My Broken Namiki Emperor

[shuuemura]

So I was routinely washing out my Namiki Emperor, and then the blind cap that attaches to the ink shut-off shaft came off! This pen will be going to Jacksonville for repair as soon as Pilot replies to my email, but in the mean time I thought I should take some photos of such a rare occurrence! First time in four years of ownership/use that this happened. It appears that the glue (loctite?) used to attach the ebonite cap to the brass end of the shaft has failed. What do you guys think?

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7381/9530504891_e2ed23cb97_b.jpg

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7322/9533285470_e1b552de4c_b.jpg

 

 

[Sissel]

Sounds like a plausible theory, especially since you were washing it. But hey, at least I doubt that it'll be too hard to fix!

[hari317]

Thanks for sharing.

 

My guess: The small threaded seal holder on the shaft has worked loose from the mating threads inside the knob. I think it should be possible to try to screw it back on into the knob with the spring in place.

 

The spring loaded shutoff valve is a superb touch.

[hari317]

Followup:

 

Does the shaft now freely come out of the barrel, it appears to be loose in there?

 

I feel something more serious has happened with the pen...

 

For example, on the danitrios, the threaded part projecting out of the knob should not be there. What I feel is that the threaded part should have been fitted to the barrel end, rather than to the knob. The knob actually rides on this threaded part when you open/close the valve. Now what has happened, i guess, is that the knob got seized to the threaded barrel insert and then got unscrewed along with the knob. also the threaded seal holder got separated. Job for Pilot I guess.

[shuuemura]

Thanks for sharing.

 

My guess: The small threaded seal holder on the shaft has worked loose from the mating threads inside the knob. I think it should be possible to try to screw it back on into the knob with the spring in place.

 

The spring loaded shutoff valve is a superb touch.

 

Actually I think you are right! There is some loctite residue on that small threaded seal holder. I tried screwing the blind cap back, and then unscrewed it to be sure that that was the main problem. A few other washers came off on my second attempt, so I put everything away into a ziploc where it will stay till it goes to Pilot.

[shuuemura]

Followup:

 

Does the shaft now freely come out of the barrel, it appears to be loose in there?

 

I feel something more serious has happened with the pen...

 

For example, on the danitrios, the threaded part projecting out of the knob should not be there. What I feel is that the threaded part should have been fitted to the barrel end, rather than to the knob. The knob actually rides on this threaded part when you open/close the valve. Now what has happened, i guess, is that the knob got seized to the threaded barrel insert and then got unscrewed along with the knob. also the threaded seal holder got separated. Job for Pilot I guess.

 

The shaft can still move up and down the barrel but is retained by the main seal within the barrel, so ink leakage from the barrel end was never a problem.

 

The threaded part that projects out from the knob forms part of the blind cap. As you said earlier, the small threaded seal holder on the shaft probably worked itself loose from the blind cap. Some strong loctite is called for! I have never owned a Danitrio eyedropper but there are probably slight design differences between Danitrio and Namiki eyedroppers.

[hari317]

 

The shaft can still move up and down the barrel but is retained by the main seal within the barrel, so ink leakage from the barrel end was never a problem.

 

thanks! That answers my question. I have never handled a Namiki emperor, so your pics have been very interesting to me.

[Sblakers]

I have the same pen and when I saw your emperor in pieces I threw up a little in my mouth I have a a dani trio mikado and have had a few other dani eye droppers. I took one of my other pens apart and the eye dropper from the dani is completely different. The dani doesn't have a spring mechanism. It's just the shaft blind cap and little plastic bullet type deal to seal the hole in the section. I wonder what the spring is for - my theory, which is probably way off is its a fail safe for the plunger ? To maybe protect the shaft from failing when the section is screwed in while the blind cap is locked down ?

[hari317]

I have the same pen and when I saw your emperor in pieces I threw up a little in my mouth I have a a dani trio mikado and have had a few other dani eye droppers. I took one of my other pens apart and the eye dropper from the dani is completely different. The dani doesn't have a spring mechanism. It's just the shaft blind cap and little plastic bullet type deal to seal the hole in the section. I wonder what the spring is for - my theory, which is probably way off is its a fail safe for the plunger ? To maybe protect the shaft from failing when the section is screwed in while the blind cap is locked down ?

