Nibs that Dry Out

[Paddler]

I have read many posts where people complain about their nibs drying out after being uncapped for a minute or two (I call this "think time"). I think I have come up with a work-around for the problem. At least, it works for me.

 

Nearly all of my pens are vintage, and most of those are lever-fillers. I am a right hander, so when I re-sac a pen, I turn the lever to the top and slightly to the left of center. It lies just above the side of my thumb, when the pen is in writing position. If the nib dries after a period of inactivity, I just slide my thumb up and lightly depress the bottom of the lever. This moves a little ink down the feed and fills up the nib slit again. The pen writes immediately. This doesn't eject enough ink to make a blob on the paper; it is just enough to re-prime the nib.

 

Use a lever filler for taking notes. Those old pen inventors knew where their towels were!

 

 

Paddler

 

[Shangas]

I generally just flick the pen-barrel with a finger. That jump-starts the pen sufficiently for me. Or cap and shake. whatever works. I usually rotate pens while writing (never leave the house without at least two), so I just cap and switch most of the time.

[FrankB]

I have to admit that you have a cleaver solution. Generally, when I am taking notes with a FP, I hold the cap in my left hand, upright, and when I pause in note taking, I slide the pen into the cap like a desk set. The pen faces down, so the ink is primed and ready to go when I resume taking notes. I have done this routine for decades and it has worked pretty well.

[Hirsch]

On a vintage pen, the most common reason for a nib/feed assembly to lose ink rapidly is that the feed has changed shape over the years, and has pulled away from the nib. You can see this by gently touching the nib to a fingernail and applying a small amount of pressure. If the nib pulls away from the feed, the feed probably needs to be reshaped. This is easy to do, particularly with with an ebonite feed (just soften the feed by heating it and press it against the nib. works most of the time). As with any repair, practice on a junk pen before trying this on anything valuable.

[girlieg33k]

Thank you for the clever idea. In meetings, or on those occasions when I know there will be periods of inactivity (or, to use your term "think time"), I'll use a Pilot Decimo. Lately, however, I've been using my vintage pens. Most are lever-fillers, but a few are eyedroppers. For lever-fillers, I wiggle the lever a wee bit; for eyedroppers, I gently tap the pen on the section or twirl it 180-degrees. The pens start right up again.

 

Been awhile since I've replaced a sac -- but I have a few vintage pens arriving that I know will need new sacs. I'll be using your idea, so thanks again.

[psfred]

I tried this a work today -- not that my pen was dry, but just to see if it worked on an Estie. Sure enough, just enough ink to fill the bleed hole, which should start the pen right up.

 

Nice to know! Thanks.

 

Peter

[devjeethensh]

Sorry for reviving a long dead thread , but i just saw it now and i can't resist but sharing that somehow , i never faced this nib drying out problem with my numerous pen brands , but then i think i do something which is very simple and quite evident .

 

I always have the cap of the pen lying at a secure corner of my desk and whenever i want to put down my pen (even if it's for seconds) , i just insert the nib in the cap(just insert and not screw or push in) . All i have to do then is to just pull out the pen and it's ready to write again, and i am not doing anything extra as anyway the cap of the pen is always lying on your desk and it takes seconds to pull the pen out just to put it down in the cap . I extensively use fountain pens in office everyday between 8 to 12 hours and i have not faced this drying out problem .

 

Just wanted to share this.

 

regards,

 

Dev

 

[lapis]

My 146 (R I P). Think time = 4-11 seconds.

 

Mike

PS: Thanks for the creation of that term