Lamy Al-Star--Newbie Filling Questions

[ursusarctos]

Hello all--

 

I'm new to the forums, having just purchased my first fountain pen---a Lamy Al-Star with F nib. I'm using the converter, and have tried Squeteague and Lamy's Blue-Black. Taking notes is suddenly a lot more fun.

 

I've got one question, though, which the directions don't seem to address. When I've filled the pen with the converter, I seem to get a lot of bubbles inside, rather than a solid column of ink. The ink capacity is likewise reduced. I think the converter is attacthed securely. I've tried a number of filling techniques---dipping the pen as far as the hole in the nib, dipping the nib fully (to the base of the section), expelling the ink before I fill the pen---but to no avail. Any suggestions as to the proper procedure for this? Or are a few air bubbles in the pen to be expected?

 

Also, there seems to be quite a bit of ink to clean up afterwards. I know that some ink on the fingers is part of the game, but in my case I'm leaving great blots on paper towels, and the roll of gauze that came with the Lamy ink seems woefully inadequate. I understand that one's supposed to wipe down the nib, but does this include the feed(?) parts under the nib, or the junction of nib and section? Or are those supposed to be inky?

 

Many thanks.

[Goodwhiskers]

Congratulations on your Al-Star!

 

Bubbles in the reservoir are normal. They happen because the converter's piston travels the length of the converter, but the feed/collector "comb" in the "section" (the part where you hold the pen, between the converter/cartridge and the nib) also holds ink.

 

If you want to put in as much ink as possible, see

 

this post,

 

then this post,

 

and next this post,

 

and after that, this post,

 

and then this post,

 

and finally this post.

 

To ensure smooth operation, at least some air must be in the reservoir before you start writing. Creating the "starter bubble" also makes the pen much less able to make messes.

 

About wiping after filling: try to transfer the biggest drops to the inside of the lip of the bottle. Hold the tissue paper so that the absorbing part is away from your fingers. Wipe the section (the grip area), the top of the nib and the smooth plastic part under the nib. Perfectly ink-free nib tops are only worthwhile if you're doing advertising photography.

 

The product, "Ink Nix," is an amazing and safe ink remover for human skin, washbasin surfaces, countertops and tabletops (but too strong for most fabrics; it dissolves many fabric dyes).

 

The product, "Amodex Ink and Stain Remover," is an amazing and safe ink remover for fabrics, except that some Noodler's colors are impossible to remove from celloluse fabrics like cotton, rayon and linen (although they are all easy to remove from all other fabrics). I was able to remove Noodler's black (one of the cellulose-reactive colors) from a silk shirt easily using Amodex because silk doesn't contain cellulose. Noodler's Squeteague is not cellulose-reactive, so it's easy to remove from anything.

 

Amodex might not be able to remove dried Lamy Blue-Black from cellulose and natural protein fabrics (cotton, linen, rayon, wool and silk) because that ink contains iron gall, an ancient and very effective permanent ingredient that sticks itself into natural fibers, especially wool, silk and leather (it was originally developed for permanence on parchment).

 

Search through the FPN for advice on how to use Ink Nix and Amodex.

 

Have fun!

Edited March 28, 2006 by Goodwhiskers

[LeoUK]

I have been the same experience, but i have a different point of view, i have bought many new pens, their converter all comes with the same scene, then I have discovered that when you look at your converter, the new one has oil in side, when i have got another lamy studio pen yesterday, i specially take a notice to the new converter it attached, yes, when you switch the converter, you can clearly see the oil trace, for lubricating the rubber parts inside the converter, and when you first fill the ink inside the converter, ( water and oil do not mix, of course) you may find the bubble, however, this will disappear after several times you use it...

 

hope this helps.

[southpaw]

When filling my AL-Star (or any other pen for that matter), I immerse it in the ink past the nib so that the first little portion of the section is in the ink. This way, the pen will fill better. Works well thus far - the Lamy gets a full tank this way.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Ditto what everyone has said. There should be ink on the feed and usually where the nib and feed enter the section. If you try to wipe ink off of the feed, it will just draw in more ink - though you can also have an oversaturated feed.

 

Great name and avatar. Is that horribilis, middendorffi, arctos or beringianus?

 

John

[ursusarctos]

Thanks for all the advice. Now I'll just have to get the pen good and empty in order to put the suggestions into practice. (Oh darn....how terrible....)

 

I'm glad you like the icon, John. I've used it for a while; it's (relatively) shamelessly stolen from the wildlife photographer Thomas Mangelsen. I believe the bear pictured is plain old arctos, somewhere in peninsular Alaska.

 

It's good to be on the forum!

Edited March 28, 2006 by ursusarctos

[Joe McLaren]

In addition to what everyone else has said, check you've got the right converter! Lamy produces three different converters for their pens and occasionally the wrong one ends up with a pen (usually a couple of months before xmas when they get temps at the factory) but this is very rare. The one with your Al-Star should have a red handle-bit.

 

Enjoy your pen, you picked a good one to start with!