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Stipula Suprema - nib & feed surprise


dandelion

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I've posted a similar post in my review thread, but I thought it could be good to share this with the Italian forum as there has been a Suprema discussion recently.

 

As some might know I have been very happy about my Stipula Suprema. It has been a bit of a dry writer and I have noticed that there is a strange nib creep regardless of which ink I use (see review photos). I've only used different forms of blue ink, but when I switched to a green (Diamine Emerald - without anything blue in it) after doing an ordinary rinse, but the nib laid down a strange blue-green colour that was strange since I had rinsed the pen thoroughly. I emptied it and started to clean it again- the water went clear, but I let it soak in tepid water for a while and saw that it seeped out blue ink from it. I rinsed and soaked it again, but the blue continued to seep out from the nib, so I became puzzled and began to realize that that there was some strange thing going on.

I (somewhat afraid of damaging the whole pen) successfully removed the nib and feed and realized - the photo below is nothing to what I found - that there is some adhesive/sticky fat that absorbs/makes ink stay between the nib and feed. After cleaning it as much I can - using dish soap and a soft cloth, letting it soak in a mild dish soap/water solution and then clean it again using a soft toothbrush and a soft cloth it looks like in the photo below. I've only had it for a little more than a month. As comparison I add a photo of another stainless Stipula nib that I've had exactly as long as the Suprema (bought them together) and used even more. Nice and clean. I'll post about it in the Repair forum and the Italian forum to see if anybody else have experienced anything similar. It is like there has been some aggressive glue or similar under the feed. It doesn't go away. I will send the nib to the dealer to get a new one, but I wanted to share this. I'll keep you posted. Now, when my disappointment has stabilized I am a bit fascinated and curious about what it is that is stuck under my nib. Please share any tips.

 

 

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_FODBn3j5KLc/S1Y8olhFIPI/AAAAAAAAM78/A-eJ-IXOfwE/nib%20problem_0187.JPG

My one month old Suprema nib. AFTER cleaning.

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_FODBn3j5KLc/S1Y87zAS-jI/AAAAAAAAM8M/ToMWUqktUao/nib%20problem_0191.JPG

 

My one month old Ventidue nib. After normal rinsing.

 

Here you see traces even on the upper part. A lot of ink and "guck" was stuck here on the Suprema. It looked real bad. It seems like the glue/adhesive has corroded the nib a bit.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_FODBn3j5KLc/S1Y9J3e7iZI/AAAAAAAAM8w/1EC_P4Rik-8/s576/nib%20problem_0198.JPG

 

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I will get a brand new nib from the very concerned and professional retailer. I'm still kind of curious to know what this gunk is, but very very happy to get a new nib pronto.

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It doesn't seem an original Suprema nib...

It should be two-tone, fully decorated, marked "18 Kt" in the central part. :unsure:

Susanna
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Giardino Italiano, il meglio del Made in Italy - www.giardino.it - www.pens.it

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From a laymans point of view it looks like someone used some form of sealant (possibly organic) to set the nib. I would ask the dealer if I could also keep the nib (who knows..you might get lucky). If he agreed, then I would go after that patch with boiling water, acetone, alcohol, and/or ammonia (not all at the same time or mixed vbg.gif . Then finish off with a nice polish job with Simi-chrome or the equivalent. At any rate, glad to hear you will be getting a new nib in the meantime. Best of luck.

Edited by PenFisher
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This is a photo of the Stipula Suprema nib (18 kt) (bad photo, unfortunately)

post-548-126400109529_thumb.jpg

 

and this is the nib of the Suprema Nuda (14 kt) - very bad photo as well, I'm sorry :rolleyes:

post-548-126400116881_thumb.jpg

Edited by Susanna

Susanna
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My lovely Suprema ...now in FredRydr's hands..... had a really nice 18Kt stub. No problems at all with it...just a tad too wide for me.

 

The nib had a very strange screw-connection, iirc, which allowed removal, but didn't feel as if it was much more than a friction fit into the barrel.

 

I hope you get this all sorted-out, Dandelion.

If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you.

 

Don Marquis

US humorist (1878 - 1937)

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Thank you all for sympathizing! The dealer didn't conceal the fact that it is a steel nib - I guess they bought remaining (modified) NOS from Stipula or something similar. What I do wonder, Susanna, is if you happen to sell stipula gold nibs that fit this pen separately? I was already toying with the idea to equip the pen with a proper gold nib (since I bought it for such a bargain price). If you want to send a PM to make an offer - please feel welcome to do so.

