Abouth This Leban Mento

[USMCMom]

I have a Leban Mento Pumpkin Seed. This is a beautiful pen, love the weight and the size, but it had issues. If I wrote with it for a while, capped it and put it aside, it would stop writing and be a beast to get going again. The next time, it was the same thing again and again, even if the pen had only been capped and set aside for a short time ... maybe 20 or 30 minutes. It was getting to where I no longer liked this pen and was seriously thinking about selling it.

 

I read posts here on FPN, that there were other Mento owners had the same problem. It had been mentioned that because there was no inner cap, the nib was drying and there was also mention of sealing the clip area inside the cap. A member said that they had changed ink and it seemed the problem was gone, so I decided to give that a try and kept a bit of a record of what was taking place.

 

After emptying the ink in my Mento (it had been inked with Diamine), I cleaned it and re-filled it with Noodler's Zhivago, wrote with it, capped it and noted the time. Fifteen minutes later, I tried it out, fully expecting that it wouldn't write. It did write and did so as soon as the nib hit the paper. I wrote a little bit, capped it and set it aside. An hour later, I tried it again. Once again, there was no problem. Still not completely convinced, I capped the pen and set it aside for 7 1/2 hours. I knew it wasn't going to write now! Ha ... I was wrong! It began writing immediately. My Mento Pumpkin likes Noodler's, but doesn't like Herbin's or Diamine. LOL Picky, picky, picky!

 

Now that I know it's likes and dislikes, it will have a steady diet of Nooder's. I'll try Noodler's Nightshade next and see if all is still well in Mento world. Those 2 colors, by the way, are the only 2 Noodler's I have right now. Guess I'll have to get more.

[lovemy51]

that's a real "puuuuuurdy" pen. congrats! see, noodlers ain't so bad!

[USMCMom]

that's a real "puuuuuurdy" pen. congrats! see, noodlers ain't so bad!

 

I like Noodler's and so do my pens. I don't have a pen that balks when inked with Noodler's.

[fpman]

Not to get this moved to the inks section, but there seems to be a big split in opinion about Noodler's inks. I've only used Noodler's, Parker Quink, and one Private Reserve ink. Initially I loved Noodler's but I started to notice that particularly the Eel inks caused my pens to suffer from severe nib creep (where the ink creeps out onto the nib). Neither the Private Reserve nor the Quink caused the same problem. I also had problems with Eel inks and piston-fillers, with the ink getting past the seals into areas it shouldn't.

 

I've come to the conclusion, which other members have mentioned in other posts, that some inks match well with some fountain pens. Which inks match up to which pens seems to change, and you kind of have to play around to come up with the combo's you like.

[USMCMom]

Not to get this moved to the inks section, but there seems to be a big split in opinion about Noodler's inks. I've only used Noodler's, Parker Quink, and one Private Reserve ink. Initially I loved Noodler's but I started to notice that particularly the Eel inks caused my pens to suffer from severe nib creep (where the ink creeps out onto the nib). Neither the Private Reserve nor the Quink caused the same problem. I also had problems with Eel inks and piston-fillers, with the ink getting past the seals into areas it shouldn't.

 

I've come to the conclusion, which other members have mentioned in other posts, that some inks match well with some fountain pens. Which inks match up to which pens seems to change, and you kind of have to play around to come up with the combo's you like.

 

I've never used the eel inks.

[USMCMom]

It's been over 24 hours now since I capped my Mento ... just took the cap off and we have writing!! So, evidently the problem was that my Mento definitely prefers to drink particular inks. There's always at least one in the herd, right? Pens, I mean.

[mdoering]

My Regal Elizabeth is the same way... It hates noodler's but loves herbin...

[Basset]

I sold my Mento pumpkinseed (B nib) last June and regret doing so.

 

It never skipped with any of the inks I used (MB, Namiki, Waterman, Sheaffer, Pelikan).

[FrankB]

I am so glad to hear you have a handle on the drying issue. It really is odd how pens can be so particular about inks. The pen is redeemed, and you can enjoy it for years to come.

[bassopotamus]

Good news! Mine has either kiowa pecan or manuscript brown in it, and no dying issues at all.

[bluenotegrl]

Mine is definitely a beast! Perhaps I'll try the Noodler's trick with it...grumble, grumble.

[USMCMom]

I am so glad to hear you have a handle on the drying issue. It really is odd how pens can be so particular about inks. The pen is redeemed, and you can enjoy it for years to come.

 

Thank you and so far, it's bratty behavior has stopped. I wrote with it after the 24 hour period, now I'm leaving it capped until Tuesday morning. If it still writes when I put the nib to paper, then I'll feel certain, without any doubt, that this Mento is a Noodler's fan. LOL

 

It is strange how they all have such individual personalities, likes, dislikes, refusals ... odd indeed.

[USMCMom]

Mine is definitely a beast! Perhaps I'll try the Noodler's trick with it...grumble, grumble.

 

Mine was too ... a real brat. If you have it, try the Noodler's, maybe your pen will stop acting up. I've never used any of the eel inks ... just the regular Noodler's. When I've used the ink that's in the pen now, I'll try another brand to see what happens.

[FrankB]

" ... I wrote with it after the 24 hour period, now I'm leaving it capped until Tuesday morning. If it still writes when I put the nib to paper, then I'll feel certain, without any doubt, that this Mento is a Noodler's fan."

 

Uh, I dunno. If the experiment works, that will be great. But as I sit here right now, I think all my Mentos that have sat for a while need to have their nibs touched to paper with moderate pressure to get the ink flowing. Then they write just fine. That brief moment to get them started does not bother me. I am interested to hear your follow up.

 

I forgot to mention that my Pumpkinseed Mento is a bit different. The previous owner got it with a gld nib, then had the furniture gold plated. Unfortunately for him/fortunately for me, he found the B nib a bit too wide for his liking. The nib is perfect for me. And I have a Mento that has a particularly good look. - Odd how the Pumpkinseed seems to be a fairly popular color.

[USMCMom]

The longest it has been capped, untouched and waiting in my desk pen box, has been 24 hours. Before I switched ink, it would have completely stopped writing after a very short time, so there's been a huge improvement. If it begins to write Tuesday morning ... I'm going to believe that it will be alright. Ordinarily, the pens that are in my rotation are used, but maybe not more than once a day and not for long periods. I need a pen that will behave and start writing at least the next day. So far, my Mento seems to now becoming that type of pen.

[USMCMom]

Well ... I said that I would leave my Mento capped until Tuesday morning to see if it would still write. So, let's un-cap it and find out .................

 

It writes! Didn't have to do anything other than put the nib to paper. I now believe that this particular pen just has its definite likes and dislikes. LOL