Stub O'Day Part Two

[amberleadavis]

@Detman101  I cannot get my Opus Bella to write. I've cleaned it, I've cleaned the nib and I've tried different inks. I've not been able to make it work.

 

 

 

 

 

[Misfit]

@amberleadavis I’d think if you can’t get it to write, there must be a pen issue. What do you think?

[Detman101]

12 hours ago, Misfit said:

@Detman101 That would be a very nice thing to give, if you see this man again. I hope it happens. 

My heart wept for this man...so I took the next step.
I sourced a full-size bottle of the vintage on Ebay.
🥰
Who knows...that frag may be the winning scent that tips interviews in his favor!

[Detman101]

7 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

@Detman101  I cannot get my Opus Bella to write. I've cleaned it, I've cleaned the nib and I've tried different inks. I've not been able to make it work.

 

 

 

 

 

If you are willing to do a little surgery...I have a recommendation.

With some Opus-88 models...the design can cause a touch of "Vapor-Lock". Your "Bella" is slightly curvy causing an inconsistency in the internal pressure within the pen that is not experienced in their prior and flagship model, the "Demonstrator".
Of course, this is all my own speculation, research and application...take it with 3 grains of salt.

However, my recommendation is minimally destructive, but majorly effective.
 

Process:

- Remove nib housing, with nib and feed, from the pen. (Do not lose miniature rubber O-Ring at backside of nib housing)

- Rinse ink from nib, feed and nib housing (And O-Ring if you choose to, I fear losing fiddly bits like that down the drain).

- Remove nib and feed from the nib housing and set the nib and feed aside on a napkin.

- Take the nib housing in hand and inspect it, we will be focusing on the backside of the housing where a little tail/tube protrudes (Where the O-Ring sits)

- With a pair of fingernail clippers, nip off a tiny section of the tube at the end of the nib housing...not a lot, just enough to reduce its overall length by a little.

- NOTE: This will cause the tail on the nib feed to be more exposed to the ink reservoir and thus receive more ink.

- Reassemble the nib, feed, feed housing and O-Ring and insert the unit back into the Pen Section snugly.

- Using the plunger, force a little ink through the pen and test it's writing capability for at least three paragraphs. You want to ensure that after the forced ink runs through the feed, the feed receives a proper and acceptable amount of ink from the modified nib housing tube.

- Should the process not give enough ink, restart the process...removing another small amount of the nib housing tube and exposing more of the feed-tail to the ink for conduction up the feed to the nib.

- Remember...go slowly and remove little. It is easier to redo the process 10 times than have to replace the JOWO feed unit.

[Misfit]

13 hours ago, Detman101 said:

My heart wept for this man...so I took the next step.
I sourced a full-size bottle of the vintage on Ebay.
🥰
Who knows...that frag may be the winning scent that tips interviews in his favor!

Wow, you are such a good man. I hope you see him to give the cologne, and his luck changes for the better. Keep us updated here, please. 

[amberleadavis]

On 9/14/2022 at 5:30 AM, Detman101 said:

 

- Remove nib housing, with nib and feed, from the pen. (Do not lose miniature rubber O-Ring at backside of nib housing)

- Rinse ink from nib, feed and nib housing (And O-Ring if you choose to, I fear losing fiddly bits like that down the drain).

 

I took it apart above the sink and O-Ring sailed away and down the garbage disposal, lost forever.  I was too disheartened to try the rest.

 

So where do I find another O-Ring?

 

[amberleadavis]

On 9/14/2022 at 2:12 AM, Misfit said:

@amberleadavis I’d think if you can’t get it to write, there must be a pen issue. What do you think?

 

I think what @Detman101 suggested would be the key, but I goofed before I even started.

[Misfit]

Darn! Sorry to hear that @amberleadavis 

Pen Chalet said in a write up to contact them if you have any questions concerning the O ring. 
 

https://www.penchalet.com/blog/how-to-use-an-opus-88-fountain-pen/

[Misfit]

Here is a conversation about the Opus 88 O ring on Reddit. 
 

[Frank C]

2 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

I took it apart above the sink and O-Ring sailed away and down the garbage disposal, lost forever.  I was too disheartened to try the rest.

 

So where do I find another O-Ring?

 

As my mother would say, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". 

 

 

 

 

 

As for replacement parts, McMaster-Carr is a good online solution. Here in Las Vegas, you can go to McFadden-Dale Hardware on Decatur. They have every o-ring imaginable, and the staff is friendly and helpful. 

[amberleadavis]

@Misfit Thank you!

 

@Frank C 

 

This was me but the ring was much smaller.

 

 

 

[Misfit]

Ha ha ha. That’s a good one @amberleadavis

[amberleadavis]

3 minutes ago, Misfit said:

Ha ha ha. That’s a good one @amberleadavis

 

I felt just about that clutzy.

[Detman101]

13 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

I took it apart above the sink and O-Ring sailed away and down the garbage disposal, lost forever.  I was too disheartened to try the rest.

 

So where do I find another O-Ring?

 

My apologies for the late reply, had an out of state mission, just returning.

Oh no...so sorry to hear that you lost your O-Ring.  
I typically stay far away from any sinks when working on my Fountain Pens until I'm at the point of cleaning them.
Back when I first started modding my pens I lost two FPR flex nibs down the drain that way before I improved my methodology.

I do not have a source for a replacement O-Ring as I've been obsessively anal about protecting the one shipped with my pen.

Nevertheless, the O-ring is not an absolute requirement. You can move forward with the instruction set without the O-ring until your replacement arrives.
The O-Ring acts as a cushion and slight seal to protect against burping due to elevation changes. Without it in the pen, you should be fine as long a you do not change elevation very far. Given your location, that should not be an issue unless you enter a skyscraper regularly.

[Misfit]

Where are the stub nibs?  I’m guilty too of not posting. So here is a new ink in my Monteverde Mountains of the World K2 pen. I got this ink today. I misspelled Karakoram in my writing photo. 
 

[InkyColors]

2 hours ago, Misfit said:

Where are the stub nibs?  I’m guilty too of not posting. So here is a new ink in my Monteverde Mountains of the World K2 pen. I got this ink today. 
 

Pretty pen and the ink looks like a perfect match!

[Misfit]

Thank you @InkyColors it took me awhile to find the K2 pen. I’m glad I finally got it. 

[dms525]

New pens with stub nibs acquired since my last post:

 

 

 

 

Leonardo Momento Zero Grande 2.0. A Limited Edition for a Florentine Pen Shop made in Bob Dupras' "Ocean Cenote" resin. 14Kt stub nib.

 

David

[Detman101]

Beautiful pens!!! Nice inks as well!

[helloMB]

Two totally different nibs, was expecting a M800 duplicate, instead it was a M1k. What a difference they are, whew weee!