Bizarre Ink Flow Issue

[Hollaplez]

Hoping someone can help. Have a CdA 849 fountain. It's been writing great as you can see with the nice defined lines of the CdA idyllic blue above.

 

I disposed of the short international cartridge, used a bulb syringe to flush, dipped the nib in water, and then used a paper towel to pull the remaining water from the feed. I then got a cartridge converter for it and filled it with Birmingham Pen Co ink and now I have the weird blotchy/feathery lines .

 

You can see the nice blue sharpness compared to the blotch/feathery in the Birmingham . At first I though it was simply the characteristics of the ink so I flushed it again, and replaced it with a CdA short international cartridge, but I get the exact same blotchy/feathery characteristics like make it look like it might be the nib. It almost looks like a ballpoint that's skipping badly.

 

Does anyone have any ideas??? Is the ink too diluted from flushing the pen or has the nib been damaged somehow?

 

Greatly appreciate the help because the original idyllic blue is so sharp, smooth and prominent. I have no clue what's happened.

[jar]

Yup. Water in feed.

[OCArt]

Thanks for posting such clear photos, the effect is called feathering and happens with some ink and paper combinations. You could try another ink or a better quality paper. There is nothing wrong with your pen.

[Donald2]

There's still some water in the feed. That's why you have the lighter black lines with the blotching and feathering. Once you use up all the black ink in your cartridge and replace the cartridge with another black one you should be okay. This black ink in the current black cartridge that you have in your fountain pen right now should clear up all the water that's currently left over inside the feed once you go thru and use up all the black ink that's in the cartridge.

[Hollaplez]

I'll also note there's considerable bleed through even since I've flushed the pen with water when going from the used short international cartridge to the converter then back to a fresh short international cartridge. The lines it lays down now are horrible and it occasionally dumps a considerable amount of ink making the lines really wet, dark, and very prone to bleed through.

 

If this is the result of water in the feed, any thoughts on how to prevent this in the future? I'm very careful about ensure the paper towel is completely dry when pressed against the nib so I'm not sure how else to get rid of the water!

 

As a first time fountain pen user, this experience has been frustrating going from exceptionally defined, vibrant lines, to extremely blotchy/feathery ones. From the written lines, it looks as if the nib had riddled with microscopic holes! LOL

 

Anyway to correct or prevent the issue from happening in the future other than using everything in the cartridge would be most appreciated!

Edited February 27, 2018 by Hollaplez

[mhguda]

Agreed. Sometimes when there's too much water in the feed the ink will feather and bleed like your samples show.

[Inkling13]

Water will cause increased feathering. As others have mentioned. Washing and flushing will obviously make this problem worse, not better.

[Hollaplez]

Water will cause increased feathering. As others have mentioned. Washing and flushing will obviously make this problem worse, not better.

 

 

Any tips to get the remaining water from flushing/washing out? I dry everything completely and hold the nib on a paper towel until it's completely dry, but I still get this issue.

[alanshutko]

 

 

Any tips to get the remaining water from flushing/washing out? I dry everything completely and hold the nib on a paper towel until it's completely dry, but I still get this issue.

 

 

I tilt the nib so the end is on a paper towel and leave it overnight, so that capillary action can gradually suck all the ink out. I don't know of any faster way to dry it out, unfortunately. Recently, cleaning has been a good excuse for me to rotate the pen out and rotate a different pen in for a while.

[Inkling13]

 

 

Any tips to get the remaining water from flushing/washing out? I dry everything completely and hold the nib on a paper towel until it's completely dry, but I still get this issue.

How long do you wait for it to dry? I'd give it at least a day, or just run more ink through it. Sometimes you can even get by filling and letting the pen sit uncapped. I usually only flush when changing inks, as you shouldn't have any issues with mixing the same ink with itself.

[Donald2]

 

 

Any tips to get the remaining water from flushing/washing out? I dry everything completely and hold the nib on a paper towel until it's completely dry, but I still get this issue.

 

This is the reason why I don't flush any of my fountain pens. The feed doesn't dry up well like it should causing water to mix with the ink. I just leave the ink inside the feed and refill the pen with the same exact type of ink even if the pen has been sitting for many months after the ink has evaporated from the cartridge or from the converter.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Shake the feed in the paper towel like an old style thermometer, that will get some of the ink out...and being in a hurry...two hours in the towel will get enough 'water' out to reload.

 

A rubber baby bulb syringe will force enough air through it to decrease paper towel drying time.

 

What paper are you using?

 

I've never heard of Birmingham Pen Co ink***...so don't know to blame the ink. See if that ink has been reviewed in Ink Reviews.....could well be the ink and paper are an ill match.

 

There are 7 or 8 inks that have come out in the last 5 years I've not tried.

[jar]

Patience.

 

When you first discover stuff you like to try all the variations. You end up with sticky fingers. Soon though you learn discrimination.

 

You can use an ear bulb to get rid of most of the water but even there not all and it does not take much water to cause what you show. If you want to use lots of inks the obvious solution is lots of pens.

[hinky]

Normally, flicking the grip section to get the water out is enough for me. I don't wait for it to completely dry before inking, and I rarely encounter this problem. But as others have suggested, the "nib on paper towel" trick works like a charm.

 

If that's not enough, put your grip section in a ziploc bag and throw in a couple of packets of silica gel (dessicant) and leave it overnight. It'll be dry as a bone the next day

[senzen]

I pump air with a bulb syringe after I'm done with water, then also use some tissue paper (lint free would be better), and do several ink filling and flushing out ink in the bottle. If it's an easy to disassemble pen (like Safaris) I also dry the feed.

[Inkling13]

I pump air with a bulb syringe after I'm done with water, then also use some tissue paper (lint free would be better), and do several ink filling and flushing out ink in the bottle. If it's an easy to disassemble pen (like Safaris) I also dry the feed.

Most pens dont take kindly to frequent disassemblies; this would be like rebuilding your cars engine with every tank of gas. If you leave a pen uncapped over a day or so after a cleaning flush and shake out for extra moisture, it will be more than dry enough.

[jekostas]

Get a cheap salad spinner, tie the pen down with the nib facing outward in the inside basket and give it a couple of spins. Fast and safe way to get all the water out of the nib/feed.