Until one month ago, I thought I preferred slip on caps. In fact, that's all I had. I thought they were more convenient, that it would be a pain in the neck to twist on and off a cap on each use. I have now come around. First, I have noticed that my two favorite slip cap pens, the Edson and the Sheaffer PFM, both dispense ink if the cap is removed too quickly, presumably due to the vacuum created. My fingers are consistently more inky with these pens than with my pens that feature threaded caps. Second, I have come to enjoy the act of screwing and unscrewing a cap. Finally, some slip caps create an unpleasant sensation. The metal-on-metal slide when removing a Parker 75 cap is the one downside I have found to that pen. Maybe this is a silly topic, but as a new fountain pen user I find it interesting.

Not silly at all. In fact, I do believe that if a silly question were asked here, it would be taken seriously, anyway.

Like you, I had initially prefered the ease of a slip on cap (plus I reckoned it was awfullly cool to hold a pen in one hand and slip off its cap with the forefing and thumb of that hand - buy I'm a little simple like that). However, I now prefer the solid seating that threads provide. I feel assured the cap won't accidentally be removed.

And, yes, there's something just wrong about metal sliding (go on, let's say it: grating) against metal.

If there were a smiley that looked like two cents, I'd put it in.

t!

I don't really have a preference between the two styles, as long as they work well. A slip cap should stay on securely, but be able to slip off without any grating, or vacuum issues. (Hmm...I just purchased a Sheaffer Legacy; I hope mine doesn't do the same thing with the ink...) On the other hand, a threaded cap should stay on securely without excessive tightening, but also be easy to remove. In addition, it's nice when a threaded cap doesn't require too many twists to go on or off.

If I HAVE to vote for one style or the other, I guess that I very slightly prefer the threaded caps.

TMann

Interesting... so does the vacuum effect mean my pens are defective, or is it just a design flaw with those models? Can they be adjusted?

Hi,

I like slip caps when i need quick and frequent access. I find threaded caps less practical in this regard. Otherwise I prefer threaded caps. The type of cap is generally not a deal breaker for me.

Regards,
Jeen

In my opinion, however humble, this is a very nice question (I could have raised it myself... ). Who cares about questions that can be easily answered? OK, when you need information...

Anyway, this one belongs to another category! It’s hard to approach it from the viewpoint of functionality: there are better and there are worse examples of either system. Basically, I trust no FP inside my pocket, even though I carry one there. In the end, the over-all design of the pen may be decisive: for an old or retro-design pen a screw-on cap seems to be more appropriate, for modern pens a click-on system. Personally, I share TMann’s slight preference for the threaded caps, but that may simply be because my favourite pens have these.

The worst thing, perhaps, is that there are two systems (if we leave the capless out): have you ever seen a sales person try to pull a screw-on cap from a pen? I did and truly suffered...

That’s the way I unscrew the caps of my pens. Believe me, with some practice it can be done ... and is just as ... or even cooler, as it requires more dexterity...

I'm getting that sense here, one of the things I like about this site!

As for the metal on metal thing, I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Threaded caps.

My main criteria is: no surprises. A slip cap that slips off while you pull it out of your pocket is quite a bad surprise. It would be quite unusual for this to happen with a threaded cap.

I like threaded caps with 3 - 5 thread entries. Multple thread entries means less than a full turn to uncap.

Threads have tighter tolerances than slip caps. Those slip caps that are tight slip caps almost always leave some sort of wear marks.

I have no preference, it just has to be safely shut, whatever way.

I like the feel when my Waterman 200 Night&Days shut safely over their o-rings. But also like the half-turn short thread of my S.T. Dupont Montparnasse, which is allways safe. The Stipula Bruneleschi has also a relatively short thread at the top of the section by the nib.

But why I still dont't really trust threaded pens in my pockets is because of my Parker Duofold RB, which likes to get loose in it's threads all the time. I still have the document-proof stains in my jacket. argh ...

No preference, I like both.

tntaylor's way of uncapping a slip cap has also a couple of advantages: it is slow enough that no ink should be sucked out from the vacuum transient and it also has the benefit of mostly avoiding nib/section to cap friction. Actually, if you unsnap the cap, then rest it on the table, and then gently slide your pen holding handover the table and away from the cap, you won't have any nib/section to cap contact at all

There is no doubt that slip caps are best for quick capping and uncapping, such as when you have to write down notes often while reading something. The biggest drawback is that even the best of them will eventually wear out. My Parker 75 has seen very heavy duty use for 10+ years. The cap will now slide off under its own weight I put some tape inside the cap for a snugger fit. Slip off caps can also slip off in your pocket, but as one who doesn't carry FPs in the pocket, I don't care about that aspect.

Screw caps should last forever, unless a someone overtightens them, or people borrow then and try to just pull them off I also like the ceremony of nscrewing a cap when I am about to do something important.

