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NewEnthusiast · 25 May 2023, 01:10 AM

Hi All

Appealing to your collective wisdom. My daily driver is a MB 144. About six weeks ago it started acting like it was "running out" the whole time (I haven't dropped it or exposed it to any significant trauma that I recall). By that I mean there was ink in the piston converter but as I was writing, it wasn't flowing through the pen and on to the paper. The line therefore got lighter and lighter until it started skipping. I am able to fill the pen OK and it will continue to write if I force ink into the nib using the piston converter.

So far I have cleaned out the pen with water and also a dilute solution of ammonia and detergent. I have also manually cleaned off a lot of gunk and had a look at the nib under 20x magnification. From what I can see, the tines on the nib appear to be aligned OK.

Before I send it away to get fixed does anyone have any other suggestions of fixes I can try at home?

James

jar · 25 May 2023, 08:23 AM

It sounds like you are getting a bubble of air in the converter that is stopping ink flow. First step, switch to a standard international size cartridge and see if the problem persists.

Lol-x · 28 May 2023, 02:40 PM

OK well clearly there is a blockage of ink.
People say just warm water is the way to go.
So I'd fill up a cup of warm water and flush it through the system.
Then fill up the pen with warm water and put the pen in a cup of warm water, leave it overnight, then flush the pen out and see if you get any ink residue coming out the next morning.
You may have to do this a couple of times to get the dry/coagulated ink flushed out of the pen.
It takes a little time, its not a 5 minute fix.

JasoninDenver · 24 June 2023, 01:18 PM

If you have an ultrasonic cleaner for your watch bracelets, use that for the nib head. I do mine every few months when I have not used mine for a few weeks and it doesn't want to flow properly.

daveo5 · 7 November 2023, 11:49 AM

Fountain Pen Hospital in NYC has a commercially prepared liquid cleaner.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

IGY · 8 November 2023, 08:48 PM

Copied from another similar post that I just made on this forum:

I use is Diamine nib cleaning fluid. And I only use this if there is a specific problem, not as a regular thing. This contains ammonia so you definitely don't want it sitting around in your pen for too long:

https://www.diamineinks.co.uk/detail.aspx?prodcode=1223

25 May 2023, 01:10 AM	#1
NewEnthusiast "TRF" Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Real Name: James Location: Great Britain Watch: Air King/Seamaster Posts: 565	MB Fountain Pen Help Hi All Appealing to your collective wisdom. My daily driver is a MB 144. About six weeks ago it started acting like it was "running out" the whole time (I haven't dropped it or exposed it to any significant trauma that I recall). By that I mean there was ink in the piston converter but as I was writing, it wasn't flowing through the pen and on to the paper. The line therefore got lighter and lighter until it started skipping. I am able to fill the pen OK and it will continue to write if I force ink into the nib using the piston converter. So far I have cleaned out the pen with water and also a dilute solution of ammonia and detergent. I have also manually cleaned off a lot of gunk and had a look at the nib under 20x magnification. From what I can see, the tines on the nib appear to be aligned OK. Before I send it away to get fixed does anyone have any other suggestions of fixes I can try at home? James

28 May 2023, 02:40 PM	#3
Lol-x Facilitator Join Date: Nov 2005 Real Name: Steve Location: Omnipresent Posts: 33,457	OK well clearly there is a blockage of ink. People say just warm water is the way to go. So I'd fill up a cup of warm water and flush it through the system. Then fill up the pen with warm water and put the pen in a cup of warm water, leave it overnight, then flush the pen out and see if you get any ink residue coming out the next morning. You may have to do this a couple of times to get the dry/coagulated ink flushed out of the pen. It takes a little time, its not a 5 minute fix. __________________ *Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.* ~Abraham Lincoln Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. ~John F. Kennedy ROLEXploitation - yeah I'm a victim

24 June 2023, 01:18 PM	#4
JasoninDenver 2024 ROLEX SUBMARINER 41 Pledge Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Denver Posts: 4,272	If you have an ultrasonic cleaner for your watch bracelets, use that for the nib head. I do mine every few months when I have not used mine for a few weeks and it doesn't want to flow properly. __________________ Jason 116610 LN DateJust Pelagos FXD

25 May 2023, 08:23 AM	#2
jar "TRF" Member Join Date: Nov 2016 Real Name: jim Location: Deep South Texas Watch: Samsung Gear S3 Posts: 757	It sounds like you are getting a bubble of air in the converter that is stopping ink flow. First step, switch to a standard international size cartridge and see if the problem persists.

7 November 2023, 11:49 AM	#5
daveo5 "TRF" Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Las Vegas NV Watch: 14060M COSC Posts: 1,334	Fountain Pen Hospital in NYC has a commercially prepared liquid cleaner. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

8 November 2023, 08:48 PM	#6
IGY "TRF" Member Join Date: Sep 2023 Location: UK Posts: 219	Copied from another similar post that I just made on this forum: I use is Diamine nib cleaning fluid. And I only use this if there is a specific problem, not as a regular thing. This contains ammonia so you definitely don't want it sitting around in your pen for too long: https://www.diamineinks.co.uk/detail.aspx?prodcode=1223

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