What Makes A Hard Starter?

[sidthecat]

I've bought a number of vintage pens that the sellers have called "restored", but ink flows grudgingly from them. After a bit of encouragement they write well, but I can't help but think that the would-be restorers are neglecting something.

 

Anyone like to pitch in with a suggestion on the phenomenon of hard starting?

[carlos.q]

1. I have found that some vintage ebonite feeds take some time to become fully saturated.

2. Another problem could be the ink you are using.

3. Third, but not least, maybe the pen gods did not smile at you on that day.

[pajaro]

Nib tuning and alignment might be off. If the inner cap doesn't seal the nib will dry up and be a hard starter.

[sidthecat]

I use pretty wet inks...I'm inclined to suspect alignment.

[Pen Engineer]

It's not easy to get a virgin started.

 

Ink, mainly water, and solid materials need to be acquainted... making them hydrophilic, water friendly. Absolute, sterile cleanliness is of utmost importance. It's called surface tension. I wrote about this in my fountain pen website under this link.

 

I wrote a separate article just about making the feed ink friendly through chemical treatment and material choice. That's on the page Feeds made of Plastic.

 

The next extremely important question: Is the fountain pen in question filled through the nib, feed, section passage or is a dripper feed or cartridge? The suckers have the advantage that to some degree, the ink transporting components are primed while the ink is sucked into the tank or converter.

 

Sure, alignment is a consideration. It's more the intimate contact between feed and nib that counts. Once the ink has touched the nib it will find the slit. Of course, the worse the alignment the longer it takes. On the page How to... for Nibs shows some of these correlations.

 

Happy reading. I wish that this information give some clarity.

[sidthecat]

The majority of my pens are lever-fillers.

 

Any suggestions re. The pen gods? Sacrifices of Diamine Oxblood?

[ac12]

When you say "ink flows grudgingly from them." Is this after a fill, or first time it is used that day, or ...

 

• Look at the tip of the nib with a 10x loupe,
  If it has a baby's bottom profile, that could be the problem.

• What pens are giving this problem?

• What ink are you using?
  Dry ink in a dry pen could be a problem.

• How are you storing the pen; nib up, flat, nib down?
  I have one pen that I have to store, nib down, or the ink won't flow. When stored nib up, it has a very hard starting problem. When stored nib down, it works fine. I have another pen that I store flat, for the same reason.

[Pen Engineer]

The information you give is too vague to give you more specific answers.

 

you may as well do the oxblood thing. one just can never know if one never tries

[daljitgroup]

wow never know such deep things about pens. thanks for sharing with us

[Pen Engineer]

wow never know such deep things about pens. thanks for sharing with us

My absolute pleasure