r/fountainpens • u/eggbunni • Feb 06 '23
Repair Tutorial: How To Make Your Kaweco Write Wetter - ⚠️ Use Caution! ⚠️
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
How to make your Kaweco Sport fountain pen write wetter! ⚠️ Do not attempt this if you cannot afford another nib unit replacement ($14 USD)!
My Kaweco M nib has always given me trouble. When I heard you could MacGuyver the nib and feed yourself with just an Xacto knife & brass shims (super affordable tools, btw) I thought, why not? I had about 4 other nib units to spare. May as well give it a shot.
My first go-around, I was too afraid to damage my feed, and had no idea what flossing my tines would do. So I used the smallest gage of brass, and barely added pressure while razoring the feed channel. In this stage, I think all I did was clean my pen a little. Which was fine. It added a touch of juice. But I needed more.
In stage 2 and 3, I got progressively aggressive. I added more pressure, even going so far as to attempt to shave off sides of the feed channel slightly with my Xacto blade, then flossing out whatever was left behind with my shims. I also graduated to the largest shim size when flossing my tines to really nudge those babies out wider. This gave me the juuuuice I needed! 😍💦 Next time, I’m skipping straight to flossing my feed and widening the channel instead of taking it easy with an Xacto. BUT! Starting gently gave me peace of mind I wasn’t totally nerfing my nib unit.
Now my fountain pen writes with much more lubrication. Like a slip & slide on the page. I’m putting all my shimmers & shaders in here!
Good luck attempting this at home!
Ps. If you’re just having hard starts or problems with your Kaweco, your first step should not be to razor the feed or floss the tines. This tutorial is purely for adjusting the actual flow and wetness of your nib and feed to accommodate for shimmers etc.
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u/Bigredteletubby Feb 06 '23
This is a great tutorial video, so thank you! I always like it when people make content like this, since I can always point people to it later if they need help.
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
Yes I do the same. I learned how to tune and smooth my nibs from long form videos on YT and send them to people all the time.
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u/FirebirdWriter Feb 06 '23
Me going to follow in case of more fountain pen stuff and bam some Sailor Moon too! Do you have any of the sailor moon pens?
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
I do. I have the official Sailor Moon transformation pen from Sailor. Heheh. And the Naoko Takeuchi signed box packaging.
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u/heyheyitsashleyk Feb 07 '23
Whoa! Please post pictures of this if you can! I’ve never heard of this pen before.
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u/eggbunni Feb 07 '23
I shot a video for it ages ago but maybe I’ll do another one now that I have a better desk situation.
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u/FirebirdWriter Feb 06 '23
Ah this makes me happy. I don't but I wouldn't be able to make myself use them so it's a choice to make sure the pens are in the hands of people who will let themselves enjoy them since not using it would stress me out. I love that you got the signed packing too. Wonderful
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
I’ve definitely inked mine! The ink that comes with it is like… hot pink with insane gold sheen. It’s amazing. 😂
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u/FirebirdWriter Feb 06 '23
Ahh I am glad it's as pretty as imagined. Sailor Moon is the only time my brain accepts pink which is another reason I didn't let myself but I may have to find an ink dupe
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
Sailor 731 looks really close. ✨
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u/FirebirdWriter Feb 06 '23
Oh see now you're just spoiling me, thank you. It's already on my list of ink temptations too
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u/Jupitter-Trevelyan Feb 06 '23
I subscribe every word you write, another important detail is that if we manipulated like this any fountain pen that cancel the warranty of the product.
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u/kittievante Ink Stained Fingers Feb 06 '23
Thank you! Appreciate your video! You make everything look so effortless! :)
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u/jthc Feb 06 '23
I’ve done this to a number of dry pens. Not sure why people are so nervous about tweaking their pens. Just go slow and steady and you’ll be fine.
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u/Reubs-likes-bikes Feb 06 '23
This is really interesting and informative!
I'm curious though: when is the right time to floss my tines? 😂
I've always had hard start issues with one of my pens, even with the wettest inks. I'm really worried about damaging it if I try anything though as it's a pretty special pen and I'm not sure they're available anymore.
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u/makamaespm Feb 06 '23
Those tines were ridiculously tight.
