Strange flow issues on Pelikan M1000

[mitz009]

Hello All,

 

I have searched the forum and have not found any similar posts.

 

I have owned this black Pelikan M1000 Fine nib for a couple of years now. I have noticed this issue for awhile.

 

After filling the pen up with Pelikan black ink, the pen writes with a nicely wet line for a page or two in a 5x8 sized Moleskine. Suddenly, the nib goes completely dry! I have discovered in the interim that by unscrewing the piston a full rotation or so and rescrewing, the pen writes fine again. So, there is plenty of ink in the pen, and it will write again with the right adjustment. But, I don't think I should have to do the "piston dance" to get the pen to write every couple of pages. Does this particular kind of flow problem sound familiar to anyone? Is there a simple fix that would keep me from having to send it to Chartpak?

 

I have had several pens (Parker's, Visconti's, Lamy's, Montblanc's, etc.) over the years that have caused me minor issues like this and have put up with them until now. I'm now looking at my collection of various pens with little things that bother me and I've decided to try to fix as many as possible.

 

Any input would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Henry

[Daniel7]

Hi Henri,

 

 

Some time ago I had a similar issue with a M400 Pelikan, I remarked that the problem was to be found in the fact that were as a airbubblz forming in the ink reserve and that the bubble naturally tended to remain at the bas i.e at the feeder so that no ink would go through and the pen would "dry" out. By playing with the filling nob, it was possible to get rid of the bubble and the pen was working fine again.

I cleaned out the pen several times in a row using a light soap water mix and since then it works perfectly well.

I hope it helps.

cheers,

 

 

daniel

 

Hello All,

 

I have searched the forum and have not found any similar posts.

 

I have owned this black Pelikan M1000 Fine nib for a couple of years now. I have noticed this issue for awhile.

 

After filling the pen up with Pelikan black ink, the pen writes with a nicely wet line for a page or two in a 5x8 sized Moleskine. Suddenly, the nib goes completely dry! I have discovered in the interim that by unscrewing the piston a full rotation or so and rescrewing, the pen writes fine again. So, there is plenty of ink in the pen, and it will write again with the right adjustment. But, I don't think I should have to do the "piston dance" to get the pen to write every couple of pages. Does this particular kind of flow problem sound familiar to anyone? Is there a simple fix that would keep me from having to send it to Chartpak?

 

I have had several pens (Parker's, Visconti's, Lamy's, Montblanc's, etc.) over the years that have caused me minor issues like this and have put up with them until now. I'm now looking at my collection of various pens with little things that bother me and I've decided to try to fix as many as possible.

 

Any input would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Henry

 

[1000km]

Likely there's a vacuum forming as ink leaves the pen and fails to be replaced by air. A thorough cleaning of the nib unit should resolve this problem

[mitz009]

Gentlepeople:

 

Thank you for your replies. I tried both addressing both suggestions: a) I cleaned out the pen with dish soap and water and pushed 3-4 drops of air out of the nib after filling with ink. This is an issue that doesn't show itself immediately, so I will have to write a bit with it and see if it returns. I will try rinsing out the pen with soap and water a couple more times before I try something else.

 

After I posted this issue, I realized I have a Visconti Van Gogh (large) that has a similar problem, only more frequently. I noticed after cleaning out that convertor that the ink still sticks to the convertor walls as the ink is used. I may need to wash that one out again as well.

 

Thanks again for your responses.

 

Henry

[Inka]

While doing my ritual reading on Richard Binders' Website, I stumbled across an interesting page under the heading of "The Pen Doctor X", on the M1000.

The second paragraph is titled "Flow Problems in Recent Pelikans" that may or may not be the source of your problems but it's worth a look.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/ref_info/pendoctor/20030829.htm

[encremental]

Henry - I think we torture ourselves with this sort of thing quite unnecessarily and far too often. From what you have said, the pen has a fault and should be returned. I am sure that Pelikan will have no problem with this and you & your bird will soon be reunited in stylographical bliss.

 

John

[shrinknib]

While doing my ritual reading on Richard Binders' Website, I stumbled across an interesting page under the heading of "The Pen Doctor X", on the M1000.

The second paragraph is titled "Flow Problems in Recent Pelikans" that may or may not be the source of your problems but it's worth a look.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/ref_info/pendoctor/20030829.htm

 

 

Hi Inka

thanks for this great reference.

I actually posted recently about a pelikan 20kt nib on the M800 I bought.

I was very proud of it.

Until I started to seriously use it- then it had this excat same problem.

 

I thank you for the refernce to this page as it seems as though the problem is certainly not with me, and I won't try and fix it- other pens I have do not have this terrible affliction which has occured straight out of the box.

 

I have returned the pen back to the B&M from where I purchased it and hope they can repair/ replace the nib so that it works as I hope.

 

Keep you guys up to date!

