Jump to content

Ink Flow Adjustment-Service Recommendations


tisquinn

Recommended Posts

Hi all,

 

I have a montblanc 149 that is need of ink flow adjustment. It was a gift with a lot of sentimental value, but I find it writes far too dryly, and for some reason only just had the realization that I should just just fix it! I would do it myself if it were any other pen, but because of its history and cost I am too nervous to try it myself, as I've never needed to adjust any of my other nibs. Any advice on someone I could send it to for a quick flow adjustment who won't take too much more than a month? I am thinking of taking it to my local shop (Bromfield pens), but I've never had work done by them. Any recommendations? I am guessing with a job this simple, almost anyone competent would be fine, but I am not among them :(

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 6
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Bo Bo Olson

    2

  • tisquinn

    2

  • Driften

    1

  • sansenri

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

Hi all,

 

I have a montblanc 149 that is need of ink flow adjustment. It was a gift with a lot of sentimental value, but I find it writes far too dryly, and for some reason only just had the realization that I should just just fix it! I would do it myself if it were any other pen, but because of its history and cost I am too nervous to try it myself, as I've never needed to adjust any of my other nibs. Any advice on someone I could send it to for a quick flow adjustment who won't take too much more than a month? I am thinking of taking it to my local shop (Bromfield pens), but I've never had work done by them. Any recommendations? I am guessing with a job this simple, almost anyone competent would be fine, but I am not among them :(

 

Thanks!

Contact Jim Baer at www.BostonPenPeople.org

BPP also has meetings in Somerville..........MA

Fred

Edited by Freddy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the pen in unused condition? If it was inked before you might need to soak the nib in pen flush. I bought a used 149 and I had to soak it overnight for it to not be so dry. It had looked clean but the pen flush soak removed a lot of old ink that flushing with water didn't show. Heck just a quick clean with pen flush didn't show much as well but the overnight soak dissolved old dry ink.

 

If it's new, I found on one NOS MB I had it took at least one fill of use before it adjusted it's self to be nice and wet. I had flushed it with water and tried a couple of inks and was still too dry but then all of a sudden it started writing wet. It just needed a break-in period. I have had other non-mb's that got wetter after using up a couple of fills of ink. Maybe it was flushing out oils or something. I don't know. It was before I bought pen flush or had learned to try a drop of dish soap for first cleaning.

 

Also I would try those before adjusting it wetter, or you may find it could get too wet later after the adjustment has been in place for a while.

Edited by Driften
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the leads! Driften, I have had it and used it for a few years now. I soak it in a pen flush whenever changing colors. At this point, I'm fairly sure the tines need just a little more separation. I haven't bothered before because, for some bizarre reason, the thought of _adjusting_ a pen that I'd already been using had never crossed my mind!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take thumbnails, place under the shoulder,press apart so slightly you are only thinking about pressing apart.Look to see that there is a very small movement.

Check.

If not wet enough, do it again. Check.

By the time you do it a third time, it should be wetter........if you have to do so! Twice could well be enough.

 

If you pressed too wide, take thumbs placed on the shoulder and press the tines together enough that one is under the other. That should tighten it up again.

 

Go slow.

 

What ink are you using, perhaps all you need is a wetter ink. Waterman Blue is a fairly wet ink, as in DA Royal Blue.

 

Some Noodler inks are so wet that the users of them say Waterman is a dry ink.

There is of course dryer two toned Noodler shading inks. So do go into Ink Reviews or ask in either that or Inky Thoughts.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When any of my pens either new or second hand that I get show this issue, and after cleaning soaking etc. makes no changes, I run a piece of old photographic film between the tines. It's a very mild approach to tine separation (the film is thin so the separation is moderate) and the film is a softer material than using a sheet of brass so even if you are not expert it is very unlikely that you will do any damage at all.

You may need to repeat the treatment several times, but you will note gradual improvement when the issue is caused by tight tines.

At first it's not simple to push the edge of the film between the tines at the tip of the nib, but few attempts usually work.

 

Also, do it with the pen inked, so you can test result between first try and the next. You will get your fingers dirty but that's normal with FPs...

Edited by sansenri
Link to comment
Share on other sites

:thumbup: Fine post.

 

That is a real safe way of doing things.

 

 

Dam...got to get an old negative................didn't save any when I had a chance. :headsmack:

Got to ask my wife to keep her eye out, but think she just junked the old junk.

Called the wife, who says she'd got lots of them left.................the problem is I don't need them....but will stick one in my pen 'repair' box just in case.

 

I have wet and dry inks.

 

There is one pen.....hummm, being inlaid it can not be adjusted by pulling tines apart. :)...................sigh that means I got to ink it, and I was trying to get down to five pens inked in stead of 17 so I could use up some ink.

 

I had bought my first wet ink, Waterman....was considered wet ink back before Noodlers, just for that pen....worked just fine.

I later replaced Waterman Blue with DA Royal blue....a tad more lubricated, a tad darker.

 

There is a difference slight between lubrication and wetness............... :rolleyes: :blush: Have to look that up.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...