What Causes Feathering?

[omegapd]

I'm assuming the paper is the main culprit, right? Or does nib size/pen/ink play a bigger part than I realize?

 

With everyday writing- say letters to friends or journaling- how much does it actually bother you?

 

Sorry if this is a dumb question- I just couldn't find an answer in the search...

Edited June 23, 2012 by omegapd

[jbb]

I consider paper the biggest culprit of feathering and avoid that sort of paper whenever possible.

[macaddicted]

Paper isn't the only culprit, but it usually the easiest to change. Modern paper is made with ballpoint pens in mind. But yes, the nib and ink do make a difference. If you're in a situation where you have no choice of paper try Noodler's X-feather. I do have a choice so I tend to use Rhodia or Clairfontaine paper products.

Edited June 23, 2012 by macaddicted

[wallylynn]

I find it easier to change inks. I never had any feathering with my Lamy. Then I lost it and started using a Noodler's nib creaper. It put down much more ink and I finally really understood feathering. I practiced using a lighter touch and that helped til I could change inks. Registrar's Ink is very good. This was in a work-provided notebook.

 

Everyday I use copy paper and laser paper. No problems there, even with the heavier ink flow.

[Sasha Royale]

Thanks, Eric !

 

It is not a dumb question. You worded it well. Better than I could.

Now, I understand feathering much better than before. I'd bet that

I am not the only one.

 

Glad that you are here.

[Koyote]

Broader and wetter nibs also cause more feathering, ceteris paribus.

[SamCapote]

Eric, it is a good question. Feathering can happen more with highly porous, absorbent paper which allows greater capillary action--i.e. newspaper or paper towels. High feathering paper has more coarse, longer fibers (and that may be less dense & uniform). The acid (pH) content of the paper, and various surface "sizing" (starch and/or co-polymer) coatings which affects how easily water can get into the paper structure affects the feathering issue.

 

However, independent of paper properties, some inks exhibit bad feathering on many quality papers due to higher amounts of surfactant, and/or polar/non-polar components that migrate in cellulose at faster rates.

[omegapd]

Very interesting replies! Thank you, all.

[C_Ken]

I may have just experienced feathering (or spreading) solely due to properties of the ink. I have an Aurora Ipsilon that was inked with PR Copper Burst; the size of the nib isn't marked, but it seems to be in between an F and M. Over the weekend I cleaned and flushed the pen and inked it with Noodler's Midway Blue. When I wrote the standard entry in my Ink Journal (Moleskine), I was shocked at the width of the line. It looked like I was writing with a BB nib! The pen and paper were the same; only the ink had changed, and the difference was dramatic. I tried an index card and another paper and saw the same characteristics.

[ParkerQuink]

I am surprised that featuring issues don't hold people back from FPs. After writing with a fountain pen for years, most of the paper at school got so terrible in terms of feathering, that I couldn't keep it up- even still, now that I have come back, I get some papers that work and some that dont- and most of the time, I just use FP anyway. It's not my fault if the paper feathers. Also, it does not even seem to be a matter of the cost of the paper- I have some cheap notebooks that, in my opinion, have the best paper for FP.

[Intellidepth]

This is feathering.

Dip nib. Rhodia dot paper. 20x loupe. J Herbin Stormy Grey ink.

Feathering leaves sharp jagged edges to letters. (A broader line due to a wetter ink may or may not show feathering depending on the paper.)

 

This is not feathering.

Same nib, same paper, same ink, but ink has been treated with a viscosity modifier before writing. The ink is now able to sit on the surface of the paper as it is holding on to itself more strongly rather than wanting to absorb into the paper.

 

Viscosity modifiers are fine to use with dip nibs, but the jury tends to very strongly suggest they not be used in fp's. So instead, we find what inks like what pens on what paper, and have fun experimenting. This is why I like reading ink reviews

 

Edit: My dip nib lays down tons of fp ink if the ink viscosity is not altered. So the top sample effectively represents the wettest of wet pens. Rhodia does not normally display feathering with most of my fps with most of my inks. If it does, it's very minimal compared to cheap copy paper.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Intellidepth

[ac12]

Like Ken I used an ink that was soooo wet that it feathered on all 4 of my test papers using my standard ink test pen. That was a sample of Noodler's Emerald City Green.

The ink just went into the pores of the paper and spread, with the ink coming from the pen pushing the ink on/in the paper. So it blotted as well as feathered, and it also bled through.

 

The only way I was able to control the ink was to put the ink into a very DRY pen. That choked down the ink flow, so that the pen did not put down enough ink to feather.

Edited March 20, 2015 by ac12

[ParkerQuink]

I wonder if there is a manufacturing ingredient, step, or process, that yields the paper feather prone. I have noticed that the papers that feather worst are the ones that are most absorbent and don't even leave a spec of ink on the surface of the paper for even a split second. For instance, on papers that do not feather, when making a dot, like a period, the ink stays for a few seconds. On paper that feathers very much, you could make a dot, and it would instantly be absorbed. Better yet...if you leave the nib on the paper for a second without moving to write, the paper that always tends to feather will almost draw the ink right from the pen...Why can't manufacturers all make paper that is friendly for FP!

[RJRM]

I think the oils on my hand may cause feathering...

I recently have been playing around with a Noodler's Dixie #10 Konrad and Noodler's Apache Sunset on Rhodia paper. No feathering for days and days using big, flex writing. I then noticed that all of a sudden there was major feathering but only on a portion of the paper. It could be coincidence, it could be something from the manufacturing of the paper, but I also had my hand rested on that spot (before writing there) for quite some time. Is this why SBRE Brown uses that plastic thing-y?

[ink-syringe]

Paper

 

Paper is (roughly) wood pulp and sizing. Sizing is generally clay. The more sizing the more resistant to ink and the more think dries on top of the paper, The more wood pulp the more absorbent like a napkin the paper is and the more it soaks into the paper and spreads. Short fibers help too. I know you all probably had that experience where the ink hits the long fiber and makes a long ink icicle on your page. C/F papers have a LOT of sizing. Hence ink resistance and slow dry times but no bleed and feathering.

 

Ink

Water and surfactants. The more surfactants the "looser" and wetter the ink is, the more it will penetrate the top layer of the paper.

[bogiesan]

You can spend a few interesting hours on the Web researching both paper manufacture and paper finishing. The processes are not necessarily related.