[FONT=Geneva] Greetings, All. This is my first time, so be gentle.
I have a journal I picked up at Borders in which to record Events of Note. It was my plan to do so with a fountain pen, preserving the classic feel of the whole thing. To this end, I picked one up; inexpensive, but I figured better not to shell out any big bucks before I determined whether I liked it or not. Here's the thing. This pen writed GREAT on cheapo copy paper, receipts, newsprint---everything, in fact, BUT my journal, which was advertised as perfect for pens and ink of all kinds. It seems as though not much ink is making it to the nib, because instead of a nice, solid line (like I get on the Bright White), there are two very thin ones, as if a LITTLE bit of ink is being distributed by each side of the nib. Given all this, is it entirely the paper's fault, or might I have better luck with a different nib? This, by the way, is the offending nib. (All it says is "Iridium point, Germany". I don't know enough yet to be 'nibbish' in my description :-)
Thanks!
Chuck
Full Version: Nib ish??
Hi Chuck,
First of all, welcome to our Little Fountain Pen Nuthouse on the Digital Prairie!
You did a fine job describing your problem, so I'll try to help, short of coming over to visit you and examine the nib myself
.
There are several possibilities for this behaviour. So let's tackle stuff from the start.
If you see two lines appearing, it very likely indicates that you may be pressing too hard: the two nib halves, called tines, should not really spread as to create two lines. So I would suggest you try to avoid pressing the pen down. A fountain pen shouldn't really need pressure anyway, unlike a ball point pen.
You also may want to try and hold the pen at an angle of, say, about 60 degrees, rather than the 80 or 90 degrees you are used to with a ball point.
So please try again, exerting less pressure, actually experiment a bit, and please report back.
The reason why this may happen with one type of paper and not with anoher, is that one paper is very smooth compared to the other, and that despite the pressure, the paper is rough enough to still cause enough capillary action to fill the lines between left and right tine. With the better paper that may not be the case anymore.
Anyway, waiting for your report back here...
Warm regards, Wim
First of all, welcome to our Little Fountain Pen Nuthouse on the Digital Prairie!
You did a fine job describing your problem, so I'll try to help, short of coming over to visit you and examine the nib myself
.There are several possibilities for this behaviour. So let's tackle stuff from the start.
If you see two lines appearing, it very likely indicates that you may be pressing too hard: the two nib halves, called tines, should not really spread as to create two lines. So I would suggest you try to avoid pressing the pen down. A fountain pen shouldn't really need pressure anyway, unlike a ball point pen.
You also may want to try and hold the pen at an angle of, say, about 60 degrees, rather than the 80 or 90 degrees you are used to with a ball point.
So please try again, exerting less pressure, actually experiment a bit, and please report back.
The reason why this may happen with one type of paper and not with anoher, is that one paper is very smooth compared to the other, and that despite the pressure, the paper is rough enough to still cause enough capillary action to fill the lines between left and right tine. With the better paper that may not be the case anymore.
Anyway, waiting for your report back here...
Warm regards, Wim
I'm using a lower angle as you suggested, with minimal pressure. I still get the two lines. They ARE very close, almost as though it's some funky calligraphic nib, but I still am not getting a good solid line. I went from the journal immediately to some copy paper lying on my desk, and it wrote beautifully. If capillary action is doing this, it's some might fast capillarization. Any ideas?
Hi Chuck,
Yes, I do have some ideas. Now we have excluded the first possibility there are two more left, both caused by the same phenomenon.
This type of behaviour is caused by something we call a "baby-bottom" in terms of nibs. This is a condition where the two halves of the tipping at the end of the tines are rounded or distant in such a way, that capillary action doesn't draw the ink towards the end of the slit between the tines. Since the pen writes well on some paper and not on others, it indicates that it is only a minimal issue, because in bad cases it actually makes a pen skip or start very badly.
Anyway, this may be caused by overzealous rounding of the tipping on the slit side, or by the gap between the tines on the writing side of the nib being too wide. It seems to be ok on the top side from your picture, but it could still a a v-shaped slit with the open end of the V towards the paper.
In either case, because the pen is new and it doesn't function properly, I would actually go back to the shop, with your two paper samples, and show them what happens, and ask to try another pen, on both pieces of paper. And then take a pen home that functions properly. BTW, do make sure the pen is filled properly rather than dipped in ink, and that the pen is wicked off to get rid of excess ink in the feed (tissue will do fine, holding the pen nib up), so that you can check it writes properly under normal writing and filling conditions. Excess ink in the feed from dipping or from filling without wicking may cause the problem not to show.
HTH, warm regards, Wim
Yes, I do have some ideas. Now we have excluded the first possibility there are two more left, both caused by the same phenomenon.
This type of behaviour is caused by something we call a "baby-bottom" in terms of nibs
. This is a condition where the two halves of the tipping at the end of the tines are rounded or distant in such a way, that capillary action doesn't draw the ink towards the end of the slit between the tines. Since the pen writes well on some paper and not on others, it indicates that it is only a minimal issue, because in bad cases it actually makes a pen skip or start very badly.Anyway, this may be caused by overzealous rounding of the tipping on the slit side, or by the gap between the tines on the writing side of the nib being too wide. It seems to be ok on the top side from your picture, but it could still a a v-shaped slit with the open end of the V towards the paper.
