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Parker Im Hard Starting And Skipping


btreloar

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I have three Parker IM fountain pens because they were quite asffordable on Amazon and i really liked the first one I owned. Unfortunatly, there was a cap issue and I had to send the whole pen back for repaiur. The replacement I got is virtually unusable, so I bought two more via Amazon.

 

All three will not write after sitting overnight. It takes lots of scribbling to try and get the ink to flow, and when it does, it skips for a long time before proper ink flow resumes. And then it sits unused overnight and we're back to the beginning. This happens with both Parker ink cartridges and a piston adapter.

 

I've seen this issue decried in online reviews, so I'm apparently not the only one with this problem. A person who repairs nibs offered to look at it but was unsuccessful in fixing the problem.

 

Based on my experience with my first replacement pen from Parker, I'm reluctant to send them back for repair/replacement. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to resolve this? (The nibs have been scrupulously cleaned many times, so I need a more dramatic suggestion than that.)

 

Are replacement nibs available anywhere?

 

 

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Try Waterman ink.

I used that in my IM with both the original M nib, and the exchanged F nib, and the pen wrote just fine, no starting issues.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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Had same sorta issues. My less expensive black/gold IM works great. More expensive deluxe IM a beautiful dark gray pen skipped like mad and was very hard started. I am sending it back. I GUESS WITH INEXPENSIVE PENS IT IS HIT-AND-MISS. I need my pens to write and write consistently. I have a Nemosine just purchased does same thing - dries out really quick when using it. It's also an inexpensive pen.

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Even with a wet ink I have similar issues with my IM-with two different nibs although the fine has been better than the medium. It is currently uninked.

Edited by Runnin_Ute

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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I have 3 IMs (not premium) and have not encountered this problem. I wonder if using a baby wipe to wipe the nib after leaving it overnight would help. It should clean the nib from dried ink.

Dan

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Some pens are more prone to 'dryout' than others - for me the main culprits are my Noodler's pens, and they get a lot less use for that reason. If the cap doesn't offer a good seal, evaporation causes ink to dry out in the nib - at least, that's the most common problem I encounter.

 

I wouldn't try using a baby wipe - the detergent wouldn't be a help. Just dipping in a bit of water is the most common solution I employ - and it usually works fine. Just scribble a bit on some scrap paper afterward, till the ink colour runs true again.

 

The preventive measure I've found most effective is to keep these pens in a snap-lock bag overnight. It's a bit of a hassle, but it seems to work.

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Mine is hard starting after sitting unused for just a couple of hours. What a shame, as it writes beautifully once I get the ink flow started. And it's not always convenient to have to scriblle for a few minutes on scrap paper every time I want to use the pen ... especially if I'm away from my own desk.

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I've took my IM section and move to a Pilot Metropolitan or 78G body, works perfect. Also It fit into a Parker Big Red Ballpoint and Cross Solo Body. There's no more hard starting.

Also I've sent my medium nib on Parker UK and they replace it with fine nib.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I may have foubnd the problem. The cap — it's far from airtight. Water run out s fast as I fill it.

 

I'm testing with a temporary seal of Press N Seal. If that proves out, I'llbe looking for the best way to seal it permanently between the blac part of the cap and the gold end with the clip.

 

Any suggetions for that?

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It is indeed the cap, there's a big hole under the clip which makes the pen dry out. Some people have had success putting tape over the hole, but then that's not the most cosmetically appealing option.

 

Be interested to hear other solutions. For the price it's not a bad pen per se, I do like the blue lacquer (?) finish on the one I have.

Then I just need to figure out how to get the nib out without trashing the feed to make the pen a bit wetter.

 

Urban owners - does the Urban have the same cap/drying out problem ?

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I had the same problem with my IM and used candle wax to make my cap airtight by filling in the hole under the clip and the gap under the clip. I shaved the wax and pressed it into the crevices that I wanted to fill and use a heat gun to melt it. My pen now starts up and writes without problems.

Edited by whereisandy
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I'm wonder if I can use shellac to airtight that area. With a long slim brush maybe, careful enough to not touch the inside cap?

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Odd

I never had a starting problem with my IM, with both M and F nibs, using Waterman ink.

I also confirm that there is a large hole under the clip. I was surprised at how much air I could blow thru the cap.

I have since retired the IM, due to its size and weight, not the nib.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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