Hello all,
I am new here. I have been around for about 2 weeks. My Waterman Carene Deluxe in Amethyst Bronze arrived today, just about 1 hour ago actually.
While waiting for my Carene to arrive, I purchased some Phileas pens with a fine nib. They are great and I am enjoying them.
Then today I got the Carene that I have been anxiously waiting for. The Carene is beautiful. If I look closely at the cap though it has a slight imperfection, unless it is something that comes off? The cap is Vermeil (gold plated on top of silver) and has wavy lines in it. Near the end of one of the wavy lines, on the gold plated section, there is a discolorisation. I am unsure if it is just something on top of the gold plated surface that will wipe off or if it is a permanent marking. Is this something comon with Vermeil caps?
Well, moving on, the nib is beautiful and smooth. I only have the Phileas to compare it with but the Carene is a lot smoother. It's awsome.
Since I have been writing with the fine nibbed Phileas for a few days I am noticing that the medium nibbed Carene writes much thicker. At this stage, I am not sure which I prefer to be honest, I think that the thicker writing is growing on me more and more and it has only been an hour. I think that I will go through the ink faster with a medium nib and therefore fill the converter more often....I see that as a bonus since I found it fun to fill from the bottle and can't wait to do it again already. lol.
Well, my pen is absolutely beautiful, except for the small imperfection (?) that is only noticeable on close up inspection, and writes like a dream....so in all I am very happy.
Jodi
Full Version: Waterman Carene Deluxe
I have a newbee question....(or two)
I filled the converter via the nib and had to twist the converter a few times before it would fill. I read about perhaps flushing the pen with cool water before use. Maybe I need to do that so as it fills straight away?
However, I also wonder if the ink goes into the pen via the nib or via the hole at the back of the Carene? Should that hole be in the ink or above the surface of the ink?
Jodi
I filled the converter via the nib and had to twist the converter a few times before it would fill. I read about perhaps flushing the pen with cool water before use. Maybe I need to do that so as it fills straight away?
However, I also wonder if the ink goes into the pen via the nib or via the hole at the back of the Carene? Should that hole be in the ink or above the surface of the ink?
Jodi
As far as I know it fills through the hole in the back; I always make sure it's submerged. I have had my pen for 2-3 years now, and I still operate the piston 2 or 3 times to get a full fill of the convertor. BTW the nib section alone seems to hold almost as much ink as the convertor, the pen will run for ages when apparently empty!
Watch out for inky fingers in the first days of ownership; my nib allowed ink to travel up the ears of the nib insert, but once that was sorted (under warranty by the dealer) I have nothing but praise for my Carene.
Good Luck with your new collection!!
Antony
Watch out for inky fingers in the first days of ownership; my nib allowed ink to travel up the ears of the nib insert, but once that was sorted (under warranty by the dealer) I have nothing but praise for my Carene.
Good Luck with your new collection!!
Antony
Hi Antony,
Thank you for your response. I did find that the converter filled better after I put the hole in the ink but I just was not certain that it was correct to do that.
No ink is travelling up the ears of the nib, so I am lucky there. I got the pen from the US and I am in Australia so I do not really want to return to the dealer unless I really have to.
I do, however, find that the Carene does not write immediately sometimes.
Jodi
Thank you for your response. I did find that the converter filled better after I put the hole in the ink but I just was not certain that it was correct to do that.
No ink is travelling up the ears of the nib, so I am lucky there. I got the pen from the US and I am in Australia so I do not really want to return to the dealer unless I really have to.
I do, however, find that the Carene does not write immediately sometimes.
Jodi
| QUOTE (inkdrop) |
| the nib is beautiful and smooth. I only have the Phileas to compare it with but the Carene is a lot smoother. |
The difference in smoothness is largely due to the F vs. M difference. The Phileas with the M nib is a very smooth writer. A wider nib writes smoother because more ink flows through it (yes, you were right), so the nib is better lubricated.
| QUOTE (inkdrop) |
| I filled the converter via the nib and had to twist the converter a few times before it would fill. I read about perhaps flushing the pen with cool water before use. Maybe I need to do that so as it fills straight away? |
This is normal. I suspect it's because you need to get some liquid in there to seal things up a bit in order to get good suction.
I wouldn't bother with the water. That'll just dilute the ink, which is annoying, because the ink color will change over the first page or so you write out. When filling a dry pen, I just fill and drain it 3 times. That's enough to get any pen to fill the converter completely, in my experience. If it takes more than that, I'd suspect that the converter isn't inserted tightly enough, or you have an air leak somewhere.
This repeated refill and flush cycle has a side benefit. It ensures that there are no diluents in the pen to change the ink color. If I'm changing between two similar colors of ink, I depend on this so I don't even have to flush the pen thoroughly: the tiny amount of old ink left in the pen after draining the converter gets mostly out into the new ink bottle, changing its color by such a tiny fraction that you never notice.
| QUOTE (inkdrop) |
| I also wonder if the ink goes into the pen via the nib or via the hole at the back of the Carene? |
Both.
