Chinese Pens Leaking When Stored Nib Down.

[mariom]

I'm relatively new to pen infatuation, and as a means of cheaply getting a few extra pens to play with I've bought a some Chinese pens. Without exception, all the pens leak badly when stored nib down - and I don't mean just a few drops. An entire converter full of ink will drain in between 10 minutes (worst case) and overnight. So far this is happening with 3 Baoers (including the 10 minute pen) and a Jinhao X450 (the overnight pen), This is happening with the original converters, replacement converters and a new OEM Monteverde cartridge. I've also checked and re-seated the feed on the worst offender with little effect.

 

Is this to be expected? While I aim to store my pens horizontally, it isn't always practical to ensure that they stay horizontal at all times. I haven't seen any significant evidence of this with my better pens ( 2 x Monteverde Invincia, Parker Classic, Lamy 2000).

 

Is there any way to address the problem, or have I perhaps scored a batch of faulty pens?

 

Mario

[lupillo23]

Make with a drill 1mm holes in the caps of your pens , that let no vaccuum inside on them.The converters must beeen dissassembled in order to put silicone grease into the thread for no leaking.Enjoy your pens .

[mariom]

Thanks for the suggestion. I can understand why a non airtight converter would cause a problem,

but the pen also leaks with a cartridge installed. Also, it happens with or without the cap.

[WaskiSquirrel]

I own two of the Jinhao x450 pens and ended up with a lot of ink in the cap. I never store my pens nib down. They are always stored nib up or on their side. This is one of the reasons these two pens are on my "to be decluttered" list.

[Icywolfe]

My shab has this issue too. The only thing I can think of is that the feed is cut oddly or the feed doesn't sit correctly to make a gap for air to go up.

[TorPelikan]

Full drainage of ink within a night seems to be abnormal.

And such a phenomenon occured in four pens!

Something wrong with their manufacturing, I suppose.

 

By the way, why you have to keep your pens nib down.

I always keep my pens nib up or horizontally.

With a few exceptions such as desk pens and Rotring Skynn, nib down position seems to be upside down for me.

[Icywolfe]

Nib down is actually good to quickly make the pens start. Also for how you remove the cap and grip the pen it can be done in 1 action.

[Chi Town]

Have you checked the converters? If the converters are not totally snugged up against the section they will leak! Given that all your pens are leaking that is the 1st thing that I would look at....Do you ever remove the converters? If the anser is yes, all the more reason to check them.....Let us know what you find if you check the converters, ok?

[mariom]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try and respond to everyone in one hit.

 

TorPelikan says

-- By the way, why you have to keep your pens nib down. I always keep my pens nib up or horizontally.

 

I don't normally keep my pens this way, but in the normal course of daily usage and transport they may end up that way. It would be nice to know they won't leak all their ink into the cap when it happens. I first noticed this when I slipped a pen into my shirt pocket nib down only to find a cap full of ink when I went to use the pen(I'm relatively new fountain pens remember, and yes I know that's what the clip is for). Fortunately the ink didn't leak out of the cap.

 

Chi Town says

-- Have you checked the converters? If the converters are not totally snugged up against the section they will leak!

 

I have checked the converters. Also, when looking down the section to where the converter seats in the worst offender, I could see a bit of raised plastic moulding waste which may have been interfering with the converter seating correctly. I've removed that as best I can and the problem seems much better with a converter where I've sealed the threads with some Vaseline (my silicone grease is still in the mail). It still leaks badly with a cartridge, though.

Edited August 25, 2014 by mariom

[TorPelikan]

Sure, the pen will start writing immediately if stored nib down.

It may be a good way to use dry starter pens.

But I will rather wait for a few minutes than find my fingers stained with ink.

 

It's only a matter of taste.

 

 

And, I feel much better to hear you've got some improvements.

I truly hope all of your pens will behave as it should.

[Xiaoding]

I replaced a bad TWSBI nib with a #5 Knox nib. It fits, but it's a tad loose. Wiggles a bit.

 

It writes well, but over the weekend, stored nib down (it's my desk pen), it leaks a little. So, loose nibs will cause leakage.

[Sasha Royale]

Patient : "Doctor, it hurts, when I do this !"

Doctor : "Don't do that !"

 

Gravity. Temperature variations. Expanding air pushing ink though the nib.

Store your fountains pen nib up. For long-term storage, flush clean and dry before storage.

[Dr.Grace]

I love many aspects of Chinese culture, but their fountain pens I do not esteem very highly. I'd say that inexpensive Japanese pens, such as the Pilot Metropolitan, are much more reliable.

[Acheng]

The Quality Control in Chinese fountain pen is not very good. I had buy 4 Jinhao X750 pen in one order and I just find out one of it will leak all ink within 1 minute after fill up. I have try to change the converter to one is working fine on other pen and the problem still exist.

So it may have some small gap in the section to allow air come in from the nib and feet all the way to the converter in my case and may be a smaller gap on your case so it only leak when it store nib down.

But the other one I am using for a year now still working good.

 

Good luck!

[Erik Dalton]

What you're seeing is not normal. I've heard talk of Jinhao fakes out there. Maybe you just got a bad batch of pens. I find most Jinhao pens to be pretty reliable. I just put a pendleton stub nib on a 159 and I love it. I use to order directly from China, and still do with sellers I trust, but I find it safer to pay a couple $ more and buy from a local seller who will back up the product in case of problems.

 

I just bought some of the new Jinhao 992 spiral pens. Mine came through just great. They are a nice writing pen. Some others who bought from different vendors received pens with cracks.

My feelings are that ordering direct from China is almost always a "(bleep) shoot". Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you..lol..