Are Omas Always Hard To Start?

[whichwatch]

I recently acquired my first two Omas pens. The black "Omas Extra" has a factory B nib that was ground to Cursive Italic by John Mottishaw. The "Omas Mueller" has a factory stub nib that was tuned by Greg Minuskin.

 

While I love both pens, I have found them both exceedingly difficult to start. If they sit unused (but capped) for even a couple of hours, they won't start at all. I can only write if I advance the piston a bit to force ink into the feed, then withdraw the piston to its regular position. This can be a bit messy if I inadvertently advance the piston a bit too far.

 

I have experienced this with each ink I have tried - Diamine, Akkerman, and even my "always well behaved" Iroshizuku. I have had no trouble with the same inks in other pens. In an Aurora Talentum M nib, these same inks will start immediately even after sitting unussed for a week.

 

Is this trait typical of Omas? Or is it typical of broader nibs (most of my others are Medium)?

 

Any suggestions to make these a bit more user friendly?

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B1CCEB6D7-DB36-4FC2-B340-55D828ACF0A2%7D/origpict/DSCN6798.JPG

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B1329A6D4-E29B-43A3-99F4-5D32623AE2D2%7D/origpict/DSCN6799.JPG

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7BE096A49D-9218-44B2-B519-ADA4190D6C3A%7D/origpict/DSCN6800.JPG

[hari317]

I don't think this is a generic problem with Omas since I have factory stock Omas pens which write perfect without problems. Maybe you can get the respective nib techs to have a look at the nibs once again?

[Bultaco]

I always follow Bob's recommendation with brand new pens - give the nib/feed a quick cleaning with Windex, and they'll write first time, every time.

 

BTW - Bob - You WILL be missed at Bittner's! ALOT!

[whichwatch]

I always follow Bob's recommendation with brand new pens - give the nib/feed a quick cleaning with Windex, and they'll write first time, every time.

 

I should have mentioned, these aren't brand new but were apparently very lightly used by previous owners. I'll give the Windex clean a try and see if that helps.

[Freddy]

I always follow Bob's recommendation with brand new pens - give the nib/feed a quick cleaning with Windex, and they'll write first time, every time.

 

I should have mentioned, these aren't brand new but were apparently very lightly used by previous owners. I'll give the Windex clean a try and see if that helps.

 

 

For your consideration...Use Pure Ammonia Solution {10% Ammonia/90% Water}... .

Windex {MSDS}..works well on glass..Hazardous to pens..For really stubborn/clogged

feeders use Rapido-Eze... .

 

Fred

Dope Head Blues ~ Victoria Spivey ~

[IWantThat]

I have never had trouble with any of my Omas pens. They start perfectly every time.

[RudyR]

I always follow Bob's recommendation with brand new pens - give the nib/feed a quick cleaning with Windex, and they'll write first time, every time.

 

I should have mentioned, these aren't brand new but were apparently very lightly used by previous owners. I'll give the Windex clean a try and see if that helps.

 

 

For your consideration...Use Pure Ammonia Solution {10% Ammonia/90% Water}... .

Windex {MSDS}..works well on glass..Hazardous to pens..For really stubborn/clogged

feeders use Rapido-Eze... .

 

Fred

Dope Head Blues ~ Victoria Spivey ~

 

I recently bought a pen that was lightly used and when I flushed it, several large flakes along with a large quantity of re hydrated ink, came out. Maybe what you need to do is get some pen JB Pen Flush or something similar and give it a good no holds barred flush.

[sumgaikid]

I always follow Bob's recommendation with brand new pens - give the nib/feed a quick cleaning with Windex, and they'll write first time, every time.

 

I should have mentioned, these aren't brand new but were apparently very lightly used by previous owners. I'll give the Windex clean a try and see if that helps.

 

 

For your consideration...Use Pure Ammonia Solution {10% Ammonia/90% Water}... .

