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Thread: Sacs - once in a while you get one with an invisible leak

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    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Sacs - once in a while you get one with an invisible leak

    Just because a new sac looks perfect, that does not mean it is perfect.

    I had a favorite big Sheaffer EF flex Lifetime nib and an over-size ebonized pearl Balance to put it in. Because of delicate circumstances surrounding this beloved nib over the previous year, I decided to let a penmeister do the reassembly and select from among feeds and sections that would best serve this nib, regardless of factory "correctness." Fantastic! Job done seven months ago, and this favorite pen resumed its place of pride, always inked and ready to write. Alas, since that time, ink flow seemed to get progressively more generous. I tried to control it by switching to another ink, and in December, I was advised in our Ink subforum to switch from my MB Toffee to dry Kaweco Caramel Brown. Today, with Caramel brown collecting on the underside of the feed and dripping onto my paper, I gave up on ink being the solution.

    I suspected the sac was at fault. I pulled the section and examined what appeared to be a perfect No. 20 sac, perfectly installed. I tried a couple tricks to see if I could get a droplet of water to migrate through the sac and form on the outer surface. No dice. So I pulled it off, cleaned up the section and installed a replacement sac. I let the shellac cure, filled the pen with Kaweco Caramel, and wrote. And wrote. I warmed the pen in my hand to force increased flow like an eyedropper pen, but no drips. More test runs....

    Problem solved.

    Lesson learned: like bicycle tubes, sometimes you get a sac with a tiny leak that cannot be seen. There's no point in anguishing about it, because that's just the way sacs are. Best to replace it, and if symptoms do not reoccur, celebrate! (I should have filled the new sac with my favorite MB Toffee ink, but I'll use up this fill of Kaweco Caramel, first.)

    I hope there'll be no drips...tomorrow.

  2. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to FredRydr For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (February 21st, 2020), Chuck Naill (February 22nd, 2020), Jon Szanto (February 21st, 2020), Ray-VIgo (February 21st, 2020), Sailor Kenshin (February 22nd, 2020)

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    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sacs - once in a while you get one with an invisible leak

    Quote Originally Posted by FredRydr View Post
    Just because a new sac looks perfect, that does not mean it is perfect.
    I hope there'll be no drips...tomorrow.
    Fingers crossed.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  4. #3
    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sacs - once in a while you get one with an invisible leak

    You missed a golden opportunity to try invisible ink.
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

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    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sacs - once in a while you get one with an invisible leak

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    You missed a golden opportunity to try invisible ink.
    Oh, you mean Demonstrator Ink! It's too valuable to use for things like that.

    2015_06_23_07_55_01.jpeg

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to FredRydr For This Useful Post:

    Jon Szanto (February 21st, 2020)

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    Default Re: Sacs - once in a while you get one with an invisible leak

    I use invisible ink when I can't think of anything to say, but then I forget what I wrote. Thank you for your post. I will now know why a pen might release too much ink once I've performed the restoration.

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    Senior Member jar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Sacs - once in a while you get one with an invisible leak

    Holes can't hide forever.

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