# Stop and Go Nib



## itsme_timd (Apr 8, 2008)

I'm new at turning and using fountain pens and recently made one I like quite a lot, the only prblem is the nib flow is stop and go.  It will write fine for a while and then stop all together.  I take the nib off and give a gentle squeeze to the cartridge and it writes well for a while again.  Any suggestions?

I'm sure I could search this out but can anyone tell me the best / easiest way to clean a nib?

Thanks,


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## DCBluesman (Apr 8, 2008)

Check out these two short articles.  http://www.penturners.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=34009  If you are still having problems, come back and ask more questions!


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## itsme_timd (Apr 8, 2008)

Will do, thanks!


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## Firefyter-emt (Apr 8, 2008)

Try flushing it with 90% water and 10% ammonia (not ice cold, not hot... just room temp water)  Sometimes there are oils left over from making the parts and it can mess with the flow.


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## aurrida (Apr 9, 2008)

try good quality ink/cartridge, oem cartridges not so good, csusaÂ´s are better than arizona's.


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## itsme_timd (Apr 9, 2008)

Thanks for the replies and the info.

I thought I had fixed the flow issues on my favorite pen, thought being the key word.  I follow all directions in the PDF's and cleaned thoroughly with 10/1 amonnia dilution, no luck.

I'm looking to order some new nibs but still wouldn't mind being able to fix these temporarily.

Any ideas?

Thanks,


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## DCBluesman (Apr 9, 2008)

Once you have cleaned the reservoir and tuned the nib, the next step is to get a quality ink.  A quick fix is to get some Quink from a local office supply store.  Fresh, colorful ink can be a slippery slope, though.  You may end up with dozens of bottles on your desk before you know it!


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## itsme_timd (Apr 9, 2008)

Thanks Lou, I have a bottle of 'Speedball Super Black India Ink' that I grabbed at Hobby Lobby.  I don't know much about FP's and even less about the ink!

Also, I just sent you an email a bit ago about buying some quality nibs.


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## DCBluesman (Apr 10, 2008)

Tim - STOP!  Do not ink your fountain pen nibs with India ink.  India ink is meant for dip pens only.  It will gum up your reservoir, feed and nib.  If you have already used the ink, go back through a thorough cleaning, then start over with fountain pen ink.


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## itsme_timd (Apr 10, 2008)

Thought I replied to this but it's not showing now...

So, once I drained all the 10W30 out of the pen and cleaned the nib well I reloaded with the cartridge that came with the pen - writes great (well, it writes) now.  Oops... [:I]


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