A Taperite Question

November 3, 2019

I purchased my first vintage Waterman's fountain pen, a Taperite Crusader, and after a long struggle, finally got the section out, cleaned everything up, and installed a new sac. The pen writes very smoothly but tends to burp an ink blot from time to time...with no apparent rhyme or reason. I've read elsewhere that this is a somewhat common problem. Can anyone enlighten me on what can be done?

Thanks,

Cliff

November 4, 2019

Crusader, as in the open nibbed version of the Taperite? I have one of those. I did not have that issue when I had mine restored, but I have had it with a number of other pens including several other Watermans of the era. Every time it happened to one of them, it was always a damaged nib, either bent, broken, or out of alignment. What nib work have you done to it so far?

November 4, 2019

Crusader, as in the open nibbed version of the Taperite?[/quote

No. I'm sorry. I should have been more specific. It is the semi-hooded taperite nib. The nib seems fine, very smooth in fact. It looks to be perfectly formed. I am just getting the periodic ink blot in between periods of very fine writing. That is what's perplexing.

Cliff

November 4, 2019

Got it. There are others here much more experienced with nib work than I. I am concentrating on figuring out body and mechanical issues, although I am doing a bit of self-education on nibs. In my VERY limited experience, a lot of times those dollops that randomly come out when the nib is not seated properly on the feed. Now, if you are referring to the semi hooded Taperite, that makes it a lot harder to tell how well it is seated. When something like that happens to me, my first task is to separate the nib and feed from the pen. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten so many warnings about that from a Taperite that I have no experience with it. My understanding is about a 50/50 chance of destroying a Taperite with any kind of nib removal unless you are really experienced. Generally, there’s an over abundance of caution on repairing pens, which I do not agree with, but in this case, enough competent people have told me to give that one a pass that I never have tried it.

But really, the seating of the nib on the feed is the reason I am guessing. It would not interfere with how well the nib glides on the page, so the problem may be pulling your shirt over your eyes.

November 5, 2019

Usually, burping is an air pressure problem. When you write for long periods an air bubble forms above the ink, and the warmth of your hand heats it up until the air tries to find a way out. That's how it is with eyedroppers. Solution is to periodically put the pen nib up and tap the bottom on the table a few times so the air bubble drifts up and can release the pressure through the feed and nib.

I suppose it works the same way with a sac-filler.

D.ick

November 5, 2019

Usually, burping is an air pressure problem. When you write for long periods an air bubble forms above the ink, and the warmth of your hand heats it up until the air tries to find a way out. That's how it is with eyedroppers. Solution is to periodically put the pen nib up and tap the bottom on the table a few times so the air bubble drifts up and can release the pressure through the feed and nib.
I suppose it works the same way with a sac-filler.

D.ick

Thank you for that insight. I have had that sort of issue with some of my seemingly well behaved (otherwise) vintage pens, especially if barometric pressure changes quickly as in the passing of a storm front. FYI my wife and I were in the Netherlands just a few weeks ago. We were in Landgraaf visiting our niece and then in Amsterdam where we paid a visit to the maritime museum there before flying home.

November 6, 2019

Thank you for that insight. I have had that sort of issue with some of my seemingly well behaved (otherwise) vintage pens, especially if barometric pressure changes quickly as in the passing of a storm front. FYI my wife and I were in the Netherlands just a few weeks ago. We were in Landgraaf visiting our niece and then in Amsterdam where we paid a visit to the maritime museum there before flying home.

I hope you did enjoy your visit!

D.ick

November 17, 2019

I believe I have an answer to my own question regarding ink flow and burping issues with Waterman's Taperite semi-hooded nib fountain pens. The consensus out there from knowledgeable sources that should know (Ravens March Pens, Richards Pens and others) seems to go as follows: Waterman, in an attempt to compete with the hooded Parker 51 joined the market a bit late and did so by offering pens that had modified sections, feeds and nibs but without the required engineering to bring forth a truly competitive product. The Taperite pens have a small, long feed with very little surface area to contain sudden increases in flow brought about be changing air pressure due to altitude, barometric pressure changes, or heat. Consequently, the less ink in the pen, the more air, and the more air, the more susceptible the pen is to spewing ink into the feed. The Parker 51 has this happen as do pens with conventional nibs but the '51 has that massive collector (hardly anything gets by it) and many open nib pens have feeds with a significant amount of surface area to collect and hold those eruptions until such time the ink is needed at the tip of the nib. No so with the Taperite. I have learned that the lower my Taperite is on ink,, the more likely it is to burp. It is a rudimentary barometer. Let it have only 10-20% of its ink supply left and if the barometer drops suddenly, there will be a blob of ink hanging from the feed. If it is full or nearly so, there is no problem at all. It is the nature of the design and, therefore,, not a personal candidate for daily carry in my shirt pocket at least. I love the pen and will use it often but it will not be going with me anywhere in a dress shirt pocket beneath a sport or suit coat.