In either case, because the pen is new and it doesn't function properly, I would actually go back to the shop, with your two paper samples, and show them what happens, and ask to try another pen, on both pieces of paper. And then take a pen home that functions properly. BTW, do make sure the pen is filled properly rather than dipped in ink, and that the pen is wicked off to get rid of excess ink in the feed (tissue will do fine, holding the pen nib up), so that you can check it writes properly under normal writing and filling conditions. Excess ink in the feed from dipping or from filling without wicking may cause the problem not to show.
HTH, warm regards, Wim
just to support Wim's conjecture and suggestions. IMO, he's on track with the problem. I have slightly picky pens that will hesitate on very slick, high quality paper but write perfectly fine on the cheap stuff. And yes, it's pretty quick capillary action - because the distance from slit to nib is very short - but apparently not short enough (due to the baby-bottom effect probably).
may I ask what ink you're using? some inks can overcome a minor baby-bottom (or other flow problem) without changes to the nib. But I think, if you can, it's best to get a properly functioning nib as Wim suggests.
may I ask what ink you're using? some inks can overcome a minor baby-bottom (or other flow problem) without changes to the nib. But I think, if you can, it's best to get a properly functioning nib as Wim suggests.
Very, very new here, but learning.
I was having a similar problem in a Moleskine journal with my new Pelikan 800.
Somebody reccomended a good cleaning out in water with a drop of mild detergent (to get the oils that might have been left by the manufacturing process) and that fixed most of the flow problem.
Inks and pens can be fussy. You'll have to experiment to find out what works best between you, your pen and your papers.
I'm having really good flow with Private Reserve ink in my Pelikan. I really want to switch to Noodlers, but so far, haven't found the right match. I'm still looking for the perfect ink.
According to the experts on this list, I might still be having some flow issues and intend to take it to a nib-meister in the near future.
Your local pen shop is your friend.
Good luck!
I was having a similar problem in a Moleskine journal with my new Pelikan 800.
Somebody reccomended a good cleaning out in water with a drop of mild detergent (to get the oils that might have been left by the manufacturing process) and that fixed most of the flow problem.
Inks and pens can be fussy. You'll have to experiment to find out what works best between you, your pen and your papers.
I'm having really good flow with Private Reserve ink in my Pelikan. I really want to switch to Noodlers, but so far, haven't found the right match. I'm still looking for the perfect ink.
According to the experts on this list, I might still be having some flow issues and intend to take it to a nib-meister in the near future.
Your local pen shop is your friend.
Good luck!
Hi,
I believe I have exactly the same nib on one of my pens, and I find it to be a pretty reasonable writer.
I have also bought plenty of journals from Border's. I don't know which one you have, but they sell inexpensive hardbound 8.5x11" & smaller journals & sketchbooks that are cloth-covered, in colors like blue, green, etc. I have a bunch of them for sketching, and in my experience, the paper is not particularly fountain-pen friendly.
After writing about half a page, it seems that the paper starts repelling the ink. The ink lines gets thinner and thinner until the pens don't really want to write very well at all. I suspect that there's some sort of sizing or finish on the paper that builds up on the nib. The finer the nib, the worse the problem.
So I use these sketchbooks for pencil sketching and avoid using fountain pens in them. Other journals sometimes exhibit the same problem. A friend sent me a beautiful leather-bound journal and its paper has exactly the same problem. It doesn't matter which pen or which ink, the paper just wants to resist fountain pen ink.
So if your pen writes well on cheaper paper, then I'd say, find a journal with that kind of paper, and your problem may be solved!
Petra
I believe I have exactly the same nib on one of my pens, and I find it to be a pretty reasonable writer.
I have also bought plenty of journals from Border's. I don't know which one you have, but they sell inexpensive hardbound 8.5x11" & smaller journals & sketchbooks that are cloth-covered, in colors like blue, green, etc. I have a bunch of them for sketching, and in my experience, the paper is not particularly fountain-pen friendly.
After writing about half a page, it seems that the paper starts repelling the ink. The ink lines gets thinner and thinner until the pens don't really want to write very well at all. I suspect that there's some sort of sizing or finish on the paper that builds up on the nib. The finer the nib, the worse the problem.
So I use these sketchbooks for pencil sketching and avoid using fountain pens in them. Other journals sometimes exhibit the same problem. A friend sent me a beautiful leather-bound journal and its paper has exactly the same problem. It doesn't matter which pen or which ink, the paper just wants to resist fountain pen ink.
So if your pen writes well on cheaper paper, then I'd say, find a journal with that kind of paper, and your problem may be solved!
