I have a Conklin Duragraph that railroads, skips, quits writing or won't lay a consistent line on high quality 100% cotton or excellent wood pulp paper. Hard starts are frequent. When I try to get the ink flowing again by scribbling on cheap lined filler paper, there is never any problem and it writes just fine. Can anyone offer insight about how to fix this problem? I have never tinkered with a nib before.
Railroading nib
- Thread starter bach_rocks
- Start date
Symptoms like that are usually caused by a ink flow blockage in the feed ... dried ink, a grain of dust, paper fibers, could be any sort of crud. I'd recently fixed one like that and found a crystal of something stuck in the main channel from the reservoir to the backside of the nib.
I'd suggest a thorough cleaning, possibly with the removal of the nib/feed. I soak the section in a 10:1 solution of water/ammonia or you could try lukewarm water soaking or maybe one of the commercial pen flushes. It's a modern pen? If so, use a bulb syringe, Brian Goulet has a video on cleaning a pen section with one.
I'd suggest a thorough cleaning, possibly with the removal of the nib/feed. I soak the section in a 10:1 solution of water/ammonia or you could try lukewarm water soaking or maybe one of the commercial pen flushes. It's a modern pen? If so, use a bulb syringe, Brian Goulet has a video on cleaning a pen section with one.
what nemo said.. or ...
the ink you are using is a drier ink and the conklin may need something wetter... (altho my duragraph is a firehose)...if it only happens with certain papers you have a clue ....an ink flow issue would be more universal. I would still start with the suggestion for a good cleaning.
what ink are you using and have you tried another one? another issue is what's called a baby bottom and has to do with the physical condition of the nib tipping. it's hard to explain without graphics so try looking that up and then look at your nib. I've read some comments that writing on a brown paper bag for a bit can help.
the ink you are using is a drier ink and the conklin may need something wetter... (altho my duragraph is a firehose)...if it only happens with certain papers you have a clue ....an ink flow issue would be more universal. I would still start with the suggestion for a good cleaning.
what ink are you using and have you tried another one? another issue is what's called a baby bottom and has to do with the physical condition of the nib tipping. it's hard to explain without graphics so try looking that up and then look at your nib. I've read some comments that writing on a brown paper bag for a bit can help.
