Traces of ink on the nib of old Pelikan 100N

[lowks]

I bought this pen online from a collector which is the Pelikan 100N. The pen writes just great and I use it daily. The only problem that I have with the pen is that I find splotches of ink of the pen every time after I cap it, as seen with the photo below, in my attachment. Sorry about the photo being a bit blur but I think you can see what I mean. The ink I am using with this pen is the Mont Blanc black ink.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Jeph]

Nib creep itself is pretty normal. Is the ink always in the same place shown in this picture? Because that looks like ink pooled in the cap. Those old ebonite feeds usually fill rather generously with ink. I would rise (not soak!) the inside (only) of the cap and see how much ink comes out. And when you are using the pen look at the feed fins and see how much ink they have collected. You can also look to see how much, if any, ink collects around the front of the collar at the end of the section.

[D Armstrong]

You can also get ink residue in side the cap if you shake or drop a pen, and it will then get on the nib every time you put the cap on. Often it creeps into the crack between the inner and outer caps, then seeps back onto the nib or section by capillary action.

Like Jeph said, just rinse the cap under the tap, then dry it off and swab out the inside (a cotton swab works well for this). You will probably get inky color on the swab. You may have to rinse a couple of times before it gets clean. You don't have to soak it. Realistically, cleaning out the cap should be part of regular maintenance for your pen (even a Pelikan!)

[ac12]

To clean the cap, I would not dunk the cap in water, nor put it under a tap of running water.
I would "twizzle" roll a piece of tissue and twist it into the cap, to absorb any liquid ink.
Then I would use a damp cotton swab (Q-tip) to mop up any dry ink, and follow with another dry twizzled tissue to mop up the dampened ink.
What I do not like to do is to get water between components where it could start to rust metal.

ps, you really need to do a better job with the picture the next time. It not "a bit blur" it is so blurry that I get a headache trying to look at it to figure out what you are talking about.

[tandaina]

If you are getting a lot of ink in the cap the piston seal may be going. You really shouldn't be getting ink leaking into the cap.

[Laura N]

It could be a problem developing. Here are a few additional questions:

Are you storing the pen nib and cap up?

Are the nib and feed firmly seated?

Does this happen with every ink you use?

Have you tried Pelikan ink?

[brewsky]

Absolutely normal, my old and new pelikans all do this. It doesn't bother me in the slightest though.

[lowks]

It could be a problem developing. Here are a few additional questions:

Are you storing the pen nib and cap up?

Are the nib and feed firmly seated?

Does this happen with every ink you use?

Have you tried Pelikan ink?

- Storing the pen nib / cap horizontally

- Nib and feed looks firm

- More or less ... some inks exhibit less of this nature

- Have not tried Pelikan ink yet.

[lowks]

If you are getting a lot of ink in the cap the piston seal may be going. You really shouldn't be getting ink leaking into the cap.

Well I did try to apply a few weeks prior some silicone grease to piston seal, what would be the way to confirm that the piston seal is having problems ?

[Laura N]

Try storing the pen nib and cap up. See if that eliminates any ink collecting in the cap.

As Jeph said, nib creep is normal with some inks, so if that's all you have, don't worry. You have an issue if the ink begins leaching out in larger quantities, usually pooling in the cap and around the section.

Pelikan ink is more dry, so it's a nice match with Pelikan pens -- especially the vintage ones which have great ink flow. That might be worth a try, too.

[Chi Town]

are you sure there are no cracks in the barrel? I say this as I just ran into this problem with a vintage Mont Blanc 221 that appeared to have nib creep, when in reality it had 2 cracks in the barrel up near the nib area.....