Petra
[FONT=Optima]At this point, I have no idea what ink I'm using. It's a cartridge feed that came with the pen, which I got (drum roll) on ebay.http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/style_images/Invision-942/icon5.gif
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/st...n-942/icon5.gif So it'd kind of hard to take it back, even though this seller is very good. The image I have in my post is also just the stock pic from the sale,so it might not be representative of my actual pen. I am currently eyeballing it, however, and it seems to pretty closely approximate the one in the pic.
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/st...n-942/icon5.gif So it'd kind of hard to take it back, even though this seller is very good. The image I have in my post is also just the stock pic from the sale,so it might not be representative of my actual pen. I am currently eyeballing it, however, and it seems to pretty closely approximate the one in the pic.
Hi Chuck,
As Tara suggests, and that is something I entirely forgot in my enthousiasm, a rinse and flush with soapy water may be all that is needed, indeed.
All of my new pens I do treat with a soapy solution, i.e., a rinse and flush with water (just a glass of tap water) to which I added 1 or 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, of the cheapest, non-scented variety, to rinse out the oils and grease and other rubbish left behind by the manufacturing process. You need a converter, syringe, or ear buld to do that, though.
If this is causing the problem, you may actually try to get rid of it just by writing with ink, but that often requires several fills of ink (cartridges in your case) before it is resolved. And it is a pain to have to wait that long and persevere while the pen isn't performing the right way.
BTW, if you want to change fonts and the like in a message, you need to use the controls at the top of the message box.
Anyway, just try the rinse and flush, and let's hear what happens.
HTH, warm regards, Wim
As Tara suggests, and that is something I entirely forgot in my enthousiasm
, a rinse and flush with soapy water may be all that is needed, indeed.All of my new pens I do treat with a soapy solution, i.e., a rinse and flush with water (just a glass of tap water) to which I added 1 or 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, of the cheapest, non-scented variety, to rinse out the oils and grease and other rubbish left behind by the manufacturing process. You need a converter, syringe, or ear buld to do that, though.
If this is causing the problem, you may actually try to get rid of it just by writing with ink, but that often requires several fills of ink (cartridges in your case) before it is resolved. And it is a pain to have to wait that long and persevere while the pen isn't performing the right way.
BTW, if you want to change fonts and the like in a message, you need to use the controls at the top of the message box.
Anyway, just try the rinse and flush, and let's hear what happens.
HTH, warm regards, Wim
Hi Petra,
So, could you please check if the pen writes more than a page on normal paper, and whether wiping it with a tissue when it stops on the other paper will make it start again?
TIA, warm regards, Wim
QUOTE (petra @ Apr 11 2006, 03:25 AM)
Hi,
I believe I have exactly the same nib on one of my pens, and I find it to be a pretty reasonable writer.
I have also bought plenty of journals from Border's. I don't know which one you have, but they sell inexpensive hardbound 8.5x11" & smaller journals & sketchbooks that are cloth-covered, in colors like blue, green, etc. I have a bunch of them for sketching, and in my experience, the paper is not particularly fountain-pen friendly.
After writing about half a page, it seems that the paper starts repelling the ink. The ink lines gets thinner and thinner until the pens don't really want to write very well at all. I suspect that there's some sort of sizing or finish on the paper that builds up on the nib. The finer the nib, the worse the problem.
So I use these sketchbooks for pencil sketching and avoid using fountain pens in them. Other journals sometimes exhibit the same problem. A friend sent me a beautiful leather-bound journal and its paper has exactly the same problem. It doesn't matter which pen or which ink, the paper just wants to resist fountain pen ink.
So if your pen writes well on cheaper paper, then I'd say, find a journal with that kind of paper, and your problem may be solved!
Petra
If this is caused by sizing that builds up, it should go away by wiping the nib, with a tissue or something. Just check that please. If it performs well on any other paper, I guess it is fine, but if a pen stops writing after half a page or a whoel page, and needs to be restatrted, it often indicates feed starvation, which may be caused by a bunch of different problems.I believe I have exactly the same nib on one of my pens, and I find it to be a pretty reasonable writer.
I have also bought plenty of journals from Border's. I don't know which one you have, but they sell inexpensive hardbound 8.5x11" & smaller journals & sketchbooks that are cloth-covered, in colors like blue, green, etc. I have a bunch of them for sketching, and in my experience, the paper is not particularly fountain-pen friendly.
After writing about half a page, it seems that the paper starts repelling the ink. The ink lines gets thinner and thinner until the pens don't really want to write very well at all. I suspect that there's some sort of sizing or finish on the paper that builds up on the nib. The finer the nib, the worse the problem.
So I use these sketchbooks for pencil sketching and avoid using fountain pens in them. Other journals sometimes exhibit the same problem. A friend sent me a beautiful leather-bound journal and its paper has exactly the same problem. It doesn't matter which pen or which ink, the paper just wants to resist fountain pen ink.
So if your pen writes well on cheaper paper, then I'd say, find a journal with that kind of paper, and your problem may be solved!
Petra
So, could you please check if the pen writes more than a page on normal paper, and whether wiping it with a tissue when it stops on the other paper will make it start again?
TIA, warm regards, Wim
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.