The hole in the back is a breather hole, which all fountain pens require, else the draining of the ink would result in a vacuum in the ink chamber, stopping ink flow. On most pens, it's the round hole at the end of the slit in the nib, but Waterman likes to hide their breather holes.
| QUOTE (abp) |
| I have had my pen for 2-3 years now, and I still operate the piston 2 or 3 times to get a full fill of the convertor. |
I find that submerging the nib farther in the ink helps avoid this. I just filled a Carene today, and got a nearly full converter with just one draw.
You know you definitely haven't submerged it far enough if you see bubbles in the converter. The ink should come up into a nice, solid column.
| QUOTE (abp) |
| Watch out for inky fingers in the first days of ownership; my nib allowed ink to travel up the ears of the nib insert, but once that was sorted (under warranty by the dealer) I have nothing but praise for my Carene. |
I think this is just a design limitation of the Carene, not something that needs repair.
It happens because the nib is pressed against the section body, so some ink wants to stay trapped between the two. Then, because there is no separation between where you're supposed to grip the pen and the nib, your fingers tend to slide downward and touch this inky area. I'm typing with ink on my right index finger because of that same freshly filled Carene I mentioned above.
The best solution I've found is to just take extra care to clean the pen after filling it. Your fingertips will let you know if you didn't do a good enough job.
| QUOTE (inkdrop) |
| I do, however, find that the Carene does not write immediately sometimes. |
Try this: turn the converter knob to push a bit of ink back out of the converter until you see the nib get wet. It's easiest to see this looking at the back side of the nib: the ink will flow over the visible metal when you've gone far enough. Don't go so far as to release a drop. Then, turn the converter knob back the other way until you can see metal again. This process pushes some ink into the nib section, which is sometimes dried out too much by the cleaning process.
I tend to fill my converter directly, and then insert it into the section. Tends to keep things a bit neater. I do, however, use the same technique as Tangent in terms of pushing and pulling a bit of ink through the converter while in the pen, which ensures that the pen starts immediately (you only need do this upon filling the pen, not very time you write with it).
As for water, I do not flush the pen with it regularly, but did find a thorough water-based cleaning beneficial when my pen was brand new.
As for water, I do not flush the pen with it regularly, but did find a thorough water-based cleaning beneficial when my pen was brand new.
Wow tangent, thank you so much for taking the time to write such lengthy responses to a newbee.
I took the Carene to work with me today and loved jotting notes with it. I have decided that I like the thicker, wetter look from the medium nib of the Carene quite a lot.
I emptied and refilled the converter (via the nib) a few times tonight and it worked well. I think that I probably had the problem because I did not submerge the hole yesterday (until the final fill anyway).
Your method of changing ink colours is quite good. I gave it a go tonight and tried out black and blue black. It was quite fun. Filling the pen via the nib is no where near as messy as I thought it would be. My fingers remained clean. I only had to wipe the tip of the pen on some paper towel and was right to go.
I have not had any problems with ink on my fingers from the Carene. A small amount of ink gets trapped at the end as you said but a wipe with a paper towel gets it cleaned up in a second and I have no excess ink after that.
When I wrote about the pen not staring immediately sometimes, I actually meant that it did this on each new word, not just after filling. I actually had released a drop and turned the converter back again to suck the drop back up after filling the Carene yesterday. However, I was getting an issue at the start of each new word where the first 2 mm of a letter had no ink. I don't think that it was related to filling incorrectly. The pen did this all day. However, after the filling and emptying a few times tonight the issue has resolved itself. It may have been due to having a new pen and it needed a bit of a flush perhaps.
Thanks again for your responses tangent.
howaboutthat41 - I filled via the nib again tonight and quite enjoyed it. It didn't seem very messy. I was actually quite surprised how the ink seemed to only be on the nib and not on the rest of the pen parts that were dipped. I just had to perform a quick wipe and nothing too careful or time consuming.
I do think that my pen may have also benefited from a water flush when I got it yesterday, however, after a few ink flushes tonight it is working like a dream.
Thank you also for your response.
I really love this pen, I am a bit worried about losing it though or having it stolen. Tonight, I said a slightly rude "no, no" to a friend who picked the pen up and was posting the cap on the end. It was one thing that I was purposly avoiding. grrrrrr. I don't want to mark it. I have read about the caps marking the Carene and I want to avoid this. Luckily no marks were made and my friend understood where I was coming from. I do still feel bad for my abrupt "no, no" though.
Jodi
I took the Carene to work with me today and loved jotting notes with it. I have decided that I like the thicker, wetter look from the medium nib of the Carene quite a lot.
I emptied and refilled the converter (via the nib) a few times tonight and it worked well. I think that I probably had the problem because I did not submerge the hole yesterday (until the final fill anyway).
