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Having Issues With Ink Not Reaching Nib Tip


NerdCM

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I come requesting expertise on and personal experiences with flow issues. I have a pen that no matter what ink I use, capillary action does not bring ink to the nib's tip. I have flushed the pen with water, left it soaking in pen flush, and checked the alignment of the tines on the nib and the issue persists. To be specific, the pen is a Diplomat Magnum with a fine nib, a fairly inexpensive pen from Germany which uses nibs made by JoWo.


I post this in the hopes that someone has experienced a similar issue and has a workaround. Thank you.

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What does the actual end of the nib look like? Touching tightly? Spreading apart?

 

Does it use JoWo screw-in nib units, or just friction fit nib/feed. If a screw-in unit, you might look for a replacement/spare unit you could try.

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Two things to check:

 

1. Is the nib laying flat on the feed; and

2. Is the nib slit properly tapered. It should taper consistently from the base out towards the tipping.

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Is any ink leaking into the gripping section, or does the ink level in the converter just never moves?

 

When you press a sheet of facial tissue or kitchen paper towel against the breather hole and top of the slit on the nib, does it get stained with ink?

 

Are you able to fill the converter through the nib when it is completely submerged in a body of liquid?

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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What does the actual end of the nib look like? Touching tightly? Spreading apart?

 

Does it use JoWo screw-in nib units, or just friction fit nib/feed. If a screw-in unit, you might look for a replacement/spare unit you could try.

It is a friction fit JoWo nib. The nib looks great: https://imgur.com/a/pWcHtLM and https://imgur.com/a/o1dn0JI

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Two things to check:

 

1. Is the nib laying flat on the feed; and

2. Is the nib slit properly tapered. It should taper consistently from the base out towards the tipping.

The nib is very flush with the feed and this is what my nib looks like: https://imgur.com/a/pWcHtLM

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Is any ink leaking into the gripping section, or does the ink level in the converter just never moves?

 

When you press a sheet of facial tissue or kitchen paper towel against the breather hole and top of the slit on the nib, does it get stained with ink?

 

Are you able to fill the converter through the nib when it is completely submerged in a body of liquid?

When using a converter the pen doesn't write (this happens), but with a cartridge the pen writes normally although what I show in the image still happens, but a few soft taps jumpstarts the capillary action.

 

Ink does reach the breather hole but not the writing surface as shown in the image.

 

The pen fills with the converter attached no problem.

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oh boy, the magnum.

This is a problem that others have had, and I've experienced it also.

You can see ink making it to the breather hole, but it wont go the rest of the way.

You've got to pull the nib and feed. It's a tight friction fit. The first time is a s.o.b.

There was a white ear-wax substance in the channel - get it out any way you'd like.

I used 1. dish washing liquid, and 2. gently dredge with brass shims.

Put it back together, ink it up, and it turns into a great little pen.

Good luck.

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oh boy, the magnum.

This is a problem that others have had, and I've experienced it also.

You can see ink making it to the breather hole, but it wont go the rest of the way.

You've got to pull the nib and feed. It's a tight friction fit. The first time is a s.o.b.

There was a white ear-wax substance in the channel - get it out any way you'd like.

I used 1. dish washing liquid, and 2. gently dredge with brass shims.

Put it back together, ink it up, and it turns into a great little pen.

Good luck.

Rather relieving to know that it's a common issue, a bit of a shame however since it's my favorite writer by far (except for the TWSBI ECO). Thanks for the info and the good luck, I'll need it.

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Yeah, my magnum was a turd. shame, I really like the brand (the traveler is awesome)

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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Yeah, my magnum was a turd. shame, I really like the brand (the traveler is awesome)

I love the pen, it has a beautiful design (for my tastes) and a fantastic JoWo nib, but one can only expect so much from a $21 USD pen :/
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