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Graf Von Faber Castell All Baby Bottom?


rb120134

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Hi,

I actually bought 2 Graf von Faber Castell fountain pens medium nib, the Macassar and the Heritage limited edition.

Both pens have the exact same issues, they start extremely hard, and when I take the nib off the paper, 1 second is enough and it will take a long time rubbing the nib on the paper before it starts to put down ink. The Macassar was sent back to the store I bought it, and they had a nib specialist and she used micromesh to remove the "baby bottom". I got the pen back and it made no difference. When it writes, it writes extremely well, but take the nib off paper and all the fun is gone, even if I cap the pen it still wont start right away. I tried several different Graf von Faber Castell inks and they all behaved the same. I eventually brought back both pens and got my money back. I bought the Macassar again at another store, brand new, I unpacked all the packaging myself and again like a curse, every fountain pen just sucks, it takes a long time to start writing, and take the nib off paper 1 second and it wont do anything at all. And yes I very thoroughly flush the new pens with cold water, for like 10 minutes with the converter. I just cant believe that every Graf von faber castell nib I got has this issue. I actually looked straight at the tip with a 12x magnifying glass and noticed the space at the bottome of the tines is bigger then at the top.

 

2 Second question?

Is a fountain pen suited for math, because sometimes I have to think how to solve something and I have the fountain pen "poised" for a short time before it touches the paper again, and I find it annoying that I have to cap it everytime I have to think for a couple of seconds. So how do you guys do math with a fountain pen? How long can you leave the nib "poised" before it becomes dry or something.

Edited by rb120134
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The one Graf Faber Castell pen I have (E-motion in Parquet finish), has no baby bottom, and is a consistent starter (provided I use it at least once a week). When I work on large papers, it is kept un-capped between annotations (which may be 45 minutes), and it has no problem with gumming up or difficult re-starts. I use Montblanc Irish Green in that pen, because I want my detail annotations to be distinctive (there should be no question who the author is). Personally, you are the first person I have heard from, who got two lemon Faber Castell pens in a row, rare indeed.

 

On the cheap side of things, my Lamy Safari (in Petrol color), is a consistent (albeit un-sexy) performer. I have gone a month between uses and it starts right up. I use Faber-Castell Garnet Red in that pen (error, mark-up annotations). This pen punches way out of its price class for a modern pen.

 

For vintage pens, Eversharp Skylines are a good writer's pen. They enjoy consistent starts, and there is a wide variety of nibs they came in. Restored versions of this pen can frequently be found on E-Bay for less than $60, and they sport a 14kt gold nib.

Edited by Addertooth
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Looks like a surface tension problem. My suspicion is that it is a combination of dry (high surface tension ink) with smooth paper. A seemingly similar problem is outlined in this very recent thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/349123-a-mystifying-problem-about-to-give-up-in-frustration/page-1

 

Maybe try first a different paper, alternatively try a wet ink like Waterman serenity blue.

 

Tadeo

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You are holding the nib almost vertical. Is that how you typically write? If not, then use it as you usually write and try again. I doubt it is a baby's bottom problem, especially in that a nibmeister fixed one already and it still didn't write. But you say the tine tips are further apart on the bottom as at the top. You could always try pressing on the wings of the nib (carefully) to see if you can bring them closer together. Also, check for a gap between the nib and the feed. You can also try flushing the pen with 10% household ammonia solution with a drop of dish soap or with pen flush.

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Is a fountain pen suited for math, because sometimes I have to think how to solve something and I have the fountain pen "poised" for a short time before it touches the paper again, and I find it annoying that I have to cap it everytime I have to think for a couple of seconds. So how do you guys do math with a fountain pen? How long can you leave the nib "poised" before it becomes dry or something.

I've found the ink makes a huge difference in how long a pen can sit uncapped before drying out. Pelikan 4001 royal blue can last quite a while uncapped in my experience. Hooded nibs (and theoretically some types of nib that "seal" the feed thus minimising the ink's exposure to air) are supposed to be last longer uncapped. Finally you can always go for a Vanishing Point; it's very quick and effortless to retract and extend the nib, plus the nib is small and hugs the feed tightly so it's is probably less vulnerable to evaporation anyway.

