Pilot Metro Started Dragging When Filled With Bsb

[SomethingWicked]

Has anyone tried using Noodler's BSB in their Pilot Metro? I filled mine a couple of days ago, and I swear the pen is now dragging. I've wiped off the tip of the nib with a lint-free paper towel and that helped somewhat, but now I'm wondering if this isn't a physical trait of BSB.

 

Has anyone noticed whether their pens started to lose their smoothness when using BSB? This is my first Metro, so I'm not even sure how it's supposed to write, but I'm a big fan of Pilot so I didn't expect drag, especially since, in the first couple of days, I didn't have any issues with that.

 

Do you use anything, like a hint of liquid soap or something, to help ink flow?

 

 

[Lou Erickson]

I've had BSB in a Metro and didn't notice anything like that. My pen wrote fine with BSB. Perhaps it isn't BSB but another ordinary pen problem; misalignment, paper fibers caught between the tines, etc.

[WilsonCQB1911]

What did you have in the pen before? Is BSB lubricated? Could you have gone from a lubed ink to one that isn't? That is noticeable in my experience.

[KBeezie]

What did you have in the pen before? Is BSB lubricated? Could you have gone from a lubed ink to one that isn't? That is noticeable in my experience.

Baystate Blue is not listed as lubricated.

 

http://noodlersink.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/103012_noodlers-ink-properties.pdf

 

Personally I never really needed a lubricated ink for my metropolitans (There's only been like one or two inks that were pretty dry in it).

 

Though because it is Baystate Blue, I would probably recommend you pull the nib and feed out (it's friction fit, just have to pull them out together because the nib is hooked onto the feed), rinse it underwater and check to see if the feed has been melted at all. I wouldn't imagine it being the issue since he supposedly reformulated the ink, but I've seen pictures of it melting a Safari feed, and depending on the materials used in the metropolitan feed it could be possible (though I've seen BSB work fine in a varsity, but that's not the same kind of feed).

 

It only takes a couple minutes to get the nib and feed out to rinse and check to see if that's the case. Hopefully it's just a case of the ink being a little too dry for the pen especially if it's a fine nib.

 

With the worst case scenario out of the way:

• Have you tried it with any other inks?
• Is it a fine or medium nib?
• Did you fully flush the converter and pen with water with a hint of dish soap and fresh water before using it for the first time (to clear Mfr debris/oils)?
• Have you checked the alignment of the nib under a loupe?
• Is it only one specific paper that it's dragging on?
• Are you using any kind of pressure to get the ink to flow (it's not a ballpoint, firmness is not required)

Edited August 31, 2014 by KBeezie

[A144]

I'm running BSB in a recently purchased Metropolitan M (it was purchased as a dedicated BSB pen). I haven't had any issues yet and it's been a couple weeks. It writes comparable to my other Metropolitan with a M nib, which gets assorted inks.

 

I also don't notice any difference when swapping my Lamy nibs between my BSB Safari and my other Safari. And in this case, it's the exact same nib.