Edison Collier Eye Dropper Mystery

[Bill Wood]

Hi all. I have a number of Edison pens that are eye droppers with no problems or drama at all. But I've got a Production Collier that doesn't like it. I've tried a #6 Broad, and also a medium nib, all standard. I've used lots of grease of the barrel end, and also on the screw in threads on the nib unit. I've plugged it very well - but still the flow is way, way too much. It blobs from time to time and basically unusable as an eye dropper.

 

I've consulted Brian Gray on this, and also back channelled a few Edison users; but we can't figure it out. I've tried different inks from Pilot to Waterman and still the same result.

 

So I'm throwing it out on the board to see if I can get some suggestions. The only thing I can think of is the barrel capacity of the Collier model. It holds 3.5 ml of ink as an eye dropper. Oh - by the way; the pen works fine with a standard converter.

 

Is there anything I haven't thought off.

 

Thanks kindly, - Bill-

[watch_art]

Have you looked at the housing for any tiny hairline cracks? I've had a few jowo units with tiny cracks.

 

Edit: it works fine with the c/c? Hmmm. I wonder if a plug of some sort to take up space and reduce capacity would help? Didn't Brian make a giant eye dropper a while back though?

[hari317]

Hi all. I have a number of Edison pens that are eye droppers with no problems or drama at all. But I've got a Production Collier that doesn't like it. I've tried a #6 Broad, and also a medium nib, all standard. I've used lots of grease of the barrel end, and also on the screw in threads on the nib unit. I've plugged it very well - but still the flow is way, way too much. It blobs from time to time and basically unusable as an eye dropper.

 

I've consulted Brian Gray on this, and also back channelled a few Edison users; but we can't figure it out. I've tried different inks from Pilot to Waterman and still the same result.

 

So I'm throwing it out on the board to see if I can get some suggestions. The only thing I can think of is the barrel capacity of the Collier model. It holds 3.5 ml of ink as an eye dropper. Oh - by the way; the pen works fine with a standard converter.

 

Is there anything I haven't thought off.

 

Thanks kindly, - Bill-

Bill,

 

The ink capacity may be ruled out. I have fitted many jumbo Indian dropper pens with the JoWo #6 without any problems. The nib unit can handle it, IME

 

Your nib unit works well with a converter, so the particular nib unit may also be ruled out. Have you fitted this nib unit to your other Edison pens and checked?

 

You have sealed all joints with grease, so leaky threads can be ruled out.

 

The only culprit now left to be considered in the possibility of a pin sized hole (material problem-remote) or a small crack in the barrel or in the section. If the hole/crack is very small, ink will not leak out of it, but it will allow air to enter and that is enough to wreak havoc.

 

HTH.

[AndrewC]

Try blowing into the barrel to see if you have a pinhole, as suggested above. Stick the barrel into a glass of water and look for tiny bubbles as you air blow into it. The two places I would think most susceptible would be the very end of the barrel and the threads. Using a baby nose sucker-outer might be the easiest way to see if the threads are leaking as the soft rubber might form a good seal while the taper should leave the threads uncovered inside.

 

Good luck.

[Bill Wood]

Guys those are really great suggestions. I never thought of any cracks or holes. I've got a Herald which holds a ton with no leaks at all.

 

Now I'm excited. Must stop watching golf long enough to try a few things. Brian mentioned if there's anything material he'd replace. Many thanks. Now better check for leaks.

[Bill Wood]

Hari and Andrew. I tested the barrel for cracks and pinholes and found nothing. No bubbles, and can't see any cracks at all. Swapped some nib units again, medium only and still can't alter the flow. Will clean carefully and try again. Boy, can't figure this one out.

 

Other than ordering another collier this one has me lost. It's a strange one.

[Bookman]

My Collier unexpectedly turned into a gusher today. I'd had the pen for one week, and this was the first time I'd put the pen in eyedropper mode. It had done just fine for twenty-four hours. The nib was an EF, the ink was De Atramentis Indigo Blue. I wrote a six-page letter with it yesterday and did quite a bit of test-writing on various paper exemplars. No problems of any kind. Today I was in my car, stopped at a light in the left-turn lane, and so naturally I opened my pen and notebook. My pen was poised over my notebook when I saw a dark blue confetti-size dot appear on the blank page. I looked at my pen and the feed was completely engorged. I capped the pen, turned around, drove home, dumped the ink, cleaned the pen, and switched to Visconti Blue in the converter. I figured I would try again soon with a different ink, now that my F nib unit has arrived.

