So, a little background. I recently returned from a trip to Death Valley and Yosemite by way of the Bodie Ghost town. I decided to journal on my vacation, so I took the Phileas (instead of my Harmonie which is more expensive) with me and had the converter filled with Legal Lapis. Death Valley is approximately -200 ft below sea level. Bodie is +8500 or thereabouts, so there was quite a change in pressure, though not as bad as flying, perhaps. I expected some leakage, especially since I forgot to let a little ink out before the trip and took it full.

I had to wipe the nib before writing while on my trip, but just today, back home now for almost a week, I popped the cap off the Phileas to write and there was a smudge of wet ink on the left part of the nib. It looked wet enough that I decided to run the cap under some purified water to see if any leaked, and it came out pretty blue for a few seconds before running clear. I unscrewed the body to look at the converter and it's about half full. This is disturbing. The pen gets tossed around a little, as I keep it cap up in an elastic pen loop in my shoulderbag... but I never had this kind of pen leakage before. As I was wiping the nib with a tissue, I noticed the nib near the base (near where the F is and where the nib fits into the black plastic that holds it) had some ink on it, too, as if the "seal" was leaking or something. Am I making sense? I apologize if I'm not using correct terminology. Still kind of new to all this.

Anyway, I'm concerned. It still seems to write well, but this ink loss is disturbing. And Phileas F pts are not that easy to replace anymore. Is leakage like this to be expected from time to time? There is no leakage when I write. Maybe I've been tossing my bag around a bit too much lately?

We drove to Tahoe over Donner Pass (7200 ft) and my pens leaked all over the place.

I'm surprised at how little I actually experienced on my trip, especially with the heat. But, I've been home for almost a week now, writing with the pen every other day or so, and this is the first time I noticed this leakage. I hope I just jostled my bag a bit too much.

IMHO, the symptoms you describe are compatible with a high-percentile case of the mostly innocuous (though messy) phenomenon of "nib creep". That is, an ink that overenthusiastically interacts with the feed and nib surfaces migrates onto the top of the nib where it inserts into the section.

This happens with some inks in most pens (PR Orange Crush, for all its beauty, is an example), in some pens with most inks, and on occasions of mild physical duress (such as the pressure changes of your trip) in pen/ink combinations not usually at risk.

Unless you're noticing a lasting change in writing behavior, your Phileas is likely okay.

For what it's worth, my 2 Phileases(Waterman cartridge users) often have a slight staining at the base of the nib, though they stay on my office desk and don't usually travel. The stray ink doesn't seem to hurt their performance, although when I occasionally get inky fingers I wash the nib/section AND my hands.

I did once have a drugstore Sheaffer that filled its cap consistently with leakage. I eventually replaced it for this incontinence.

Ok! Thanks for the info. So far, I'm not noticing /any/ writing behavior changes. It's writing just as it always has, so I'm pleased. I've read Noodler's has a tendency to exhibit that nib creep thing, so perhaps all is well. Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone with the staining at the base. I was a little worried.

Cheers!