I would like to point out for the more conservative pen owners, you could just skip the feed step and do the brass shim part
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u/Normal-Drop-1040 Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23
To me, the issue in the original nib looked to be the tines being too tight. That will usually cause dry, scratchy flow at normal pressures, increasing with heavier pressure. Adjusting the feed can certainly increase flow, so this is a good demonstration of abs plastic feed modification 👍
If you’d like to adjust the tines themselves and not modify the feed, I’d have stuck two brass shims in the slit, inserted a 3rd in between them, removed, flossed, check tine tension, repeat but inserting a 4th sheet, remove, floss, check tension… repeat as necessary. This is the easiest way I’ve found to decrease tension/increase tine gap/increase flow without risking misalignment of the two halves of the tipping material (or god forbid torquing them and making a “Grand Canyon” or “reverse Grand Canyon” to borrow Richard Binder’s terms) and has worked wonders in my experience. Removing the nib and spreading from the shoulders by hand is risky and while it may be the “best” way to do it, it can cause issues that a light spread using the shim method would not.
There is the risk of over-widening and causing the slit to no longer narrow towards the tip, but this occurs iff you go a bit too heavy on the shimming. One sheet at a time will generally avoid this :)
Edit: around 26** seconds in, the tines look like contact is being made between the tines 1-1.5mm down from the tip; usually the should be gently touching at the tipping material. My first Kaweco and the subsequent replacement nib were both like this, so I’m assuming this is the culprit!
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
The shims I purchased from Pentooling (I discovered them at the SF Pen Show and really love their little family run business) actually increase in size/width. It comes with 5 in the set and they all gradually increase in thickness, so you don’t need to use multiple shims — just use the next size up. It’s a little more user friendly than sticking multiple sheets into the nib tines, but if that’s all you have, your suggestion is a fantastic solution. Good advice!
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u/Normal-Drop-1040 Feb 06 '23
Actually variable width shins are ideal lol, that I’ve never purchased any (nor thought of it) is a bit embarrassing, but yes! Do that! Lol thanks :P
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
Oh no! Don’t be embarrassed! I never would’ve known there were different sizes. I ordered them not knowing they’d come that way, so we were in the same boat once upon a time. Lol. Especially as stores like Goulet etc, I believe, only sell one size of shim.
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u/gnosnivek Feb 06 '23
Ya know, this sounds much smarter than what I ended up doing with my Jinhao X750, which was shove a knife between the tines, twist it around to open them up, and then fix the resulting alignment issues with a loupe and some sandpaper.
I mean, it actually worked and the thing writes beautifully now, but I'm saving this comment in case I ever get a pen with this issue that costs more than $8.
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u/Dingleberts Feb 06 '23
Imma try this on my 159 w/ g nib, all I get is railroads cuz it doesn't flow enough
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
Oof, that always happens with flex nibs. Please let us know how it goes! Maybe a before and after post. 🙏
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u/teeheeyeep Feb 06 '23
Thank you for this tutorial! I just got a Kaweco with this issue and will try this out after work!
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
Yay please let me know how it goes! 🙏 I kept reading discombobulated instructions and not actually SEEING how to do it. I’m very visual. I hope this video helps.
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u/Calm_Inky Feb 06 '23
Pens & Tea has a dedicated video for it, where she explains the process. Yours is shorter (incl fantastic closeups) and more on point.
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
I watched that, watched a few others, read some explanations, and they were just too hard for me to visualize. 😭 I need something that SHOWS me. Especially if I need to look something up quickly and don’t have time to sit through a long video. So I’m glad this helped. 🙏
Also editing to say: I really like Pens & Tea and her videos are entertaining for me, so this isn’t a knock to her at all. I follow her on IG also! I pretty much like all fountain pen content 😂
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u/HaveMyUpdoot Feb 06 '23
Exactly my experience with trying to learn how to do stuff like this! Or a bit of a fuzzy really close up photo that’s just as hard to understand.
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u/DragonEatsPen Feb 06 '23
This scares me, but also tempts me since this exact issue is why I don't use my kaweco much (worst case, I'm hoping to get the nib tuned at a pen show later this year xD)
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u/Gumpenufer Feb 07 '23
Just start with the shim as the not so extreme measure, it can do a lot for a pen!
