Asa Genius 2015 Pen Review

[sansenri]

Thank you TruthPil

I have been playing around with my Asa Genius in the last month but as much as I like it, I do not seem to be able to get it to work properly.

Besides the dryness which I initially reported, my Genius seem to be unreliable as it just dries out.

I have taken it to work a few times, and repeatedly it would not write when first opened in the morning. Since I always carry a few spare fountain pens with me exactly to avoid the dreaded "oh no, it won't write" panic moment, it was promptly set aside and substituted by an old faithful Pelikan M200 (never fails to write on first stroke...).

I have tested it again a few other times and always has the same problem although it is well inked up (Waterman Florida Blue).

Today I went back to this thread, saw your post and tried the priming trick.

It does seem to improve in the flow, however I will have to leave it unused for a while to see if the drying out problem persists.

thanks

[truthpil]

That's odd about the nib drying out, but it is probably due to the flow being too dry in the first place.

Because there's no inner cap, I was initially concerned about the nib drying out overnight, but that never happened.

If left unused for a few days, I did need to make a stroke or two to get it flowing again, but it was no hassle at all.

 

If you have taken out the feed (it can be pulled out with some rubber gripping material) and thoroughly cleaned it with a toothbrush to make sure nothing is causing blockage, and you have primed the feed as well when filling, it should write fine. If not, then the next thing to look into might be the nib itself. Maybe it does need to have the tines separated a little using the "thumbnail trick" or by pulling opposite directions on the two "wings."

 

Keep us posted on your progress! My Genius has shot up the list being one of my favorite pens, so I hope yours can function perfectly as well.

Eventually I'll get another one set up to use a converter.

[sansenri]

Thank you!

I am checking it further. Last night I had to wet the nib to get it writing again, I went through a page of scribble or so and capped it again and left it on my desk, in horizontal position. When I picked it up tonight again it was rather dry, not as much as yesterday but still I had to write with it through skipping and dry writing for at least half a page before it would reach an acceptable flow.

Yesterday after following your advice the nib was more than wet, ink was building up at the sides of the feed close to the nib tip, so I would judge that to be wet enough, and in fact it would write quite fluently.

So it's not a problem with the nib I think, it has to do with the feed.

I have to follow your next advice, pull out nib and feed and give them a good wash together with the section, I am not sure whether I did that initially, washed yes, but perhaps did not take out nib and feed.

In comparison I have now 2 Rangas inked up.

My main reference is an ED Ranga 8. The last time I filled it up with Diamine Oxford Blue it was 20th of April (my notes say), it writes without fail every time I pick it up even after a week unused...

I have just now inked up also an ED Ranga 8B which I received recently, and it's the first time it sees ink.

The nib is a steel Bock B (marked Conklin) and wow!, it's super smooth and flow is fantastic, almost like a paint brush, I hardly need to touch the paper to write!

I will leave it on my desk together with the other two and see tomorrow how it goes.

[Sagarb]

Thanks for the review..ASA Genius is one of the most beautiful pen have produced ever..its size, its balance, its super comfortable section, everything I like so much.I already have one, and I think ,after reading your review, I need another one very soon..

Edited June 19, 2018 by Sagarb

[sansenri]

an update

my Asa Genius hasn't quite dried up tonight but almost, i.e. it's on its way to...

no time tonight to do a thorough washing of nib, feed and section, and perhaps take a look at the feed channel, I will have to postpone till at least tomorrow

[sansenri]

The nib feed and section have been disassembled and thoroughly washed. The feed has been scrubbed with an old toothbrush.

I washed all of them with a small amount of dish washing soap because they all felt somewhat sticky from silicone gel.

I gave a good look at the feed. The groove in the middle was somewhat obstructed, at least towards the end that goes into the section . So I increased very slightly the depth of the slit with a cutter. I stopped after very marginal work, I prefer to go by steps.

 

I screwed the section onto the barrel again (which is still full of ink), after a while, when ink started reaching the nib I tried it out.

Flow seems to have improved a little, although it is still not up to the Ranga. There is still a some dryness which increases as I write.

 

I had a go at opening the tines slightly, I usually use a piece of old photographic film to bush between the tines, as it is very mild on the nib and will not harm it by accident.

After a few tries flow has improved quite noticeably, no dryness any longer, for now. Flow is not quite up to the Ranga but much better than before, and in any case this is an M nib, while the Ranga is a B.

 

I am relatively happy with the result. I will leave it on my desk for the night, and test it again tomorrow...

[mhguda]

Have you tried heat-setting the nib&feed? After all the work you've done, that's what I would try next. Also, pushing the nib slightly farther into the section sometimes increases the flow.

[sansenri]

thank you mhguda, I did not need to do that

 

after treatment and one night rest in horizontal position on my desk, I am glad to say it is now a totally different pen!

 

writes immediately, with good flow, as soon as I touch the paper

I am not sure whether it was a feed issue or a tight tines problem or possibly both but it certainly has changed completely

 

thank you for putting up with my descriptions, all these pen maintenance skills have been learned thanks to FPN!

Edited June 24, 2018 by sansenri

[truthpil]

thank you mhguda, I did not need to do that

 

after treatment and one night rest in horizontal position on my desk, I am glad to say it is now a totally different pen!

 

writes immediately, with good flow, as soon as I touch the paper

I am not sure whether it was a feed issue or a tight tines problem or possibly both but it certainly has changed completely

 

thank you for putting up with my descriptions, all these pen maintenance skills have been learned thanks to FPN!

 

Wonderful news. Congratulations!

[mhguda]

thank you mhguda, I did not need to do that

 

after treatment and one night rest in horizontal position on my desk, I am glad to say it is now a totally different pen!

 

writes immediately, with good flow, as soon as I touch the paper

I am not sure whether it was a feed issue or a tight tines problem or possibly both but it certainly has changed completely

 

thank you for putting up with my descriptions, all these pen maintenance skills have been learned thanks to FPN!

Thanks for the update.

You're right, this site teaches all of us. I too learned many new tricks here! So it's only fair to pass them on, plus any extras that I learned from experimenting from where those got me...

And a good description of the problem, plus what you've done to try to fix it, is the best way to explain the problem to others. It usually will pull me in to try and solve the puzzle. So not a question of putting up with - it's what's needed to help.

I'm so glad your pen now performs to your satisfaction. I too have an Asa Genius, and it's one of those that's never really out of rotation. I recently got the white version (called Swan) of it as well. Since all of these are handmade, they do differ slightly; the Swan is a little longer than the Genius, but just as comfortable in the hand...

[sansenri]

thank you all, the learning and sharing knowledge is no doubt a best part of the fun!