Waterman Carene Too Thick / Watery?

[Bagojfalvibagoj]

Hi All,

I'd like to ask for a bit of help here. I've bought a Waterman Carene (medium) for my fiance for Christmas and we're a somewhat underwhelmed by its performance. What I don't know is if this is it and the problem is with our expectations, her writing skill or there is something wrong with this particular piece. She has a TWSBI 580 for a few years and that writes pretty nice.
We've tried two Waterman ink cartridges from separate sources and got similar results. Lines are thick, watery, looking like a marker when dry. Also skips occasionally but that might be technique rather than the pen. I've read here and there that Waterman nibs are rather thick but for my untrained eye this doesn't look right.

I've made a few clips her writing, please let me know what do you think.

Thanks and Happy Holidays! Edited December 26, 2016 by Bagojfalvibagoj

[Bluey]

Now, I find my Carene to be one of my favourite writers. I have the medium too and it does definitely produce a wider and gushier line than a typical medium, more of a broad.

 

There's a trick with the Carene.

It has a very large feed so you need to let this saturate fully before it writes to it's optimum performance. Because you're using the cartridge rather than a converter, after you've inserted the cartridge let it sit in a jacket pocket(cap ON, of course) or somewhere where the pen will be upright and the nib facing in a downwards direction for maybe half an hour.

 

Happy Christmas!

Edited December 26, 2016 by Bluey

[Bagojfalvibagoj]

Thanks Bluey,

 

We also realized that it takes significant amount of time for the water after cleaning to get out and the ink gets a bit darker and thicker but still not to our liking. I've contacted Waterman about nib replacement. Probably a fine nib would have been a better choice.

 

Now, I find my Carene to be one of my favourite writers. I have the medium too and it does definitely produce a wider and gushier line than a typical medium, more of a broad.

[Caeruleum]

If you still have the impression the ink looks watery try another ink.

From the color I assume you used Waterman Serenity Blue. This colour is not the most saturated out there, it is one of these royal blues Pelikan and Lamy among others offer quite similarly.

You could try any colour, but let me suggest Diamine or Noodler's inks. These are usually saturated. Colourwise I had the same problem when I got a Hémisphère with Serenity Blue. Then I switched to Diamine Midnight and it looked totally different.

[pen2paper]

Also what paper is she using?

We can see the ink flowing very nicely to the paper. As Bluey mentioned the feed needs a great deal of ink, and this Medium nib is laying down a lot of ink, so my thought, if she pushes it past its capacity quickly on absorbent paper it can't keep up. Perhaps try different paper.

 

Was her twisbi nib fine? She may prefer the fine nib, more saturated ink, on less absorbent paper.

Very nice handwriting :-)

[Maine Vintner]

Carenes are fantastic pens (I have 5). As others have said, their nibs run wide; I have 4 Fine and a Medium; I far prefer the Fine. I suggest you send it in for a nib swap; Waterman customer service is great to deal with.

 

I don't disagree with the ink recommendations but have never had any issues with Watermsn inks.

 

Enjoy the pen!

John

[Sandy1]

 

Hi,

 

As mentioned above, the Carene has a massive feed+collector, which requires about 1ml of ink to saturate, hence be ready for optimum performance.

 

It is one of the last pens that I would start-from-dry with a cartridge - bottled ink is the way to go, and even then it takes a few fill+flush cycles of the converter to eliminate air gaps etc. And a bit of a rest, (long enough for a cup of coffee - for you, not the Carene!), before starting to write is a good idea.

 

I would start with a bottle of simple benchmarking ink, such as Serenity, before switching ink or fiddling with the pen itself. Use it for a week, filling and flushing with ink every day to see what's what.

 

See also : https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/275995-testing-procedures-at-your-retailer/

 

As for line-width, a down-stroke from my M nib is line 'D'. The image is scaled so measurement can be derived. Also note the relative wetness/flow to the other five pens used for the other lines. (From my Review of Visconti Bordeaux)

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy116/Sandy1-1/FPN_2012/Ink%20review%20-%20Visconti%20Bordeaux/INK740_zps79641b9a.jpg

Borrowed photo of the Carene feed+collector:

 

Fingers crossed!

 

Kindly let us know how things progress.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited December 27, 2016 by Sandy1

[Left FPN]

My 2p's worth.

 

Ref the skipping. You are using the pen at a steep gradient. Maybe the tip of the tipping has more baby bottom than further around.

 

ALL nibs are not the same. Some mediums are formed different to others which can also be said for the broads. The process is manual in both applying the tipping and hand finishing it.