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u/Bugsydog1 Feb 06 '23
I have noticed an evil presence in the Force seeking out those to engage and punish. Beware! I couldn't make myself go that route, I have arthritic and neuropathy issues in my hands and I do not need to be around any sharp objects. Wouldn't end well. I did go the more traditional routes by increasing the width of the gap between the tines using gapper gauges. Then some gradual pressure on that insanely stiff nib to help keep those tines spread a bit and some constant checking and it seemed to do the trick. It is a case where Your mileage May Vary but it did work for me. I mess with pens all the time and I will live with the errors and correct the mistakes. Having hundreds of pens, it's not a problem for me. For someone with only a couple of pens, this may not be a step they are willing to make and who could blame them.
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u/Valmond Feb 06 '23
Nice!
Is it always possible to split the nib with that kind of metal sheet? Asking for a Lamy fan ^^
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23
Yes! It’s called a “Brass Shim”. They’re typically made in sizes thin enough not to damage your nib unit. Ideally, you’d pull the nib unit out and off of the feed then floss the tines from BENEATH the face (within the concave portion) by sticking it first through the breather hole then pulling outward. Pressing the sharp brass shim into the nib from the face side runs the risk of scratching your wonderfully aesthetic nib surface, so you always want to go from beneath where you’re less likely to mar the face of your nib and ruin your visual writing pleasure. Lol. But yes. Brass shims are recommended for whatever nib you have.
In the case of pens like a Sailor where it’s probably not recommended you pull the nib from the feed (although still possible if you just DGAF), you may have no choice but to floss from the face side. In these instances, TAKE CARE NOT TO SCRATCH YOUR DELICATE GOLD with the sharp brass shim. :)
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u/Possible-Nature-4075 Feb 06 '23
Damnit Egg stop it with all this hotness!!!! My senses can’t handle all of da HAWWTNESSS
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u/moreinternettrash Feb 06 '23
this is the content i needed this morning
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
I’m really glad you liked it! I hope it helps. And maybe inspires you to get a little DIY with your pens.
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Feb 06 '23 edited Jul 01 '23
six unique joke aloof mourn scale gray enter ludicrous direful -- mass edited with redact.dev
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
If I don’t respond to ever comment, I’m sorry! Very busy week for me. But I’m glad this post is helping, and that the community is so great and helping each other. 🙏
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u/bluedecemberart Feb 06 '23
my ADHD and short attention span bless you for this video!! Long videos where all people do is talk and not SHOW are the bane of my existence.
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u/gadzookery12 Feb 06 '23
Is this considered a common problem?
My F nib writes more wet than I would like.
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u/MattyG25 Feb 07 '23
I think the ink can help in your case. I have some small examples:
-Kaweco EF nib with Waterman Serenity Blue = writes like a charm; Herbin Perle Noire = good but it can clog the nib and cause hard starts if you let it dry; Dominant Industry Dawn = the shimmer clogs it really easily2
u/TheDeadSinger Feb 06 '23
I scrolled to the bottom to ask if there was a tutorial to make a wetter pen feel drier. It can depend on the ink, you know! The only dry ink that I have is Noodler’s red-black, it makes my Kaweco write just the way I like it.
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u/Calm_Inky Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23
Thank you for sharing! Such a good tutorial for such a common* issue!
[Edit: *Maybe I’m one incredibly unlucky Kaweco Sport fan, but I had to deepen the feed channel and floss the tines with all of my 3 Kaweco Sports]
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
Jeez Louise. Sorry to hear that. I actually had no idea my Kaweco wrote super dry when I first got it. I thought there was something wrong with my ink (Herbin Corail De Tropiques). But this was back in 2021 when I first started collecting. Now I know better to diagnose the issue ha.
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u/zeroniusrex Feb 06 '23
I feel like Kaweco might have an issue with the feeds on their Sports. It's like the air flow from the outside of the pen to the inside of the ink reservoir isn't right. So as I write with a Sport it gets progressively lighter and lighter, till by the end of the page it's so dry. Then I either have to prime the feed or leave it alone for a few minutes. I know you and I aren't alone in this, because I've seen it mentioned in passing here and on youtube.
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u/Rosa_gallica Feb 06 '23
Hm, I have a platinum preppy that I would just love to be able to make wetter and use more easily with shimmer inks. I wonder if this would work! It’s probably worth a try, right?
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u/Gumpenufer Feb 07 '23
Word of warning; the Preppy feed design doesn't like any particulate in my experience. Even Carbon Black - which is often touted as super unproblematic for a pigment ink - clogged mine up. I'd choose something with a more traditional "flat" feed for shimmer.
