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Problem With Flow - Pineider Le Grande Bellezza


Rindy_Ruth

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I hope you don't mind me copying and reposting the essence of a couple of posts from a Facebook group I belong to, but I wanted to reach a wider and more diverse audience with this.



A few of us in the group have recently purchased Dante Del Vecchio's newest creation, the Pineider Le Grande Bellezza (which has also been reviewed in the Italy - Europe forum). As the reviewer there has indicated, OOTB it writes like a dream. The problems arise when one has only a small-ish amount of ink left in the cartridge converter - less than half, but not nearly empty. When one reaches that point, the pen begins with hard starts, skipping and even railroading. We are now trying wetter inks, Iroshizuku Shin-Kai in mine. One poster suggested that it is a converter problem, where the ink sticks to the sides of the converter instead of flowing down to the mouth and into the feed.



I wanted to tap into the wisdom of this group for your thoughts. If this is a converter/ink flow problem, I would think that it would also happen to other people, with other pens. I love me some sheening (not shimmering!) inks - Organics Studio Nitrogen and Walden being two of my favorites - and would hate to have to give them up for this beautiful pen. Is there anything that can be added to the ink to insure that it will flow down to the mouth?



Thank you for any insight that you may have.



Best,


Rindy_Ruth


Edited by Rindy_Ruth

I collect expensive and time-consuming hobbies. - loved this, and stole it!

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You could check to see if the ink is sticking to the side of the converter. Does any of your converters contain a bead or spring to loosen the ink?

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Have you tried flushing your converter with a tiny dot of dish soap and water to break down the surface tension?

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Have you tried flushing your converter with a tiny dot of dish soap and water to break down the surface tension?

 

Thank you Ghost Plane, and I hope you don't mind me referencing your review. I wondered if there was something simple like the flushing you recommend that could make a difference. I will try that when I get home from the salt mines.

 

Rindy_Ruth

I collect expensive and time-consuming hobbies. - loved this, and stole it!

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You could check to see if the ink is sticking to the side of the converter. Does any of your converters contain a bead or spring to loosen the ink?

 

SpecTP - I think you are correct, and the ink is sticking to the sides of the converter. The pen takes a standard international converter, and I am using the Pineider branded one that came with the pen. It does not contain a bead or spring to loosen the ink.

 

Rindy_Ruth

I collect expensive and time-consuming hobbies. - loved this, and stole it!

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The dish soap trick would be my first thing to try. It seems to be a converter issue based on performance beginning as consistent, then breaking down as the air to ink ratio changes in the converter. To test my theory, switch from the converter to a cartridge and see how the pen performs.

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Welcome to the board and feel free to encourage others in your group to join if they want. We’re here to share what we learn. That’s what those reviews are for.

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I'll either use a Schmidt K5 converter when this happens, or I'll rip open a spent Chinese no-name cartridge and use the glass bead from that as an agitator. The beads from these cartridges are slightly larger than other cartridges I've used (though I've only used a handful of brands) and the only ones that don't just flow right back out of the converter. I've had limited success with just flushing the converter when this happens (admittedly with much cheaper pens and converters).

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The dish soap trick would be my first thing to try. It seems to be a converter issue based on performance beginning as consistent, then breaking down as the air to ink ratio changes in the converter. To test my theory, switch from the converter to a cartridge and see how the pen performs.

 

GP - I will try that. So you haven't had this problem with yours? Maybe you started out using a wetter ink than I/we did. Can I ask what ink you are using in yours?

 

Thanks so much for your input on this.

 

Rindy_Ruth

I collect expensive and time-consuming hobbies. - loved this, and stole it!

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Flushing should help a lot, but another easy thing is when you get to 1/2 full advance the converter to remove the air. I have seen other pens do just what you said but just turning the converter knob to keep the ink close to the feed fixes it. Might only have to do it once per fill at the half way or 60% used point.

 

I had to do that with two Visconti pens yesterday and that was all it needed. Also had to do it before on other brands.

Edited by Driften
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Flushing should help a lot, but another easy thing is when you get to 1/2 full advance the converter to remove the air. I have seen other pens do just what you said but just turning the converter knob to keep the ink close to the feed fixes it. Might only have to do it once per fill at the half way or 60% used point.

 

I had to do that with two Visconti pens yesterday and that was all it needed. Also had to do it before on other brands.

Driften - Thank you once again for your wisdom. I will try this and see if it fixes the problem. It is also good to know that it happens with other pens. My pen is not "broken." Ha.

 

Rindy_Ruth

I collect expensive and time-consuming hobbies. - loved this, and stole it!

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I had the same worry you did when two different Visconti pens starting a little bit of railroading yesterday. I worried about them somehow developing a flow issue, but they had been great before then. A turn of the knob fixed them and they are still working perfectly today. For some reason I didn't get worried back when it happened with a Pilot Falcon or other C/C pens, but none of them cost as much as these Visconti. So don't feel bad.

 

Ruth it's just part of the fun of using converters. At least with a converter you can do that, where an ink cartridge you are stuck shaking the pen or something. For some reason I have only had one piston filler that needed this sort of treatment. It was a Noodlers Konrad. All of my other piston fillers I have never need to do such a thing. It's why I have sold off most of my C/C pens and the majority of my collection are piston or vacuum fillers.

 

The cleaning with the drop of dish soap will help and has made a big difference for me, but it's just something about converters that make then dry out easier and need to be forcing the ink where it keeps the end of the feed wet. Maybe other people have difference experiences, but that is mine.

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Turning the pen nib up and pushing the air bubble out is indeed an option. Just do it where any "oops!" spray won't hit clothes or furniture.

 

So far mine have had Herbin, Kyoto TAG, Kobe, Bungbox, Kwz, and DeAtramentis inks without issue. I write a LOT! :blush:

 

There's something to be said for keeping the feed nicely wet with ink for a week of use to soak in and flush out. If you try all the tips suggested above and still have trouble, I'd send it in (does anyone have the Pineider info for warranty work?) as it would tend to hint at a feed/flow issue beyond converter problems at that point.

 

If you're going to do the dish soap trick, don't use more than what you would pick up by dipping the tip of a toothpick in the soap, then transferring to the convertor. Rinse well before replacing on the pen and sucking up ink. Otherwise it can get...messy :yikes:

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I collect expensive and time-consuming hobbies. - loved this, and stole it!

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Turning the pen nib up and pushing the air bubble out is indeed an option. Just do it where any "oops!" spray won't hit clothes or furniture.

 

So far mine have had Herbin, Kyoto TAG, Kobe, Bungbox, Kwz, and DeAtramentis inks without issue. I write a LOT! :blush:

 

There's something to be said for keeping the feed nicely wet with ink for a week of use to soak in and flush out. If you try all the tips suggested above and still have trouble, I'd send it in (does anyone have the Pineider info for warranty work?) as it would tend to hint at a feed/flow issue beyond converter problems at that point.

 

If you're going to do the dish soap trick, don't use more than what you would pick up by dipping the tip of a toothpick in the soap, then transferring to the convertor. Rinse well before replacing on the pen and sucking up ink. Otherwise it can get...messy :yikes:

 

Thanks so much Ghost Plane. I will give this a try tonight.

 

Rindy

I collect expensive and time-consuming hobbies. - loved this, and stole it!

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