Opus 88 leakage from cap's finial threads.

[aliasmissferkit]

Just registering an issue with two Opus 88s that I like and rely on quite a lot (a clear Omar, and a Stilo e Stile Demonstrator). When stored horizontally, ink leaks into the cap - not a lot, just 'enough'.  From there, ink seeps out of the finial threads of the cap, onto whatever they may touch.

 

The original version of the Lochby Quattro pen case - which had two pens pointed up, and two down - contributed to this issue, receiving a halo of Noodler's Green Marine and Noodler's Navy in return.  The issue made me appreciate simple cap liners. It also made me appreciate Lochby for redesigning the case with all pens in a single orientation.

 

I unscrewed the finials, put a bit of silicone grease on the threads, and will try to remember to store my Opuses upright.  (The ink stains are ... well. A permanent part of the fountain pen journey.)

[Karmachanic]

6 hours ago, aliasmissferkit said:

I unscrewed the finials, put a bit of silicone grease on the threads

 

Maybe put that grease on the nib housing?

[A Smug Dill]

6 hours ago, aliasmissferkit said:

… will try to remember to store my Opuses upright. 

 

Hmmm, do you usually stand your pen (carry) cases up for storage, as opposed to laying them flat in a drawer or on a shelf? Right now my Opus 88 pens are all in a pen roll that happens to be standing on its end; but at other times the pen roll just lie sideways. So far I haven't seen any expulsion and/or dripping on ink from the nib into the cap, for any of my three Picnic and one Koloro, when the pens are unused. I have a larger-sized Demonstrator, but I don't like it as much and so don't keep it filled (and ready for writing at a moment's notice) all that often.

 

Pushing the stopper onto the top end of the feed, by screwing down the end knob on the pen before putting it away, will probably also help prevent any unwanted migration of ink into the feed and nib and then perhaps the inside of the cap.

[aliasmissferkit]

On 5/14/2022 at 4:09 AM, Karmachanic said:

 

Maybe put that grease on the nib housing?

Ah! Yes - I already do have a bit of silicone grease on the nib housing / section threads.

[aliasmissferkit]

On 5/14/2022 at 4:25 AM, A Smug Dill said:

Pushing the stopper onto the top end of the feed, by screwing down the end knob on the pen before putting it away, will probably also help prevent any unwanted migration of ink into the feed and nib and then perhaps the inside of the cap.

Everything is battened down before storing away; further inspection kind of cleared 'horizontal storage' from blame - it's the older Lochby design issue that created the problem (the leakers were the two that were made to point down). Lesson learned: this case needs to be laid flat.

[Harold]

Three questions:

1. Is the black O-ring inside the grip at the back of the nib housing still present?
2. Do you close the ink shut-off? If so, do you first clear the antechamber of ink and are you holding the pen nib up while screwing it shut?
3. Have you tried applying a little bit of silicone grease to the rod?

[Karmachanic]

@aliasmissferkit Did you disassemble this pen?

[aliasmissferkit]

8 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

@aliasmissferkit Did you disassemble this pen?

No.

[aliasmissferkit]

8 hours ago, Harold said:

Three questions:

1. Is the black O-ring inside the grip at the back of the nib housing still present?
2. Do you close the ink shut-off? If so, do you first clear the antechamber of ink and are you holding the pen nib up while screwing it shut?
3. Have you tried applying a little bit of silicone grease to the rod?

Good questions; here are answers:

1) Yes.

2) Yes; and - come to think of it - I don't clear the antechamber before battening it down.  That sounds like a potential problem to consider.

3) No. I will try this (the idea being that the stopper may not be moving into closed position, I take it). 

[Harold]

Essentially, we're trying to make sure that there are no gaps anywhere, or fill them with something if there are any. It's like putting your finger on one end of a drinking straw submerged in water and pulling the straw out of the water; the column of water will stay in place as long as there are no other holes.