 

Without the spring, the shaft's length has to be exact, so that the shutoff valve fully seals the orifice. A little longer shaft will bend when the knob is fully closed, a shorter shaft will not seal adequately. You can somwhat play with the compressibility of the shutoff sealing valve material to compensate for shaft length tolerance. A spring loaded design, on the other hand can perhaps cater to a wider tolerance and perhaps same mechanism can be used on a wider variety of pen sizes. Just my guesswork.

 

.

[Sblakers]

Hey Hari. I think we are thinking along the same lines except you went one further . Interesting to me that danitrio went with a springless version. Wonder if they figured the bend of the shaft and the eventual replacement made more monetary sense apposed to a more complex design? I find the danitrio difficult to gauge how much to loosen. A lot of times I don't loosen enough and my ink flow is non existent. On the other hand the emperor is perfect- hopefully this failure shuuemera experienced was an anomaly

Edited August 18, 2013 by Sblakers

[hari317]

I am really really yearning to try the Namiki Emperor, lets see when that day comes for me

[Sblakers]

I have to admit to bouncing about with my collection, I've gone through lots of Different pens trying to find what works in my life and honestly the only pen out of all of them I wouldn't sell (unless the pen has sentimental value) is my namiki emperor --- it's just that nice !!! I've gone through a lot of nice pens from just about every maker. There is no other pen that I have found that combines the awe factor of nib, finish(incredible urushi) and filling system in one pen. And I know you like eye droppers Hari ( or at least this is what I have gathered from your posts) so I think you'd really like this pen. And it's surprisingly comfortable to use. And did I mention the coolness factor of a red urushi coated feed !

[Siv]

Hope your pen is back up and writing soon! I have an identical one but haven't used it yet. I was planning on getting the nib and clip Rh plated and just haven't gotten around to it.

 

Interesting observations between the Dani and the Pilot however note that the Dani is a completely hand made pen which is why there are no springs etc in the mechanism. The Emperor is typical Pilot - almost more complicated than it needs to be!

[shuuemura]

Just wanted to give an update: Pilot sent back the pen last Thursday, and it arrived today! The repair looks great! They even lubricated the shaft, which was getting somewhat stiff after so many years of usage. This is the second time I've used the Pilot USA service to maintain this pen - the first time was to do a nib swap from a medium to a broad. Their service was exemplary on both occasions.

 

Here are some photos of the repaired pen for your perusal.

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5337/10079762055_b20db31ea9_b.jpg

The entire pen minimally disassembled, with the blind cap extended as far as it will usually go.

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3793/10079762895_6559bca80a_b.jpg

Another view of this beautiful pen.

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5331/10079858583_e0ac8b6c34_b.jpg

The repair invoice from Namiki - note the complimentary Pilot Blue ink bottle enclosed with the package.

[Sblakers]

Fantastic. Thanks for the update!

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

Pilot service is very good. I had one of my pens repaired last year, and they even included a free converter. I even sent them a thank you card written with my freshly repaired pen. Congratulations on getting your pen all repaired! Enjoy!

 

Dillon

[shuuemura]

Another update. Now that I actually have time to examine my repaired pen, I found that the Pilot pen technician made a mistake during repair, compromising the ink shutoff valve feature. Luckily I have another Namiki Emperor in my collection and was able to spot the mistake before I filled my repaired pen with ink .

 

Because a picture is worth a thousand words, I have made a few diagrams to illustrate the mistake. Needless to say, this pen will be going back to Jacksonville for rectification or replacement.

 

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3829/10124913865_f00c4ec710_b.jpg

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7400/10125097045_7ab6e49957_b.jpg

 

Edited to improve clarity of diagrams.

Edited October 6, 2013 by shuuemura

[pelman]

Sorry Namiki did not fix it properly the first time, but in the interest of education those last photographs and your explanation are fantastic. Thank you and I hope you get your pen back quickly.

[Sblakers]

Wow. I can't believe they would make such a mistake. Highly disappointing to hear. Hopefully they rectify the problem. You must be quite irritated with such lousy service. It's not like you sent them a $ 10 dollar pen to fix.

[Painterspal]

I hope you get this fixed quickly - what a terrible mistake for a service centre to make, quite unbelievable really.

 

Fabulous pen by the way. If they made a version that was the same size as the Yukari Royale I'd buy it in a moment (I find the metal Yukari a little too heavy for my taste).