I've read that Parker Sonnets, as with all modern Parkers, have a breather hole in the cap that cause the nib to dry out if unused for a few days. Where is the hole at and how do I plug it?

On the Parker Reflex that I was just tinkering with, there was a good-sized hole under the clip where it joins the cap.

Bill

That is were I heard the hole is but, I don't know how to get to it to plug it.

Hi Sidney,

The Parkers I had, all had their vent holes underneath the clip. In order to block it, you can uses a little soft wax, applied from the outside.

However, it you are trying to stop the pen from drying out: don't bother, it is not going to help. Speaking from experience here.

I think (but am not sure), that the vent hole, despite reports to indicate it is there to prevent small children from choking when it gets in the wind tube, it really is there to prevent ink accidents to happen with under- and overpressure. Try sucking air in, and breathing out again, through the cap, and you'll understand what I mean regarding the choking problem.

Just my 2c.

Warm regards, Wim

I have two Sonnets and fixed both by melting candle wax and pouring it under and around the clip. Once dry, I carefully removed the wax I didn't want to remain. I tested by blowing through the cap - no leaks! I've found that doing this stopped the pens from drying out while capped.

I first tried sealing the top part of the cap, assuming that was where the air passed through. I quickly found that not to be the case.

Upon closer inspection I found no inner cap (cap liner?). I contacted Parker about this and was told that some of their pens have cap liners and some do not. Then I was given the "how to use a fountain pen" information and if I still have problems then I should send it in. My Sonnet works fine if I use it everyday but, if it sits for two then it becomes a hard starter.

Hi Sidney,
Same thing on all the Parkers I ever owned. My remaining Parker doesn't write anymore after a few days either. I have given up on it after having sent it back 5 times. Unfortunately, I only did this over the last two years, while I bought the thing 7 years ago, when I knew nothing about fountain pens.

In itself their service is good, but they don't seem to know how to fix a pen either. I think it is a pity, because I never had that problem with any other pen I ever had to send back. I don't mind doing that, occasionally, and only once for any pen, but this was too much .

Warm regards, Wim

From looking at my Sonnets, they have air "leaks" around the clip AND cap crown (around the black dot). Is wax the best way to seal this up? My medium nib does ok if left alone for a few days, but the fine nib dries up. I'd love to find a way around this.

Hi Southpaw,

Wax is the best way to seal up any manufactured gaps and holes, because it is non-destructive, and relatively easily removable, in case you want to bring the pen back to its original state.

HTH, warm regards, Wim

Thanks Wim.

One further question for newbie clarification as I've never attempted anything like this. I gather from inkyfingers comment that the wax is best applied from the exterior OR can it be dripped into the cap (at least to seal the very end with the black dot)? I realize that sealing the clip will have to be done from the exterior.

THANKS,
southpaw

Hi Southpaw,
That's how I do it, on both counts.
Light a candle, wait for some wax to melt, get one drop to fall down into the cap, straight down to the center bottom, and just hope it fixes the problem.
Blow out the candle, and use a toothpick, or anything with a flat, thin end, to plug up the hole under the clip with a little bit of very sioft wax. Let it get hard again, and carefully remove the excess.

Sometimes you do have to do this several times. You know you have gone too far when the nib comes out afterwards with the tip coated in wax . But then, it is easy to remove .

Warm regards, Wim

Wim,
Once again, thanks for sharing from your fountain pen profundity.
Perhaps we should change your moniker to, "The Mad Dutch Guru"?????
Once again in your debt,
southpaw

Hi Southpaw,

It is only a pleasure! And I would't agree with a change in my monker anyway .
I am a JOATMON, after all, not a guru...

Now you go figure that out first .

Warm regards, Wim

Wim,
JOATMON - I don't have time for that . . . just tell me.

JOATMAN= Jack of All Trades Master Of None

(although I sincerely doubt this applies to our overly-modest Mad Dutchman )

Thank you Google.com!

Maja,
I absolutely agree. JOATMON certainly does not apply to The Mad Dutch Fountain Pen Guru. His mastery is manifest throughout these pages as evident by nearly 1500 postings (wow - he really talks / posts a lot, doesn't he?) - just picking wim.

Hi Southpaw, Maja,

You're all too kind, and everything is relative. I don't know even half as much as, for example, Keith. And there are things, even with fountain pens, I will never learn, because I am not really interested or interested enough in certain aspects.

Yeah, I do seem to post a lot, but there are a few other peopel who pos a lot too, even more than I do . Phew!...

Posting a lot doesn't necessarily mean I am a guro, oh no, maybe I am, in rambling on forever

Warm regards, Wim

I agree with Southpaw - my one and only Sonnet leaks very noticeably on the top (around the jewel), and also at the point where the clip enters the cap. The same happens to my Parker Frontier, BTW. Also, I´ve found the new Parker 45 has a big hole on the cap just above the spot where the arrow tip touches the cap; the older 45s are completely sealed. I´ve seen these cap holes in some vintage models, such as Parker Duofold and all Esterbrooks, but I know of no modern brand other than Parker that has breather holes in the cap. What are they for, really? I agree with Wim in that they are too small to be of any help in the (unlikely) event of someone swallowing a cap. But if they are there to prevent ink spilling because of changes of pressure, as Wim suggests, how come the other brands do not use them?

