Leaky / Drippy Wahl-Eversharp Gold Seal

[Scooby921]

My new-to-me W-E Gold Seal needs fixing and I am not sure what to do. It will write fine for a few days and then it just starts to leak. A drop of ink forms on the bottom side of the nib and then drips onto the page as I write. Based on the ink which gets into the cap and all over the nib / section it seems the ink also just leaks out if the pen isn't kept cap up such that gravity keeps the ink in the sac.

The pen was old and abused when I bought it. I took it apart and removed a petrified ink sac. I replaced it, flushed the pen, inked it up and it wrote. I tested first with Parker Quink Blue-Black. It wrote well at first and then started this leak / drip phenomenon. Next I removed the threaded nib unit from the section and put some silicone grease on the threads, thinking the ink was leaking out of the sac and around the threaded unit. It still leaked. Thinking perhaps the nib and feed were clogged up and the ink / air weren't moving through the expected channels I knocked the feed out and cleaned everything. I scrubbed old ink residue out off the underside of the nib. I used a soft brush to clean the ink channel on the feed. I reassembled everything and it was good for a few days. Then it started leaking again. I tried a different ink (Sailor Kusatsu Green) and it still leaks. I'm not sure what to try next.

Does this sound like a familiar phenomenon to anyone who repairs and/or restores vintage pens? Is there an ideal depth to which these Wahl-Eversharp nib units are to be threaded in? Is it good or bad to put silicone grease on the nib unit threads? I had a similar issue with a Pelikan 400nn 2 years ago, but never managed to solve that one either.


Ink droplet formed on the underside of the nib



Ink droplet transferring to page



It's a rather significant volume of ink as I turned the post-it note on end and let the droplet flow down the page

[FredRydr]

Does the sac fill the space inside the barrel, or press against a pressure bar that doesn't retract as fully as it should? If so, try changing to a narrower sac size that drops in and falls out of the barrel without any prodding. Heat transferred from your hand to the sac can cause ink and air in the sac to expand and "burp" ink past the feed onto your paper. If the pressure bar does not fully retract and unduly presses against the sac, this can also be your problem. An old used lever-filler pen oftentimes will not have as much space for the original size sac as it did when new. This is due to lever and/or pressure bar distortion, and the easiest remedy is to try a narrower sac.

[Scooby921]

I pulled it apart and double-checked the ink sac. It's technically undersized according to most guidelines on choosing an appropriate size replacement. It's stretched a bit to fit on the section. I guess my next test will be the depth to which I screw in the threaded nib unit. Right now it's all the way in...bottomed out. Next time I clean and refill the pen I'll try setting it flush with the leading edge of the section and see if that makes any difference.

[RayCornett]

Did you go into a warmer tempurate area to write when you noticed this happening?

[penwash]

Look for pinholes on the ink sac. Fill the sac with water and see if there are any leaks on the sac itself.

If that's not the problem, the next suspect is cracked nib collar or section.

[Scooby921]

Did you go into a warmer tempurate area to write when you noticed this happening?

Not significantly. I've had the same issue at home and at work where the temperatures are 70-75*F.

Look for pinholes on the ink sac. Fill the sac with water and see if there are any leaks on the sac itself.

If that's not the problem, the next suspect is cracked nib collar or section.

I will check the sac again, but it was brand new when I installed it and I did at least check it for leaks prior to sliding the sac / section assembly into the barrel of the pen. I haven't seen ink leaking out through the lever assembly, but a pin hole may not allow enough volume to be a problem. I'll definitely take a loupe to the nib collar and section as well.

Thanks for the suggestions!