At the end, variety is the spice of life

Been there, done that. Used to prefer the slip caps, then as I got into FPs more, threads became the preferred choice.

actually - it's better for your pen and ink experience to use one hand to uncap a slip or snap cap. you'd think it would require more dexterity but it doesn't. And what it does is prevent the sudden jerk of a two-handed cap removal that often results in ink splatters. if you're having trouble with the splatter - try the one-handed method. once you've done it a few times, it'll be second-nature.

for threaded caps - doesn't matter much but since I was a lab tech who often had to unscrew culture flasks and test tubes with one hand while holding pipeter in another... it too became second nature.

i have no preference - but i have to remind hubby each time he opts to borrow a pen. "VP is a click pen, Bear. Not a twist." (yeah, he had the nib assembly fall into his hands on that one.) "Pelikan - unscrew the cap." "Waterman - pull off the cap."

lately he doesn't borrow my pens as much. He says it's clutter he shouldn't have to remember. Give him a Parker MP and he's happy.

Most of my slip-cap fountain pens have some sort of a "clutch" type mechanism to keep the cap securely in place. As far as I can tell, the only FP that seems to rely purely on friction is my Sheaffer Imperial.

TMann

Oh yeah, I can related to that totally...except with me, it's a sort of face when he takes one of my pens to try...He's a sweet guy but I just know that his first instinct will be to pull...hard to remove the cap. His only and only pen is his late grandpa's Parker '51' and that has a slip cap so I am just playing it safe with my warnings....

There is also another kind of cap, not slipped neither threaded, but magnetic.
Nettuno has been making magnetic caps for years.
The first one was the L.E. Shark, that now is completely sold out. It had 8 magnetic dots in the cap and the correspondent ones in the body, that safely closed the pen



Later, they made the Trident, with larger and more evident magnetic dots on cap and body:



And now, the Nautilus, where the magnet is a ring, hidden inside the cap and the body.



Magnetic closure is strange at first time, because you try to thread, and the pen resists...Nice, however.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one, I fear. I've experienced one magnetic cap, on a Nettuno Barracuda (image linked from Joon Web site):



The pen is kitschy, but the magnetic closure inspired in me something more akin to terror than confidence. I really had no sense that the pen would stay together reliably under any kind of activity beyond gentle handling. Maybe it will, I dunno.

For a long time, I preferred screw caps. Most of my pens have screw caps, and I admit that I still like their positive and reliable closure. But for me the best of all cap designs is the spring-loaded clutch on the original Parker "51". It relies on friction, yes, but the spring fingers that bear on the hard strainless steel clutch ring are very positive. I've never had a "51" come apart unexpectedly. (But I've had to take apart one or two that were dropped on the cap jewel!) The click clutch on a Waterman's Taperite is very much like the "51" clutch, but the Taperite's spring fingers bear on a polished surface that they can scratch, and the spring material loses its tension over time and needs to be retensioned every couple of decades. Not so with a "51". (But the 2003 lookalike 51 SE has an inferior knockoff of the original system that grinds when closed or opened and scratches the plated clutch ring.)

I have had problems in the past with threaded caps. I keep my pens in a book bag often (never submitting them to harsh vibrations!) and notice that they unscrew on their own. I don't get it. Granted, I don't twist them super tight when I close them, but I never could figure this out, how my pens dismantle on their own.

And I NEVER toss my book bag around.

I don't have that problem with slip caps.

Hmmm...could this be an engineering issue, with any down-up movements in my bag translating to twist-shift movements in the pen?

I think at least part of the solution to your mystery is given in the statement quoted above. Screw caps are intended to be screwed down to the point of getting the quiet little "eek" that says you have achieved a friction lock between the clutch surfaces, whether they're on the inner cap and the end of the section or on the barrel and cap. Absent a good friction lock, a safety pen just ain't safe. (It's like a firearm, if you push the safety toggle only halfway over, it can fall back to the "fire" position while the weapon is being transported.)

Pelikans are especially notorious for unscrewing easily because their threads are molded, not cut, and are therefore very smooth.

As far as people getting confused go, I once let someone examine my Parker 51. She tried to unscrew the cap -- and wound up loosening the barrel, so I tightened it back up and helped her get it open. I suppose she must have had experience with screwcap fountain pens -- she is from Spain, for what it is worth.

At any rate, I kind of like screw caps; my Esterbrooks are easy to open without coming open in a pocket too easily.

I seem to remember one Italian pen company has 4 flight threads such that the cap only needs a quarter turn to open.

Kurt H

I am a little ambivalent. I have a couple of each but admit that the screw cap gives me a (false) sense of security, since the only pens I've actually ever had come uncapped when I did not want them to were both - you guessed it - screw caps! A lot depends on the slip cap mechanism and I find no fault in the "51" design - it really provides a positive feel without the snap of, say, a modern Waterman (which is secure feeling but has almost too much "snap"!).

I like threaded caps much better

Thanks for the advice on this. I didn't screw them down too tight because it seemed like common sense that this would eventually cause breakage. I do tighten them down, just not to the point where I need pliers to loosen them the next time.

Funny you should mention the Pelikans because those are the pens that I have the most trouble with.

I have heard this about Pelikans but have never had this problem with any of my screw cap pens. Actually most of my pens are screw tops. I guess I just like the extra machining required

Krut H

I learned this fact with my first Pelikan, an m200. I hung it from my shirt collar after gingerly screwing on the cap. When I arrived home, I had a cap on my shirt collar, a stain on my shirt, and no pen .