 

The reason you might get a small leak if you screw down the rod while there is still ink in the antechamber(or if your feed is highly saturated) is that the rod itself has a volume, and you are pushing a part of the rod into the barrel. As a result, an equal volume of either air or ink will have to be expelled from the feed to equalise the pressure. If there is a clear path of air from the antechamber to the nib, air will be pushed out. If there is a small volume of ink blocking the path, it will just saturate the feed a little or the ribs on the feed will catch the excess ink before the path is cleared. But if there is nothing but ink all the way from the antechamber to the feed, ink is all that can be pushed out. This happens with any pen that has such a system; Japanese-style eye droppers, vacuum fillers, Conid's bulkfiller, etcetera. Though in many of those pens you're dealing with a thin metal rod, so the volume of ink that gets displaced will not be as large as with the thicker ebonite rods on the Opus 88s.

 

You can do one of two things to prevent this. Hold the pen nib up and give it one firm shake toward the floor to drain the ink into the barrel(may require some practice). Or do the reverse of what causes the issue: first pull the rod out of the barrel with the nib up, which will suck air through the feed and antechamber and into the barrel to equalise the vacuum, and only then screw it down.

[Karmachanic]

2 hours ago, Harold said:

 This happens with any pen that has such a system; Japanese-style eye droppers, vacuum fillers, Conid's bulkfiller, etcetera

 

 

I must be special as I've not had this experience with either my Conid or Opus 88 Koloro, though for the most part I leave the valve continuously open. Doesn't happen with my horizontally stored converter or piston fillers either

 

As for draining the "antechamber" simply open the knob 3mm and hold the pen nib up for a few seconds and let gravity do its thing. No shaking required.

[Harold]

18 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

 

 

I must be special as I've not had this experience with either my Conid or Opus 88 Koloro, though for the most part I leave the valve continuously open. Doesn't happen with my horizontally stored converter or piston fillers either

 

As for draining the "antechamber" simply open the knob 3mm and hold the pen nib up for a few seconds and let gravity do its thing. No shaking required.

I haven't experienced it much either, because like you I also leave the shut-off open unless I'm planning on doing an Olympic trampoline routine with a pen in my pocket. But on my Opus 88s, at least half of the inks I use are not coming out of that antechamber unless I give it some assistance. Just hangs up there indefinitely with surface tension. The antechambers on for example the Conid Kingsize always drain readily for me regardless of ink used, though.

[aliasmissferkit]

On 5/17/2022 at 12:07 AM, Harold said:

You can do one of two things to prevent this. Hold the pen nib up and give it one firm shake toward the floor to drain the ink into the barrel(may require some practice). Or do the reverse of what causes the issue: first pull the rod out of the barrel with the nib up, which will suck air through the feed and antechamber and into the barrel to equalise the vacuum, and only then screw it down.

Thanks, Harold; this makes sense, and should do the trick.  (My variation has been gently tapping the section with a bit of heavy dowel).  As to the second variant - you'd have to push the rod back up in order to screw it down - wouldn't that push air / ink through the feed? Granted - if ink is first sucked cleanly out of the feed, there may be no ink to displace, and so no problem.  And I imagine the viscosity of the ink may play a role. I shall experiment using a demonstrator in my non-copious leisure time!

[Harold]

1 hour ago, aliasmissferkit said:

As to the second variant - you'd have to push the rod back up in order to screw it down - wouldn't that push air / ink through the feed? Granted - if ink is first sucked cleanly out of the feed, there may be no ink to displace, and so no problem.

Exactly, once you've cleared the feed and antechamber of ink, you can safely move the rod to your heart's content without any risk of pushing ink out. 

[aliasmissferkit]

On 5/21/2022 at 7:38 PM, Harold said:

Exactly, once you've cleared the feed and antechamber of ink, you can safely move the rod to your heart's content without any risk of pushing ink out. 

By George - I think we've got it!  It takes a village to raise a pen.