Your method of changing ink colours is quite good. I gave it a go tonight and tried out black and blue black. It was quite fun. Filling the pen via the nib is no where near as messy as I thought it would be. My fingers remained clean. I only had to wipe the tip of the pen on some paper towel and was right to go.
I have not had any problems with ink on my fingers from the Carene. A small amount of ink gets trapped at the end as you said but a wipe with a paper towel gets it cleaned up in a second and I have no excess ink after that.
When I wrote about the pen not staring immediately sometimes, I actually meant that it did this on each new word, not just after filling. I actually had released a drop and turned the converter back again to suck the drop back up after filling the Carene yesterday. However, I was getting an issue at the start of each new word where the first 2 mm of a letter had no ink. I don't think that it was related to filling incorrectly. The pen did this all day. However, after the filling and emptying a few times tonight the issue has resolved itself. It may have been due to having a new pen and it needed a bit of a flush perhaps.
Thanks again for your responses tangent.
howaboutthat41 - I filled via the nib again tonight and quite enjoyed it. It didn't seem very messy. I was actually quite surprised how the ink seemed to only be on the nib and not on the rest of the pen parts that were dipped. I just had to perform a quick wipe and nothing too careful or time consuming.
I do think that my pen may have also benefited from a water flush when I got it yesterday, however, after a few ink flushes tonight it is working like a dream.
Thank you also for your response.
I really love this pen, I am a bit worried about losing it though or having it stolen. Tonight, I said a slightly rude "no, no" to a friend who picked the pen up and was posting the cap on the end. It was one thing that I was purposly avoiding. grrrrrr. I don't want to mark it. I have read about the caps marking the Carene and I want to avoid this. Luckily no marks were made and my friend understood where I was coming from. I do still feel bad for my abrupt "no, no" though.
Jodi
Glad you are enjoying your pen. You are right that filling via the nib is fine if you swab a bit afterwards, and I will probably default back to doing just that. Perhaps it allows you better to make use of the significant storage capacity in the section, as well. The initial cleaning can prove critical -- one of my Carenes needed it, the other did not. Folks say that Waterman Blue-Black is a great ink to use once in a while, as it seems to clean things out a bit from inks that leave more elements behind.
Howaboutthat41, I am interested to hear your thoughts on how you go with filling via the nib again after you give it another go if you feel like reporting back. I find it quite fun. Yeah, it makes sense that the pen would also contain a little more ink since it would have more in the nib section as well.
Thanks for the info on the Watermans blue-black ink.
Jodi
Thanks for the info on the Watermans blue-black ink.
Jodi
Hi All,
The tracking problem was related to the sealant between the nib and the section not being quite right; it wasn't solely related to filling. I got a new section and everything's fine now. I always fill all my pens through the section, so i'm used to wiping up after myself!
I wonder if the hard starting is something to do with the ink? I have noticed it sometimes, but then haven't at others...although because i don't keep records i couldn't advise what ink i have had problems with. Sorry!
Anyway, i thought i should respond to show i'm still here and grateful for the comments!
ABP
The tracking problem was related to the sealant between the nib and the section not being quite right; it wasn't solely related to filling. I got a new section and everything's fine now. I always fill all my pens through the section, so i'm used to wiping up after myself!
I wonder if the hard starting is something to do with the ink? I have noticed it sometimes, but then haven't at others...although because i don't keep records i couldn't advise what ink i have had problems with. Sorry!
Anyway, i thought i should respond to show i'm still here and grateful for the comments!
ABP
Hi apb,
You are quite right in saying that your pen had a problem....my Carene does not leak around the ears of the nib, infact I am yet to get ink on my fingers. At least you were able to get the pen fixed and no longer have the issue.
I didn't have the issue getting the ink to start at the beginning of each word today. It didn't occur at all. The ink I used yesterday and today is the same...Watermans black from a bottle. I also tried Quink blue-black last night. In all, I filled and expelled the ink 4 times (one with black and 3 times with blue-black) and I have not had the issue again. It will be interesting if it occurs again at any time. I do think that it was just due to the newness of the pen though. The problem only occurred after the very first filling of the converter and not when I tried again after the 4th filling.
Jodi
You are quite right in saying that your pen had a problem....my Carene does not leak around the ears of the nib, infact I am yet to get ink on my fingers. At least you were able to get the pen fixed and no longer have the issue.
I didn't have the issue getting the ink to start at the beginning of each word today. It didn't occur at all. The ink I used yesterday and today is the same...Watermans black from a bottle. I also tried Quink blue-black last night. In all, I filled and expelled the ink 4 times (one with black and 3 times with blue-black) and I have not had the issue again. It will be interesting if it occurs again at any time. I do think that it was just due to the newness of the pen though. The problem only occurred after the very first filling of the converter and not when I tried again after the 4th filling.
Jodi
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