively down to the converters and/or the section and converter not being flushed. Jowo flow issues, whether used with a converter, vac, or piston filler, are commonplace, routine, and expected.

 

The problem isn't caused by any one individual converter, it's caused by the air bubble which is much more likely in the standard converters where the nozzle is so narrow. As I said, it's got nothing to do with the nib or feed.

 

The OP should add some dish soap to warm water, and leave the converter(ensure that the water and dish soap fill the converter) and nib section to leave over night, then rinse with water.

 

 

+1

 

That's a bit exaggerated.

 

Franklin-Christoph and Edison pens are very successful and reliable and they use a basic Jowo setup. Jowo's are much better than Jinhao nibs.

 

I'm sorry you had bad experiences, but from my research that is a stark minority. The reviews of people using jowo's are positive for a very high majority. The reviews of Goulet nibs on Gouletpens are filled with people talking about how much the Jowo replacement improves their Jinhao pens.

 

I have heard and read about these types of problems all the time and a Jowo nib helps with flow problems, which would help with bubbles forming in the converter.

 

But like I said, if the troubleshooting has investigated the converter, then move on to the feed, and then the nib and experiment for yourself @sdbruder. If it doesn't work, you got a bum pen, because my Jinhao x450's and x750's work very reliable, and I only use Jowo nibs with them. I have tried the original nibs and the performance and inkflow was shoddy most of the time in comparison.

[Bluey]

I think we'll have to agree to disagree. Jinhaos are designed for people who write with them, Jowo nibs are not.

 

I have heard and read about these types of problems all the time and a Jowo nib helps with flow problems, which would help with bubbles forming in the converter.

 

No they do not and no it will not. A better understanding of how fountain pens work would assist here. This is perhaps why you have seemingly misunderstood the underlying issues in your pens. And consequently you're giving misleading advice to the OP.

Edited December 17, 2017 by Bluey

[sdbruder]

I don’t plan on prying open the converter, I will look into my other pens if I have a converter with an agitator to try on. Meanwhile I will put the current converter into a dishsoap ‘bath’ this night so I can try both options: a converter with an agitator and the bathed converter.

[sdbruder]

Quick Update: the second converter had an agitator, didnt made any difference. Oh well :-/

 

Tomorrow Ill try the bathed converter & nib.

[sdbruder]

Didn’t followed a very scientific approach to my tests (a single change then a test) but it worked in the end:

 

Ive bathed the whole section, feed, nib and both converters in a water & dishsoap solution for the whole night and some part of the day.

It was way better (I think the effect was remains of dishsoap that ended in the ink, I purposely didn’t flushed it all with clean water) but the issue remained somewhat diminished.

 

Tried a radical superwet ink solution: a full converter load of ink and a drop of dishsoap, mixed it all and back into the converter. It was better, again.

 

Then Ive re-examined the NIB: it was too apart.

 

Dried it a little (taken the nib fins closer together) and after some nib aligning it was perfect, Wrote the whole remain of the ink in the converter, failed only when the converter really dried out.

 

Success!

[sdbruder]

anyway this particular pen is solved but the question remains:

 

After we exhausted the nib tuning options, how to turn the pen wetter? Can the feed be modified for example?

[siamackz]

anyway this particular pen is solved but the question remains:

 

After we exhausted the nib tuning options, how to turn the pen wetter? Can the feed be modified for example?

you can cut deeper channels in feeds IF that is the problem. Ive never encountered that problem personally, so I suspect it is rare. But, I have encountered what you described - tines so far apart that the nib is super wet but the flow is so high that the feed cannot keep up after a while and dries up.

[Bluey]

Didn’t followed a very scientific approach to my tests (a single change then a test) but it worked in the end:

 

Ive bathed the whole section, feed, nib and both converters in a water & dishsoap solution for the whole night and some part of the day.

It was way better (I think the effect was remains of dishsoap that ended in the ink, I purposely didn’t flushed it all with clean water) but the issue remained somewhat diminished.

 

Tried a radical superwet ink solution: a full converter load of ink and a drop of dishsoap, mixed it all and back into the converter. It was better, again.

 

Then Ive re-examined the NIB: it was too apart.

 

Dried it a little (taken the nib fins closer together) and after some nib aligning it was perfect, Wrote the whole remain of the ink in the converter, failed only when the converter really dried out.

 

Success!

Perhaps a few pics in the initial post would have made for a quicker diagnosis, but the too-far-apart-tines cause doesn't quite fit your description because it should skip quite noticeably, plus you mention(ie "I think the nib is ok on the dryness-to-wetness aspect") that was not writing overly wet to begin with, which should have been the case. Even hard nibs 'flex' very slightly which should be enough to cause the random skipping.

 

This happened with my Pilot 912 with an FA nib - the tines were too far apart which caused quite a lot of skipping due to ink not being able to rush the large gap in the tines in sufficient quantity to produce a regular supply of ink. Plus it was massively wet, so much so that any ink used caused significant bleed through on the page. The solution in this case was, of course, to close the tines so that the ink supply was more regulated - it now writes perfectly on the wetness to dryness scale and thus with no skipping.

 

The only thing that fits your description is the air bubble in the converter (manufacturing oils in the nib section would have led to skipping).

 

Glad it worked out in the end anyway.

Edited December 18, 2017 by Bluey

[mab52]

I'm late to this thread, but I have discovered that the answer is two-fold. You should flush the plumbing out with dishsoap water. That's the first step and repeated when you clean out the pen for storage. This is so basic. But it's not enough.

 

The answer is to soak the feed. You can pull the feed and soak it which might be better, or you can dip the assembled nib/feed in water. Those plastic vials for ink samples are just perfect for this with many pens, but you might need something wider for very fat pens. Just a half hour soak but longer is OK.

 

I've done this on 992s and X-750s. You might need to repeat this also if the pen hasn't been used in a long time, but you should not blame the nib for an issue with the feed. And it's primarily the feed in contact with the nib that needs to be wet and retain wetness while writing.

Edited January 3, 2018 by mab52