Sheaffer italic calligraphy pens

[wangminze]

Hey guys,

I recently received a Sheaffer calligraphy mini kit: a pen with three swappable nibs of different tip widths. The largest is a 2mm, and when I use it, the feed has trouble keeping up. I converted it to an eyedropper which has helped but it still skips ever 2-3 stokes, so every letter almost! I couldn't get it to write at all when I used a cartridge.
Is there anything I can do to increase the flow?

Thanks,
Michael

[wangminze]

Oh this isn't italic but I finally got a nib holder and a zebra G nib for some copperplate. Do I have to buy calligraphy ink for the high viscosity? Any fountain pen inks that work?

[Lady Onogaro]

Wangminze,

You will need to buy calligraphy ink for the Zebra G; Try Higgins Eternal Ink, which is pretty inexpensive. You could try iron gall inks, like KWZ or the new Platinum ones, I learned this weekend. Most fountain pen inks are not thick enough for pointed pen calligraphy.

I can't help you with the Sheaffer calligraphy mini kit.

[Paddler]

On the Sheaffer nib: try flossing the slit with a piece of Dacron (not cotton) sewing thread wet with dish detergent. There may be oil left in the slit from the manufacturing process. Also, leaving ink in the pen and storing it point down for a few days may wet the feed better and increase the flow.

Before you limit yourself to calligraphy ink, try fountain pen inks. Most pointed pen dip nibs will work with them. Some will not, though, and for those you can add a little gum Arabic to the ink.

[wangminze]

Thanks for the inputs Lady Onogaro and Paddler. I will check out those inks and most likely buy one. I'll check and see if my mom has any Dacron or some other thing that might work - not cotton or dental floss :)

[ac12]

Personally I would not have converted it into an eye dropper. If you read about eye droppers, you will see many posts of problems with the pen "burping." And unless you are writing a LOT, you won't need the capacity of the entire barrel anyway, the Sheaffer cartridge is adequate for the majority of people. Even the smaller capacity converter works fine.

Go to the drug store and get a bulb syringe and use that to force water through the pen.
http://blog.gouletpens.com/2012/08/fp101-fast-pen-flushing.html

[Scooby921]

I had a Sheaffer No Nonsense (kit with the 3 different sized nibs / sections). I didn't have any trouble with it, but the nib and feed being non-removable made it difficult to clean at times. Soak it, flush it, and do what you can to make sure there isn't any dried up ink in the feed.