149 Runs Dry After A While

[Sleebus]

So, as I posted here a few days back I bought a used 149. It came pretty clean, after a quick rinse and a few flushes with water, everything was running clear. I've got it inked with Waterman Mysterious Blue. For the first day, it wrote fine. Second day it started running dry after writing a bit, eventually had to resort to unscrewing the blind cap a bit (just until I felt the piston move) and screwing it back down. It writes fine then, but maybe only for a few lines, then it's lather, rinse, repeat.

 

So question is: what to do?

 

I have at my disposal:

• Ultrasonic cleaner
• J. B.'s Perfect Pen Flush

I don't have the nib/section wrench to pull the nib/feed out. Normally, I'd do that, drop it in the ultrasonic for a while and put it back together. I've read that if you unscrew the nib, you need some sort of sealant (?) so it doesn't leak. Not sure what that is or if just silicone grease will suffice? Should I rinse the pen out, suck up some of the pen flush and soak it for a while? Give it a bath in the ultrasonic? I'd really prefer not to send it in as this does have the ebonite feed and I know MB's penchant for swapping things out...and it seems like a minor issue to send in for.

[Chrissy]

I would start by emptying the ink out then clean it with warm water again until it runs clear, then fill it with the J.B.'s Perfect Pen Flush and leave it for several hours to disintegrate any sticky ink deposits left in the internal feed.

 

Once you've cleaned it thoroughly, soaked it in pen flush, then cleaned it again, you can try part filling it with a little ink (so as to not waste much if it's still not right.) If that still doesn't work then find a way of standing it up so that you can clean it in your ultrasonic cleaner. You can stand it in a plastic cup with some water in there. If you have a zip lock bag, you can put it in there and lie it down in the ultrasonic. The USC will work just the same. However, you don't want to lie it down in there without it being in a sealed bag or you might get liquid behind the piston.

[Sleebus]

Chrissy, thanks. That's very helpful. Never thought about using a ziploc, that's a neat idea. If I do go the plastic cup route, I guess I don't have to worry about it resting on the nib while in the USC?

[zaddick]

Sounds like a clogged feed. I'd clean with water and then use the pen flush for a bit first.

[jar]

Patience is your best tool. It's likely that the clog is decades old so it will not disappear quickly.

[Chrissy]

Chrissy, thanks. That's very helpful. Never thought about using a ziploc, that's a neat idea. If I do go the plastic cup route, I guess I don't have to worry about it resting on the nib while in the USC?

 

Not if you're careful and it doesn't fall off somewhere from a great height.

[Pravda]

Depends where you live, i.e. humidity/pressure, I have noticed that Waterman Mysterious Blue runs dry in ALL of my pens even the broad nibs and within a few days I would have to flush it or refill even though the reservoir is more than half full. Try a different ink

[Sleebus]

Ok, took Chrissy's advice last night...dumped ink, flushed with water until clear, loaded with JB's and let it sit for a while. Flushed about 4 times with JB's, followed with several times with water. Loaded with a bit of ink to test, and proceeded to write 2 full pages with only 1 slight skip...which is much improved from the last time. Pen is definitely wetter also, so that's good. The Waterman ink has seemed to clean thing up in the past as I use it, so it may continue to improve. Did my plan for the day today, was flawless, no skipping. On the right track for sure. If it does it again, I'll repeat the above and I should be fine. Thanks for the suggestion Chrissy!

 

Depends where you live, i.e. humidity/pressure, I have noticed that Waterman Mysterious Blue runs dry in ALL of my pens even the broad nibs and within a few days I would have to flush it or refill even though the reservoir is more than half full. Try a different ink

 

I'm on the Texas gulf coast, so no problem with low humidity or low pressure here!

[Pravda]

Ok, took Chrissy's advice last night...dumped ink, flushed with water until clear, loaded with JB's and let it sit for a while. Flushed about 4 times with JB's, followed with several times with water. Loaded with a bit of ink to test, and proceeded to write 2 full pages with only 1 slight skip...which is much improved from the last time. Pen is definitely wetter also, so that's good. The Waterman ink has seemed to clean thing up in the past as I use it, so it may continue to improve. Did my plan for the day today, was flawless, no skipping. On the right track for sure. If it does it again, I'll repeat the above and I should be fine. Thanks for the suggestion Chrissy!

 

 

I'm on the Texas gulf coast, so no problem with low humidity or low pressure here!

It's not about low/high but rather about frequent change. I am I dubai which has similar weather to Texas and noticed that pens in general are wettest between 50%-70% humidity.

 

Not saying it's the reason you're encountering your issues, but when all else fails I just wanted to mention that my pens run from starved to gushers within the same 24 hours without changing neither ink nor paper.

[Sleebus]

Interesting. What inks do you prefer?

[Pravda]

Interesting. What inks do you prefer?

 

 

I rely on Iroshizuku (wet), Herbin (very wet), Diamine (fair) and Montblanc (dryish) for great performance and non-fear from staining the ink window etc. Waterman's are safe, but found Mysterious Blue in particular to run a bit dry after a few days- not sure why.

 

What I meant earlier is that here in Dubai humidity in the morning is around 20% then rises to 80% around the evening before starting to drop again to the 50% by sunrise.

[dubhe]

 

 

I rely on Iroshizuku (wet), Herbin (very wet), Diamine (fair) and Montblanc (dryish) for great performance and non-fear from staining the ink window etc. Waterman's are safe, but found Mysterious Blue in particular to run a bit dry after a few days- not sure why.

 

What I meant earlier is that here in Dubai humidity in the morning is around 20% then rises to 80% around the evening before starting to drop again to the 50% by sunrise.

 

 

Are you not mostly in air conditioned environments? Even bus shelters are air conditioned in Dubai!

[jar]

 

 

Are you not mostly in air conditioned environments? Even bus shelters are air conditioned in Dubai!

Down here not even all homes are air conditioned. Nothing outside is air conditioned.

[Pravda]

Youre right everything here is, but now its still winter perfect weather (the equivalent of English summer).

[Sleebus]

A bit of an update...

 

I pulled out the 10x loupe today and lo and behold the tines are misaligned. I can see that one side is bent down toward the feed. I gave it a shot bending it up into place, but those tines are more springy that one would think. I'm also a bit concerned I may end up bending the nib closer to the breather hole than down by the tip where it needs it, so I've opted for a date with the pen doctor at Dromgoole's one Saturday.

 

I will say that the bit of tweak that I did give it improved it a bit, and it's still out of whack. This is really going to write amazing once it gets aligned.