Jump to content

Misaligned Tines Due To Bumps In Feed?


jcammin

Recommended Posts

Hi,


I have a Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue with 14k medium nib. It writes nicely but upon inspection with a loupe I noticed that the tines are misaligned (see attached photo). When I took the nib and feed apart for cleaning I checked the tines again and the tines are well aligned if the nib is removed from the feed (sorry - the image is a little blurry). Looking at the feed one can see that there are small bumps in the plastic. I believe this causes the one tine to be raised compared to the other. Does anyone have a suggestion how to fix this problem? Maybe I can use a file to remove the bumps? I purchased the pen in July 2013 so I guess I could also send it back under warranty.


Thank you,

Jochen



post-105286-0-99881400-1394916356_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 13
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • jcammin

    4

  • KBeezie

    2

  • Paddler

    1

  • discopig

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

If you can send it back under warranty that would be your best bet. If you play around with sanding it it might void the warranty. Might as well get a new piece if you can. If it wasn't under warranty I would think trying to sand/file it down with the finest grit you can get your hands on would be best. Make sure to wait for advice from other people as I am not the most knowledgeable.

The post above should not be regarded as the absolute and undeniable truth and facts as it may contain the garbled mutterings of an overworked, stressed and nonsensical student who may or may not be on the brink of insanity.
Please regard her with ten grains of salt and stay out of arms reach and at least ten metres away.

Much obliged,
Crazy Cat Lady

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have no warranty experience.

 

That being said, if you can get it repaired/replaced under warranty I would do that before I tried any DIY project with it.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the height of the bumps is sufficient, it can surely cause this issue. The feed looks off, never seen such bumps on the platinums that I have taken apart. return the pen.

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I contacted the company where I bought the pen and they offered to exchange it. I received the new pen a few days ago. The feed doesn't have the bumps but the problem with the misaligned tines is the same: The bare nib (removed from the section and feed) has perfectly aligned tines. When the nib is in the pen, then the tines are misaligned as show in the photo of my original post.

 

I suspect that maybe this batch of Platinum pens has a a small asymmetry in either the feeds or the sections. I rotated the nib and feed within the section to different angles but the problem doesn't go away. I noticed that when I don't insert the nib and feed all the way into the section (leaving a space of 1.5 to 2 mm) then the tines are well aligned and the pen writes less scratchy.

 

I can live with that but I wonder if anyone else has seen this on their Platinum 3776 Centuries? I'm also going to contact the seller again about this.

 

Thank you,

Jochen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I once had a very similar issue with an old sheaffer touchdown, no real bumps so to speak, but the tines wouldn't be quite aligned unless I offset the tip of the feed a little off to the right if I were viewing at the underside of the feed. So in a way the nib would be every so slightly off-center in terms of being lined up with the feed, but would still write fine, flow fine, etc. So it could be the overall shape of the nib itself, or the feed, or both that it just won't align when the feed and nib are perfectly lined up, so may just have to offset to one side or the other to see if that helps fix without having to adjust the nib itself.

 

Though I'm not sure if you're able to do that with a platinum (wiggle the nib from one side to the other), since I haven't had the chance to play with one.

Edited by KBeezie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would return the pen also.

 

But, for what it's worth, nearly every pen I have bought in the wild has had mis-aligned tines. I think that, over time, the feeds warp and push one tine or the other out of kilter. I just give the tine a tweak and forget about it. For most pens, removing and replacing of the nib and feed is asking for trouble.

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everybody for the replies. This is already the second pen with the same issue. I'm not hopeful that another return will solve the issue. It might be a production problem with the specific model or production batch. But I will contact the seller again and report back to this forum what they say.

 

Jochen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An off center feed can indeed push one tine up. You'll never get the tines to line up if off center.

 

A warranty is intended for just this kind of thing - please take advantage of it. A manufacturer would be justified in declining to honor the warranty if the pen is played with or modified.

spacer.png
Visit Main Street Pens
A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful vintage pen repair...

Please use email, not a PM for repair and pen purchase inquiries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It might actually be worth sending those photos directly to Platinum; they may well thank you for pointing out the problem. ("I told you to NEVER let Aoyagi near the feed-casting station!")

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

fpn_1465330536__hwabutton.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can live with that but I wonder if anyone else has seen this on their Platinum 3776 Centuries? I'm also going to contact the seller again about this.

 

Yep. Same happened to me a 3776, regular black version with F nib, that I bought from Engeika and received no more than two weeks ago. Since I didn't want deal with the prospect of returning something across oceans, I just worked on it myself. I tweaked and adjusted the tines, eventually got it writing ok but still with too much scratch for my liking. I'll probably send it to a nibmeister. If I'd have paid more than I did for it, I would be upset.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33474
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26573
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...