... I left out another Parker I have around: my Parker Vector also leaks at the clip/cap joint. That means all modern Parkers I own have those cap vents...
Do the modern Duofolds have them too?

Speaking of cap holes, and going waaay down in PenDom, I´ve noticed that even the Bic sticks have now holes at the tip of their caps. They surely didn´t have those when I was a kid and used them at school. Now, what are they for?

I finally tried this on my Blue Sonnet. First, I dropped wax down inside. After numerous drops and cleaning wax off the sides of the cap, I finally got what appreared to be a good seal around the very top of the cap.

Next, I took some soft wax and pressed it into the gap under the clip - got it in there really good. I then blew into the cap and . . . . out came a whole bunch of air !!! I looked real closely at the inside of the cap and, much to my dismay, discovered that halfway down the cap there are three rectangular slots. It appears that the cap is made with some sort of sleeve configuration. The slots allow air to bypass the bottom of the cap (when inverted) and still exit around the black end cap. Unless those slots are plugged, this rascal will NOT seal.


Oh well, looks like it'll just be a use it or lose it pen (lose the ink as it dries up)!

Hi Rique, Yes, the modern Duofolds also have those darn @#$%^@%@$@$ holes!

Less material used? Or maybe the same reason as the hole in Parker caps? Been wondering about that myself, but I guess it saves about 0.1 cent in production cost... .

Regarding your question on other brands not using holes: Many brands have systems that allow air to escape when capping the pen, but making it more or less airtight when closed.

Generally, many clip systems are not entirely airtight, I guess that is another approach to the problem. In many Parkers they are, because of the clip construction, so maybe the holes are there as the only solution to solve the problem they had. Not entirely sure here, guessing really .

Warm regards, Wim

Isn't the reason for the vented caps, as much as any other, to allow equalization of pressure when one goes flying at 35,000 ft. with cabin pressure at ~8,000 ft.?

That, along with making sure that your pen is full, or nearly so, might save a whooosh from your pen during flight.

Hi Roger,

That may well be so now, but they didn´t fly all that high in the early 1920s, I think . Also, I never had any problems with non-sacced modern pens in that regard.

HTH, warm regards, Wim

True, but even *I* wasn't born at that time. All 4 of my collection (soon to be 5 when the Etruria 991 arrives) are modern pens. Haven't decided what area of vintage pens will 'light my fire', so am content to just look around.

The Sonnet, Phileas and the FILCAO Columbia can be vigorously blown through at the open cap end. The Pel 250 (just arrived) obviously has some ventilation, but a much smaller orifice because you would pass out by blowing hard into its cap.

What will be the situation with the 991 cap?

Hi Roger, The answer to that, if it is like mine, is: tight, snug as a bug, close up, no way you can blow through it. .

So I tried all my other ones as well, with interesting results. Both of my blue ones, the Ocean Blue and the d'Inverno, are not airtight, around the fitting of the clip, the Grande is almost closed up, and so is the black one. Looks like it is lthe luck of the draw.

The blue ones dry out a little, but not a lot. The Grande and black one don't, and neither do the others. All of them always start right away anyway.

HTH, warm regards, Wim

Well, if I get one that's tight as a drum, I'm gonna get out the pin vise modelers' drill and put a little puca (Hawaiian for hole) in the cap. Field engineering at it best and about as well informed.

Perhaps I have parachuted onto the wrong thread, but I´ve never had any sort of trouble with my Sonnet cap (which leaks like a sieve, BTW). On the other hand, I do have a lot of trouble with the feed, that seems to get drier and drier, as one writes. I have been writing quite a lot these days with it, and sometimes I have to stop, open the pen, and turn the converter to pump a little ink down. This sort of thing never happens with my Pelikan 200, which i have been using at the same time.
Does anyone know a cure for this?

Hi,

I left one of my Parkers sitting around for two weeks and when I touched the nib to the paper, it wrote. It does not have plugged holes of any sort. It prevents suction when the cap is pulled off the pen.

Dillon

I have a medium nib Sonnet (blue laque) and if it sits for 2-3 days unused, it's dry as a bone! I have to shake it repeatedly, roll the nib around on paper, etc., to get it started.

I have the same pen and M nib in black laque, Southpaw. If I don't use it for 2-3 days, it, too, doesn't start immediately, but nearly so. I only have to roll it on paper for about 1/8 in. before it starts up and begins laying its nice uniform med. line.

Mine is not so easy.

I recall a post from somewhere or other about someone who used to quickly dip his pen point into his morning coffee (they both seemed to need a wake-up shot of caffeine). Claimed no ill effects whatsoever...

As a result, I have taken to keeping a tiny jar of water (I'm fussier about my coffee) on the desk for those balky starters. Works every time. Just a little dip and even a month unused dry starting pen will respond.

Gerry

Gerry, thanks for the tip! I'll give it a try next time I pick it up.