Aurora 88P Dry Nib

[Andreas Smith]

I've just bought my first ever Aurora 88P vintage fountain pen. It is in superb, I would say mint condition, with no marks on the body at all. The ink window was totally clear and the piston works perfectly. Unfortunately the nib puts down a very dry line and also feels a little scratchy. The nib is marked medium, though it looks more like a fine to me. I've checked the tines with a loupe and they seem to be well balanced. The slit is very narrow, though, and there seems to be no gap at the tip. I've tried running a sliver of camera film through the end of the nib numerous times, and I've also pressed on the nib, to try and open up the gap to let the ink flow more freely, though none of this has worked so far. I would very much appreciate any advice from FPN members. I've wanted a vintage Aurora 88 for years and would love to see this beautiful pen working well. But I am nervous at the prospect of damaging the nib.

[Paul-in-SF]

For any pen, especially a vintage one, one of the first steps probably should be a very thorough cleaning, and possible a soak in some solution (I have read frequently here of 10% ammonia in water with a couple of drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid as being effective). If you have an ultrasonic cleaner, that can also help break free any particles of old ink that may be getting in the way of ink flow. That may or may not help the scratchiness, but if the ink is flowing well it will at least lubricate the nib against the paper better than if the ink is not flowing well. 

 

I just got a Platinum President EF that is having a very similar problem, even though it is new. I'm hoping I will be able to fix it and/or find an ink that flows better. So I'll be following this discussion with interest. 

[Andreas Smith]

I'm soaking the pen in a glass of water with a couple of drops of dishwasher liquid. Should I also fill the barrel with this water, or draw the water in and out? I'm a little worried about affecting the working of the piston, which so far has been good.

[Paul-in-SF]

As I understand it (and I am not an expert), water + a tiny amount of dishwashing liquid is less potentially damaging to the ink storage area than pretty much any ink, having fewer chemicals in it. It could be beneficial to the ink channel to flush it out completely, and unless there is a nib unit that unscrews, drawing in the water with the piston is the way to do it. Just be sure to flush out the dishwashing liquid + water several times with plain water, and then let the pen sit nib-down in a tissue or some other absorbent medium to draw as much water out as possible, which is only to avoid diluting your ink when you put some back in the pen. 

 

If the problem is really with the tines being too close together all this may not help much, but it is a useful first step to eliminate the easy problems. For what it's worth, I took a look at my 88P, an F nib, and the tines look very tight, but it writes just fine. Here's hoping your pen can be what you want. 

 

[fabri00]

I have the impression that many of the nos  pens available are pens with some minor  fault, forgotten somewhere because of that.

Maybe a washing with soap will not be enough, and in that case you should send it to a person able to repair it.

[Andreas Smith]

After soaking in water with a little dishwashing liquid for a few hours, no extra ink came out. I flushed out the pen and took the opportunity to clean the patina off the nib with a drop of toothpaste (the gold looks like gold again!). Using tips from old FPN posts and YouTube videos, I pressed the nib near to the tip against a hard surface, going gently and bit by bit, to open up the slit. Once I could see light coming through the tip, I filled the pen with ink. It now writes a consistent, wet, medium line, smooth with a little feedback, just as I wanted. It's a beautiful pen and will certainly become one of my daily writers. I'm guessing that it has indeed been sitting unused for sixty years because no one got round to fixing the ink flow. I got it with the original box (a Fiat car company gift) and instructions too. Anyway, thank you for the help and suggestions.