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Graf Von Faber Castell Fountain Pen Not Writing Well Enough, Erratic Ink Flow


rb120134

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Hi,
I have 2 Graf von Faber Castell fountain pens, the Macassar medium nib and the Sterling Silver nib.
The macassar was my first pen, it wasnt writing at all, I thought it was a problem with the pen, but it turned out I was tilting the pen to the left, I am left handed, so the right tine wasnt making good contact with my Rhodia dotpad a5. Now it writes well, I use Graf von Faber Castell Gulf blue ink, I can cap the Macassar and carry it all day, if I uncap it writes right away. So I got a second GvFC, the Sterling Silver, an 810,00 euro pen, I flushed both pens with cold demiwater(clear from minerals etc). The Silver is also medium nib, it didnt write at all at first, after moving the pen across the paper for like 20-30 seconds it started writing, once it writes it is generally really smooth without any pressure, but once I lift the pen for a couple of seconds it wont write and I have to move the tip across the paper for some time before it starts writing, in the mean time all I hear is that scraping sound of the tip rubbing the Rhodia dotpad, sometimes I am writing with the Sterling Silver fountain pen and it stops mid sentence, then after 3-4 seconds rubbing the paper it starts again. Sometimes I cap the silver pen, leave it for an hour, and it starts straight away and after 3-4 words it starts skipping, and then later starts writing again. I am using the same ink(Gulf blue) and the same paper(Rhodia Dotpad a5). But my Macassar doesnt have this erratic behaviour at all, I can carry the Macassar all day with this ink and paper and it writes any time straight away. I cant understand the erratic behaviour of the Sterling Silver pen, I thought GvFC are run in by hand. So they should write well. I went back to the seller and he told me I am too scared and I have to press a little bit harder. I thought if you press to hard you spread the tines and it restricts ink flow. I am really happy with the pens and I apply 0 pressure, just the pen to the paper, and the Macassar writes without any pressure, so I expect the Sterling Silver to do that too. It seems that if I apply a tiny bit of pressure the STerling silver does seem to start faster sometimes then with 0 pressure. I checked the tip of both pens with a 12x loupe for baby bottom. The tip of both pens look similiar but the Macassar writes better then the Sterling Silver. I am left handed. Should I sent the pen to GvFC? Or is it oils on my hand? Should I try different inks? I thought a well tuned nib should write well with any ink. I have no idea what the problem is. Sometimes it writes great and I can write entire pages with 0 pressure without problem, leave the pen capped for an hour and it writes straight away, the other time it is skipping like hell and having hard starts all the time. Sometimes it is like some tiny debries is getting to the nib blocking the ink, and then it starts writing and I can leave it capped and it writes straight away. I have no idea what the problem is. Is it sweat or oils from my hands? I use Rhodia dotpad A5 for both pens. I also use a Clairefontaine notebook with 90 gsm paper, it seems a bit better but still the same kind of erratic behaviour from the Sterling silver.

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Do you have a right handed friend you' trust using one of your pens? might be worth them trying both just to discount your grip. I only know one left hander with GvFC pens but as far as I'm aware the only problem he had was the tines on one of the pens had obviously been pushed to hard by some previous potential buyer at the store he got it from.

 

Was it a private seller or a store ?

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Do you have a right handed friend you' trust using one of your pens? might be worth them trying both just to discount your grip. I only know one left hander with GvFC pens but as far as I'm aware the only problem he had was the tines on one of the pens had obviously been pushed to hard by some previous potential buyer at the store he got it from.

 

Was it a private seller or a store ?

A store, he didnt have it in stock so he ordered it from the distributor in Belgium. I live in the Netherlands.

Out of the box it wouldnt start, I flushed it prior to inking it. I actually went back to the store after 3 days of battling it and he said I should put a bit more pressure on while writing(but not too much), I let him write one line on the Rhodia Dotpad, his line was thicker then mine but he uses more pressure while I barely put any pressure on.

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rob,

did you use the converter or cartridges?

Do check if c/c is properly seated in your Silver, and if not done already, try using it with ink cartridge.

GvFC are on a dry side while their nibs are on the wet side, this balances well, so I would not necessarily go in direction of changing the ink.

LETTER EXCHANGE PARTICIPANT

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rob,

did you use the converter or cartridges?

Do check if c/c is properly seated in your Silver, and if not done already, try using it with ink cartridge.