 

cheers

 

 

[mitz009]

John/encremental,

 

I think you're right, I should just send it off to Charkpak for a look-see. I've been hesitant because the problem is so hard to replicate. Since it continues to be a problem, and I can stand to send it off for awhile to get the pen fixed properly, I'll be calling Chartpak about submitting for (hopefully) repair. I guess if there's a problem with the feed mechanism, it should reveal itself even if the problem only happens occasionally. BTW, I tried washing out the feed with dishwashing soap and water, but I continue to have the problem.

 

Inka,

 

I read Richard's item about the Pelikan's circa 2003, but since this pen is of a later vintage (about 2007) and Richard mentioned the problem seemed to have been rectified by 2008, I think the problem may be unrelated. Thanks for posting the link.

 

Henry

[shrinknib]

John/encremental,

 

I think you're right, I should just send it off to Charkpak for a look-see. I've been hesitant because the problem is so hard to replicate. Since it continues to be a problem, and I can stand to send it off for awhile to get the pen fixed properly, I'll be calling Chartpak about submitting for (hopefully) repair. I guess if there's a problem with the feed mechanism, it should reveal itself even if the problem only happens occasionally. BTW, I tried washing out the feed with dishwashing soap and water, but I continue to have the problem.

 

Inka,

 

I read Richard's item about the Pelikan's circa 2003, but since this pen is of a later vintage (about 2007) and Richard mentioned the problem seemed to have been rectified by 2008, I think the problem may be unrelated. Thanks for posting the link.

 

Henry

 

 

Hi Henr

let us know how you go with your pen and what the company says.

I'll do the same- very annoying as it is such a sweet writer when the feed is inked up... that's pens though I guess.

 

Jeremy

 

 

[mitz009]

Well, bad news....

 

I bought this pen several years ago from Pengallery.com. When Abi at Chartpak found this out, she said they could not service the pen. She referred me to Pelikan in Germany. She also recommended I try rinsing out the pen 1 part ammonia 10 parts water. After all the nice things I had heard about Chartpak, I was disappointed.

 

Oh well, I'm off to try the ammonia rinse and then, if that fails, maybe an email to Pelikan in Germany. Maybe my pen will be taking a trip to the home country!

 

Thanks for all of your assistance and support again.

 

Henry

[DJJM19951998]

Hello All,

 

I have searched the forum and have not found any similar posts.

 

I have owned this black Pelikan M1000 Fine nib for a couple of years now. I have noticed this issue for awhile.

 

After filling the pen up with Pelikan black ink, the pen writes with a nicely wet line for a page or two in a 5x8 sized Moleskine. Suddenly, the nib goes completely dry! I have discovered in the interim that by unscrewing the piston a full rotation or so and rescrewing, the pen writes fine again. So, there is plenty of ink in the pen, and it will write again with the right adjustment. But, I don't think I should have to do the "piston dance" to get the pen to write every couple of pages. Does this particular kind of flow problem sound familiar to anyone? Is there a simple fix that would keep me from having to send it to Chartpak?

 

I have had several pens (Parker's, Visconti's, Lamy's, Montblanc's, etc.) over the years that have caused me minor issues like this and have put up with them until now. I'm now looking at my collection of various pens with little things that bother me and I've decided to try to fix as many as possible.

 

Any input would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Henry

When you fill, do you always return the 4 or so drops back into the bottle?

 

[mitz009]

Hello All,

 

I have searched the forum and have not found any similar posts.

 

I have owned this black Pelikan M1000 Fine nib for a couple of years now. I have noticed this issue for awhile.

 

After filling the pen up with Pelikan black ink, the pen writes with a nicely wet line for a page or two in a 5x8 sized Moleskine. Suddenly, the nib goes completely dry! I have discovered in the interim that by unscrewing the piston a full rotation or so and rescrewing, the pen writes fine again. So, there is plenty of ink in the pen, and it will write again with the right adjustment. But, I don't think I should have to do the "piston dance" to get the pen to write every couple of pages. Does this particular kind of flow problem sound familiar to anyone? Is there a simple fix that would keep me from having to send it to Chartpak?

 

I have had several pens (Parker's, Visconti's, Lamy's, Montblanc's, etc.) over the years that have caused me minor issues like this and have put up with them until now. I'm now looking at my collection of various pens with little things that bother me and I've decided to try to fix as many as possible.

 

Any input would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Henry

When you fill, do you always return the 4 or so drops back into the bottle?

 

Sorry for the delay in responding. Yes, I do. Abi at Chartpak also suggested after letting the drops drip, to turn the pen nib side up to tighten the piston. I followed that suggestion also. I also did the ammonia clean as she suggested. Neither seems to have made a difference. I did take the nib out and replace it, just to make sure it was solidly in. I guess I'll email Pelikan Germany tomorrow for guidance.