 

Also when using a normal fountain pen you can try "soft capping", where you lightly place the cap back over the section but don't actually engage the locking mechanism. It's less effort that fully capping the pen and starts to feel natural after a while, and should be enough to stop the pen from drying out.

Edited by SoulSamurai
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Is a fountain pen suited for math, because sometimes I have to think how to solve something and I have the fountain pen "poised" for a short time before it touches the paper again, and I find it annoying that I have to cap it everytime I have to think for a couple of seconds. So how do you guys do math with a fountain pen? How long can you leave the nib "poised" before it becomes dry or something.

 

As Samurai says, this is more of an ink problem than a pen problem. Some inks (usually the more heavily saturated ones in my experience) just dry very quickly on the nib while other stay reasonably wet. I've had great results with Stipula inks in this regard. I do a lot of sudokus and can go a long time uncapped and putting a number in here and there maintains the readiness during the thinking parts.

It's hard work to tell which is Old Harry when everybody's got boots on.

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So if the graf von faber castell Cobalt blue ink is more saturated but I still want to use it, do i need to press harder for it to start writing? Or are there any tips if I wanna use a saturated ink?

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Or are there any tips if I wanna use a saturated ink?

 

 

The "soft capping" approach mentioned above works well. Several years ago I bought a bottle of Diamine Grape and initially found it unusable, because it was so prone to stop flowing while I was writing. Now, if I use Grape, I make sure to cap the pen the lightly whenever I pause. I agree with SoulSamurai that the practice begins to feel natural after a while.

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None of my GvFC had this hard start problem.

It may partially be a surface tension problem, like Tadeo mentioned (although, the new GvFC converters have a spring to avoid that). Try dipping a toothpick in dish soap and then dipping it in the converter full of ink. I had a delta that wouldn't write for anything inn the world, and this fixed it.

 

As for FP being useful for math, yes they are, I use them all the time.

I use mainly Pelikans and MBs (but certainly most are good). Although, in my experience, GvFCs dry out very quickly (regardless of ink).

Pelikans and MBs, on the other hand, will go several min uncapped without drying out, even when using dry inks.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited for clarity.

Edited by Lam1
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...

2 Second question?

Is a fountain pen suited for math, because sometimes I have to think how to solve something and I have the fountain pen "poised" for a short time before it touches the paper again, and I find it annoying that I have to cap it everytime I have to think for a couple of seconds. So how do you guys do math with a fountain pen? How long can you leave the nib "poised" before it becomes dry or something.

Yes, fountain pens are suited for math. I'm a mathematician and do most of my work with fountain pens with no problem. If I'm thinking for a while I'll put the cap on. Some people like pens with slip caps for that kind of episodic writing; they are quicker to cap and uncap. I don't care and use both screw caps and slip caps. In fact, I like having something in my hand to fiddle with while I'm thinking. What I like best is a pen whose body is very smooth and feels good to the touch, sort of the mathematicians equivalent of rosary beads or Einstein's pipe. .Most of my pen/ink combinations don't dry out quickly.

 

Einstein used fountain pens. There are pictures of his pens, and a dutch museum has one of his pens from the 1920s (a Waterman eyedropper). There are later pictures of him with a Pelikan.

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This is a longer video of me writing with the Graf von Faber Castell with Graf Cobalt blue. Almost 5 minutes. Watch the whole video to see the parts it starts skipping.

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I've three GvFC fountain pens and the only one that had any issue was the opposite, I was getting some nib creep - not a problem in itself, just looks untidy.

 

What does concern me is the vendor micro-meshing the nib. Why. if there was a problem it should have gone back to GvFC. Now if they get it back they may notice the microscratches and accuse you of having played with the nib, revoking the warranty.

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I've three GvFC fountain pens and the only one that had any issue was the opposite, I was getting some nib creep - not a problem in itself, just looks untidy.

 

What does concern me is the vendor micro-meshing the nib. Why. if there was a problem it should have gone back to GvFC. Now if they get it back they may notice the microscratches and accuse you of having played with the nib, revoking the warranty.

