Hi everyone,
I've been frustrated by the need to repeatedly dip my pen. And if the ink is a little dilute, the sudden blob that comes on the paper when I write.
So did a lot of research, and found 2 things. Reservoir nibs, which are horrendously costly at over $5 each. And a post on the flourish forum, which has a few suggestions. After that, I experimented with quite a few things. I got a bit of thin wire and wrapped it around the nib. It helped in better ink retention but threw the balance off. Then I tried wrapping the nib (around the breather hole) with sewing thread. That held quite a bit of ink but the nibs rusted faster, since doing it every time was impossible and I had to leave the thread on. Both had their issues.
Giving it a bit of scientific thought (I'm a pilot, so do read a bit of physics and chemistry) I realised that I needed a reservoir and a way to smoothly transfer the ink to the tip. The easy answer to the second was capillary action. So with a bit of hit and miss, I developed the following method.
There is a medical tape called 'micropore paper tape', that's like thick tissue paper. It's cheap and lasts forever. I believe, there is something called carpenter's tape also, that's similar. These, basically have a very porous upper surface, and a good sticky surface. To make the ink reservoir and improve the flow of the ink is a simple procedure.
Prep the nib to remove the oil. (Whichever way works for you, Saliva, Toothpaste, Flame etc. I personally just stick it in my mouth for a couple of min).
Let it dry completely (Very important if you want to do this just once in the life of the nib. If you're willing to do it every time you use the nib, then you can use the nib slightly damp too).
Take a small sliver of the tape and stick it on the underside of a dry nib, over the slit, so that ink sticks to it and flows easily.
These are to improve ink flow and retention. The nib is ready for use. However, if you want a much bigger reservoir, with a lot of ink retention then add the following too.
You can also stick the tape wrapped around the nib, (encircling the nib) so that it forms kind of a pocket to hold the ink and let it flow. If you do this without the tape over the slit, you WILL get blobs.
That's it. For better understanding, I've added pics of each step.
Do let me know how it works for you. Feel free to ask any questions.
