Dangit, stink, drat, phooey, piffle, nuts, rats, tartar sauce!(Havana Brown Problems)

[manoeuver]

Loving the Havana Brown I picked up at the Bmore Pen Show. It works a charm in my new TWSBI 540 and my Lamy Al-Star F. Twice I've inked my Lamy Safari 1.1 italic with the stuff and it just won't work. The nib jams, it's like crud clogs the slit.

The selfsame converter with the same ink fill when moved over to the Al-Star writes flawlessly. Reinking the Safari 1.1 with PR Ebony Green it starts up, purrs and writes.

Any ideas what's happening? I'm worried the same seizure might occur when my TWSBI italic nib arrives. I really like the Havana Brown, I'd like to use it with any of my pens. Bleah.

[Pinkys.Brain]

Strange. I've never had problem in my Lamy Logo with a 1.1 nib and Havana Brown. Just tested the 1.9 nib and I have no problems. I actually never had problems with Havana Brown in any pen.

Maybe there were some residues of other ink in the feed... -_-?

If you have the feeling that there's not enough ink flow you can run a razor blade through the nib to widen the space between the tines a little bit (be careful: minimizing the inkflow is harder to achieve with the 1.1 nib). You can also alter the ink flow by increasing/decreasing the space between nib and feed:hold the nib as if you were writing and gently press downwards on the paper (turn the pen as if you'd write with the back of the nib to decrease the space (easier to revert).

A bit too much of ink flow is not negative when it comes to Havana Brown. The wetter the line, the better the shading and the darker the brown.

[fountainpenkid]

I used havana brown back in middle school--it didn't seem to make a problem with my pens back then.
I agree with pinky'sbrain on this-- there probably is still some ink in the feed, and the chemistry didn't work out well when it mixed ith the previous ink.

Just a guess,

Will

[gwgtaylor]

I love tartar sauce and havana brown. Separately mind. I agree with the other commenters except for the razor blade tip. Sounds like a good way to do irreversible damage to your nib.

[KrazyIvan]

You can floss the nib with a brass shim. I hear they are available at hobby shops but I got mine in a nib smoothing kit from Richard Binder's site.

[manoeuver]

I think the nib is picking up fibers from the paper. Had it gum up with the PR green a couple times since I posted first. might pick up the smoothing kit from Binder, I want to try some smoothing and maybe a grind or two...

[Pinkys.Brain]

I love tartar sauce and havana brown. Separately mind. I agree with the other commenters except for the razor blade tip. Sounds like a good way to do irreversible damage to your nib.

Using a razor blade increases the ink flow, so while it does not damage the tines, there's a high possibility that one has to adjust the tines afterwards (I like wet pens, so I don't have to do a lot of adjusting).

I think the nib is picking up fibers from the paper. Had it gum up with the PR green a couple times since I posted first. might pick up the smoothing kit from Binder, I want to try some smoothing and maybe a grind or two...

Maybe the tines just aren't aligned. You can often test it by normal writing: When the nib runs smoother in certain direction than others there's a high possibility of misalignment. You can also test it by moving the underside of the nib over the tip of a fingernail. If the nib hangs when going in one direction but not when going the other way they could be misaligned - as always: don't apply pressure

[picautomaton]

My charcoal safari with 1.1 nib has been inked with a fill of HB for about 3 weeks. Starts first time no crud no problems. I think somethings' up with your feed to nib surface, maybe too tight?