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View Full Version : Post-Noodler's TWSBI Flow issues. Post hoc ergo propter hoc?



snedwos
October 6th, 2012, 06:07 PM
I have a problem, it would seem.

I have had my TWSBI 540 for a week now, and have been loving it, but ever since I loaded it with Noodler's bad Belted Kingfisher it refuses to work properly with just about any other ink I have. It won't start properly, when it does start I get only a fine line where the slit is rather than the full 1.5mm italic stroke. And then it dries out again.

It has even stopped performing as well as it did with Apache sunset, which it seemed quite happy with at first and was the main reason I bought the 1.5mm stub.

I have cleaned and scrubbed the feed several times, and have now loaded the BBK into it again, and it is working flawlessly again.

Given all the nasty rumours about some Noodler's inks (that I have so far chosen to ignore), I do feel like I should ask the question: could the ink have done something to my feed? It doesn't really sound plausible, since a damaged feed wouldn't work for any ink, but I don't know what else it could be...

inky
October 8th, 2012, 08:00 PM
It almost sounds as though you had a ink clot somehow. Usually that is either from particulate in the bottle of ink or it can sometimes be when two inks combine and don't mix well with each other. Could be there was very slight residue on the TWSBI feed before you inked it up with BBK the first time. They may have reacted and then slowed the ink flow to the point where you were seeing the flow issues. I am only guessing that to be the case since a good scrubbing seems to have fixed the issue. I doubt very much that BBK did anything permanent to your feed. It is a pretty heavily saturated ink so my money is on a blockage of some kind happened. If you suspect the feed could be damaged I suggest trying some Waterman Florida Blue or some less saturated ink and see how that flows.

ddustinn
October 16th, 2012, 08:13 AM
The nib and feed are friction fit in the 540 - pull them out and see if you have a clog. An old toothbrush and some soapy water should be a good remedy.

snedwos
December 13th, 2012, 04:19 PM
I have done this several times since, and still the problem. I can't make head or tail of it... :(

Only lubricated inks flow properly (or at all), while others take coaxing or just decide to work or not according to the alignment of the planets or something.

inky
December 17th, 2012, 06:27 AM
Were you able to get the pen writting reliably since your last post? I wonder if trying a diffrent nib unit would narrow down what is causing the flow issues. You might be able to contact TWSBI and let them know what you are experiancing. They are genereally pretty good about making things right if there is a problem which it really seems like there is.

snedwos
December 17th, 2012, 08:56 AM
I want to get a new nib anyway, because the 1.5mm is too wide for everyday writing. For calligraphy work, the inks I like to use do work fine, and others some or most of the time. But I probably will get in touch with TWSBI and see what they say. It's just a matter of getting round to it... I'd also like to swap feeds with the new nib, but I'm pretty sure it's the nib rather than the feed.

inky
December 18th, 2012, 06:56 PM
That's a good call. My 540 came with a fine nib. It's a nice nib but I wish I had gotten it in a medium instead as that is more my line preference these days. I do also have a 1.1 stub that I find pretty much stays on the pen. Not sure if they are the Bock or Jowo nibs. The 1.1 is a bit flexy but the fine is pretty much a nail. I like your plan of swapping feeds, the more you can narrow down the issue the better. I tend to agree with you though, it is probably more the nib then the feed. Perhaps there is a baby bottom going on with it, I know they can happen to stubs too.

snedwos
December 18th, 2012, 07:22 PM
That's what I thought, but I can't see it. The symptoms are the same as on my Pelikan, and that one's pretty obvious.

caleath
February 24th, 2013, 04:21 PM
Did you ever get this sorted out...I have had BBK in my 540 and changed it to Burma Road Brown with not issues...but mine is a Medium nib.

KrazyIvan
February 25th, 2013, 10:35 AM
I have used that ink in my 530 with a 1.1 stub with no issues. That's when they were still using Schmidt nib units.

ToddPeperkorn
March 22nd, 2013, 01:31 PM
Hm. I am having a similar issue with a 580 and a 1.5 stub nib. When I talked to the company, they said it was a Jowo nib. I'm not sure where to go with troubleshooting this one.

amaranzano
April 11th, 2013, 08:59 PM
Hey there Snedwos,

Let me put my $0.02 in. I've been picking up my TWSBI 530, and it is now writing like a nail. I took the unit apart and soaked it in an amonia-palmolive solution for a few hours. Cleaned it and assembled it again. Used to be alot easier when I had full mobility, but got it back on. It wrote well for a bit and then it stopped again. I used Noodlers Qternity and it gave me very interesting line variation. It looked nice but it began to skip alot and became a nail once more. I took the unit apart and put it under the magnifying lamp. Saw no broker ebonite or the like. Recalling a nasty Wahl Symphony I had a while ago which was doing the same thing, I remember my buddy Joe Dinora telling me to open the fins with a razor. The Wahl feed did not have fins like the TWSBI feed, so I ended creating 2 openings from the top of the feed and had them go all around. It worked like magic. Well I took a xacto blade to the feed on top though. The find are opened well, I made a hairline pass through the top of the feed following the line on it all the way to the top. Then I took a piece of .25mm sheet metal piece and flossed it. Well, it flows well with all inks now. I do not have to prime it to write. Having the itch to fo more, I took an old nib I had from a Ducati Pen and replaced it. That change was just gravy since the pen was working well already.

Now if you do not want to be so daring with a feed, and with your precious fingers, I'd say reassemble the unit but try to live more of the nib out or push it in more on the section. Since the nib and feed are pressure fit, you can adjust the nib to feed ratio. The more the feed is towards the tip of the nib the more ink it should release. The further the nib is out the less ink will flow, thus technically the line laid should be thinner. As far as the flossing of the feed, you can try to open it with anything thing and a bit rigid. In past days I even used a medium needle to carve out almost half a hair thick line on the grove on top of the feed. Remember just as important as ink, the physics of air and vacuums come into play. Also, the thermal forces of the hand and the ink interact and thus can create an issue with flow.

Since you have taken the nib and feed apart, I am sure you have no clots, you should have seen them. If you do not feel like messing with a sharp object and your feed, try the nib adjustment see it helps. Some time back I would have offered to fix it for you, but I am still a bit shy about working on someone else's pens. Maybe in the near future I'll start my pen restoration thinggy again.

Hope this helps a bit. And please someone correct if I'm wrong!

snedwos
April 12th, 2013, 03:12 PM
The trouble isn't the feed, it's the tip of the nib. It has a bit of a case of baby's bottom. It's too rounded, so the ink struggles to flow down to the paper.

I've been using it with Diamine Red Dragon, which works just great, and is a pretty decent ink to use for calligraphy.

But thanks a lot anyway! Sound general advice, if maybe not so helpful in the present situation!

PS I don't think plastic feeds are supposed to take well to being cut into -- it's one of the reasons Nathan Tardif uses ebonite feeds for the Noodler's flex pens.