It doesn't seem an original Suprema nib...

It should be two-tone, fully decorated, marked "18 Kt" in the central part. :unsure:

 

 

From a laymans point of view it looks like someone used some form of sealant (possibly organic) to set the nib. I would ask the dealer if I could also keep the nib (who knows..you might get lucky). If he agreed, then I would go after that patch with boiling water, acetone, alcohol, and/or ammonia (not all at the same time or mixed vbg.gif . Then finish off with a nice polish job with Simi-chrome or the equivalent. At any rate, glad to hear you will be getting a new nib in the meantime. Best of luck.

 

They actually will send me a new nib without me sending in the old, so I've thought either of trying - I've tried the booze solution (when I got thumbs up from the retailer) without removing any gunk. I might try chemical petrol - my mum uses it to remove glue and such things, but I might send it of to an interested repairer that would be interested to examine it just out of curiousity. I haven't decided yet - it still remains a mystery. Some have said that it might have been glued to sit properly on the feed, but I doubt that. The Ventidues that I've got have the same kind of friction fit feeder+nib and there isn't even the tiniest trace of something sticky on any of those nibs.

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The Stipula gold nib units are screw-in, but this special version of the Suprema has friction fit nib and feed, unlike the original Supremas, which are long gone except of the Nuda.

 

But what about the feed? Is it clogged with glue, too?

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The Stipula gold nib units are screw-in, but this special version of the Suprema has friction fit nib and feed, unlike the original Supremas, which are long gone except of the Nuda.

 

But what about the feed? Is it clogged with glue, too?

 

No, that is the strange part - it is completely free from stickiness. I guess that the glue (or whatever it is) was put on the nib (and eventually the collar since that also is miscoloured and corroded) by some reason and had dried/semi dried before it was fitted into the pen. My theory now is that it must have been some kind of chemical reaction between the glue gunk and the ink - that would explain the discolouring and corrosion that one can see on the back of the nib and the collar. One more detail is that it is also "seeping out" between the tines. The "shadow" that can be seen to the left of the tines on the photo with the nib where you see the upper side of the nib is a thin layer of gunk that spreads from the tines and is almost impossible to remove. A swab only draws out new gunk. I now this sounds strange, but so it is.

Edited by dandelion

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From a laymans point of view it looks like someone used some form of sealant (possibly organic) to set the nib. I would ask the dealer if I could also keep the nib (who knows..you might get lucky). If he agreed, then I would go after that patch with boiling water, acetone, alcohol, and/or ammonia (not all at the same time or mixed vbg.gif . Then finish off with a nice polish job with Simi-chrome or the equivalent. At any rate, glad to hear you will be getting a new nib in the meantime. Best of luck.

 

I agree and I might add that 2 hour in a solution of anmonia should be enough and not agressive (1 anm. and 9 water).

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The Stipula gold nib units are screw-in, but this special version of the Suprema has friction fit nib and feed, unlike the original Supremas, which are long gone except of the Nuda.

 

But what about the feed? Is it clogged with glue, too?

 

No, that is the strange part - it is completely free from stickiness. I guess that the glue (or whatever it is) was put on the nib (and eventually the collar since that also is miscoloured and corroded) by some reason and had dried/semi dried before it was fitted into the pen. My theory now is that it must have been some kind of chemical reaction between the glue gunk and the ink - that would explain the discolouring and corrosion that one can see on the back of the nib and the collar. One more detail is that it is also "seeping out" between the tines. The "shadow" that can be seen to the left of the tines on the photo with the nib where you see the upper side of the nib is a thin layer of gunk that spreads from the tines and is almost impossible to remove. A swab only draws out new gunk. I now this sounds strange, but so it is.

 

The current crop of Etruria piston fillers with 18k nibs are friction fit (pull out along with the feed). I've pulled enough of them out to know this for an absolute fact.

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It sounds to me as if the nib and feed weren't made for each other, so the nib was glued on to hold it in place. That, or maybe it was a Stipula warranty return and someone outside of stipula glued it on, not knowing any better.

