J Model Air-bound?

[dante231]

I just picked up an Esterbrook J that was in pretty good shape. There was a lot of dried in on/in the feed but the sac was still pliable. I'm new to this and it surprised me that the sac was light in color rather than black.

Anyway, I cleaned the nib in water, water/ammonia and water/dish soap for a couple of days. I used dental floss to get the dried stuff out of the space between the nib and the feed. It's got the 1551 nib.

So it starts writing really wet - as wet as I'd want it, but after a page or two it starts skipping and flows poorly. If I unscrew the nib and put it back, it's back to writing wet again.

It seems as if the ink flow is getting air-bound. So when I remove the nib and replace it the air gets equalized and now the pen can flow. Any thoughts on this? Any ideas on what's going on and how to fix it?

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[penwash]

I would suggest replacing the ink sac. Even if the old one is still pliable, that doesn't mean it's flawless or gunk free.

If the nib/feed/section is not a problem (i.e clean), almost all ink flow problem find its source in the ink repository.

[EMQG]

If the sac isn't the problem, it could be that the feed channel isn't deep enough to keep up with flow

[Farmboy]

Seems like a big jump from sac to cutting the feed up.

[EMQG]

Seems like a big jump from sac to cutting the feed up.

Last resort of course - if a different ink or new sac doesn't work, this could help.

You're a hundred times more experienced than me though, so if I'm wrong, please let me know

[dante231]

I replaced the sac. Once I had it out, I cleaned the snot out of it. Whatever had been used in this pen had turned to varnish. It St Louis skips a bit, but I will use it and clean it and hope it gets better over time. Damn proud of myself for getting it this far . . .

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[Farmboy]

Seems like a big jump from sac to cutting the feed up.

Last resort of course - if a different ink or new sac doesn't work, this could help.

You're a hundred times more experienced than me though, so if I'm wrong, please let me know

After hundreds of Renew Points passing through the spa I have yet to encounter a feed that needs to be modified for flow. Sounds like the culprit was an India type ink. It is sometimes useful to sonicate the snot out of Renew Points and I have had to resort to running a wire down the feed to clean them. I can't really think of a time I had to take a Renew Point apart for any reason other than I just wanted it apart.

[EMQG]

Seems like a big jump from sac to cutting the feed up.

Last resort of course - if a different ink or new sac doesn't work, this could help.

You're a hundred times more experienced than me though, so if I'm wrong, please let me know

After hundreds of Renew Points passing through the spa I have yet to encounter a feed that needs to be modified for flow. Sounds like the culprit was an India type ink. It is sometimes useful to sonicate the snot out of Renew Points and I have had to resort to running a wire down the feed to clean them. I can't really think of a time I had to take a Renew Point apart for any reason other than I just wanted it apart.

Alright, good to know! Thanks! Any flow issues with Renews I have from now on, I'll stick to my ultrasonic and some Rapido-Eze.

In other cases, where all other options have been exhausted, am I correct that the air channel in the feed might need to be deepened to help prevent intermittent flow?

[dante231]

This pen is writing better, wetter now. But it still dries out after a page or so. I just turn it upside down for a moment and it comes back. Maybe fresh ink will clear out what's in there?

BTW, what wire do you put down the feed? I couldn't find anything thin, but stiff enough.

Unfortunately, no US cleaner . . . not sure I want to spend $100+ when I can buy more pens!

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[mmd]

What about just spend $10 to buy a new nib unit? That's one of the best feature of Esterbrooks.