Fountain-pen problem

Hi all,

I have a fountain-pen problem, and I hope this is the right group to
find for the answer. I own some fountain pens (including a Parker and 2
Watermans), but with each I have the same problem. When I put the pen
on the paper, and start writing, sometimes no ink comes out. This also
can happen in the middle of a sentence or word. It takes a few strokes
before the ink starts flowing. With my piston-filler Waterman, it helps
when I thighten the piston until there is no more air in the filler.
Pressing hard also helps, but I don't think this is he solution.

Since I have the same problems with different pens, I suspect that the
cause of this lies somewhere else. Maybe it is the way I write,
although I tried different hand gestures and pen pressures without
succes. Maybe it's the paper, but I also tried different papers, among
which a paper especially made for fountain pens.

I really like the smooth and light way fountain pens write, but this
problem discourages me to often use one. Am I the only one with this
problem? Can somebody help me out?

Regards,

Ronald

If you empty the pens of ink and flush them thoroughly with water, then
let the nibs soak in a glass of water overnight (stand the pens up in
the glass with just enough water to cover to just above the nibs), then
flush again and refill with ink, does it make things better?

My usual practice is to have only the two or three pens I actually use
"loaded", and to rotate them weekly with other pens. This means a pen
gets used for a week and then sits out of rotation (dry) for a couple
of weeks. Weekly rotation is probably excessive, but I like the
variety. Others here have advised flushing and cleaning non-rotated
pens every two or three months (assuming that the pens are used heavily
every day); this makes sense to me if you are only using one pen at a
time, or if you don't have enough pens (yet -- it's an addiction!) to
rotate your daily writers.

Ronald wrote:

skipping with different pens

If the problem is with all the pens you own, then i'd say the probability
that it's the pens is low. Especially when we are talking of Parker and
Waterman, with which I have made good experiences (although I a
Pelikanisto). Which pens are they exactly?

I don't think that the problem lies with you or your posture, since you said
you tried different writing styles.

This leaves the ink, what ink do you use? Is it old, maybe? Do you use the
same ink in all the pens?

HTH,

Torsten

This is a common problem with modern pens, not so much with vintage,
I'm not sure why.

You should first soak the section in water. Immersing the nib in warm
water may be enough, but if not, then separate the section from the
barrel, and soak the section overnight. If the section cannot be easily
separated, you can soak the section and barrel, but this is not ideal,
as the water may over time corrode any metal present in the barrel. The
water dissolves ink gunk in the feed.Most sections are barrels are
joined with a little shellac, which the water will loosen enough to
separate them. If not, then a little heat from a hair dryer may be
necessary. If your pens are converter types just soak the section with
converter.

The second remedy has to do with using a 'wetter' ink, that is to say,
an ink with more detergent in it than the manufacturer has added. I
suspect that ink fabricators are so afraid of customer complaints about
blotting (too much detergent) on cheap notebook paper that they don't
put enough. Get a 3cc veterinary syringe (if legal in your area, if not
there are alternatives) and drip in from one to four drops of Ivory
Dishwashing Liquid. Cap the bottle and shake. The ink will now flow
much more freely. Try using Xerox copy paper.

Parker has a reputation for pens that write rather dryly (other than
the Parker 51, which writes on the wet side). Watermans usually write
on the wet side.

If none of this helps, then your nib slit may be too narrow or your
tines may be badly out of line. Take it to a pro repairman. Or if you
are willing to take the risk of ruining the pen, here's how to remedy
thse two problems.

To align the tines, inspect them visually with a jewellers loupe
(available on ebay for $5 or so). If they are badly out of line, take
some tweezers and bend the lower tine up slightly. Do not touch the
tipping material with the tweezers.

To widen the nib slit, there are polishing tools available, but much
cheaper and better is to take some tweezers and shove one of the
tweezer heads between the tines (but not at the tipping material, or
your may damage it - insert the tweezer head further up, between the
tip and the feed). Before anyone goes ballistic on me, Frank Dubiel did
much the same thing using a knife, with good results.

Personally I don't much like Parkers or Watermans - neither are very
smooth brands, although the parker 51 is moderately smooth. Nor do i
think much of most modern pens, for the same reason; without
adjustments such as the above they tend to be too dry and not smooth
enough. Generally better are cheap vintage pens. Get a list of them and
go on ebay or to a pen show. Buy 20 or 30 makes at $5-10 apiece,
restore them (pretty easy, especially with bladder pens) and find the
brand you like best - smoothest, moderately wet, comfortable in the
hand, etc. Don't pay extra for 14k nibs.with iridium tips. Better are
steel nibs with steel tipping material, because they take a higher
polish and are much smoother. Onwards with a 14k nib are pretty smooth
though.

Bladder pens are much better for beginners, because they can be
self-serviced. To restore a bladder pen, soak the section and barrel in
warm water overnight. Separate. Remove the old bladder with an ice
pick. Clean the area on the section where the old bladder was glued on.
Dry for a day. Install a new bladder of the right size (16 is the most
common size, 15 for small barrels, 17 or 18 for big barrels - available
from the Pen Sac Co at 1-888-PEN-SACS). Use shellac for the adhesive.
Nib polishing with a copper penny I have covered already on this site.
You can shine the barrel with furniture polish or pen wax. Metal
appurtenances can be polished with Rebel polish or other metal
polishes. If the pressure bar is broken, remove it with needle-nose
pliers and install a new one. See Frank Dubiel's book for more info.

None of this stuff is at all difficult - it makes a nice hobby, and the
reward for any writer is very great: for very little money, you get to
use a pen that glides across the paper like glass, leaving a beautiful
wet line. Unfortunately you will have to pay very dearly if you want to
find such pens new.