Adjustments on low cost pens

[kjervin]

I was wondering,

I have two Monteverde Invincia FP (rose and Carbon Fiber ones). They were never very expensive, but I thought they were gorgeous, reminding me of the Jorg Hysek, so I bought one. It had problems with starting and maintaining a line. The ink flow was erratic, but they were cheap, so I bought another one, rather then looking into getting the first one adjusted. the second one is much the same. My question is, is there a level below which a repair person would not consider working on a pen? or is it a question of if it is worthg it to the owner? I'm not talking about getting a Pilot Varsity adjusted, it just occurs to me that it would be far less satisfying to work on pens of a lesser quality/value as opposed to a Parker, Pellikan or Mont Blanc and maybe once a repair person was established, they may set a line below which they would not go.

 

Kj

Edited December 19, 2004 by kjervin

[antoniosz]

There is a secret between collectors and pens users. Price and performance are not connected. The problem you have with your pen could as well be found in pens that cost many times more.

 

There is a large number of small problems that the user himself(herself) can take care. Long term users of FPs are quite familiar with such problems. Although others may be more qualified to answer this question I will just list the "obvious".

 

 

1. Clean the pen - residual oil and dust from the manufacturing process may hinter its operation. Flushing with tap water (or even a weak solution of 409 or any other ammonia based household cleaner) will work.

 

2. Use fresh ink. Although vintage ink from the 30s and 40s is still usable, storage conditions of the ink can cause problems. For "troublesome" pens use "standard" new free flowing inks (Waterman, Parker, Sheaffer).

 

3. Are the tines aligned? Use a magnification loupe to check. Use your nail to slightly adjust the tines (move slowly and cautiously).

 

4. Of course the perennial extra good flushing when changing colors is very important as some inks do not mix well with others.

 

These simple procedures would cure most of the typical problems.

If they do not work time to send the pen to the experts.

 

As to your question whether repair persons would look down at cheap pens. Usually honest repairpeople will inform you about the relative cost of the repair with respect to the value of the pen. If you insist to have it fixed - they will be glad to work on it if you are willing to put the $$$. Remember also that "good" repairmen have relatively long queues (1-3 months )

 

If someone else wants to chime in please do. If there is another place in fpnet that has similar advice please let us know.

[Keith with a capital K]

I have to agree with Antonios when he says that price and performance do not always go hand in hand. The Sheaffer No Nonsense that sold for around $6.00 new writes as well as many pens costing 10 or 20 times that much.

 

In staying true to my Scottish roots, I don't think I have ever spent more than $50.00 on a single pen and this doesn't mean I have a cabinet full of 2nd tier pens but have just been fortunate in finding some incredible deals on some incredible vintage pens.

 

Being that the Invincia retails/sells for $80.00/$60.00 I would not consider it an inexpensive pen and spending a few dollars to make this pen the writer it should be is probably worth it.

 

I would actually be mighty annoyed if I spent this amount on a new pen that did not write well as $60.00 is a fair amount of money to this chap.

 

If I was taking work at this time it sounds like a job that would cost no more than $15.00 and $20.00 and that would include flow adjustments and any smoothing that may be required.

 

Cheers!

[Maja]

Antonios, those are excellent tips!

Keith, I totally agree with you; some cheaper pens work infinitely better than their more expensive brethren! Also, you are right about the money--$60-80 is not what I would consider "inexpensive" either. For that money I would expect a pen that writes well every time.

 

I think we pen collectors have become rather complacent when it comes to modern QC (quality control) and have let some of these companies get away with murder, in that respect. In reality, why should we have to pay for a brand new pen to be adjusted by someone else? Why should we have to send away for a new nib, free of charge from the company, when the factory-installed one doesn't work? Why aren't all modern pens capable of writing well out of the box?