GvFC are on a dry side while their nibs are on the wet side, this balances well, so I would not necessarily go in direction of changing the ink.

I only used the converter. I also noticed I hold the pen at a very low angle. Could this cause trouble?

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No. It shouldn't. Unless you have an absolutely ridiculous grip (as in you stick the pen up your nose and try to write with it that way) there should be nothing "odd" about a ball nibbed medium. A M shouldn't have a sweet spot.

 

Make sure you aren't using a super skippy or dry ink (penbbs 262 will hard start constantly in any pen on smooth paper) but following that, make sure the pen was flushed with soapy water and rinsed well (which it sounds like you did) and then contact the manufacturer. No pen, at any cost, is immune to an occasional dud nib or feed.

 

Sounds like you just got a bad pen to me. Send it back and get another. Don't sweat it, either, this happens with every pen maker.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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Your writing angle isn't low from what I see. It's not uncommon for a pen to dry out if you leave it sitting for weeks unused - even capped. Your problem could also be the converter. Did you try flushing the pen with water and a tiny amount of dish soap followed by clean water? I have a Conklin that is fiddly and I have to prime the feed almost every time I use it.

Edited by OmegaMountain

"Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts." - Patrick Rothfuss

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And should I sent the pen back? Also when I fill the pen and let 2/3 drops back in the ink bottle, it doesnt write straight away. It takes some time before it writes.

I already flushed alot.

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Rhodia & Clairefontaine paper come from the same manufacturer.

 

Try a different brand of paper altogether and see how you get on.

 

Not all of my pens play nicely with that type of paper.

 

Also, gently brush the feed with a toothbrush - it could be there's some manufacturing residue that won't soak off with water. I've done that to a couple of new pens - and they've worked fine after that.

 

Try pushing a little harder to see if there is a difference, but that doesn't mean pushing to visibly spread the tines - that is too hard. Also, if the pen posts - put the cap on the back to add a little weight and see if that makes a difference.

 

However, since the pen is new - then it has a guarantee - so if you can't get it to write - send it back to GVfc. I'm sure they'll look at it.

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I filled the Classic Sterling Silver, emptied it and filled it again. It writes much better, hardly any skips, it writes 99% of the time straight away even if I leave it capped for 10 minutes standing up. I hesitate now to sent it backm

 

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To me it looks like you hold your pen way too high!!!!

 

The barrel should be behind the big knuckle not before it.45 Degrees.

If you hold at the start of the web of your thumb, that is 40 degrees.

If the pen is very long or very heavy in the pit of the web of your thumb at 35 degrees.

 

The trick is not to Hold a pen at an angle, but let it Rest where it is comfortable....behind the big index knuckle.

 

Holding behind the big index knuckle allows the ball of the nib to be full on the paper skating on a small puddle of ink....instead of making little grand canyon's in the paper from holding too high, and not getting enough of the nib touching the paper to lay a small puddle of ink to skate on.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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I filled the Classic Sterling Silver, emptied it and filled it again. It writes much better, hardly any skips, it writes 99% of the time straight away even if I leave it capped for 10 minutes standing up. I hesitate now to sent it backm

 

 

Write with it for the next two weeks ( the guarantee is at least one year - maybe two).

 

I find that writing with a new pen (almost exclusively) for two weeks means that you get rid of all the manufacturing gunk, and the feed gets well lubricated.

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To me it looks like you hold your pen way too high!!!!

 

The barrel should be behind the big knuckle not before it.45 Degrees.

If you hold at the start of the web of your thumb, that is 40 degrees.

If the pen is very long or very heavy in the pit of the web of your thumb at 35 degrees.

 

The trick is not to Hold a pen at an angle, but let it Rest where it is comfortable....behind the big index knuckle.

 

Holding behind the big index knuckle allows the ball of the nib to be full on the paper skating on a small puddle of ink....instead of making little grand canyon's in the paper from holding too high, and not getting enough of the nib touching the paper to lay a small puddle of ink to skate on.

It might assist if you explained 'behind' and 'in front of'. I don't know about you, but my knuckles have a front and back, but facing away from, and towards, the palm. Do you mean 'between the knuckle and nail'?

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if the store told you to write with more pressure, don't even bother dealing with those jokers. A pen shouldn't NEED pressure to write. Ever. return it to the manufacturer for repair or replacement.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

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