Having To Bear Down A Little On My 540's Nib

[Shavely Manden]

Several years ago, I'd just started a fountain pen collection when I fell into a long period of depression, which I'm just now getting out of. I finally fished my Diamond 540 with an extra-fine nib out from under the bed (yes, I know), and I disassembled it & cleaned out the ink that had been drying for years inside it.

 

After reassembly, everything works fine (piston better than before, since I re-greased it), and I inked it up with J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir. I have to put just a little more pressure than I remember on the nib to get it to write properly...writing under its own weight, it only makes a faint line and skips. I've tried changing the angle of the nib, but nothing's seemed to work. Have I broken my nib (or something else)? Or am I just overlooking something?

[OCArt]

Two possibilities come to mind. You may have used too much "grease" and the nib is blocked by a glob. Or, you may have dried up ink still in the pen.

 

In both cases flush and fill the pen repeatedly with a mixture of water and tiny, tiny, tiny bit of dishwashing liquid like Joy. You might even have to let the pen soak overnight. Hope this helps.