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Crusty Nib Within Hours Of Filling


Ciliegia

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Thanks, everyone for your input and wisdom - I've learned such a lot from this thread, from how to take better pictures on a smart phone, to what inks to avoid. I have lots to think about.

I've done some exhaustive research over the past 24 hours, and I believe my pen is a Grifos pen ( https://grifos-pens.it). Grifos is not a make that I'm familiar with. Mine is the one called 'Penna Stilographica Vitis Vinifera'.

 

I hope this information is useful!

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Edited by Ciliegia
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Pretty pen! Vitis vinifera is the common grape vine, so I assume the wood might be from an old wine barrel. There were several Italian pens made like that, usually special editions. What's written on the cap band?

 

Since it's a c/c pen you might try a standard international cartridge to see if the nib creep is due to a faulty converter. That's easy and cheap to check.

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It's a lovely pen.

 

The convertor is cheap & easy to replace.

 

If there''s still an issue - drop the firm an e-mail, They might have some suggestions.

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Pretty pen! Vitis vinifera is the common grape vine, so I assume the wood might be from an old wine barrel. There were several Italian pens made like that, usually special editions. What's written on the cap band?

 

Yes, the vendor told my parents it was made from an old wine barrel....

 

The writing around the middle band says 'Nulla die sine linea' (never a day without a line).

 

I've tried a couple of convertors, but it might be worth trying another one, just in case that's the simple solution.

 

Thank you!

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I've been using MB le petite prince red fox ink and have not encountered nib crud, even after not using the pen for weeks at a time. It's similar to the colors that you like.

 

Thank you - I've not come across that before. I'll check it out....thank you!

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Yes, the vendor told my parents it was made from an old wine barrel....

 

The writing around the middle band says 'Nulla die sine linea' (never a day without a line).

 

I've tried a couple of convertors, but it might be worth trying another one, just in case that's the simple solution.

 

Thank you!

 

I'd suggest not to try another converter but really a standard cartridge. The reason is that the latter has a more flexible neck than any converter. If there is any defect on the nipple connecting the feed with the ink reservoir, you wouldn't find out by replacing one converter by another. The cartridge is like the gold standard because it must fit any pen regardless of the manufacturer.

 

Could you post close-ups of the nib and the feed, top, bottom, and side view? Chances are not too good, but nevertheless, I might be able to see something to pinpoint the problem.

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Could you post close-ups of the nib and the feed, top, bottom, and side view? Chances are not too good, but nevertheless, I might be able to see something to pinpoint the problem.

Yes, I'll post pictures after work tonight - thank you.

 

I have noticed that the clogging is reduced with a standard cartridge, but often still evident. That said, many of my cartridges are colours from the red/orange spectrum.

 

I inked it late yesterday evening with Diamine Imperial Purple and it didn't crust overnight, although it had a hard start this morning.

 

Tonight I'll try it with a standard black (Visconti) cartridge and see how it performs...

 

I really appreciate everyone's time and suggestions.

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I inked it late yesterday evening with Diamine Imperial Purple and it didn't crust overnight, although it had a hard start this morning.

 

 

That suggests there is non-trivial evaporation of ink when your pen is capped. I find it's a common issue in fountain pens with wooden bodies, even those with a plastic inner cap, including on the rather expensive Platinum #3776 Century briar pens that are expressly marketed as being extremely resistant to ink drying on/through the nib when capped. The only wooden pen I have that seems immune to that problem is a Pilot Custom Kaede, which is not made of pure wood but "resin-impregnated" maple.

 

Red and orange inks are apt to form nib crud when the cap doesn't seal the nib and feed well. It has relatively little to do with your particular ink of choice (as in, say, Diamine instead of Caran d'Ache) or your particular pen; your apparent preference for putting red/orange inks in that pen simply fits a much broader pattern in which the problem arises.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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That suggests there is non-trivial evaporation of ink when your pen is capped. I find it's a common issue in fountain pens with wooden bodies, even those with a plastic inner cap, including on the rather expensive Platinum #3776 Century briar pens that are expressly marketed as being extremely resistant to ink drying on/through the nib when capped. The only wooden pen I have that seems immune to that problem is a Pilot Custom Kaede, which is not made of pure wood but "resin-impregnated" maple.

 

Red and orange inks are apt to form nib crud when the cap doesn't seal the nib and feed well. It has relatively little to do with your particular ink of choice (as in, say, Diamine instead of Caran d'Ache) or your particular pen; your apparent preference for putting red/orange inks in that pen simply fits a much broader pattern in which the problem arises.

 

 

I did wonder if it was due to the porous nature of the wood, especially as my cap isn't plastic lined. This is my only wooden pen, so it's not a material I'm used to.

 

I never really realised before I started this thread, but I do seem to have a penchant for red/orange based inks - I also like browns/sepia, purples, greens and bright turquoise shades. Perhaps I should quell my colourful side, and stick to black or blue-black when using this particular pen.

 

is there any way to make wood less porous?

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It's not the porosity of the wood. I have an OMAS Violet Ebony of Madagascar pen which I can store nib up for half a year and it will write immediately without any skipping or other issues. The seal is not the big visible cap but an insert at the tip of the cap that seals against the front of the section. This insert is practically always plastic. If the cap seal isn't tight the ink can dry on the nib. But it doesn't need much air to do that anyway. However, this would not explain the nib creep itself. The cause of this must be somewhere in the system nib-feed-section-cartridge.