 

I brought the Graf von faber Castell fountain pen that was micro meshed back to the store and got my money back. Then at another store I bought a new Macassar, the one you see me using in the videos. This one is "out of the factory" so not micro meshed.

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I've three GvFC fountain pens and the only one that had any issue was the opposite, I was getting some nib creep - not a problem in itself, just looks untidy.

 

What does concern me is the vendor micro-meshing the nib. Why. if there was a problem it should have gone back to GvFC. Now if they get it back they may notice the microscratches and accuse you of having played with the nib, revoking the warranty.

 

What inks did you use in your Graf von Faber Castell fountain pens?

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What inks did you use in your Graf von Faber Castell fountain pens?

I do have an old ink diary, but these days I only keep track of the present ink load. Only one presently has ink in it, and Anello, which is loaded with 'fake lamy Dark Lilac' - a bland of Pilot Iroshizuku ink.

 

In the past:

Sailor Yama-Dori (was a sample)

Pilot Iroshizuku Syu-Ro

Kyo-Iro Soft Snow of Ohara

The first of those three was in a classic, which I think I also filled with Robert Oster Fire and Ice (nor sure about that - and that is a thicker ink). The Kyo-Iro ink is on the dryer side and was multiple fills in my Platino Intuition (precious resin, not wood, so standard size nib). The Anello has only ever had the fake Lamy Dark Lilac in it.

All three have medium nibs BTW (had to check) and I generally find them wet writers.

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it looks like the ink flow starts having issues just before the hard stop at 1:34. it may not be the ink in the nib, but rather the ink the converter building up an air pocket. when you stopped writing, the pressure differential pulls the ink back up. try lightly flicking/knocking on the pen when that happens and see if the ink flow is restored. if it does, then take a toothpick with some dawn/soap dish detergent and coat the inside of the converter. or get a converter with an ball/spring agitator. this is a common issue. you can also try adding Kodak Photo-flo surfactant to make the ink wetter without affecting the color. Use a drop at most for a bottle.

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I have three of them- two Classics (F,M) and one Tamitio. No issues with any of them. Though without changing the direction of the conversation the Tamitio's steel nib absolutely whoops the gold nib on the Classics. I feel the Classics are a little dryer and occasionally skip. No hard starting though unless the pen has sat for a few days.

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Hi,

I actually bought 2 Graf von Faber Castell fountain pens medium nib, the Macassar and the Heritage limited edition.

Both pens have the exact same issues, they start extremely hard, and when I take the nib off the paper, 1 second is enough and it will take a long time rubbing the nib on the paper before it starts to put down ink. The Macassar was sent back to the store I bought it, and they had a nib specialist and she used micromesh to remove the "baby bottom". I got the pen back and it made no difference. When it writes, it writes extremely well, but take the nib off paper and all the fun is gone, even if I cap the pen it still wont start right away. I tried several different Graf von Faber Castell inks and they all behaved the same. I eventually brought back both pens and got my money back. I bought the Macassar again at another store, brand new, I unpacked all the packaging myself and again like a curse, every fountain pen just sucks, it takes a long time to start writing, and take the nib off paper 1 second and it wont do anything at all. And yes I very thoroughly flush the new pens with cold water, for like 10 minutes with the converter. I just cant believe that every Graf von faber castell nib I got has this issue. I actually looked straight at the tip with a 12x magnifying glass and noticed the space at the bottome of the tines is bigger then at the top.

 

2 Second question?

Is a fountain pen suited for math, because sometimes I have to think how to solve something and I have the fountain pen "poised" for a short time before it touches the paper again, and I find it annoying that I have to cap it everytime I have to think for a couple of seconds. So how do you guys do math with a fountain pen? How long can you leave the nib "poised" before it becomes dry or something.

For maths try a Pelikan... M200-M400-M600 particularly as they are light and will not tire your hand.

Not that I do maths, but the posing need is not just in maths, my experience is Pelikans are among the pens that can be held uncapped for longer and will write when needed.

 

And yes, match with an ink that is not too saturated.

Edited by sansenri
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