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It sounds to me as if the nib and feed weren't made for each other, so the nib was glued on to hold it in place. That, or maybe it was a Stipula warranty return and someone outside of stipula glued it on, not knowing any better.

 

But all of these special edition Supremas of 2009 sold by Regina Martini and another US-based Ebay seller have this big Bock steel nib and feed. The question is - because it is friction fit and not the screw-in unit - was it Bock or Stipula who messed up the assembly. They are alomost all very dry writers, while mine has no nib creep. maybe I will take mine appart, but it requires a lot of force ...:unsure:

Edited by saintsimon
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It sounds to me as if the nib and feed weren't made for each other, so the nib was glued on to hold it in place. That, or maybe it was a Stipula warranty return and someone outside of stipula glued it on, not knowing any better.

 

But all of these special edition Supremas of 2009 sold by Regina Martini and another US-based Ebay seller have this big Bock steel nib and feed. The question is - because it is friction fit and not the screw-in unit - was it Bock or Stipula who messed up the assembly. They are alomost all very dry writers, while mine has no nib creep. maybe I will take mine appart, but it requires a lot of force ...:unsure:

 

Yes, and sold unused. I think my nib gunk got there by accident before it was fitted to the feed, since the feed is unharmed. I also believe that it was unnoticed (it had dried) when it was fitted to the feed. If you have the time to take your nib apart (it is easier if you let it stand for a while in warm (not hot) water) it would be interesting to see what you find.

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  • 3 weeks later...
They are alomost all very dry writers, while mine has no nib creep. maybe I will take mine appart, but it requires a lot of force ...:unsure:

I recently acquired one of these. The nib was fairly easy to extract by grasping it with a small piece of that "gripper" type shelf liner that is used to cushion and protect glassware on shelves. The new nib was very shiny and clean like Dandelion's Ventidue nib. I did not use it to write with since I had an extra 18kt Stipula nib that I popped into its place. The pen became an instant favorite. Very well balanced and easy to handle.

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The Stipula gold nib units are screw-in, but this special version of the Suprema has friction fit nib and feed, unlike the original Supremas, which are long gone except of the Nuda.

 

But what about the feed? Is it clogged with glue, too?

 

No, that is the strange part - it is completely free from stickiness. I guess that the glue (or whatever it is) was put on the nib (and eventually the collar since that also is miscoloured and corroded) by some reason and had dried/semi dried before it was fitted into the pen. My theory now is that it must have been some kind of chemical reaction between the glue gunk and the ink - that would explain the discolouring and corrosion that one can see on the back of the nib and the collar. One more detail is that it is also "seeping out" between the tines. The "shadow" that can be seen to the left of the tines on the photo with the nib where you see the upper side of the nib is a thin layer of gunk that spreads from the tines and is almost impossible to remove. A swab only draws out new gunk. I now this sounds strange, but so it is.

 

The current crop of Etruria piston fillers with 18k nibs are friction fit (pull out along with the feed). I've pulled enough of them out to know this for an absolute fact.

Actually, all Etrurias are friction fit, just that some have a nib assembly which can be screwed out. And my crop of current Etruria piston fillers, Nero, Etruria Amber Vintage, and Alter Ego, all have nib assembles which screw out. And in again of course biggrin.gif.

 

Warm regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchman
laugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

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My lovely Suprema ...now in FredRydr's hands..... The nib had a very strange screw-connection, iirc, which allowed removal, but didn't feel as if it was much more than a friction fit into the barrel.

Roger,

 

I just stumbled upon this post. I was messing about with the section only last Friday, and although the section unit screws out and in, it never seems to be fully seated. There is an o-ring that would absorb some of the compression, but that still doesn't explain why the section never stops spinning on the threads. The threads aren't stripped and it doesn't leak, so I don't force the issue.

 

No gunk on the nib. And it is an early ornate two tone nib, not like other monotone nibs I've seen in photos of Supremas.

 

It is currently with my other Stipulas in the hands of an FPNer who is taking photos.

 

Fred

Edited by FredRydr
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I have a suprema with one of them big steel nibs. It is a very dry writer and takes a bit to get going. Who should I contact for a new nib if it turns out mine is all gunked up. I've sent a message to Regina on ebay, but she doesnt have any replacment steel nibs only gold for $65. Not really wanting to spend another $65 does anyone know of a good place for replacment nibs? I cant even find the stipula website.

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