And the problem with nib creep is that people don't like seeing any ink on the front side of the nib? Is that correct?

Is this enough to keep you from using the ink at all? Because there's some ink you can see ink on the front side of the nib while you're writing?

CowDad

I guess in theory if you had enough ink creeping out it could eventually run down the nib with gravity and onto the paper and make a mess.

A little doesn't matter. Enough to blot does. If there is a big drop of ink on your nib when you uncap, that can go anywhere if you're not aware of it. So it's something of a problem if it gets out of hand.

I've had pens blot on me, but never because of nib creep. I don't actually understand what makes pens spit blots, but it has always, for me, been a malfunctioning pen.

I've also had pens drip small drops of ink into the cap, which then get on the pen if I post (this is why I don't post), but it doesn't seem to happen more with inks that creep than with any others. I've had that happen to me many times with "normal" inks like Waterman, long before I ever heard of Noodler's.

I guess one could brush the nib and get ink on oneself, but that has never happened to me.

Nib creep is a non issue for me, but I know it drives some people nuts.

I thought the Nib Creep had been banished from the board for misconduct.

I can't say that nib creep bothers me either. For those who don't like it, is there any reason other than aesthetics?

I care partly because I see it so rarely on my own pens. This is partly due to the fact that I use no exotic inks, but even so there are times. The last pen I had a creep problem with was my Conklin All-American, and the creep was so bad that it created a droplet that was pretty easy to throw. So I fixed it by doing the necessary repair work on the nib. Then I had to rephotograph the pen because I'd taken out some wrinkles in the process.

We don't all only use our pens when sitting down quietly writing on a pad do we?

My problem with nib creep is when I'm using a work-horse pen, like when I'm standing up running night deposits at the bank, or filling out forms rapidly for customers. One sling of the pen to point, or not thinking to grab a stamp with my pen hand, and ink can go flying. And it always goes flying on my clothes! And since the nib creeping ink for me has always been bulletproof ink... well I've got a nice permanent spot on my shirt or pants.

At first, I've always thought nib creep looked kind of cute. It never really bothered me. But when I read Jonhson's post, I now understand how it can be a bad thing for some people with different, ah, pen lifestyles.

Noodler's inks tend to creep out onto the nib of most of the pens I use them in, but very rarely does it do more than show ink color along the sides of the slit.

I do have one pen/ink combination with obvious creep, and that is a Parker 21 Super with Noodler's Luxury blue. The nib is blue, top and bottom, on all visible parts. However, it's only the nib, no ink on the hood.

Traces of ink on the nib bother me not at all -- I've been seeing it for 40 years or more on every pen I've had using all kinds of ink. Evenutally I have to wipe the ink off the nib.

Enough ink collecting to drip off or get flipped off is another issue to my mind -- unless shaken sharply, I don't think that a fountain pen should shed ink droplets. Ink collecting on the section is not nib creep to my mind, it's a leaking pen.

Mind you, flipping ANY fountain pen sharply will likely toss ink in a shower!

Peter

I guess we could look at it on the bright side.....You'll always know what color is in the pen!

-Bruce

With what Johnson describes, I can totally understand not wanting ink on the backside of the nib. I think the only couple of times I've flung ink it was because of a hard, fast jerk of my wrist - and in those cases, it wouldn't have mattered if there was creep or not. But if I found myself often moving my hand (with pen) around during the day, I could see how that might create problems; just as I can with the sort of drop accumulation that Richard described. Thanks guys for the perspectives.

The worst manifestation of creep, in my experience...

... is with my Porsche Design tec-flex.

It actually creeps onto the section where I wind up with inky fingers.

Waterman's Blue-Black is very washed out for me as well. It seems to depend on the pen. I like blue-black, but I'm not a fan of Waterman's because it's quite pale for me--really more blue-gray.

There is no point whatsoever in using an ink that doesn't make you happy.

I don't mind much. I keep Levenger Fireball in my Pelikan 400 (ivory/tortoiseshell) so that when ink creeps onto the nib it looks like dried blood like my pen is sad and tired. That's how I know I've been working hard.