Do The Fins On The Feed Have A Function?

[jslallar]

many modern pens and quite a few older ones have feeds which are flat on the underside (away from the nib).

So my question do the fins have a function or are they just ornamental?

 

If they do have function then why don't all pens have them?

 

And if they don't then why do some have them? They are more likely to be damaged by accident than a plain feed.

 

I am using a couple of Waterman Experts today. The Expert I has a plain bottom whereas the Expert II has a rectangular piece cut off. Neither has fins but both write smooth enough and consistently enough (without skipping) to suite me.

[Oeufdepoire]

Just like you, I also wondered why there were grooves in the feed. I found the answer here.

 

The "grooves or fins just beneath the nib, this part of the feed collects ink flowing from the reservoir and stops too much flooding out at once".

[Shangas]

I think it would be more accurate to say that the fins prevent (or reduce) the instances of pen-leaks.

 

The fins collect and store ink which might otherwise dribble off the feed if a pen were to leak, for example, due to pressure-changes on an airplane in altitude.

 

Early pens didn't have these fins because airplane travel was not as common back then. Other pens do have them, but they're stored within the section.

[richardandtracy]

Shangas has hit the nail on the head. They act as a storage buffer to absorb and even up the flow from the ink reservoir.

As the pen warms up in your hand, any air above the ink will tend to push ink out. That will blob unless there is a storage buffer to absorb it. You'll notice that the oldest pens without fins did blob, and the oldest eyedroppers do it worst when nearly empty.

The Parker 51 doesn't blob because it has fins, they are inside the hood and not on the underside of the feed. Same function, different place.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[jslallar]

Thank you guys.

 

AmI to understand than that it would be unsafe to aur travel with my Waterman Expert I eg (or other pens of similar construction) which has no fins?

[richardandtracy]

No, you are not.

 

Make sure the nib is upright so that the air in the ink chamber can escape without dragging the ink with it & you'll be happy. Pens like all modern c/c pens and the oldest eyedroppers are safe to fly with provided they are kept nib upright. Writing with them as the aircraft goes up & down could well cause problems.

 

Something like the P51 Vac with a long breather tube that is submerged when nib upright is likely to be a problem, because as the air expands with an increase in altitude, the ink will be forced up the breather tube.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Shangas]

You can fly with ANY fountain pen.

 

I've flown from Europe and back with a 1922 Wahl Art Deco in my pocket. No leaks at all.

 

Just keep the pen FULL and keep it UPRIGHT at ALL TIMES.

 

Oh, and as an extra precaution, when opening the pen for the first time onboard a plane, open it in the bathroom, over the sink. JUST in case. You never know.

 

But other than that, it should be safe and good to go.

[Roger W.]

I think it would be more accurate to say that the fins prevent (or reduce) the instances of pen-leaks.

 

The fins collect and store ink which might otherwise dribble off the feed if a pen were to leak, for example, due to pressure-changes on an airplane in altitude.

 

Early pens didn't have these fins because airplane travel was not as common back then. Other pens do have them, but they're stored within the section.

 

Sorry, didn't have anything to do with air travel - they simply hadn't been invented yet. There were patents on feeds with fins.

 

Roger W.

[jar]

Thank you guys.

 

AmI to understand than that it would be unsafe to aur travel with my Waterman Expert I eg (or other pens of similar construction) which has no fins?

 

There are many different designs for feeds and collectors and not all are visible without disassemble.

[Sasha Royale]

Just like you, I also wondered why there were grooves in the feed. I found the answer here.

 

The "grooves or fins just beneath the nib, this part of the feed collects ink flowing from the reservoir and stops too much flooding out at once".

 

 

This explanation is excellently written. Everyone should read it. Even if you already

know the answer, this will help in the wording of your explanation.

 

Many thanks to Oeufdepoire.

Edited November 21, 2012 by Sasha Royale

[Dillo]

Thank you guys.

 

AmI to understand than that it would be unsafe to aur travel with my Waterman Expert I eg (or other pens of similar construction) which has no fins?

 

Some pens conceal the fins inside the grip section. One of these is the Waterman Expert. Waterman also often uses feed design in their modern pens that conceal the fins directly under the nib. Many pens also have fins only inside of the grip section and not directly under the nib (take the Pilot Capless for example.)

 

Here is a picture of a Pilot Capless nib unit taken apart.

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2129/3543642564_5eaac254ee_z.jpg?zz=1

 

Back together! As you see, the exposed part of the feed has no fins.

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3635/3542835203_4c3ded88b4_z.jpg?zz=1

 

Dillon

[Ernst Bitterman]

I'm under the notion that the Expert feed is much the same as the Phileas feed; I've not drawn out one of the former, but the latter has about as much buffering as a Parker "51" (which is to say, LOTS). Almost any pen made after 1960 by one of the larger names has this sort of thing, and I shouldn't worry unduly about taking one on a plane. Observe the dirt-cheap Parker 25, which hides its vanes inside the section like the Waterman in the OP:

http://dirck.delint.ca/beta/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Parker-25-guts1.jpg

There are a few low-end pens with simpler feeds (the Dollar 717 springs to mind), but buffering is quite standard now.

