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Inker's note: When I say 'about' I mean 'this is a guesstimate'. I've just gotten my ink experimentation supplies in, so I want to put up my attempts to create a smoother, low-shading version of OS Manganate. Hopefully this is helpful or interesting to someone, or at the very least means other people don't need to repeat so many tries. 1st try, more !!SCIENCE!! than scientific; 1 drop of Cascade Rinse Agent in about 3 mL of Manganate. Turned out much darker, looked beautiful, but also had a stupidly long dry time. 2nd try: Added about 2 mL to the earlier experiment. Ink now looks like old Manganate, but is smoother and has a bit less shading, possibly because more ink is getting on to the page in general. Upcoming: 3rd try: 1 drop of PhotoFlo & 1 drop of Phenol to 4 mL of Manganate

I have a Jinhao X450 (marbled finish) that I got a while ago when I bought a couple of Chinese pens (one is my knock-about Hero 110 that's quite good). I avoid Chinese pens unless I need something that I can use when working in the lab or that can be knocked-about, be lost (or stolen). Given that, I don't usually pay more than $10 for them, and don't care much if they don't work. But I have taken a liking to the very sturdy brass and enamel construction and the excellent M nib that I have gotten used to (though I greatly prefer F and EF nibs and usually avoid M or bigger because it is impractical to write calculations with them, and the fact that I simply really like EF nibs). Unfortunately, after writing two paragraphs, a vacuum forms inside the converter and no ink at all flows into the feed/nib section. I end up having to turn the piston in and out to manually draw air in every ten minutes. I took every single piece of the pen apart and soaked it in household bleach (it was fine, but please don't anyone soak their Montblanc in bleach! I DO NOT recommend trying this on any pen you spend more than $10 on! ). Cleaned every single channel and section with a little nylon brush. Everything was free of any contaminant or manufacturing residue. Put everything back together perfectly. Tested pen. . . And the same thing happened. I can hear a slow bubbling sound as the air tries to get into the reservoir. It is obvious that the feed system is not allowing for any air to enter. The system consists of a partially hollow feed with a little capillary feed that slips inside of it, it is this narrow little capillary feed that plugs into the tiny hole in the section and connects to the converter's reservoir. I don't think the design facilitates for any air to enter to stop a vacuum forming. Does anyone else's X450 do this? Is there any way to fix it? I would really like to find a way to solve the problem, as I have taken a liking to the pen. Thanks in advance for any advice.

After having just bought my first Parker 51 (Aerometric), I noticed flow issues from the second I first used it. After a thorough cleaning, I realized that the flow problem had to do with the hood of the pen closing the tines of the nib. Does anyone know of a good way to make the hood fit less tightly? (Preferably without having to apply heat) Thanks in advance!

I currently have a black Hero ink (pigmented) I got in China, some real cheap stuff. I figured black inks doesn't need to be too fancy and got a bottle to try out. It definitely have starting problem, this stuff is VERY black, not a hint of grey, so maybe dilution required?