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Shipping Inked Pens


TommyJ

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Hi FPNers

I have bought thousands of pens over the last 20 years (yes I have a problem). I now have my collection down to 35 pens both vintage and modern. Out of all those pens maybe 10 have been shipped over the years that were inked. But the last two pens I bought have been shipped fully inked! A Parker Vac Maxima from Italy arrived full to the brim with Montblanc Irish green. All the way from Italy and there was very little leakage. Then I got a great deal on eBay for a Montlanc 149 that I bought because of the nib. It writes like a BB italic in 14C. It was inked with blue black ink. This one took more than a month and a half to arrive because of EBay's crooked International shipping duties scheme. The ink leaked into the cap, stained the section, and I has to spend a couple of hours cleaning everything up. Has anyone else experienced this shipping inked pens business?

 

Cheers

TJ

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A couple of times. It's deeply vexing, but happily it hasn't caused any actual damage yet-- a long sit in a customs shed might see plating compromised. Most people seem to know it's not the thing to do, but there are a few who seem to not care or who cherish a mistaken kindness and want the pen to be ready to use the moment you get it.

Ravensmarch Pens & Books
It's mainly pens, just now....

Oh, good heavens. He's got a blog now, too.

 

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I've seen it a couple times, usually from pens that may have been emptied but not flushed so some of that ink in the feed and such gets shaken up during shipping (and some of those feeds can hold a bit). It usually results in a somewhat undesirable experience opening the package especially with permanent inks.

 

Sometimes the seller's response is that they dip-tested the pen before shipping (But seems like a bit of ink in the cap for that, but then again, the feeds can hold a bit even if it's just quickly rinsed off).

 

I noticed that it happens in one of two situations:

1) The seller is a novice at selling pens (ie: they deal with a lot of antiquities but not specifically pens, such as reselling an estate sale)

2) The seller deals with a large volume of used pens and may not flush them out thoroughly enough (ie: pen-hal for example I got a very inky Montblanc 225 even in the reservoir, listed as 'clean', but claims was only dip tested).

 

Since I usually give all my pens a good cleaning after I get them, it doesn't bother me quite so much as long as any loose ink was isolated to the nib or at best the cap, and not out into the packaging/body/accessories/box. But I've come to somewhat expect it from used pens especially ebay purchases.

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I've only done local shipping and some of them did come inked but I never had problems with that so far. Some of the people that I sold my pens to even requested the pens inked with a specific color. I guess since local shipping takes only 1-2 days, that's not really a problem.

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I am always surprised when a pen comes inked, especially when it comes from real true pen person/nibber/restorer/retipper.

 

I gather that it is perhaps inked to test or whatever but bothersome to have to spend a couple days cleaning and drying vintage vac fill pens that you would expect to come clean and (my other minor peeve) dry. I have also had pens come that were obviously just quickly cleaned and not dried and then just packed right away. You end up with a pen with a lot of water sill in the collector, and the cap and feed.

 

I kind of wish pens came clean and dry, ready for you to ink. But Whachagonnado?

Looking for a cap for a Sheaffer Touchdown Sentinel Deluxe Fat version

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I kind of wish pens came clean and dry, ready for you to ink. But Whachagonnado?

Most brand new ones are dry, but they still need a flush before hand just because of possible manufacture debris/oils. (and some like Lamy for example are dip tested by machine, so there's a tiny bit of ink somewhere in the nib/feed sometimes, new out of the box).

 

But point is, I flush any new pen regardless, it's just not fun to have to do so with a handful of napkins right out of the packaging because it's all over the cap (or that you have to flush the cap anyways). :P Many used vintage pens need their caps soaked anyways even if you don't notice any liquid in in them, I think you'd be surprised if you threw in one of your used vintage cap for a soaking and watch how much ink starts coming off it.

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I have owned a small army of Lamy Pens. Still own a few. All bought new, except one. I inked all of them right out of the box as that was before I knew they were dip tested at the factory and had trace amounts of Lamy inks in them. In the old days I just bought pens and used them without reading the innernets (CRAZY!) I never flushed new pens before (joining this board and watching ink goulet pen videos. haha).

 

As it so happens, the world did not stop turning.

 

But, you know just in case. I do flush new pens now. Better safe than sorry. :lol:

Looking for a cap for a Sheaffer Touchdown Sentinel Deluxe Fat version

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But, you know just in case. I do flush new pens now. Better safe than sorry. :lol:

Especially since my preference for ink is Noodler's as opposed to using the Pen Maker's brands, thus the mix could be unpredictable. But most of the time the anticipated side-effect to fresh-inking is just having flow issues the first few days.

Edited by KBeezie
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My experience has been that there is a greater chance of receiving a pen with ink in it from an Ebay auction than from other sources. My guess is that is because many of the Ebay sellers are not really fountain pen savvy. I inadvertently mailed a pen to a buyer with a cartridge still installed and chalked it up to a random senior moment.

A consumer and purveyor of words.

 

Co-editor and writer for Faith On Every Corner Magazine

Magazine - http://www.faithoneverycorner.com/magazine.html

 

 

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UPDATE RE: Montblanc 149

I cleaned the pen and inked it and noticed it was leaking from the section (because of my J. Herbin Stormy Grey gold flecked fingers :) ). Upon closer examination, I could see someone had crazy glued the rim that unscrews the nib/feed/feeder sleeve from the section. The ring then fell off. It also looks like the glue got into the feed as well. So I need a new feed and feeder sleeve. It has an awesome looking nib, what appears to be a BB italic (2 tone 14C), and would love to add this to my collection. SO the search begins for either the parts or a repair person with the parts that can get this pen working again! I've requested a partial refund from the seller yesterday, he responded this morning and he is fine with that but the amount is still not agreed on as I'm waiting for his response. I got a good deal if it was a working pen. I only bought it because I noticed the nib. The clip is brassed and a little bent (not mentioned in auction description) but that is no big deal. I paid $350US. Over the years, I've owned about 18 modern 149s (1960s to present) and 5 vintage 1950s models and only have one left besides this one - a newer model with a sweet broad nib. And if I buy one now, it's only for a special nib or a heck of a good deal. So this was a bit of a disappointment because I was really anticipating a nice juicy nib. I did have a chance to write a few lines and this nib has some flex too! So you can see why I want to get it working again!

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I am always surprised when a pen comes inked, especially when it comes from real true pen person/nibber/restorer/retipper.

I recently had that happen with a Parker 51 Vac that I gave to Ernesto Soler for repairs at the Ohio Pen Show. When the pen was sent back to me, it had what turned out to be Quink Black in it (I asked because I thought it was something blue-black). This guy Tim, who did the actual restoration, was *also* surprised because in a response email he said that he had run it through and ultrasonic cleaner -- TWICE! :huh:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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