Hi

I have a problem which makes it very difficult and not to mention annoying when writing with ink pens.
No matter how much I take care of my pens they seem to leak in the cap. So when I take the cap off and try to write, I get more ink on my fingers then I do on the paper.
The worst offenders are my Mont Blanc Legrand which is only about 2 years old and very rarely used due to this. The other is my Sheaffer Legacy.

My workhorse pen a Pelikan hasn't given me any trouble.

Any suggestions as to what could be wrong?

Thanks

Jazz

My first response is to ask what kind of ink you are using. Noodler's is notorious for not getting on well with some FP's. There is a thread current in "Inky Thoughts" about this topic. For example, I cannot use Noodler's in any of my Esterbrook pens as the ink not only creeps up the nib, it actually wicks up the nib and fills the cap. I get the same results you mention.

The other question is the manner in which you carry the pens. If you carry them nib up in a pocket or carry pouch, this problem would be unusual.

Hi

Thanks for your reply.

I use Noodlers Ink in my Pelikan, Cross and both Waterman's, they don't leak. I also use it in my Sheaffer which leaks.
For the MontBlanc I use MontBlancs own ink and yet it leaks.

I carry my pens in my shirt pocket with the nibs upright in a pen case.

Can anyone shed more light on my problem?

Regards

come on folks.

Nobody has any suggestions for me?

I used to have a similar problem with a pen (a Hero 382) containing Noodler's Blue or Black (I did not try many other inks before fixing the problem, but I am getting ahead of myself). The cap used to get ink in it, and that ink would get on my hands or fingers, or both.

Now, the reason it got on my fingers was two fold:

I either posted the cap on the barrel (thus getting ink on the upper barrel), or
The volume of ink in the cap was enough to get onto the area where I traditionally put my fingers to write.

I believe the ink was getting beyond the nib and into the cap for one of two reasons:

The ink was stored horizontally in a pen pouch in my leather briefbag, and ink would escape the nib
The pen would get jostled enough when setting the bag down that a droplet of ink would dislodge from the nib.

I fixed the problem utterly by doing two things:

I no longer post ANY pen cap on the barrel of a pen. I hold the caps in my left hand now.
I adjusted the nib so it was properly aligned on the feed and in the section.

I also had a Hero 329 that had a leaky hood, and that would get ink into the cap and my hands.

I'm not familiar enough with those particular pens, but I blame most of my 382's problems on user error (mistreatment of the pen) and the 329's on manufacturing defects.

I'm a troubleshooter by training, and a scientist by education, so I'd be curious to know if you can pinpoint the location of the leak in each offender's case. Is the ink in the "top" of the cap or near the opening? How does the ink leak manifest itself? Does it get on your fingers, or leak out into the pen case?

I would start by thoroughly cleaning the cap with water, and if necessary and possible in an ultrasound bath, followed by complete drying. Once in gets in the cap or cap liner, it will draw more ink out as soon as you repost the cap, and the cycle continues. I have a Sailor that occasionally gets in this mode, and when I clean the cap, an incredible amount of ink residue can be removed in an ultrasound bath. Once the cap is thoroughly cleaned, the issue is usually resolved for quite a while. In the Sailor, once the cap insides are soiled, ink WILL get on your fingers when you unpost it to write, and ineffectual cleaning only serves to get ink into the crevices where the clip emerges from the cap, creating an evern bigger mess. Some of my pens (Sailor, Waterman Carene) seem to be more prone to this issue. My Pelikans seem to be immune.

Cheers.