[Bill Wood]

My Collier unexpectedly turned into a gusher today. I'd had the pen for one week, and this was the first time I'd put the pen in eyedropper mode. It had done just fine for twenty-four hours. The nib was an EF, the ink was De Atramentis Indigo Blue. I wrote a six-page letter with it yesterday and did quite a bit of test-writing on various paper exemplars. No problems of any kind. Today I was in my car, stopped at a light in the left-turn lane, and so naturally I opened my pen and notebook. My pen was poised over my notebook when I saw a dark blue confetti-size dot appear on the blank page. I looked at my pen and the feed was completely engorged. I capped the pen, turned around, drove home, dumped the ink, cleaned the pen, and switched to Visconti Blue in the converter. I figured I would try again soon with a different ink, now that my F nib unit has arrived.

Interesting post Bookman. My next move is going to have to be a new nib unit as well.

[Bookman]

Interesting post Bookman. My next move is going to have to be a new nib unit as well.

 

I ordered my pen with an EF, and as far as I know there's nothing wrong with it. Using the converter I have had no problems whatsoever. I mention the nib because, even using the converter, and even after I opened the EF's flow a bit, it worked best with free-flowing inks like De Atramentis Indigo Blue, Omas Blue, and J. Herbin 1670 Bleu Ocean. Coming through the converter, Visconti Blue wasn't as wet as I would've liked, but it served. Aurora Blue was slightly dry; Waterman Serenity Blue was far too dry. And so I ordered the F to allow my Collier to run these and my other inks that range from average wetness to fairly dry. I plan to try one of my less-free-flowing inks tomorrow with my Collier in ED mode. Regardless of how it turns out, I'll report the news here.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Bookman

[Bill Wood]

It's worth noting for Edison sake that all of their pens that I have - from the Herald, Pearlette, Premier's and Beaumonts are all ED's for me and are steller. I'm starting to think it may be the set up of the nib / feed. Perhaps one can make that a tad tighter.

 

I'm also going to try for the sake of experimentation using some plastic beads in the barrel to cut down on the volume of the ink in the barrel. It's not the ink that expands - its the air.

 

Pity - I think I've mentioned the Collier is my favorite. Incidentally the capacity of the barrel in the Collier is actually smaller than the capacity of a Herald - which I'm using with a broad nib this morning. No problems.

[Bookman]

Well, my homework produced a result. It didn't take long. And it was bad. With any luck, the seller and/or Mr. Gray will have some ideas. With any luck, there's an easy explanation and equally easy fix.

 

Meanwhile, this morning I dumped what had remained of the Visconti Blue (¼ of a converter's worth) from the converter into the barrel, added two eyedroppers' full of Visconti Blue from the bottle, screwed the barrel and section together, closed the pen, laid it in its cigar-box slot, and went to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. By the time I returned to my office—less than 3 minutes—the feed was fully engorged and a large drop began to emerge from the tip of the nib when I picked the pen up, even though I was holding the pen nib-up, at least slightly above the horizontal.

 

I hope we hear from other Collier c/c owners, Mr. Wood. Have they experienced similar problems?

Edited April 14, 2015 by Bookman

[Bill Wood]

Bookman - the Collier is the most popular design of Edison, so there's some ED users for the Collier. A couple of questions.

 

1. Is your Collier a production model or special order ?

 

2. Have you checked for cracks in the Jowo nib housing, the section, and the barrel. You can check above for some different ways of inspection.

 

3. Did you apply some grease between the nib housing and section to plug any leaks ?

 

I rather doubt that this is a failure due to a crack / design. I'm starting to believe this is a matter of physics rather than any function of design.

[Bookman]

Bookman - the Collier is the most popular design of Edison, so there's some ED users for the Collier. A couple of questions.

 

1. Is your Collier a production model or special order ?

 

2. Have you checked for cracks in the Jowo nib housing, the section, and the barrel. You can check above for some different ways of inspection.

