Help! fungus plugged my Namiki feed

December 17, 2004

OK, what is the acronym, MITB, SIBT? Whatever it is somehow I got some fungus from an ink bottle into my Namiki convertor. It's the plunger style that you have to pump. Went to fill it last night, and nothing. No ink in, no ink out, won't write.

Anyone got a hint on "dissolving" this stuff?

Pulled the nib and feed out, and cleaned the channels, but it appears that the suction path is plugged. Right through the center of the feed. Any advice. This doesn't sound pretty to me.

It's a custom Impressions.

Edited December 17, 2004 by KendallJ

December 17, 2004

not an expert but here's what I would try...

I don't know anything about these pens - with my pels a micro-tip transfer pipet fits perfectly inside the nipple opening and allows more force for flushing. a syringe with or without needle might do this. Or a bulb syringe my be large enough to fit around the part and provide the same force?

if that didn't work then I'd soak it for a little while (1 hour?) in either an ammonia/water solution (1 tsp ammonia to 2/3 cup water) or in a mild dishsoap solution. If it's "slime" than one or the other solutions should eventually dissolve the clog. if it's mold... i'm not sure.

another choice is viv's much touted "basic G" which it appears you can only find in large quantities. Giovanni (Tryphon Enterprises) sells "ink safe" that can apparently be used to clean nibs/feeds as well as to treat ink that's been contaminated.

December 18, 2004

Whew. Got it fixed. Pulled nib and feed (they are simply friction fit). The namiki feed main channel is a half circle profile bored through the center of the feed. I soaked in 409, and then had to go buy some fine gague wire to roto root the channel out. That channel was plugged with gunk, and even the feed combs that were hidden inside the section had stuff on them.

ugg. Now I have to figure out which inks I have loaded into this thing.

Anyway, all back together and drying out. I was worried that was one of my more expensive pens, and its a true-blue writer...

December 18, 2004

Great news.

I suppose that this is too late - but if you have any of the gunk you might take a look at it, perhaps under magnification to see what it looks like (gee, I wish I could still find my kids microscope...). Also it would be interesting to try and see if anything would dissolve it.

I have just filled in a memo card for Namiki with your comments on dissasembly and construction. Never know - someday I might move up from the Esterbrooks and get a real pen

Gerry

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/ · December 18, 2004

A Repair note:

If you are cleaning mold/fungus/mystery goo from a pen it is best to let it dry in a disassembled state to ensure that no moisture is lingering that might harbour any trace of the original contaminant.

Gasic G is an excellent fungicide for dealing with things like this.

I always wonder if this has something to do with geography as SITB and moldy pens are a very rare thing here and I have only had this affect one pen in the last 20 years. I live in a semi arid climate with very little humidity so think perhaps that may have something to do with it.

It stemmed from a bad batch of Pelikan green ink that was released some years ago and there should be no concerns with any of the current production.

Many other people have another solution to preventing SITB and that is to stick to the tried and true inks like Waterman, Parker, and Sheaffer... it is almot unheard of to hear of these brands developing SITB.

December 19, 2004

it is also possible that if you have used different inks without flushing that there was a chemical reaction. I have not seen this often but did see it with Sheaffer NOS Red combined with a couple of other inks in a mix I made. A bright orange precipitate formed in the pen and in the jar I used to mix the ink.