Hi Folks,

I just received my Carene this afternoon and I love it! However, I notice a quirk where the ink will not initially flow until after a slight stroke of the pen on paper. However, once I have the ink flowing, the nib glides effortlessly without skipping. Is this normal or maybe just part of a "break-in" period? I have a Phileas and I did not experience this quirk. btw, the medium nib on the carene is definitely much broader than the medium nib on the Phileas. But it does not pose a problem for me, and in fact, I like it just the way it is.

I'm no expert or anything, but it sounds like it might be a very slight baby-bottom problem (where the tines are so rounded that the ink is not reaching the paper, but once you put a bit more pressure on it, the ink starts flowing).

Common advice would also be to wash out your pen a few times to ensure all manufacturing residues are cleaned out.

Hi,
I do not think that this is a "quirk" so much as manufacturing residue. I would wash the nib and feed system is warm soapy (small amout of soap) water, flush and flush again. If that does not work you could try "flossing" the nib. My Carene starts first time everytime (so far). Good Luck

Mark

Hmm. I'm breaking in a new Carene, too. Mine has a fine nib. I had this problem [slow initial ink flow] right at the beginning even though I had gone through the flushing with dishwashing liquid/water mixture. So I removed the barrel and twisted the piston down toward the nib until I got two or three drops of ink to drip on a paper towel. I also noticed ink bubbling out of that tiny hole located in the black grip above the back of the nib. I whiped all the ink off the grip and nib and started writing. The pen was writing just fine, but I noticed I had ink all over my fingers. [I think it was still bubbling out of the hole.] I unscrewed the barrel and took the converter off. There was a good bit of ink in the area where the converter attaches to the feed and on the outside of the converter. I cleaned all that up by stuffing some paper toweling up there to soak up the ink. I'm guessing that - when I turned the piston down to force ink through the nib - the pressure must have forced a leak where the converter attaches.

The pen is writing much better - and wetter - now, but I'm not sure I did the right thing, forcing ink through the nib. I'm worried now that I'll continue to have a leak where the converter attaches. I've done this business of forcing ink through the nib with many other pens and have never had a converter leak - but they weren't inlaid nibs. The Carene is my first inlaid nib. Maybe it's a whole different animal?

Judybug

Judybug,

I did very much the same thing on my medium point Carene to get it going at the outset (pushing some ink drops through the nib). In a sense, the Waterman ink -- Blue-Black, if I recall correctly -- turned out to be the best lubricant and "starter fluid" for the pen. I did not use soap, only water, prior to that. Everything turned out fine, and the pen is a fantastic writer with all varieties of inks.

Thanks Folks! It seems the quirk has gone away after a little break-in. But I'll wash the nib off anyway for good measure!

I'm about to decide that my Carene [fine nib] is just a dry writer. It's starting up right and it doesn't skip, but it doesn't put down that wet line that I like. Maybe a medium would be better, but - from what some of you have said - I'm afraid a medium will be too big for my handwriting. Is it possible to have a Carene feed adjusted to write a bit wetter? This pen is soooo comfortable to write with!! Just wish it was wetter. [Why can't they make the PERFECT pen?]

Judybug

judybug,

My medium nib Carene writes just like mdirect's. As for my fine nib Carene, I would describe it as just that -- fine -- and perhaps a bit toothy, but not necessarily dry, although at some point we are probably using different words to describe the same dynamic. When switching from the medium to the fine point, I redouble my efforts not to apply any pressure in my writing, as the pen lays down a full (albeit thin, or fine) line of ink under its own weight, and that relieves the relative "toothiness." For me, the combination of a fine line and toothiness (when I apply a bit of extra pressure) is what otherwise conjures up the notion of "dry." I wonder if we are experiencing the same thing?