Ink flow: How do you get the ink to release from the nib?

[charys]

Hello all,

I have checked the forum for help with this and so far... no go.  The ink (Yasutomo Sumi black) flows nicely for one capital letter after the nib has been cleaned with Windex, and then it pools on the nib (zebra G).  I've had the problem before and went in to the local art store where I was told that I had been sold old ink.  I'm not experienced enough to know but I agreed to buy a new bottle (Yasutomo that I noted) from them after I saw that it flowed beautifully from my nib.  However, I am once again having the same problem with this ink.  I previous had trouble with too much ink flow and used an idea of rubbing candle wax onto the very tip of the writing side of the nib and that helped.  With this pooling issue, I have changed nibs, cleaned the nib with Windex every time it starts to pool, I've added a couple of drops of distilled water to the small amount ink (just enough to dip), and it isn't helping.  Any thoughts would be appreciated. 

[schin]

The nib may still be dirty... when it is cleaned, make sure to never touch it again because the oils from your fingers can soil it. Or a dirty napkin. In addition to the windex, try cleaning with rubbing alcohol. Or a flame as a last resort...

Also make sure you are dipping past the eyehole of the nib.

Also I don't think candle wax is a good idea..! That may contribute to the pooling...

[charys]

Thank you for the reply!  I will try using a clean paper towel to re insert the nib.  Although I haven't been touching it with my skin, I have also not been as careful to consistently find a clean part of the paper towel or tissue to insert it with. 

Thanks also for your thoughts about the candle wax.  The point was to alleviate the blobbing on the paper and it did help with that, but I can also understand how it could contribute to the pooling on the nib.  Although I haven't been putting the wax very many times but I have Windexed the nib quite a bit.

 I will also keep the rubbing alcohol in mind. 

And yes, I am dipping beyond the eye hole. 

Thank you again for your thoughts!

[penstaff]

You might do better by switching to a different ink...Higgins Eternal with a few drops of gum arabic should do wonders for you,. Or if you want the best (imho try Kaimei. I never had a propblem with this ink.
Harvey

[charys]

Thank you,  penstaff!  I'll keep that in mind too.  The rubbing alcohol idea has worked some times, but not always.  I also saw the idea to put the nib in a potato.  I thought that was just for prepping, but I read it for ink flow in general. 

[erato]

I'd suggest you disassembly your nib and drop it into "Rohrer & Klingner Spezialreiniger" for a while before you get it back to your nib box.

[Doesy]

This happens to me sometimes too. For my situation, here is what I've noticed (may not be applicable to what you're seeing):

   I have a tendency to put my sumi into dinky dips and then leave the caps off (if only I could even out the spill marks on the carpeting so it looks less spill-like and more Jackson Pollack looking). Dust gets into the ink and then sometimes lodges between the tines of the nib, impeding ink flow.

  Certain kinds of paper I use has a tendency to micro tear as I'm writing. These little smidges of paper also get wedged in the tines sometimes. The wedge makes the tines off center so the slit in the nib doesn't line up. I usually have to clear the wedge with something really thin (I use another piece of paper or the little cleaning plastic film thingie that came with my pilot parallel pen).

  This is kind of heretical and I dread what people will say about it but I've also used very fine steel wool (like 000) and rubbing alcohol to clean off some of my nibs which I couldn't get the ink to flow correctly with. I only used it on the top and underside of the nib, away from the tip, closer to the ink hole/reservoir. This is only after rubbing alcohol, toothpaste, spit and determination didn't seem to remove the protective ink repelling coating from the nib. This was a last ditch resort for me (the fine steel wool can also get stuck in the tines and unless you clean off the nib carefully, the wool bits also fall in the ink - not great for sumi...hmmm... maybe not a bad thing for iron gall ink).

[AndyT]

... the wool bits also fall in the ink - not great for sumi...hmmm... maybe not a bad thing for iron gall ink.

I don't see any objection to this idea - after all, if it works it must be a good one.  To avoid the steel debris problem it may be worth trying a Scotchbrite pad (or any similar gentle scourer) instead.  For IG ink a bit of extra iron won't do any harm ... it'll give it a change of diet in addition to eating nibs. 

[garyn]

Go to the auto parts store and get a can of "carburetor cleaner."
Nasty stuff, so use it outdoors in good ventilation.

[TeganL]

@charys I used to have the same trouble with my Nikko G nib, spit was the answer. Spit onto a lint free tissue and wipe the nib. Check out this thread: http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=4937

[charys]

Thanks for the replies to this issue.  I appreciate all of you taking the time to reach out and I'm sorry I'm just now responding.  I've been offline and didn't even know there were replies.

I actually got a potato just for this issue, though I've not yet tried it due to time constraints.  I'm beginning to wonder if the ink changes consistency and causes the problem.   I do look forward to trying again hopefully giving you all a great update. 

[charys]

I finally tried the potato as well as continuing to clean the nib often and so far so good. I'm definitely keeping in mind the great tips that have been offered.  Thanks again so much for the suggestions!