Moore Fingertip Mystery Part

[FredRydr]

I acquired this stickered Moore fingertip FP & MP set, and indications suggest the pen was never inked. Not much heat was needed to pull the section to install a fresh sac. The original hardened sac simply separated at the end of the section. Then, this little brass(?) strip slid from inside the section.

 

Edited to add: I was able to answer my own question: On looking down inside the back end of the feed, I could see how this tiny strip was originally inserted into the feed, presumably to assist ink flow. I reinserted it.

Edited August 16, 2019 by FredRydr

[Paul-in-SF]

Nice pen, I love my Fingertip. It came "up and running" so to speak so I never had occasion to go into the guts of it, and so I don't know if mine has such a strip. So I just pulled out the section and felt the sac and I don't feel anything there.

 

The only problem I've had with mine is that it seems to suffer a lot from nib creep. I'd be interested to know if you have the same problem when you have yours inked up and going.

[FredRydr]

...The only problem I've had with mine is that it seems to suffer a lot from nib creep. I'd be interested to know if you have the same problem when you have yours inked up and going.

 

 

This is my first experience with a Moore fingertip. As much as I love Moore pens, I won't be filling or dipping this one (except in water), because this pen was never inked. That choice will be reserved for a new owner.

Edited August 16, 2019 by FredRydr

[tmenyc]

I wonder if the strip in Fred's Moore was Moore's solution to Paul's problem... that little strip could well have regularized and partially inhibited ink flow, hence its absence is the nib creep you're experiencing. Make a fresh strip and slip it in yours!

Tim

[Paul-in-SF]

I wonder if the strip in Fred's Moore was Moore's solution to Paul's problem... that little strip could well have regularized and partially inhibited ink flow, hence its absence is the nib creep you're experiencing. Make a fresh strip and slip it in yours!

Tim

Interesting idea. I can get a sense of the size from Fred's photo, but will exact dimensions be likely to matter?

 

To further my inquiry into this, I took the pen apart again and pulled off the clear (silicone?) sac, which was not attached except with friction. And I am not sure now what I am seeing (photos below). Is that the feed sticking out of the sac nipple? If so, why does it have such a big opening in it? In my limited experience, I haven't seen that before. I tried sliding in a toothpick without any pressure at all, and it went in about 7/8 inch. If that is the feed, it's hard for me to imagine a little strip of brass having much effect on ink flow.

 

Side question: is there any particular advantage here to using a silicone sac vs. a rubber sac? I don't have anything that will attach a silicone sac properly (according to Ron Z, that would have to be a silicone compound of which he gives a couple of suggestions) so rather than just putting it back again with a friction fit, I would like to use a rubber sac.

 

(these photos are my attempt to get a macro photo with my loupe and smartphone camera. The blue-ish one has the loupe light turned on.)

Edited August 26, 2019 by Paul-in-SF

[tmenyc]

If it was cut to fit the feed channel exactly, exact will matter. The question behind that is "did Moore cut the strip to a particular size to maximize flow, having tested a range of sizes, or did they cut a small strip, decided it was better, cut 10,000 more, and moved on?"

Try a small strip, see what it does! Worst case, there are the exact dimensions of Fred's strip.

 

Tim

[Paul-in-SF]

Thanks, I edited my post with photos while you were posting yours.

[Paul-in-SF]

Thanks, I edited my post with photos while you were posting yours.

Edited to add: I just read the article from Main Street Pens about different sac materials, and based on that, the silicone sac may be the culprit, sometimes causing what he calls "oozing" which may be what I am calling "nib creep." Anyway, I am going to try a latex sac and see what happens.

[tmenyc]

Oh yeah...having a sac, any sac, attached just with friction will enable internal air pressure equalization with nib creep following right behind, for sure. I'd fix that before any tinkering with the little strip.

 

Tim

[FredRydr]

Sorry, but the pen is now in Florida with its new owner. Now I wish I'd taken more measurements and photos.

 

Based on what I observed, if you look at the round back end of the feed, you should see a small slit in the middle. For width, the brass strip would have been inserted into that slit. For length, I'd estimate from memory that the strip protruded beyond the back end of the section (and into the sac) about 15mm/0.5in. Looking at the end of the strip, the shape was a tilde ( ~ ) or perhaps a flattened w.

 

I recovered this iPhone8 photo, cropped it and uploaded it at full resolution to enable you to extrapolate the strip's length to either the inside diameter of your barrel or the length of your stainless section.

 

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by FredRydr

[Paul-in-SF]

I put on a rubber sac with shellac last evening. So far (after a page of writing and then sitting overnight) the nib creep seems to be gone and the pen writes a little better than before (the ink flow is more even). I'm happy with that.

 

I wonder if I don't have a different feed from the pen above. The big round opening in the back of my feed (at least I assume that's what it is) goes in so far that I can't see where it stops inside with any light that I have. Anyway, the pen seems to be working better now and I'm not going to mess with it further if I don't have to.

Edited August 27, 2019 by Paul-in-SF