Sheaffer 330 (Quasi-Imperial) - Hard starting

[mhm_ar]

Hello all,

I bought Sheaffer 330 (Quasi-Imperial) Short Diamond Nib - Fine nibe (New Old Stock) recently. The pen experiences hard start every time I leave it for few hours, if I shake it (many times), the pen writes and keeps writing well and don't skip, if I leave it for few hours, the issue happens again (hard starting).

I have cleaned it (soaked it for 1 hour), tried different inks (Parker, Palikan and other Chinese ink) and got the same behavior. I don't have Sheaffer cartridges around here and shipping the pen back and forth internationally is not an option. 

Any suggestion? 

[VillersCotterets]

To restore my quasi‑Imperials, what worked for me was taking the feeder apart, washing it with soap, and brushing it with a toothbrush. It seems that even after a long soak, some ink residue still won’t come out.

More importantly, hard starts are usually a sign of poor tipping geometry, such as a baby’s‑bottom shape, or surface issues like overpolishing, corrosion, or rust. On many vintage pens, I lightly polish the tip to make it write like new, as a bit of pitting can appear over the decades despite the stainless steel or gold. The tip is made of a different metal.

I doubt that using a cartridge would help. An ultrasonic cleaner could easily save you from having to take everything apart.

[mhm_ar]

Thank you VillersCotterets.

Will check how to dismantle the pen and clean it, I have did that with Parker pen but not with Sheaffer pens. I highly doubt that an ultrasonic cleaner around, but will check if someone has it, as I understand I don't need to dismantle the pen if I use the ultrasonic device.
Is there anything I can do in respect to possibilities such as baby’s‑bottom?

Thank you

[bsenn]

Placing the section in a container of water with a tiny bit of dish soap and setting the dish on top of a clothes dryer or other piece of equipment which vibrates a little (air con unit, fan, or similar) is not as good as an ultrasonic but will provide a deeper clean than without any vibration.

[zmija]

"Placing the section in a container of water" is like restarting Windows   

[mhm_ar]

Thank you for your replies.

I did a though clean and then soaked the pen for around 24 hours and let it dry, unfortunately it still has the exact same behavior.

I attached few photos as I don't have deep experience in nibs and I couldn't tell if it requires any adjustment. Do you see anything unusual that might cause this issue? 

Appreciate your help.
 

[VillersCotterets]

To assess the alignment of the tines, the view from above is the least informative, while the view from the front provide the most useful information.

[mhm_ar]

Thank you for your reply.

This is the clearest view I could take

[VillersCotterets]

Your photographs are too blurry for us to give any useful feedback. The point, however, is less for us to tell you than for you to examine the nib yourself, ideally with a loupe.

I think you have no other choice but to disassemble the feed and clean it more thoroughly. This is not difficult, but the first time, warm the metal part to about 50 °C to soften the adhesive. Take care not to overheat it or damage the plastic housing. The nib unit simply unscrews.

[mhm_ar]

Thank you for your reply.

Its not easy to take pictures for that small nib. 

From what I see, there is no tines misalignment based on my limited experience and the feeding system seems fine after the clean process. Don't know if the pen has what is called baby's bottom or not. I will keep looking.