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Is A Schmidt #5 A Dry Nib?


HartGummi

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I have an ebonite eyedropper pen fitted with a Schmidt #5 nib. I topped my pen's tank with Platinum's Carbon Ink.

After keeping the pen nib down for about 10 minutes I tried writing a few lines. To my disappointment the nib doesn't seem to put much ink to paper.

The letters are faint with portions disappearing altogether.

 

I had run water throught the pen yesterday and allowed it to dry out. No obstruction or any sediment was found within the pen.

 

Could the ink be an issue or is it the nib?

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To eliminate the ink from question, I swapped out the Patinum with Diamine's Sapphire Blue.

 

The problem hasn't gone: Diamine flows better (as expected) but the nib is still very dry. Unless I move the pen vertically (with the tines) the nib just wouldn't put down enough ink.

 

Wiriting in a cursive hand is just impossible. The nib will give little ink when I move the nib point horizontally along the paper.

Edited by HartGummi
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fpn_1602341880__moonman_m100_writing_sam

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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That looks beautiful. My nib barely deposits any ink so the blue looks incredibly dull.

 

Thankfully Guider pens has agreed to tune the nib once I send my pen back.

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Could be the tines are too tight and restrict ink flow. This may help if that is the case:

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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That looks beautiful.

Thank you!

 

I had run water throught the pen yesterday and allowed it to dry out. No obstruction or any sediment was found within the pen.

 

Could the ink be an issue or is it the nib?

 

Just venturing some other possible (as opposed to diagnosed) causes:

  • there are insoluble particles obstructing the channel in the feed that are too large to travel its entire distance then come out through the nib slit, and the only ways to remove them are to push them back out the start of the feed (that is facing the ink reservoir) or separate the feed from the nib and/or gripping section to better expose the channel for cleaning
  • there are remnants of oily substances, from the machining and assembly processes, on the feed or the nib that soaking or flushing with plain water won't dissolve and/or remove
  • the nib tines are misaligned just enough such that when writing with the pen held at the user's normal angle, effectively only one nib is touching the paper part (or most) of the time

To deal with insoluble particles being stuck, some of the remedies I would personally try are:

  • flush the nib-and-feed assembly, or entire gripping section, under a running tap with nib tip facing up
  • if the feed has a 'nipple' for connecting a converter, then suck water or other cleaning solution up through the nib into the converter several times
  • 'shake' the feed assembly or gripping section dry with the top of the feed facing away from oneself in an attempt to eject both solid and liquid matter present in the feed by centrifugal force
  • put the feed assembly through a cleaning cycle in an ultrasonic cleaner

To deal with oily substances, I'd use a pen-cleaning solution, which doesn't have to be a commercially available retail product — a dilute solution of household detergent and ammonia will do — to soak and flush.

 

To see whether there is tine misalignment, you'd need something with sufficient magnifying power; that could be a magnifying visor, a loupe, a macro lens on a camera, a USB-connected 'digital microscope', etc.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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Update:

 

It seems the nib is the problem.

 

I took the the nib out and pressed it a little to spread the tines apart. This slightly altered nib writes a lot better than before.

It writes a wetter (although still not as good as A Smug Dill's ) line and the pen runs freely on good quality papers.

 

The lack of smooth running on middling quality papers is irritating. My Platinum Preppy runs smoothly regardless of paper quality. I expected better from my Schmidt nib.

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most are nice and medium flowing. Like any company at any price, there will be occasional QC failings.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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I agree with Honeybadgers. I have generally had good experiences with Schmidt-branded nibs in #5 and #6 size. I will add that I have had a few in F run a little tight and dry out of the box. As you go to M and B they're uniformly smooth and wet.

Anthony

ukfountainpens.com

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The lack of smooth running on middling quality papers is irritating. My Platinum Preppy runs smoothly regardless of paper quality. I expected better from my Schmidt nib.

 

 

I found the Schmidt #5 Fine nibs — we had eight of those — could be a bit sharp and dry out-of-the-box, and had to slightly smoothen a couple; but the good thing is that they're more precise than the average 'Western' F nib. My experience with Platinum Preppy/Plaisir nibs — we have about twenty — is that they're not nearly as fine and precise as one would come to expect of Platinum nibs of F and EF nib width grades, although they never write dry out-of-the-box; that's why I always tell people who want to try Platinum fountain pens for themselves not to get a Preppy/Plaisir/Prefounte (because they're cheap) and treat that user experience as representative.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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Update:

 

Mr. Rao of Guider Pen Works received my pen. He tested the fine nib and changed it to a medium one.

 

He will ship is back tomorrow.

Edited by HartGummi
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I have also seen the same problem with fine Schmidt nibs. It took a bit of tuning to get the tines opened up a bit and ink flow established. A bit of micro mesh helped with a rough issue. These nibs are OK but can be rather stiff and hard especially in a Fine. I've had a couple on Indian ebonite pens and have had to wrestle a bit with them. But these nibs are consistent because they have the same problems on the Chinese pens that offer them. I don't mind the effort to make them work, for me it's a part of the hobby I find stimulating. But for folks that are new to these things or don't want the hassles, I can sure understand the frustration.

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I found the Schmidt #5 Fine nibs — we had eight of those — could be a bit sharp and dry out-of-the-box, and had to slightly smoothen a couple; but the good thing is that they're more precise than the average 'Western' F nib. My experience with Platinum Preppy/Plaisir nibs — we have about twenty — is that they're not nearly as fine and precise as one would come to expect of Platinum nibs of F and EF nib width grades, although they never write dry out-of-the-box; that's why I always tell people who want to try Platinum fountain pens for themselves not to get a Preppy/Plaisir/Prefounte (because they're cheap) and treat that user experience as representative.

 

i've always felt this about preppy nibs too. glad to know I'm not alone.

 

They feel weirdly imprecise.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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