Windex {MSDS}..works well on glass..Hazardous to pens..For really stubborn/clogged

feeders use Rapido-Eze... .

 

Fred

Dope Head Blues ~ Victoria Spivey ~

 

I would be concerned that the windex would dry out the feed since it's

ebonite(hard rubber)--since windex has ammonia in it.

 

 

John

Edited November 25, 2012 by sumgaikid

[Freddy]

I always follow Bob's recommendation with brand new pens - give the nib/feed a quick cleaning with Windex, and they'll write first time, every time.

 

I should have mentioned, these aren't brand new but were apparently very lightly used by previous owners. I'll give the Windex clean a try and see if that helps.

 

 

For your consideration...Use Pure Ammonia Solution {10% Ammonia/90% Water}... .

Windex {MSDS}..works well on glass..Hazardous to pens..For really stubborn/clogged

feeders use Rapido-Eze... .

 

Fred

Dope Head Blues ~ Victoria Spivey ~

 

I would be concerned that the windex would dry out the feed since it's

ebonite(hard rubber)--since windex has ammonia in it.

 

 

John

 

John..I would be more concerned with Isoproyl Alcohol that's in Windex..Use

"Rapido-Eze"...on ebonite feed...

Fred

Edited November 25, 2012 by Freddy

[whichwatch]

An update on my two Omas pens.......

 

I rinsed both pens with water (again) then gave them a thorough flush with JB's, which is the first time I've opened the bottle which has been sitting on my ink shelf for a while. Then some more rinses with water.

 

I didn't notice anything much come out of either pen. Really just some traces of the inks I had loaded.

 

After drying, I inked them up again. After sitting a couple of hours, they started up just fine. Then came the acid test. I let the pens sit overnight. When I took them out this morning..... perfect! Just like the name on JB's bottle. They started right up and wrote nice and smoothly. I suppose maybe there were a few tiny solids clogging something somewhere in the ink delivery system, and the JB's flushed them out.

 

Thanks for your inputs and suggestions. They encouraged me to try the JB's, and it worked! Magic stuff, that JB's. Magic place, this FPN.

[H. Lime]

Hm. I have a similar issue in my rebuilt (and cleaned-up) 557.

[H. Lime]

Double-post. sorry.

 

How do you find the paragon shape, in terms of comfort?

Edited November 26, 2012 by H. Lime

[raging.dragon]

An update on my two Omas pens.......

 

I rinsed both pens with water (again) then gave them a thorough flush with JB's, which is the first time I've opened the bottle which has been sitting on my ink shelf for a while. Then some more rinses with water.

 

I didn't notice anything much come out of either pen. Really just some traces of the inks I had loaded.

 

After drying, I inked them up again. After sitting a couple of hours, they started up just fine. Then came the acid test. I let the pens sit overnight. When I took them out this morning..... perfect! Just like the name on JB's bottle. They started right up and wrote nice and smoothly. I suppose maybe there were a few tiny solids clogging something somewhere in the ink delivery system, and the JB's flushed them out.

 

Thanks for your inputs and suggestions. They encouraged me to try the JB's, and it worked! Magic stuff, that JB's. Magic place, this FPN.

 

Traces of the oils used to lubricate cutting bits while manufacturing the pen are another frequent cause of flow problems. The ammonia and sufactants in the JB's would remove such traces.

[whichwatch]

Double-post. sorry.

 

How do you find the paragon shape, in terms of comfort?

 

Though a touch smaller than I really prefer, I love the shape and find it extremely comfortable to hold. I like the faceted look and the appearance of the cap band. Since I don't post, the faceted shape has the added advantage of not rolling around on my desk when I set it down.

 

At the Ohio Pen Show I held the "still coming" Art Deco LE with the guilloche finish. It was so light I thought it was carbon fiber. I loved it! I already have one on order from Bryant and hope for delivery within a couple of weeks.

[georges zaslavsky]

normally, they are immediate starters and never cause any probs