 

3. Did you apply some grease between the nib housing and section to plug any leaks ?

 

I rather doubt that this is a failure due to a crack / design. I'm starting to believe this is a matter of physics rather than any function of design.

 

1. Production model.

 

2. No. I will do that and report my findings.

 

3. No. I did see Mr. Gray do this in his instructional video. I thought it sounded hinky. And I didn't like the idea of more silicone grease than absolutely necessary, knowing that more grease meant a greater opportunity for excess grease to contaminate the ink and plug up a nib unit I didn't know how to dismantle completely. But I do agree with your physics hypothesis. I suspect not an ink leak, or at least not only an ink leak, but an air leak that created a vent and thereby increased the flow through the normal channel.

 

I have an outstanding email to the seller. The prudent thing for me to do, I think, would be to await their instructions on how best to resolve this.

[Bookman]

All right, once more unto the breach. I cleaned and dried the section and nib-unit and readied them for inspection. I examined both under a strong light with a magnifying glass. I can't say positively there were no cracks or anything else out of the ordinary, but I can say positively I didn't see any such defects. I dunked the end of the barrel into a glass of water and blew into it first, and then used a large bulb syringe to blow more air into it. No bubbles. I silicone-greased the threads on the nib-unit, inserted it into the section, and then tightened it tighter than I normally would. I figured, what the hell. I re-greased the section threads. I'd saved the Visconti Blue I'd dumped out of the barrel after this morning's near-disaster, and so I dumped it back into the barrel along with what I'd had in the converter. I screwed the section and barrel together a little tighter than usual. I dunked the nib-unit into the bottled Visconti Blue and then used a paper towel to bleed the ink out of all but the three combs on the underside closest to the section. I wanted a visible benchmark. Then I closed the pen and laid it down on the desk. I checked it five minutes later: no change. I checked fifteen minutes later: still no change.

 

I'm not ready to sing hallelujah quite yet. I'm going to have to actually use the pen awhile first. But so far so good. Tentative diagnosis: a vent leak at the section/nib-unit connection due to failure to apply silicone grease to the nib-unit threads, failure to sufficiently tighten the section/nib-unit connection, or both.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Bookman

[Bookman]

It's been almost three hours since I employed the fixes mentioned in this thread. I feel fairly confident that the problem with my own Edison Collier was user error. The feed has not been engorged since the fix, and the pen has performed flawlessly.

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Wood, good luck with your issue. I hope you're able to get a good result. Meanwhile, hari317, Andrew C, and Mr. Wood:

 

 

 

 

 

[AndrewC]

You're welcome. W/out reading the entire thread(time is scare right now), it looks like you got it sorted. Excellent!

 

I would like to mention a couple factors regarding EDs. If the pen is not full, and you hold it a long time, or keep it close to a warm body, or it is hot out, the air expands and forces out ink. If your heater is on, and there is pressure differences between the air outside and in, this can force ink out. IIRC, the Collier is fairly large, so this can easily be an issue. And, if there is the slightest air leak, there is a good chance for leaking and blorping. Also, many pens will drip/blorp or burp as they reach the end of their fill. This was one way people knew it was time to fill their pens again before ink windows and converters were around. So, if your pen behaves for a while, and then starts to seemingly act up again, it may just be saying, "Feed me, Seymour. FEED MEEEE!"

 

Let us know a little later if you still are leakless.

[bgray]

Bookman - it looks like your issues are resolved. Thanks for the updates. If you sent us an email, I'll still give you a proper response today.

 

Bill - I think that you might have tried to call yesterday. Sorry, I was scarce in the shop yesterday as I had to run a lot of errands. I'll be around all day today, so feel free to call again, or send an email.

 

Thanks!

[Bill Wood]

Rats!! Foiled again. Tried it with a pristine Medium #6 - good for a day - this morning it's dripping all over the section.

 

This baby is off for an audience with Brian Gray. Edison is incredible with customer service - and I love this pen I picked up from Whichwatch. Thanks for the response Brian - I'll shoot you an email.

[Oranges and Apples]

This happened to me as well. It was not unique to Edison Pens though. The result was me sending the pen back for a refund which was a favorable outcome.