Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Burping Konrad

I finally got around to loading my newest Konrad pen but ran into a phenomenon I had only read about until it actually happened.

There was a sample vial of Apache Sunset ink I wanted to use in the pen that I purchased from Goulet Pens.  Unfortunately, there was not enough ink for the pen nib/feed to sit in for the piston converter to work right pulling ink into the chamber.  To get around that, I took the nib and feed out and used a syringe to load the chamber.  I knew I could end up with air bubbles so I twisted the piston to force the air space out thinking I'd be fine.

Well.........for whatever reason, it wasn't fine.  I experienced the burping I have seen people talk about in forum posts.

Testing the pen in my sketchbook, I just started writing random thoughts as they came to me.  And out of no where a big huge blob of ink would just pop out onto the paper.  I would make adjustments, try to squeeze out more air, push the nib/feed deeper into the body but it still happened.  Two pages of writing before I realized it just wasn't going to straighten out.  I had blobs all over the place.  (I'd share the pages if not for some of what I wrote on them :-)

And as my husband walked by and I showed what was happening, he says........."I'd say your pen has the hiccups.........not burping."  Ha ha ha.

I feared something wrong with the pen.  Maybe the nib and feed were not set well with one another.  Maybe a deformity in the feed.  Maybe something about the ink itself.  I just had no idea.

So I emptied what was left of the Apache Sunset ink and loaded the pen with Noodler's #41 Brown.  I was able to load the proper way and I took the nib and feed out one last time making sure the two were aligned with one another and no lint or anything in the grooves of the feed.

To test.........I decided to sketch instead of just writing.

I've worked another sketch after this one and all appears to be fine with the pen.  (Thank goodness!)

Strathmore Softcover sketchbook / Konrad Bengal Tiger with flex nib.


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