Leaking Namiki Vanishing Point

[Michael]

I have an "old style" Namiki Vanishing Point fine nib pen. I haven't
used the pen for a couple of years. Today I washed it out and put in a
new cartridge. It leaks!

When in use it leaks at the joint between the blue barrel and the
steel tip/pocket clip. Taking it apart, the nib unit is covered in
ink. I've tried a new cartridge and the same thing happens.

What's happening and how do I solve the problem. I'm tired of using my
gel ink pens and want to return to using my VP. Do I need to replace
the pen?

Michael

[Nancy Handy]

Post by Michael
I have an "old style" Namiki Vanishing Point fine nib pen.
It leaks! Do I need to replace the pen?

You can take get a whole new nib assembly for under $35.
I forget who sells them. Someone here will remember.

Namiki VP is a great pen! I love the old style ones.

Nancy

[BLandolf]

"Nancy Handy"

Post by Nancy Handy

Post by Michael
I have an "old style" Namiki Vanishing Point fine nib pen.
It leaks! Do I need to replace the pen?

You can take get a whole new nib assembly for under $35.
I forget who sells them. Someone here will remember.

John Mottishaw sells them for $25 ea.

http://www.nibs.com/PilotVanishingPointPage.htm

Bernadette

[ElaineP]

Pam Braun sells them for $13.98
http://www.oscarbraunpens.com/

Post by Nancy Handy

Post by Michael
I have an "old style" Namiki Vanishing Point fine nib pen.
It leaks! Do I need to replace the pen?

You can take get a whole new nib assembly for under $35.
I forget who sells them. Someone here will remember.
Namiki VP is a great pen! I love the old style ones.
Nancy

[Tim McNamara]

Post by Michael
I have an "old style" Namiki Vanishing Point fine nib pen. I haven't
used the pen for a couple of years. Today I washed it out and put in
a new cartridge. It leaks!

I'll assume that it didn't leak before.

Post by Michael
When in use it leaks at the joint between the blue barrel and the
steel tip/pocket clip. Taking it apart, the nib unit is covered in
ink. I've tried a new cartridge and the same thing happens.

My VP nib is always rather wet when I pull the unit out of the
barrel. There's probably some contact between the nib and the
inside of the barrel somewhere.

Post by Michael
What's happening and how do I solve the problem. I'm tired of using
my gel ink pens and want to return to using my VP. Do I need to
replace the pen?

I'd look inside the barrel of the pen, down by the little "hatch" that
closes up the pen when the nib is retracted. I'd look for an
accumulation of dirt, dust, lint, or other crud that might be acting
to allow capillary action between the nib slit and the barrel of the
pen. Basically sponging out the ink and conducting it to the barrel
and your fingers.

[Michael Wright]

Post by Michael
I have an "old style" Namiki Vanishing Point fine nib pen. I haven't
used the pen for a couple of years. Today I washed it out and put in a
new cartridge. It leaks!
When in use it leaks at the joint between the blue barrel and the
steel tip/pocket clip. Taking it apart, the nib unit is covered in
ink. I've tried a new cartridge and the same thing happens.
SNIP

I've had a VP develop an ooze there. I tried sealing it with a
little shellac, with some success, but use another VP mostly
now. From the state of the nib unit when you look at it for
refilling, I think a bit of ink does get sprayed around inside a
VP (at least, if it's tossed around in a bag), and it's the
shutter that keeps the ink inside.

But do try cleaning out the works, by all means.

Michael

[QuarterHorseman]

Ah. Ye Olde Namiki Leake. Ink leaks are sort of like roof leaks. If
there's water dripping on your head in the living room, the rotted
shingle might just be over the bathroom and the water's traveling down
across a 2x6 up in the attic from one point to the other. First thing
to check would be that you have perfect sealing at the cartridge nipple.
Clean out your pen, let it dry, put in a cartridge, invert it for use
for 10 seconds, then retract the nib and look at the business end of the
cartridge for the *beginnings* of a leak. Keep doing this, waiting
longer each tipe until you see the first hint of a leak. The
Namiki/Pilot cartridge system is prone to leaks if the cartridge
tolerances are off even just a little bit, and I have a Pilot Ecrino and
an old-style VP and 2 boxes of cartridges to prove it; with those
cartridges, both pens begin to leak at the nipple, and then the leak
spreads from there, to the barrel/section joint on the Ecrino and to the
trap door on the VP.

[QuarterHorseman]

Post by QuarterHorseman
then retract the nib and look at the business end of the
cartridge for the *beginnings* of a leak.

(Of course you have to unscrew the barrel and remove it and remove the
metal cartridge shield each time and look down inside.)

Post by QuarterHorseman
Keep doing this, waiting longer each tipe

time

Post by QuarterHorseman
until you see the first hint of a leak.

More coffee please.

[mz]

Post by Michael
I have an "old style" Namiki Vanishing Point fine nib pen. I haven't
used the pen for a couple of years. Today I washed it out and put in a
new cartridge. It leaks!
When in use it leaks at the joint between the blue barrel and the
steel tip/pocket clip. Taking it apart, the nib unit is covered in
ink. I've tried a new cartridge and the same thing happens.
What's happening and how do I solve the problem. I'm tired of using my
gel ink pens and want to return to using my VP. Do I need to replace
the pen?
Michael

I remember a thread a while back on this subject. One
possibility, as others have mentioned, is that the nib is
touching the trap door. Try a google search on this newsgroup.
Here's a shortened url for the search:

http://tinyurl.com/fe54

Mark Z.

[Scaupaug]

Clean out the cover mechanism with a little ammonia/water solution...then leave
it for a while to dry out (a day or two in a very dry place). Use a
small/brief squirt of silicone spray into the mechanism and dry again - this
will repel water based ink and condensation from forming on the mechanism -
this also assists a seal that is getting stiff. Some people also spray liquid
teflon.