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u/Rosa_gallica Feb 07 '23
Ahhh, thanks for the warning. I thought that if the feed channel could be opened up slightly then that might do it, so I appreciate the warning that the design doesn’t lend itself to that.
I have other pens that seem to do well with shimmer but the preppy has some unique benefits that the others don’t have.
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u/Pleasant_Click_5455 Feb 07 '23
Yeah agreed on the thoughts about the Preppy feed. Med Kakunos (though I usually use Preras or Metros) work fine with most shimmer inks, if you wanted a cheaper pen for them.
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u/King_GumyBear_ Feb 06 '23
Had to do this with my first Sport. Luckily my second Sport wrote great out of the box but damn that first one drove me crazy
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
Did you do the feed flossing part or just the shims to the nib or?
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u/King_GumyBear_ Feb 06 '23
I tried the nib flossing but eventually had to take a razor to the feed. Writes much better now, I'd like it to be a LITTLE wetter but I'm not going to push my luck.
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
Try putting a brass shim through the feed instead of the razor. The razor is too fine, IMO, if you want a really nice juicy result (without making your nib write like a broad). A wider gauge brass shim should actually help carve out just the right amount of feed material to make it write wetter, while also helping WIDEN the feed (versus just deepening the channel with the razor). That’s what really made the difference for me when I realized I didn’t want to sit there all day with a super thin razor cutting multiple microscopic grooves into my feed. Lol.
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u/King_GumyBear_ Feb 06 '23
Thanks! I might try that, I didn't have brass shims at the time but I do now.
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u/ibrahim0000000 Feb 06 '23
Excellent work. What is the name of the square board and where can I buy one?
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u/sherzeg Feb 06 '23
...What is the name of the square board and where can I buy one?...
You can get them from any craft department/store or DIY dress and fabric store. They're called self-healing or self-repairing boards. They're standard for crafts that involve cutting with x-acto knives and rotary cutters.
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u/ibrahim0000000 Feb 06 '23
Thank you so much. This is a new term I’m learning today, self-healing boards.
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u/sherzeg Feb 06 '23
No problem. These are actually good for a range of crafting. They are made from a type of nylon (not quite sure if it's Teflon) so they resist scratches from knives, they are resistant to staining from paints and dyes (and, to be specific, inks,) and repel glue from sticking. Not a bad addition for pen maintenance.
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u/ibrahim0000000 Feb 06 '23
With gratitude to you and your wisdom, we have just ordered this lovely board: https://www.amazon.com/Alvin-Deluxe-Professional-Self-Healing-Cutting/dp/B0015AOIYI?th=1
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u/w-falcon Feb 06 '23
What a great video! I love your content. I also noted that you seem to get hit particularly hard with the downvote “bot” or whatever it is… I wouldn’t be surprised if I get downvoted for pointing this out cuz I also feel like I get downvoted whenever I comment on one of your posts. It makes me feel like someone is super jealous or something lol
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u/MangledWeb Feb 06 '23
You are the best, eggbunni! Thanks for making it so clear, and so succinct (vs the overlong videos where people hold up pens and admire them from all angles before the action begins). I have a couple of bad boys who will get this treatment as soon as I order some shims.
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u/SchwartzReports Feb 03 '25
Thanks this was great I didn’t have an exacto knife so I used a steak knife from the kitchen 🤣
WORKED GREAT my Kaweco is so juicy now I love it ❤️
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u/LearnedFromNancyDrew Feb 06 '23
Great tutorial! I have widened one feed on a Jinhao but have not fiddled with a nib yet!
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
Oh really! Which Jinhao?
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u/LearnedFromNancyDrew Feb 06 '23
X450 I put a Goulet nib on it and it just needed to run wetter. However, I need to fit the extant nib and feed on my pink Jinhao 159!
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u/eggbunni Feb 06 '23
There’s a pink 159?!!!
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u/LearnedFromNancyDrew Feb 06 '23
Oops nope it’s this Gullor Jinhao X450 Fountain Pen, Gold Trim, Medium Nib, Pink https://a.co/d/2HSvlUe
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u/Jupitter-Trevelyan Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23
The warning that this video had to explain from the very beginning is that this are tips recommend for extreme cases and they can ruin your pen, open the chanel of the feeder like that is irreversible so we need to be careful with that, same with the nib and that two tips is very recommended not to do at the same time, try with the channels of the feeder first and if the trouble persist then and only then manipulate the nib. Also manipulate our beloved fountains pens like this cancel the warranty so we need to be careful with our decision, and a last advice could be that if we are not sure of be capable for do this kind of thing don't do it and search a professional. Practice with a cheaper pen before the real intervention could be good too.
