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How To Deal With Extremely Tight Tines


tim77

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Just received a Conklin Yellowstone, and although the pen looks great the stub nib is a #@$%*&.

 

The ink flow through the feed is OK, but the tines are pressed together so tight that nothing at all gets through them. Even tissue paper won't draw any ink through the nib. The tines will open up just enough for a little bit of ink to reach the paper if I press down fairly hard, but at this point I'm starting to tear into the paper.

 

Previously I've solved this sort of problem by pushing a brass shim between the tines, as suggested by many people on this forum. On those occasions the pressure point was near the tip and bending the tines outwards wasn't too difficult.

 

This time the pressure point is right at the breather hole, where the metal is wider and less flexible. The shim doesn't seem to be doing much.

 

Any ideas for nib adjustment welcome! Although the pen is brand new, international shipping being what it is, I'd rather solve this myself. Thanks everybody.

 

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On an inexpensive steel nib, I'd go to town.

* Use the thickest shim you can drive in through the breather hole. Press it from side to side to force the tines apart down their whole length.

* Grab the shoulders of the nib from underneath their corners and pull up, pressing down on the centre of the nib. This will also splay the tines.

* Press really hard on the paper as you pull a downstroke. Repeat.

 

I had a PenBBS that wrote incredibly, awfully dry. These three brute-force methods were the only things that fixed it. Doing anything gently got no results at all.

 

Of course, I was only willing to be rough because it was an inexpensive pen.

Anthony

ukfountainpens.com

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Righty-ho. Time to break out the angle-grinder and cold chisel.

 

In the end I used a pen-knife (ha! geddit?) to push the tines apart, and a whetstone to reshape the nib tip. Pretty uncouth treatment for a fountain pen, but it *is* writing pretty well now. After a few days of writing I'll refinish the nib with a finer whetstone.

 

Thanks for the brute-force recommendation. That's certainly what it needed.

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Don't know who the seller was, but there is a possibility that they will send you just a replacement nib. I think it's worth contacting them to find out. Unfortunately, Conklin nibs are problematic. I'm surprised that since so many have issues that reputable sellers continue to carry this brand.

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I'd go thin shim first.

Take your fingernails placing them under the shoulders of the nib, and 'think' about pulling the nib wider....very little movement.

In it is easier to widen than to make it narrow again.Do that minimum movement two to three times, instead of wrenching the tines apart.

 

To narrow, press the shoulders towards each other....if that don't work press the nib tip under the other in both directions.

 

The few times I've widened a nib slit, I used a shim....the narrowest of the two I have, or my thumbnails.

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.

 

 

 

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The closer I looked at this nib, the more problems I found:

 

- The tines were misaligned at the breather hole, preventing the nib contacting the feed properly.

- The tines were different lengths, preventing the slit from contacting the paper.

- The slit cut stopped just short of the breather hole, leaving a burr on both tines which got in the way of nib adjustment.

- The crescent shape of the breather hole makes it very awkward to align the tines such that the slit tapers towards the nib point. Even if the pen is writing OK, that means the slit can dry out and make it difficult to restart the ink flow.

 

Purchased from Ama*on, so no chance of any customer support beyond returning the whole pen (which is hassle, and a lot less interesting than learning to fix it myself).

 

It took a few iterations with pliers, a needle file and a fine grinding stone to get it writing smoothly *and* prevent hard-starts.

 

If I decide just to swap the nib, I have a spare #6 Bock nib which is the right size but is just slightly loose in the Conklin nib housing. Any ideas on de-loosening a nib? A spot of beeswax between the nib and the housing, perhaps?

Edited by tim77
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