Hello all,

I just bought my second pen - a Lamy Studio Palladium - in Portland, Oregon while visiting the city. My first pen was a Watermark Phileas, which was a smooth writer...unfortunately, it fell out of a bag and was lost several months ago.

I'm flying home Monday and don't have any of my Noodler's ink with me, so I just put in the cartridge that came with the pen to make sure I liked the medium nib. I find that little ink flows on the initial phase of the pen stroke (well, it comes out, but is light) and then it starts flowing more briskly...but when I lift the pen, even briefly to go from letter to letter, it slows again. So, if I write a series of letters or numbers, each letter or number is composed of light bits & dark bits.

I thought it could be a pressure issue, but when I really exaggerate the pressure I'm writing with, firm pressure on the downstroke still produces a "light" stroke.

I tried a few different types of paper I have with similar results.

Does this pen just need to be broken in? Will Noodler ink behave differently? Do I need to take this back to the shop tomorrow before I fly home?

Sorry for the newbie questions....

Jim

Before you return it, try to flush the pen with water a few times to get rid of any oils left on the pen from manufacturing. If that doesnt make it better there could be a problem.

It could also be a problem with the ink but it is unlikely in this situation. I have used the lamy cartridges in my studio and safari with no skipping problems.

Also with fountain pens you do not need to use pressure to write. The weight of the pen should be enough for the ink to flow. This is okay with a stiff nib on the studio but you shouldnt apply too much pressure to the pens so that you dont damage the nib,

I wrote an answer, but Huy pretty much covered everything already. I agree with him.

Try flushing it out. If that doesn't work, then you should go back to the store and ask to swap nibs.

Definitely try flushing with water, maybe with a tiny bit of soap added (rinse well of course!). What store did you go to? Maybe they can help...

I agree completely with the idea of a good rinse (or even a good soak), but I'm not convinced that the ink is blameless. I almost never use a cartridge unless I have filled it with fresh ink from a bottle with a syringe. If an ink cartridge is more than a few months old, the water in the ink begins evaporating because the plastic cartridge is porous. On innumerable occasions I have had pens perform as the originial poster describes with a cartridge, yet be perfectly fine with a converter or freshly filled cartridge.

Just to post a follow-up, I took the pen back to the store and they told me that they had rinsed the pen out with water at the store because they couldn't remember if they had dipped it or not. So, what I was seeing was the water working its way out. It certainly was taking its time....I eventually gave up and flew it home where I had a bottle of Noodler's black. I took out the cartridge, rinsed the pen, put in the converter and it was much better.

(Of course, when I started using the paper I had at home, I realized that the medium nib was too thick for my liking....a good bit thicker than the Phileas that I had previuosly. So, I sent it back and swapped it for a fine nib, which arrived working beautifully.)

Jim