Dip-less Pen Issue

[mikej165]

I recently purchased a hockey puck and dip-less pen with a nice 9668 nib. I'm enjoying using this set but I don't seem to be able to write as long between dips as I would expect. The pen starts out writing very wet for about a line of text and then begins drying out quickly. After a paragraph it is pretty much done. This morning for example, I got 80 words written in my journal before I had to re-dip.

 

When I bought the set I gave both the nib and the dip-less base a thorough overnight soaking. I even cleaned the channels on the feed of old ink particulate. Still, it doesn't seem to perform as well as some of the accounts I've read here. Can anyone offer some suggestions on why this may be so? Could it be that I need to remove the nib from the feed to get what might be caked beneath the nib?

[Brian Anderson]

When you re-dip, I always leave it in the well for a few seconds. Making sure the well is full to the red plastic line is also crucial. You shouldn't have to remove the nib from the feed, unless there is something stuck in the feed itself, but it sounds like you gave it a fairly throrogh cleaning. You could try flushing out the nib with a bulb to make sure it is getting as much ink as possible in there (I use an ear wax removal bulb you can find at the local drug store).

 

Try those and let us know how it works.

 

Best-

Brian

[mikej165]

When you re-dip, I always leave it in the well for a few seconds. Making sure the well is full to the red plastic line is also crucial. You shouldn't have to remove the nib from the feed, unless there is something stuck in the feed itself, but it sounds like you gave it a fairly throrogh cleaning. You could try flushing out the nib with a bulb to make sure it is getting as much ink as possible in there (I use an ear wax removal bulb you can find at the local drug store).

 

Try those and let us know how it works.

 

Best-

Brian

It was about half-full, so I've topped it off and I'll see how it goes.

 

The dip-less instructions I see on your site say the top should snap onto the bottom (mine is a 444). Mine doesn't do that; it fits snugly, but never snaps. Is this perhaps because the washer is old, or because age may have expanded the top portion? Does it matter that much? My assumption is that the washer is purely to prevent leakage; am I right? Could the reason mine doesn't snap closed be because the washer is less pliable than it once was? For what it's worth, the washer looks in good condition.

 

Thanks for your quick reply, and thanks also for your site, which is - ahem - a fountain of Esterbrook knowledge.

[mikej165]

After topping off the ink level and leaving the pen dipped for a few minutes, I think I see what could be the problem. When I look at the feed channels beneath the pen with a loupe, the 4 or 5 channels closest to the tip of the nib (and the ink supply) are filled with ink; the 4-5 channels farthest away from the nib have progressively less ink. So, can anyone who has one of these and a loupe take a look at theirs when filled and tell me if the ALL the channels are filling with ink?

Edited March 25, 2010 by mikej165

[kps]

You might want to disassemble the capillary feeder in the base, in case it still has old ink blocking it. It's easy to get apart -- just pull it off and then pry out the metal retaining ring -- but be careful; it contains hundreds of thin plastic rods.

[Brian Anderson]

How much room is there between the top of your set and the base? You should be able to fit a penny in between without much wiggle room. If you have too much room, then you aren't getting it to seat far enough inthe well, which may be causing part of the problem. Perhaps your rubber washer is part of the problem. The washer should just keep the top on securely.

 

Best-

Brian

[mikej165]

How much room is there between the top of your set and the base? You should be able to fit a penny in between without much wiggle room. If you have too much room, then you aren't getting it to seat far enough inthe well, which may be causing part of the problem. Perhaps your rubber washer is part of the problem. The washer should just keep the top on securely.

 

Best-

Brian

A penny fits almost perfectly - no significant wiggle room.

[Brian Anderson]

Ok, well then eating isn't an issue. Try as KPS suggests, take off the top, and gently pry off the feed unit. Pay attention to how it goes on, the notch goes towards the Esterbrook logo. Soak that in a cup of water or rinse it under the faucet. If you have some ammonia, drop a dab in there to speed up the process. Perhaps not all the ink is getting through the feed unit to get to the pen.

 

Report back and let us know how it goes. If you have trouble, I can post pictures tomorrow.

 

Best-

Brian

[mikej165]

Ok, well then eating isn't an issue. Try as KPS suggests, take off the top, and gently pry off the feed unit. Pay attention to how it goes on, the notch goes towards the Esterbrook logo. Soak that in a cup of water or rinse it under the faucet. If you have some ammonia, drop a dab in there to speed up the process. Perhaps not all the ink is getting through the feed unit to get to the pen.

 

Report back and let us know how it goes. If you have trouble, I can post pictures tomorrow.

 

Best-

Brian

On the hunch that perhaps the nib and feed wasn't as clean as it needed to be, I soaked it all afternoon in a more aggressive water-ammonia solution - and scrubbed the fins some more. It seems to be taking up a full load of ink now and I can write longer. I'll see if that was the problem. I imagine these nibs need to be cleaned more often than those on a capped pen due to the way the pen just rests in the well.

[mikej165]

On the hunch that perhaps the nib and feed wasn't as clean as it needed to be, I soaked it all afternoon in a more aggressive water-ammonia solution - and scrubbed the fins some more. It seems to be taking up a full load of ink now and I can write longer. I'll see if that was the problem. I imagine these nibs need to be cleaned more often than those on a capped pen due to the way the pen just rests in the well.

 

This seems to have done it. The pen is writing much wetter and much longer now that I have given the nib a longer soaking and scrubbed the feed channels. Actually, it writes beautifully.

 

Thank to everyone for the assistance.

[Brian Anderson]

Glad you got it working like it should. Always one of my favorites, but since I don't write as much, never wanted to get stuck on one color ink all the time. I had one full on my desk for about four or five months during graduate school, and I used that for all my notes and research, including rough drafts of papers (yes, I still write that out long hand before typing in the computer).

 

Enjoy!

Brian