Pen priming?

[Queue]

I recently bought my first fountain pen (it is having issues but that is another post) but the Noodler's ink I purchased also came with two free pens. One of them is holding me over until I get my nice (i.e. purchased for its own sake) pen repaired. I have found, however, that it takes a few minutes of random scratching in the margins of my page before the ink flows freely if I haven't used the pen in the past 15 or so. I would presume that I am doing something incorrectly and I would be much obliged if I were to be informed of what that is.

 

Thanks in advance!

[OcalaFlGuy]

The more information people have like what pens and inks are concerned, the more they can offer meaningful help...

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Queue]

The more information people have like what pens and inks are concerned, the more they can offer meaningful help...

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

Sorry. It is Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng and the free eyedropper pen that came with it.

[majorworks]

You're filling a Preppy "disposable" pen as an eyedropper, right?

 

Fill the barrel with your Noodler's ink to almost up to the inside threads... don't put the cap on the bottle, though. Start screwing in the section (the business end of the pen with the nib) with the nib pointing up. Once you get it screwed around halfway in, invert the whole pen so it's nib down, making sure you keep it over the open ink bottle. Continue threading in the section over the bottle; as you do so you should get a few drops of ink out of the nib and feed. Presto! Your pen is primed and ready to write.

 

You'll want to at least apply some 100% silicone grease to the threads on the section before you screw it into the barrel.

[Queue]

You're filling a Preppy "disposable" pen as an eyedropper, right?

 

Fill the barrel with your Noodler's ink to almost up to the inside threads... don't put the cap on the bottle, though. Start screwing in the section (the business end of the pen with the nib) with the nib pointing up. Once you get it screwed around halfway in, invert the whole pen so it's nib down, making sure you keep it over the open ink bottle. Continue threading in the section over the bottle; as you do so you should get a few drops of ink out of the nib and feed. Presto! Your pen is primed and ready to write.

 

You'll want to at least apply some 100% silicone grease to the threads on the section before you screw it into the barrel.

 

I've got that part--more or less (Si grease would have been good information to have)--but I can write with it just fine, and have been doing so quite happily The problem comes when the pen hasn't been used in some time (hours not weeks), for example when I came home from work tonight I had to spend five or ten minutes coaxing ink out of the pen and could then use it again. Am I missing a step?

[majorworks]

I've got a Preppy filled with Noodler's Baystate Blue. I filled it exactly as I described to you and it writes flawlessly after being left to stand overnight, maybe 15 hours later.

 

Is the collector (the ribbed-looking part inside the clear plastic section) full of ink? If it is, then something else must be amiss.

[Queue]

I've got a Preppy filled with Noodler's Baystate Blue. I filled it exactly as I described to you and it writes flawlessly after being left to stand overnight, maybe 15 hours later.

 

Is the collector (the ribbed-looking part inside the clear plastic section) full of ink? If it is, then something else must be amiss.

 

I tried flushing the nib section--and put it together nib side down--and that seems to have done it; the ink is running a little lighter in color than it was before but I expect this to change with time (a brief writing sample indicates it will). I don't know if it was the flush or putting it together with gravity in my favor but something clicked.

 

Thank you!

[majorworks]

I'm guessing the ink is running lighter in color because you didn't allow the section to fully dry before inking the pen. No biggie; it'll write its way out.

 

It's not about gravity, but rather compression of the air in the barrel as you complete the screwing together of the two parts of the pen that forces the ink to flood the collector. A passive piston effect, if you will.

 

Glad it worked out!

Edited January 28, 2010 by majorworks

[AllWriteNow]

Hi Queue

Here are some instructions on our page

 

ED Filling Instructions

 

Steve

[Queue]

Hi Queue

Here are some instructions on our page

 

ED Filling Instructions

 

Steve

 

Thank you very much although now I'm tempted to get a couple of their pens. This is a dangerous place to hang out.

 

One question I still have is where do I find Silicon grease and why do I use it? Does it just keep ink out of the threads of the nib half and hence keep the pen cleaner?

[nkk]

Ink will work its way through threads, as they do not make an airtight seal. Silicon grease, on the other hand, will. It is why something like it is used in chemistry labs to seal flasks with things that react with components or air, or which have a harmful vapor. It's not just about the pen being clean, its about the pen not leaking all over you.

 

-Nkk

[OcalaFlGuy]

Queue, Tryphon is probably the cheapest place for the Silicone grease. If you want some right away, a SCUBA diving

place will have it as it's used to lube SCUBA regulators.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Queue]

Ink will work its way through threads, as they do not make an airtight seal. Silicon grease, on the other hand, will. It is why something like it is used in chemistry labs to seal flasks with things that react with components or air, or which have a harmful vapor. It's not just about the pen being clean, its about the pen not leaking all over you.

 

-Nkk

 

Thank you very much; it's been ordered.