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I haven't seen much nib crud form on my Pilot MR pens, of which I have six and every single one of them fail to seal well against ink drying when capped and unused, even when I had saturated and/or colourful inks in them: Sailor Shikiori yamadori (teal) and shigure (purple), Diamine Salamander (murky green-brown) and Parker Penman Emerald (green). The inks that have evaporated in my wooden pens recently are mostly brown: J.Herbin Lie de Thé, Sailor Shikiori doyou and Pilot Iroshizuku tsukushi, and there was no nib crud from them either.

 

As for making wood less porous, well not so much treating the material itself, but I suppose you could apply a coating of wax or lacquer that effectively forms a non-porous barrier between the wood and whatever (including air) inside the cap. However, unless you're an experienced craftsperson and/or artisan, I probably wouldn't recommend attempting it on a pen you obviously care about beyond its market replacement value.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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I have an OMAS Violet Ebony of Madagascar pen which I can store nib up for half a year and it will write immediately without any skipping or other issues.

I am blushing at my ignorance, but is it bad to store a pen nib up? I always store my pens nib up...

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No, not especially.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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I am blushing at my ignorance, but is it bad to store a pen nib up? I always store my pens nib up...

 

No, not at all. But some pens dry out a little quicker that way.

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I haven't seen much nib crud form on my Pilot MR pens, of which I have six and every single one of them fail to seal well against ink drying when capped and unused, even when I had saturated and/or colourful inks in them: Sailor Shikiori yamadori (teal) and shigure (purple), Diamine Salamander (murky green-brown) and Parker Penman Emerald (green). The inks that have evaporated in my wooden pens recently are mostly brown: J.Herbin Lie de Thé, Sailor Shikiori doyou and Pilot Iroshizuku tsukushi, and there was no nib crud from them either.

 

As for making wood less porous, well not so much treating the material itself, but I suppose you could apply a coating of wax or lacquer that effectively forms a non-porous barrier between the wood and whatever (including air) inside the cap. However, unless you're an experienced craftsperson and/or artisan, I probably wouldn't recommend attempting it on a pen you obviously care about beyond its market replacement value.

 

Please look above. The wood is not the issue, at least if the pen has a reasonable design. Vintage pens usually have air holes in the cap to prevent condensation at the section. The sealing mechanism is at the tip of the cap (at least in a good 99% of the cases I know).

Edited by OMASsimo
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Right, I've tried to get close ups of the nib and feed - sorry, I don't have a macro option on my phone, so this is the closest I can get.

 

I also tried to photograph the inside of the cap, but it wasn't very successful...

 

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Hmm, very difficult to see (not surprising). Could it be that the tine with the ink stain is bent a tiny bit down with respect to the clean tine? Another reason for nib creep, besides a pinhole in the reservoir, sometimes is a misalignment of nib or feed. It often goes together with the pen writing like a fire hose. If the nib is not sitting snug on top of the feed then air exchange can lead to the unwanted effect.

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Please look above. The wood is not the issue,

I looked. With all due respect, I'll take what you say as individual opinion of a fellow fountain pen hobbyist, and not an authoritative statement or diagnosis that I ought to accept as true at face value. I trust you do not expect more from me or believe your statements have more standing than that. As a peer and equal, at best your expressed opinion on here "balances" out mine, as to whether the wooden cap is part of the issue.

 

at least if the pen has a reasonable design.

In my personal experience, pens with wooden caps and bodies including Platinum #3776 briar models (of which I have two) are more apt to dry out, comparing Platinum #3776 against Platinum #3776, Moonman against Moonman, etc.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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I can't really see your other colors, purples, browns and greens and turquoise as trouble makers like Diamine Achiest Copper.

Having mostly piston pens I stay away from reds, and clean out any purple loaded piston pen after one load.

 

You can either get some Renascence wax, or see if anyone you know polishes his car with a good carnauba wax...............well that's what I recommend for plastic or lacquer pens....

Any good wood polish should do......I'm not into wood, but a polish not an oil.

 

And I really don't see wood being that, porous. Second thing....it would be oak if it was from a wine barrel. White oak at that, in that is what beer, wine or booze barrels are made of, in they don't "leak".

Red Oak don't do the trick....leaks.

It is more than likely wine vine.....mixed a good aromatic BBQ wood like apple. It is a bit softer than soft maple, not the best for knife handles but could be done. Used for corkscrew handles.

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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Hmm, very difficult to see (not surprising). Could it be that the tine with the ink stain is bent a tiny bit down with respect to the clean tine? Another reason for nib creep, besides a pinhole in the reservoir, sometimes is a misalignment of nib or feed. It often goes together with the pen writing like a fire hose. If the nib is not sitting snug on top of the feed then air exchange can lead to the unwanted effect.

 

I've had a close look and I can't see any misalignment of the tines, but then I AM as blind as a bat, so please don't take my word for it. I think I'll send it away to the nibmeister who did such a good job with my vintage Parker 51 - he can give it a good check over.

 

It doesn't write like a fire hose - when first inked it works like a dream. However, after being set aside for even just a few hours it tends to be a hard starter (presupposing it hasn't already started to crust over). After a few strokes it behaves itself again and flows well (neither too wet nor too dry). It's a lovely pen, and I just wish it wasn't so temperamental and prone to hard starts and crud.

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