Five Bad Things That Happen With New Pens

[mitto]

Great . Interesting and usefull information for fountain pen luvers.

[Bklyn]

Great information.

 

By the way, losing the pen is not a good thing either.

 

Bklyn

[Mr. Dante]

 

 

Notes:

It is best to work out what your problem is, before trying to fix it. Many of the symptoms are similar, and fixing the wrong problem may damage your pen.

 

This is the sixth bad thing that happens with new pens.

[Vegas863]

As a complete newbie to the world of fountain pens, I've been trying to better understand the "nuts & bolts" of design and application.These informational posts are excellent in that regard!

[Vpen]

I bought a 10x B&L loupe and can't see the tines of a Fine nib very well. Either my eyes are shot or they shorted me on the x .

Edited June 4, 2015 by Vpen

[Frank C]

I'm glad to see this topic is still alive; it has lots of interesting information.

[Kuscer]

Awesome, thanks. Will pay attention to these.

[duran]

once my parker flew from desk and had broken barrell - I was very angry since it was a week old pen :/

[lemonde]

Very helpful. Thanks!

[FOUR X FOUR]

I've always avoided looking in this thread because I don't like seeing bad stuff. I'm not a seasoned veteran, but I'm also not a newbie anymore and I know of several bad things that happen to new pens. In a word, "TINKERING". I enjoy taking my pens apart. I have destroyed a handful of pens because of tinkering with them. A few specific things I have done that are harmful

I've looked for ways to grease piston heads that I couldn't remove. I was able to take out the nib and feed, and drip in some TWSBI liquid silicone. Even a drop is too much. The excess silicone is going to work its way up to the feed and clog everything up. I have cracked a pen because I torqued the cap on too tightly. I have even cracked a pen that was in the Aston leather pen case. Seems harmless but I stacked one case on top of the other. I don't stack cases anymore. I stand them upright. And then there are the obvious things, like dropping them or playing darts with them

[Pen4Senator]

Great advice. I purchased a Noodler's ink Ahab with a flex nib and I was so upset because it wouldn't write no matter what I tried. I chatted with Zippy at the Goulet Pen Co and she told me about heat setting my pen. Now it works like a charm. Things you need to know when you get a new pen..... Thanks a bunch.

[JBat]

I bought a 10x B&L loupe and can't see the tines of a Fine nib very well. Either my eyes are shot or they shorted me on the x .

Make sure your loupe is a triplet, which is of a higher quality than a run-of-the-mill $10 loupe and will let you see things much more clearly. They cost a little more but are worth it.

Edited December 31, 2015 by JBat

[pollandakuma]

Make sure your loupe is a triplet, which is of a higher quality than a run-of-the-mill $10 loupe and will let you see things much more clearly. They cost a little more but are worth it.

I was just going to buy a loupe, but I know nothing about them. What should I looks out for when I look for it? What degree should they have?

[Freedom]

^{Bought my magnifying glass from Goulet Pens. It only cost about $10 or $12 and has a built in light to boot!}

[crescent2]

Agree with Bklyn; losing them is not fun. I managed to lose two at one time. Somehow they jumped out of my purse without my hearing them drop or noticing. Retraced all my steps and made several phone calls with no luck. One was one of my beloved Pilot Metropolitans (in black), and one was my blingy Cross Botanica. They were the first two fountain pens I had purchased. I rarely lose anything; these were the first items I've lost in years.

 

I suppose I had "pre-replaced" the Metro, as I had already purchased three more. (Different colors; F & M--Love the things!) So, no real need to reorder that one right now. Even though I'd rated the Cross only 4/5 stars in a review, I found a great deal on one so I have ordered a replacement. The dang thing is just so blingy and pretty with its Damson ink that I guess I'd become attached to it. And, I needed a reward for passing up the pink Visconti Venus, right??

 

If anyone has a magic way to avoid losing a pen (other than leaving them home in a safe), let's hear it!

 

On another note, I want a Noodler's Ahab, but am I the only one who definitely does NOT want to have to tinker with a pen to get it to work correctly?

[Misfit]

Crescent2, where did you find the great deal on the Cross Botanica? Oh, and which version did you choose? I liked the looks of the Visconti pink Venus, but also haven't bought one. Visconti calls at me all too often.

 

I looked at photos of the Cross Botanica, imagining which would be my choice. The thing is, I'm so happy with stub and italic nibs that the nib is becoming the most important part of a purchase. That shuts the door on a lot of pens, but that would save money. I know nibs can be ground into stubs, but I'm not there yet.

 

That is unless Crescent2 answers my questions and makes me want the blingy Botanica.

[crescent2]

HI Miss Fit,

 

I got the Botanica at ipenstore.com, whose price for it was around $85, I think, but I googled and found a promo code (I don't recall what it was) which brought the pen and a Cross converter for it to just under $75 for both, with free shipping and no tax. The one I lost, I'd gotten through amazon for about $87, IIRC, not counting the converter. That was the best price I could find at the time, with most places selling them for $115-$120.

 

EDIT: See my post after this one. (I didn't see the gray "Edit" button at first.)

 

I had the Purple Orchid, and that's what I reordered. It's a beautiful pen if you like bling. The silver cuts on it are gorgeous, imo, and I love the colors. Somewhere on one of the forums here are some beautiful photos of the pen that a poster had uploaded, which look just like the actual thing. Try to find them; I don't remember where they are or the name of the thread. You'll want one even more if you look, though!

 

I had used this pen a lot, and it still looked brand new. I hope the replacement does as well.

 

When I first bought the first Botanica, it didn't seem to write as smoothly as my Metros, but by the time it escaped and ran away, it was writing very smoothly. I got the F nib, and it wasn't as fine as the Metro F, but that was okay with me. It had good ink flow and was consistent. I mostly used Diamine Damson ink in it.

 

I am also in love with stub nibs. I bought a TWSBI 580 with 1.1 stub and did my Christmas cards with it. Used Magical Forest ink inside the cards, and black for the addresses. Just wonderful! When I'm doing a lot of writing, though, a whole page looks sort of too bold with it, or something. But for correspondence, I love that 1.1.

 

I love the looks of the pink Venus, but they really get mixed reviews. I just can't bring myself to spend that much on a single pen. I seem to find multiple pens instead. I've got to stop!

 

Please post whether you got the Botanica, and which one you chose. I can't wait for my new one to arrive.

Edited January 27, 2016 by crescent2

[crescent2]

Misfit: I found the promo code I used. It's cross20, and it took $16.99 off my order, bringing the total to $74.95. I don't know if it's still good or not, but hopefully so.

 

I'm still a newbie, so others here might know how to get a better price. But I was happy to get the pen and converter for that.

 

Look at post #7 here: (but pen doesn't have original nib)

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/274477-cross-botanica-pens/?hl=%2Bcross+%2Bbotanica

Edited January 27, 2016 by crescent2

[Misfit]

Thank you Crescent2. The code is still good. I like the green day lily version. I'm not sure if I'll get one. I will look for more photos.

 

Hmm, found a topic that showed all four, and purple orchid is really nice.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Misfit

[coinlvr]

My Phileas nib feels toothy and dry. I do not know what to do? Some one suggested using a shaving blade between the tines. I am afraid.