Improving ink flow

**Kennnyboy** · August 17th, 2015, 08:00 AM

Hi all,
I have a lovely Wahl Eversharp Doric with an adjustable XF to BB nib. It's beautifully flexy and I love writing with it. However, I would like to improve the ink flow to the nib. Is there an easy way to do this? I'm not sure if I should try to remove the nib and give the feed a gentle brushing. I have not removed the section to flush the nib that way. So I'm unsure how to go about trying to improve the flow...Would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks
Ken

**Kennnyboy** · August 18th, 2015, 02:23 AM

Just a quick update. I carefully unscrewed the nib last night and connected it to a bulb syringe and flushed it well. Flushed the inksac and reassembled the pen. It hasn't really improved the amount of ink fed to the nib.

**KBeezie** · August 20th, 2015, 11:09 PM

What did you flush with? Just water? Also did you check for the alignment between both the nib/feed position and along that rail in the center that the adjustable switch rides on?

**Kennnyboy** · August 21st, 2015, 07:48 AM

Yup - just water. And no I didn't check the alignment. Is there something in particular that I should be looking for?

**ac12** · August 26th, 2015, 03:39 PM

What ink are you using?
Try switching to a wetter ink, like Waterman or Aurora. That should get you more ink flow.

**KBeezie** · August 26th, 2015, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by Kennnyboy

Yup - just water. And no I didn't check the alignment. Is there something in particular that I should be looking for?

Check section "II" and section "IV" on this PDF. http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

It'll help if you have a 10, 20 or 30x loupe to look at, and the PDF shows you how to look down the writing surface to determine if it's aligned.

Misalignment tends to be the most common reason behind scratchy nibs as well as improper flow.

IF that's all good, you can probably use some brass shim (or acetate/transparency film) to floss between the tipping to open it up a tiny bit. (there are faster ways of doing that, but potentially more destructive).

**Kennnyboy** · August 28th, 2015, 07:50 AM

I'm using Diamine inks and they seem to work for every other vintage pen I have. But I do have a Pilot Iroshizuku on its way too.
Thanks KBeezie for that link. I'll take a look at the alignment of the tines. I have even bought a USB microscope to help!