 |
| Left to right: blocked M nib Frontier section, clear B nib Frontier section. |
So little goes wrong with cartridge pens that I was a little thrown when my medium-tip nibbed Parker Frontier started playing up. Despite giving the nib and feed a good clean, flow had become erratic, sometimes okay, and sometimes very miserly, even with a fresh cart installed. I hope this post makes for useful reading if you have a similar problem.
The Frontier is normally a real workhourse, supremely reliable. Parker cartridges are also some of the best there are, with channels thoughtfully molded in the interior to help prevent surface tension from spoiling the flow.
 |
| Internal channels in a Parker ink cartridge. |
Anyhoo, comparing the two sections, I finally spotted the cause of the flow issue. There's some kind of something partially blocking the cartridge nipple, highlighted below.
 |
| Without a bright light and another section to compare it to, I'd probably have overlooked this blockage! |
As Parker adopted a fab screw-in nib & feed design for the Frontier, clearing out the cart nipple was a doddle. In homage to and in appreciation of Hamish McNagg's great YouTube clips (kindly hosted on Stephen Brown's channel), I've uploaded a wee vid illustrating this, embedded below. Hi from Glasgow, Hamish!
Till next time,
Flounder