Hi,

I find that my Pelikan keeps shut better than my Esterbrook. I often catch my Esterbrook cap unscrewing on me. I really like screw caps, but I find these few click caps to be reliable--Lamy 2000, Pelikan Pelikano, Parker Vector, and Pelikan Steno. If I had to carry my pen on a lanyard, I would go with the Lamy 2000. (I had to live a whole week like that)

Dillon

I presume, the material of the threads plays some role in cap safety. My Parker Duofold blue swirl RB seems to be made of acrylic or so and it gets loose whenever it likes, while the threads on the celluloid Omas Cinema and Stipula Brunelleschi are safe. Of course, the thread design also is important.

In 4 months I vave not have the slightest problem with my Pelikan M800. When I close the cap I do make sure I get a very soft "eek", probably a 20th of a turn or so, and it stays shut. This is no trouble at all.

I am weary of tightening the pen too much, more because of long term stress. Hopefully, with this gentle pressure it will stay closed, and remain in good condition for many years.

Hi Louis,

I don't think that merely firming the threads on closure will give you a problem with the M800. I hate to see you doing the "eek" thing as that "eek", imho, represents the first step on the "too tight road". It's the warning that you're applying too much torque.

Now, before someone reminds me that auto mechanics invariably tighten lug nuts on wheels to where a loud "eek" issues forth, I don't think the two are exactly the same. The lug bolts and nuts are a hardened steel and the "eek" may save your life someday. The "eek" on the FP threads may save you a shirt, but shirts can be replenished and the plastic threads on your M800 might prematurely wear through.

Ok, shields up! I'm ready for someone to come in and challenge my fuzzy logic above.

How about "do what you want". I've been doing everything from a tight 'eek' to just twirt the cap on and have never had problems. Granted I also have never thrown my pen into a bookbag always made sure it was clipped onto something wheter a shirt pocket or pocket in a bag.


Kurt H

No, not actually. Pen makers create screw-cap designs with the intent that the cap will not unscrew accidentally, and that little "eek" is intentional -- albeit very, very quiet on pens like Pelikans. Virtually every vintage instruction sheet I've ever seen says to screw the cap down firmly.

The designers take advantage of the plastic qualities of the materials used, where "plastic" is an adjective and means "able to be formed." When you torque down a cap enough to get the "eek," you are deforming the material very slightly, long enough so that the mating surfaces can slip past each other just a little. It takes significantly more force to damage the pen. Yeah, you can do it, but you're not going to.

There are caps that clip on, push on, click on, and screw on among all the pens in my accumulation.

I have to say that I prefer the screw on cap somewhat more than the others. That may have something to do with the fact that I started using FPs with Esterbrooks (screw on caps) in the late 40's while in grade school.

We were required to use FPs; ballpoints were prohibited! Would that that were the case today.

I hear ya, Richard, but it leaves a lot to the interpretation of "firmly". My "firmly" means against the stop firmly, but not to the point where I feel "the mating surfaces slipping past each other". I'll just admit to being the bumbling fool without the world's best sense of touch and feel.

I'll leave the fine motor movement skills to you guys who keep our pens running well. My eye-hand coordination skills stop at being able to put the sweet spot of a golf club on the ball. Don't know why, but that I can do.

But, you're right! No way am I gonna "eek" my Burton custom sleeved M800 very many times in its life.

Done the exact same thing with my M200. Same pen, clipped the same place, same result.

Well that does make me feel a little bit better!

Roger, we are talking of the same thing.

I measured what I do: I wrapped a sticky paper at the end of the cap, and another next to it on the barrel. I closed the cap without tightening, making sure it was loose, and marked a line on both papers. Then, I tightened as I always do. The cap suddenly slides and stops. I found that I barely turn by the thickness of an EF line (0.25-0.30 mm or so). As the paper measured 4.0 cm on the barrel this translates into somewhere between one 130th to 160th of a turn. I was wrong by an order of magnitude. :doh:

As for the eek, it is very distinct when opening the pen, it is almost unaudible when closing it.

That very small difference, or firming of threads, is the difference between a pen that turns loosely and one that is securely closed. My pen happens to "eek" every time I do that. Perhaps yours is older and stopped eeking. Or maybe your hearing is not sensitive to those very small sounds.

Actually, most mechanics use impact wrenches and overtighten lug nuts, to a point that sometimes brake discs warp prematurely. Thos`e who go by the book and use a torque wrench eventually get a feel for the right amount of torque and they learn to torque right without a torque wrench. For pens, I think it is quite easy to experiment to find out what the right torque should be. Just tighten the cap a little more everytime until you feel there is enough resistance to unscrewing it, and you will soon get a feel for it and do it right everytime

I prefer threaded caps simply for the look... but also the thought of security.

However slip on caps are not a problem for me as long as the mechanism is adequate.

For example the waterman hemisphere, despite its great writing, has a hard and harsh click that splatters ink everywhere inside the cap, whereas the parker sonnet has a softer and smoother click.

VH