 

Kjervin, I have heard your lament from many other pen users/collectors and it annoys me that so many people have the same problems with their pens

Edited December 19, 2004 by Maja

[kjervin]

Maja,

I agree that it is a shame that they did not work out of the box like they should. I guess the companies count on the fact that it can be a bit of a chore to send it back to them, and when you get the pen back it might not be any better then it went in. After all, they sent the pen out that way in the first place. Stores can be less then helpful in helping you send pens back for service (I think I got one of the Invincias from Office Depot - don't laugh) so you either have to do research in order to send it back to the company which may not fix the problem, or send it to someone with a reputation for making pens function like they are supposed to. I think a lot of people figure if they have to be without the pen anyway, better to have it go to someone who knows what they are doing versus somone who has proven that they don't care enough about their reputation to do it right the first time, at least that was my thought process. Monteverde may have master nibsmen in legions waiting for a pen with the slightest problem to come in so that they may create the masterpieces that they always knew they had inside them, but I have seen no evidence that they ever got a look at my pens before they left the factory the first time! (note: small attempt at wry humor there, not dig at Monteverde specifically). That may be what manufacturers count on: that having fained once, we don't want to give them another chance at it. That said, since I have two, sending one to Monteverde might not be such a big deal. I'll check the literature for the address and such.

Thanks for the advice!

KJ

[Maja]

Kevin, before you send it off, do try Antonios'("antoniosz") advice above....His suggestions are very useful. Just be careful about tweaking the nib with your fingernail...Be very careful and go slowly!

 

Good luck!

[kjervin]

Maja,

I tried his suggestions (with the exception of adjusting the tines - as I cannot seem to find my loupe just now) but they both seem to still have problems getting started and restarting after pauses, sometimes in the middle of words (even in cursive) but there doesn't seem to be anything drastically out of wack to the naked eye. I was figuring to send one back to Monteverde and continue working with the other. The thing that is so flustrating is that it is basically the same model as their "Black Tie," which got pretty good reviews overall, just in a different finish.

 

<Sigh!>

Kj

[Maja]

Oh gee...Sorry to hear that you are still struggling with this problem, Kevin....

 

Hmmm, how about trying a fast-flowing ink?

Waterman Florida Blue and Private Reserve Tanzanite are known as the "laxative" of fountain pen inks (and they are nice colours, to boot )

 

And do try some mild nib tweaking....It has worked for me in the past.

Handy pages:

(1) Go to: http://www.pentrace.com/penbase/ and click on the "Find articles BY TYPE", then click on the "FAQ" link, then select the article "My new pen skips! Why? Can it be fixed?" to see what various experts have to say.

 

(2)Check out what noted repairman Richard Binder has to say on the subject....Go to the website above and click on "Find articles BY TYPE" then click on "Pen Doctor", then select the article "New Pens that Stop Writing.....". There is some good advice there too...

 

(3)Check out Arthur Twydle's page on "Tuning a Fountain Pen" here: http://www.penmuseum.co.uk/master%202.htm

(to increase ink flow, check out the paragraph that is 8th from the bottom) The only thing is that you have to know what you are doing if you use these tools.....

 

Good luck!

Edited December 21, 2004 by Maja

[kjervin]

Maja (and Antonio),

I spent an hour or two tonight, soaking the nibs in an solution of amonia and water, flushing with clean water, drying , adjusting the tines slightly, and noticed the feed in one was off center (left to right) underneath the nib. With a small push, I got it recentered. I filled it up with some Private reserve Tanzanite, and it wrote right away! I left it , uncapped mind you, for about 10 minutes and guess what? It started right up again !! I think I will drag it around with me for the next week or so to see how it does, but it's performance so far is the best it has ever been. The only thing is I wonder which part of the procedure (or maybe all of it together) is responsible for the dramatic change! And while purple is not my favorite, the tanzanite is really gorgeous !!!! Thanks for all your help !!! I will work on the other one ( I have cleaned , but not filled it ) after I run the ink out of the first one. I am glad to have one of them up and running again!!!!! You guys are brilliant !!!!!

Kj

[antoniosz]

First of all I am glad you made it work.

Do not take me wrong - the pen repair people are great - but nothing beats the satisfaction of solving some of these small problems by yourself.

 

On your question.It could be both. The off centered feed could be a problem because then the path of the ink may be obstructed. Tanzanite is also a great problem solver for pens with ink delivery difficulty. I have a Columbia Filcao which after couple of repair trips, the only ink it works with is tanzanite (and 50-50 mixtures of tanzanite with other inks). If you want to see what solved the problem, wash well and load it with the ink you had previously difficulties. If it it works, it was the feed.

 

AZ

[Maja]

Wow, that is great news, Kevin!

To be honest, when I started to read your post above, I thought for sure that your pen was still not working.... I am so glad to hear that this is not the case! As Antonios says, sometimes small problems with flow can be fixed at home by us amateurs if we go slowly and carefully....

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that it continues to write well!