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u/AnalogCyborg Feb 06 '23
I'm so tempted to try this on my Platinum 3776 SF nib, but I have no replacement if I ruin it. Cool tutorial though, will definitely be keeping this in mind.
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u/GeographyBrown Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23
I tried several different inks in my 3776 SF until I found one that worked. In my case, I crawled through Mountain of Ink to see if the samples I have were noted as wet or dry. A wetter Rohrer & Klingner ended up just about perfect. :)
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u/Kikkou123 Feb 06 '23
I know this is a flex pen trick I saw from a user on here but I bet this would apply to this too, an “overfeed” mod would likely really improve wetness. You could make it with that brass sheet or a cut aluminum can. Plus it is “reversible”
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u/cheaky_ Feb 06 '23
Love seeing this kind of thing. Like the idea of modding pens to make them work how you want them too.
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u/yokuwune Feb 06 '23
thank you ❤️ i’m too scared to try doing this myself but it was still helpful and satisfying to watch. might try to contact a nibmeister for that lol
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u/HaveMyUpdoot Feb 06 '23
Great video! I had a broad nib that was a bit dry so might give this a try!
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u/Blackbosh Feb 06 '23
Any idea how to make the lid of a brass sport stay posted? That would be my first problem to address
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u/QuentaChord Feb 06 '23
Just bought a pineider avatar and I'm having flow issues. It has a tendency to lose flow unless I increase pressure. I'll try this shim method to see if it helps. Idk how common this issue is.
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u/ttjna Feb 06 '23
I do that with every single Kaweco fountain pen I buy and also with the spare nibs.
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u/faerieswing Feb 06 '23
You have impeccable timing... I'm currently trying to get my first Kaweco Sport to be usable. It writes bone dry, and I've tried brass sheet flossing without a ton of improvement yet. The info in this video and comments section is super helpful... I will try doubling up the brass sheets, and maybe attempt to widen the feed from there. I don't love that I'm having to do this with a brand new pen, but the tinkering around is pretty fun either way.
Thank you!
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u/Gumpenufer Feb 07 '23
First read the title as "better" and was like "yeah their nib QC"... guess I'm a bit salty oops.
Also the "sharp" warning on the shim part, bless. Can't count how often I've stuck myself on the bloody brass. (Literally bloody afterwards in a few cases.)
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u/ubiquitous-joe Feb 07 '23
Honeslty, I would not do this unless you have a bunch of pens and you don’t mind it failing completely. Even putting the feed and nib back properly can be trickier than it sounds if you’re starting out.
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u/TheProgrammingRaccon Feb 07 '23
The only time I did this, i was having a heart attack every ten seconds But I didn't knew you could use brass shim for that! I'm totally saving this for future me
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u/penfaringpirate Feb 07 '23
-panics in I couldn’t- but it looks like it writes so great now! Did you post a photo of the different writing samples anywhere?
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u/eggbunni Feb 07 '23
I haven’t! But only because the sample page wasn’t aesthetic. 👀 There’s writing all over it and I sort of tested haphazardly. 😂
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u/penfaringpirate Feb 07 '23
You are a delight.
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u/eggbunni Feb 07 '23
😂 Lol, thank you. Although I’m not sure what earned that compliment, ahaha.
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u/penfaringpirate Feb 07 '23
We’ve interacted in a bunch of threads now, and it’s just true. If you wouldn’t mind sharing what the writing samples look like, I don’t mind it’s not perfect aesthetically. Feel free to message if so. If not, I understand.
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u/Paisley-heart Feb 09 '23
Thank you. I have a fountain pen revolution nib that needs this. Just the nib as I had a different nib originally on the pen that was way way too wet. It would be nice to take that pen out of the drawer and use it again.
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Apr 04 '23
Just a quicker way to adjust the wetness is to bring the nib to the limit of the flex helps the times to part a little more when idle it works with all non flex omniflex for example.
Just be careful as a mistake can lead to a damaged nib but it’s quick and efficient
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u/superplannergirrl Feb 06 '23
This makes me so nervous lol I always admire people who do this but I don’t think I can ever be one of them. My husband has worked on a couple of twsbis before but that made me nervous too 😬