Ink Blobs

[Hawk]

I have a Pelikan 400NN that burps ink sometimes when I am writing and sometimes when I lightly thump my hand on the desk. What should I look for to correct the problem?

[Tony Rex]

Make sure the nib is screwed properly (don't overtighten!), check for cracks on the section and nib collar.. If everthing is okay and the problem persists you might wanna check the piston seal.

[Hawk]

Tony, thanks. My nib and feed pull out of the collar and I saw a cracked collar. most likely that is my problem. I wonder if anyone makes and sells new collars, I really don't want to buy a new nib assembly just for the collar.

[Jeph]

Unfortunately you will not find any spare collars. Pelikan refuses to sell them alone and since it is not uncommon for the collar to crack the few people that have stashed lots of Pelikan parts are usually short on collars. I know that I am. And I was just at Pelikan begging them to sell spare parts but to no avail. They match the collar to the feed to the nib and then heat set them (yes the plastic feeds) and they do not trust us to do that ourselves. You can use the collar from a steel nib unit. The ID is a little smaller than the vintage collars as I recall but that can be corrected. I think richard Binder has a section on doing it. If you have the dreaded clear collar it is not surprising that it is cracked.

Also, make sure when removing/installing the nib unit on a Pelikan that you hold the nib unit and twist the barrel not the other way around.
I had already learned this the hard way by the Engineer at Pelikan made sure to stress that to me this weekend.