5 replies to this topic

[Bullfighter]

Maybe this has been done to death, but I have a bunch of Targas and almost all of them are hard starters if left alone for a day or two. It takes a few blank strokes elsewhere to finally get them writing. One person who is a master (to me, at least) of solving nib problems has told me that normal age shrinkage of the plastic into which the nib is inlaid causes the tines to close up against each other and not allow ink to flow down to the tip. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Targas are the only inlaid nib Sheaffers I have so I can't speak about the other models. I guess what I'm asking is is this a chronic problem with the inlaid nib, steel or gold?

[Roger W.]

I think it is an inherent problem with plastic feeds.  My 33 year old targa has a 10+ year old nib unit (it's an old pen - had it since I was 16 might not have always been careful) and I haven't used it in a few days and it laid down a line immediately.  The other big issue is that these nib units need to be really clean.  Every so often I give the unit a very good flush.  My slim targa with a fine nib never did write well (I've had it 31 years with the original nib) and I really just keep it put away - lots of pens write better.  I've been using a Burgundy Imperial IV that has the long inlaid nib and it's a good starter too probably medium.  Steel or gold should make no difference.  So I'd say no to shrinkage I really don't believe that is it.

 

Roger W.

[Mike Hosea]

Maybe this has been done to death, but I have a bunch of Targas and almost all of them are hard starters if left alone for a day or two. It takes a few blank strokes elsewhere to finally get them writing. One person who is a master (to me, at least) of solving nib problems has told me that normal age shrinkage of the plastic into which the nib is inlaid causes the tines to close up against each other and not allow ink to flow down to the tip. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Targas are the only inlaid nib Sheaffers I have so I can't speak about the other models. I guess what I'm asking is is this a chronic problem with the inlaid nib, steel or gold?

 

Not that I'm aware of.  Do Targas have a shrinkage problem?  None of mine do.  While closed up tines is a problem to be fixed, even if the tines close, it only means that the pen will be dry-writing, especially on the up-stroke.  If there are no other problems, an initial downstroke with a little pressure should prime the flow.  The more usual explanation for hard starting after days of idle time is an poorly-sealing cap.  However, I think the Targa caps should be pretty good.  So, I'll set this explanation aside.  

 

One possibility that comes to mind, only because I just had to fix it with a NOS Targa that I bought over the holidays, would be what Richard Binder calls the inverted grand canyon issue in his nib smoothing article. The gap between the tines isn't parallel.  Rather, it is wider facing the paper than it is on the other side.  With this condition the ink may fail to touch the paper on the initial touching of the nib to paper, so capillary flow does not start.  The pen may start to write when gravity sends enough ink towards the tip to fill the gap so that ink touches the paper when the nib does.

 

Maybe it's one thing or another, but I do think it is a nib adjustment issue, just not one due to shrinkage.   Unfortunately, the inverted grand canyon thing, if that's the problem, isn't one of the simpler adjustments.  It is pretty easy to see, however, with some magnification.

[Bullfighter]

Is Binder's "inverted Grand Canyon" effect fairly common with the inlaid nibs? My favorite Targa has a stub inlaid nib that always needs a kick-start. Then it writes, but so dry that I think It's running out of ink. And if I move a little too fast it'll skip a stroke. Very annoying.

Edited by Bullfighter, 21 January 2015 - 11:16 PM.

[Mike Hosea]

My personal sample size is too small to say what is common.  In fact I only have only one pen with an inlaid nib that I have used much.  It happens to be a Targa (standard girth, not slender), and I don't recall it ever balking.  I'm sure the one I fixed would have given me fits, but I never gave it the chance.  As it happens, I haven't even inked that pen yet.  I have a third Targa that is a "backup" for my older one, and it looks fine.  I also have a PFM.  I think it did have a minor case of the inverted grand canyon thing.  Would be surprising to have it on a stub, though.  Might be something else.  Do you store your pens horizontally or nib up when they are inked?

Edited by Mike Hosea, 21 January 2015 - 11:35 PM.

[Hugh]

Roger is probably right that it's a feed problem. I suspect it's fairly clogged with dried ink and needs a full clean which involves unscrewing the section from the connector and pushing the feed out the back end of the section ( remembering where the little bits go !!). You need a bit of heat to get the connector off and need to seal it when reassembling, shellac or rosin thread sealant will do.

 

Regards

Hugh