Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Showing 1 of 91 conversations about:
srdiamond
3
May 26, 2017
bookmark_border
loadexfa
281
May 27, 2017
bookmark_border
srdiamondFountain pen nibs can be adjusted to write wetter or dryer but can take some practice before you're good at it. I would recommend first experimenting on cheap steel nibs, so if you ruin one you won't mind the money lost.
Two techniques to make it wetter: 1. While the nib is still in the section, you can carefully try to apply upward pressure to both shoulders of the nib. You want to do this with the tipping facing you. I find using my thumbs for this technique is easiest. It's probably best to have the pen inked so you can test it right away and see if it is wet enough after each attempt. One good thing about this technique, you're far less likely to unbalance the tines. Still, go easy and work your way up. Nibs are pretty easy to mess up if you're not careful.
2. You can add pressure to the nib, much more than you would while writing. Do this carefully and not for too long and then use it with normal/light pressure to see if the ink flow increased sufficiently. Another variation of this is to pull the nib from the section and manually adjust the tines by pushing them upwards. This is sometimes easier than applying pressure while writing. Either of these options for technique #2 are more risky. You are much more likely to unbalance the tines and/or open the nib too much so that it no longer touches the feed. If that happens the pen will skip if it works at all.
A technique to make it dryer: Similar to the technique for making the nib wetter #2, pull the nib and apply pressure to move the tines slightly downward. Again, this is still risky due to the chance of unbalancing the tines but you don't have the second risk of the tines no longer touching the feed from this technique.
There are other potential causes of ink flow issues. You could have either a blocked or simply a poor feed. Many feeds have a very small ink/air hole and are not suitable to supply wet nibs (they will skip). Japanese pens are usually good about providing large ink/air holes in their converters and most other brands are not. For that reason I almost exclusively buy non-converter filling pens unless the pen is Japanese or I am using a fine nib. For example, piston filling Pelikans, OMAS, and Mont Blanc pens usually have wonderful ink flow. But the cartridge/converter versions of the same exact pens have crap ink flow unless you like a fine nib.
The tipping of the nib can also cause issues with ink flow. Sometimes smoothening it will help using 12000 grit micro mesh (still be very careful, it is easy to flatten your tipping too much). Micro mesh is usually best for minor use to remove some tooth or generally smoothen a small issue.
Last major cause of skipping is unbalanced tines. It is possible to balance them yourself but the tipping often needs smoothening after this is done and it's hard to get tines to balance perfectly without some practice and patience.
For anything beyond minor tweaks I recommend either planning on spending a lot of time practicing or sending the pen to someone good at adjusting and fixing nibs. John Mottishaw is my personal favorite, he has been doing this for a long time and has done some amazing repair jobs.
Two techniques to make it wetter: 1. While the nib is still in the section, you can carefully try to apply upward pressure to both shoulders of the nib. You want to do this with the tipping facing you. I find using my thumbs for this technique is easiest. It's probably best to have the pen inked so you can test it right away and see if it is wet enough after each attempt. One good thing about this technique, you're far less likely to unbalance the tines. Still, go easy and work your way up. Nibs are pretty easy to mess up if you're not careful.
2. You can add pressure to the nib, much more than you would while writing. Do this carefully and not for too long and then use it with normal/light pressure to see if the ink flow increased sufficiently. Another variation of this is to pull the nib from the section and manually adjust the tines by pushing them upwards. This is sometimes easier than applying pressure while writing. Either of these options for technique #2 are more risky. You are much more likely to unbalance the tines and/or open the nib too much so that it no longer touches the feed. If that happens the pen will skip if it works at all.
A technique to make it dryer: Similar to the technique for making the nib wetter #2, pull the nib and apply pressure to move the tines slightly downward. Again, this is still risky due to the chance of unbalancing the tines but you don't have the second risk of the tines no longer touching the feed from this technique.
There are other potential causes of ink flow issues. You could have either a blocked or simply a poor feed. Many feeds have a very small ink/air hole and are not suitable to supply wet nibs (they will skip). Japanese pens are usually good about providing large ink/air holes in their converters and most other brands are not. For that reason I almost exclusively buy non-converter filling pens unless the pen is Japanese or I am using a fine nib. For example, piston filling Pelikans, OMAS, and Mont Blanc pens usually have wonderful ink flow. But the cartridge/converter versions of the same exact pens have crap ink flow unless you like a fine nib.
The tipping of the nib can also cause issues with ink flow. Sometimes smoothening it will help using 12000 grit micro mesh (still be very careful, it is easy to flatten your tipping too much). Micro mesh is usually best for minor use to remove some tooth or generally smoothen a small issue.
Last major cause of skipping is unbalanced tines. It is possible to balance them yourself but the tipping often needs smoothening after this is done and it's hard to get tines to balance perfectly without some practice and patience.
For anything beyond minor tweaks I recommend either planning on spending a lot of time practicing or sending the pen to someone good at adjusting and fixing nibs. John Mottishaw is my personal favorite, he has been doing this for a long time and has done some amazing repair jobs.
srdiamond
3
May 27, 2017
bookmark_border
loadexfaThanks for the detailed reply. I do think this is beyond my manual dexterity.
keybers
194
May 29, 2017
bookmark_border
srdiamondIt means that after a page or two of writing, the feed becomes a bit starved, so you need to unscrew the barrel and turn the converter knob a bit forward so that it once more gets enough ink to write. (It doesn't get "hard starts"—it's more that it becomes dryer). Source of knowledge: owning a Lamy Studio (dark blue version). Generally, it's not the only pen I own that requires to have its nib "primed" in this fashion, so I don't consider this a drawback. It's a solid pen; can go more than a couple of weeks without drying out. I would have jumped on this drop because I like the palladium finish, but I already have my dark blue one, and it's frankly not a pen of which it makes sense to own two.
writerstephen
480
Jun 1, 2017
bookmark_border
srdiamondFWIW, I have never once had to adjust the flow of this pen. Never had a hard start or a skip.
Bailey2013
188
Jun 2, 2017
bookmark_border
srdiamondbasically means the pen is not a workhorse pen you can rely on LOL
Drop Refurbished
Like-new products you can trustDrop Rewards
Get $5 for every 500 points you earn! Learn more
Drop Keyboard Club
Become a member and expand your keycap collectionCollaborate With Us
For Brands & DesignersFollow Drop
I've never heard of adjusting the ink flow of a pen. Can someone explain?