 

Thanks,

 

Henry

[mitz009]

As a last resort, I changed out the Pelikan Brilliant Black ink and replaced it with Montblanc black ink. I have found the MB to be less intense and I sensed that the M1000 was somehow getting clogged with a minor obstruction that a slight push of ink would clear. The Pelikan ink was a combo of two bottles of Pelikan ink I had bought over time and I suspect with all the flushing and emptying that I may have introduced oils or sediments that weren't originally present in the ink.

 

Anyway, I have been writing withe M1000 straight through for some time and I have not yet experienced the blockage! If I make it all the way through this fill of ink, I will buy a new bottle of the Pelikan black and throw out the old as contaminated. Then, I'll see how the pure ink works. I'm crossing my fingers though!

 

As a side note, I mentioned a similar problem with a Visconti Van Gogh which also contained the Pelikan ink. I flushed that pen out as well and replaced the Pelikan ink with the Visconti black. Again, the problem has not reappeared. These are not the only pens I have with the Pelikan ink though. The MB 146, the Namiki VP and the Sailor 1911 all have the Pelikan ink and have not revealed any problems. We shall see how this goes. It may just be safest to clean them all out and start fresh with the MB ink or pristine Pelikan ink.

 

Any other suggestions for pure inks would be appreciated as well.

 

Thanks again to all for your help and suggestions. I'm really relieved about these pens working again.

 

Henry

[Wolverine1]

ihad a M1000 with similar problems. After a good cleaning and flushing, with soap and the clean water, I changed the inks I used. The problems went away. I now use Aurora Blue or Waterman Florida Blue or Parker Quink Royal Blue exclusively, and the problems havent returned.

[shrinknib]

Henry that is great news indeed.

I am still waiting for my Pel to return from germany and am hoping the problem to be solved. I had no luck despite trying numerous inks. I found the Pelikan black the "thickest" of the black inks I use and this was one of the worst culprits in my particular flow issues.

good luck for your future use and I'll let you guys know how I fare too.

 

regards

Jeremy

[mitz009]

ihad a M1000 with similar problems. After a good cleaning and flushing, with soap and the clean water, I changed the inks I used. The problems went away. I now use Aurora Blue or Waterman Florida Blue or Parker Quink Royal Blue exclusively, and the problems havent returned.

 

That's great news! That follows my experience. It doesn't seem right that the feed mechanism in the Pel is so delicate that ink made by the same company would clog it (at least in my case). I'm glad to hear of some success using this technique. The pen is a beauty to write with, even if it's a bit unwieldy.

 

Henry

[mitz009]

Henry that is great news indeed.

I am still waiting for my Pel to return from germany and am hoping the problem to be solved. I had no luck despite trying numerous inks. I found the Pelikan black the "thickest" of the black inks I use and this was one of the worst culprits in my particular flow issues.

good luck for your future use and I'll let you guys know how I fare too.

 

regards

Jeremy

 

Jeremy,

 

I wish you success. I just sent an email 2 days ago to Pelikan in Germany and haven't heard back yet. Definitely try the lighter flowing inks first, just to see if you resolve your problems. Although, if you change inks too, you won't know if Pelikan fixed the problem! Gotta keep your variables in order for testing, right?

 

Henry

[PJohnP]

I had no luck despite trying numerous inks. I found the Pelikan black the "thickest" of the black inks I use and this was one of the worst culprits in my particular flow issues

 

Jeremy :

 

 

As much as I like Pelikan inks, I too find them extremely "dry" on otherwise smoothly running nibs. So, if a nib's not well adjusted to start, I can see a world of unhappiness occurring with the pen. I'll hope that Pelikan can adjust the nib or replace it to your satisfaction.

 

One black ink to think about is Sailor Kiwaguro Nano Carbon Black ink. I've tested it in several Pelikans with various nibs over the last two months, and it's been a real treat. Runs reasonably smoothly even with my driest nib, a calligraphic 2.0, and well with all of the others. Not a super "wet" ink, either, but it feels well lubricated with a nice balance of flow characteristics. Black, black, black colour and no feathering, with no shading, but then, did I mention it's black ? Waterproof (when dried), too. Worth a thought or two for a "slow nib"...

 

 

 

John P.

[solitaire]

We all like black ink but they all threaten FP feeder systems. Even top quality black inks are heavy and sometimes contain sediment.

 

The problem with your M 1000 is probably a block or partial block at the top end of the feed. You have enough ink to write a few pages and then supply ends until ink finds a way past the blockage.

 

You must clean the feed.

 

Soak in water for 48 hours

 

Water cures all ills but it must be given time to take effect.

 

After that

1. An ultrasonic cleaner if you have access to one.

2. Push water through nib and feed using one of those rubber bulbs

3. failing either of those, blow through the nib unit to make bubbles in a glass of water

Let pen dry - 48 hours? - and then use a kinder ink eg Watermans South Seas Blue which cures all ill pens

If that doesn't mazke your pen work perfectly it needs professional attention

Solitaire

 

[Blade Runner]

After this long with continued issues I'd send it back to the company.