Edited November 21, 2012 by Ernst Bitterman

[jslallar]

Firstly thanks to all who contributed to clarify the matter.

 

Unfortunately my lack of knowledge and poor selection of words maybe led to an incomplete question, rather a poorly worded one.

I was thinking of the fins under the nib all the time and not the fins hidden under the hood.

Most modern pens have fins in the feed under the hood and their function has been made abundantly clear - thanks again.

What about the fins under the nib in addition to the above?

Some have them others dont.

While the ink is being carried to the breather hole and beyond to the tines even, by the grooves on the upper surface hidden under the nib, what are fins under the nib doing at that time? If anything.

 

Lastly Ernst Bitterman:

How do you dissemble a P25?

[amk]

If I took the feed of one of my burping cheap eyedroppers, and carefully cut extra fins into it, would it help to cut down on the amount of blurps?

[jar]

 

While the ink is being carried to the breather hole and beyond to the tines even, by the grooves on the upper surface hidden under the nib, what are fins under the nib doing at that time? If anything.

 

 

 

The fins under a feed do the same things fins anywhere else do.

 

But the point I wanted to address is "the breather hole". It really has almost nothing to do with ink flow or breathing. It was just there to relieve stress.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Those fins are just an extension of the fins in the grip section and perform the same function in general.

 

Dillon

[Ernst Bitterman]

Firstly thanks to all who contributed to clarify the matter.

 

Unfortunately my lack of knowledge and poor selection of words maybe led to an incomplete question, rather a poorly worded one.

I was thinking of the fins under the nib all the time and not the fins hidden under the hood.

Most modern pens have fins in the feed under the hood and their function has been made abundantly clear - thanks again.

What about the fins under the nib in addition to the above?

Some have them others dont.

While the ink is being carried to the breather hole and beyond to the tines even, by the grooves on the upper surface hidden under the nib, what are fins under the nib doing at that time? If anything.

 

Lastly Ernst Bitterman:

How do you dissemble a P25?

 

RIGHT, the actual question: on some modern pens, the under-nib vanes are purely decorative (again, I know the Phileas has these, but it's been long enough since I've handled an Expert I dare not comment). On others, and the TWSBI Vac 700 is an instant contact point, they are functional; capillary action fills them with ink when there's an overabundance coming out of the reservoir, and the same carries it to the tip when the the relative flow-rates permit. If you look at the feed in an Esterbrook Dip-Less, you see functional vanes in their ultimate expression; there's NO reservoir, and the vanes just provide the necessary surface area to hold as much as a page-worth of writing.

 

And to disassemble a P25; give it a bit of a soak, a bit of a warm, and then take as much of a grip on point and feed as you can and pull.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Some of the antique vintage pens, having easy full flex nibs or wet noodles didn't have buffering because of the amount of ink such nibs needed.

I'm not sure when buffered feeds came in 'mid-late 20's early 30's?, but for nails and regular flex, you need more buffering than a wet noodle.

[nickapos]

Thank you guys.

 

AmI to understand than that it would be unsafe to aur travel with my Waterman Expert I eg (or other pens of similar construction) which has no fins?

 

Most modern pens have fins through the length of their feed and not only on the underside of the nib. It is possible that your pen does not have fins under the nib for aesthetic reasons, but the feed is properly finned.

 

I can thing of a few models with this design, some Pilots for example.

[Dillo]

Firstly thanks to all who contributed to clarify the matter.

 

Unfortunately my lack of knowledge and poor selection of words maybe led to an incomplete question, rather a poorly worded one.

I was thinking of the fins under the nib all the time and not the fins hidden under the hood.

Most modern pens have fins in the feed under the hood and their function has been made abundantly clear - thanks again.

What about the fins under the nib in addition to the above?

Some have them others dont.

While the ink is being carried to the breather hole and beyond to the tines even, by the grooves on the upper surface hidden under the nib, what are fins under the nib doing at that time? If anything.

 

Lastly Ernst Bitterman:

How do you dissemble a P25?

 

RIGHT, the actual question: on some modern pens, the under-nib vanes are purely decorative (again, I know the Phileas has these, but it's been long enough since I've handled an Expert I dare not comment). On others, and the TWSBI Vac 700 is an instant contact point, they are functional; capillary action fills them with ink when there's an overabundance coming out of the reservoir, and the same carries it to the tip when the the relative flow-rates permit. If you look at the feed in an Esterbrook Dip-Less, you see functional vanes in their ultimate expression; there's NO reservoir, and the vanes just provide the necessary surface area to hold as much as a page-worth of writing.

 

And to disassemble a P25; give it a bit of a soak, a bit of a warm, and then take as much of a grip on point and feed as you can and pull.

 

On the Phileas, there is the decorative finning, but if you take the nib off, I believe there is real finning beneath the nib. Some Waterman pens have this arrangement. It's been a while since I have taken apart a Phileas.

 

Dillon