How Can I Tame A Wet Writer?

[myn]

I'm kind of excited because my Italix Parson's Essential arrived today. I chose a fine italic nib for it. I'm kind of upset because all of my Diamine and Noodler's inks take forever to dry. If I don't mind waiting a minute per sentence then I've got a gorgeous pen but if I want to use it as a daily writer I definitely need drier inks. Even Noodler's Black takes awhile to dry which really surprised me. It is however much faster drying then Noodler's Red/Black & Sequoia

 

What's are some good inks to tame this wet writer with?

[Laura N]

An iron gall ink, like Montblanc Midnight Blue, the old Lamy Blue Black, R&K Salix and Scabiosa, and Pharmacist's inks. Pelikan or Pelikan Edelsteins, but not Turmaline or Tanzanite. Caran D'Ache inks also seem to be on the drier side for me. Then there are random dry inks, like Diamine Prussian Blue and J. Herbin Café des Îles.

 

This is just my experience as a user of vintage Pelikans. I don't know that pen and YMMV.

[FPFan]

Could the extended dry time be the paper you are using?

[myn]

It's possible it's the paper but I tend not to think so because these same inks in any other pen dry in a very reasonable time, quickly actually. I've never had to worry about turning the page for example to continue writing. If I did that with the Parson's I'd have a smear job. :embarrassed_smile:

 

Thanks for the ink suggestions Laura. These will give me a very good reason to try R&K Scabiosa and Salix. I've been looking at those for awhile now. Will take a look at your other suggestions as well.

[de_pen_dent]

I had the same exceedingly high wetness with that pen. I followed some advice I read on the web and gently grabbed and pushed each of the tines downwards a smidgeon, and then made sure they were aligned. Problem solved. Pen is still smooth, but puts out the correct amount of ink

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

You might consider going to one of the inks formulated / marketed as one that dries quickly, such as Noodler's Bernanke Blue or Black, or the Fast Dry inks from Private Reserve. Other inks also have short dry times.

 

Paper absorbency is a significant factor. The coated 'vellum' papers, such as Rhodia, typically give longer dry times. (Though I found Bernanke Blue dries faster on those papers than copy/print papers, but with the downside of greater likelihood of bleed- show-through.)

 

Iron-Gall inks often 'tame' a wet writer, as they are dry and reluctant to show feathering / bleed- show-through, yet I found most are a bit slower to dry than simple dye-based inks.

 

While I like to have a range of writing characteristics in my array of pens, at times a pen is far too wet, so I reduce the flow by ever so gently coaxing the tines closer together, which must be done with the pen inked-up. (As I don't want to lessen my sense of touch for such tasks, I don't wear gloves, so I use a washable ink to avoid stains.)

 

If one intends to use their pen as a daily writer or with a wide range of inks and papers, then adjusting the tines seem to be preferred.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited October 5, 2012 by Sandy1

[myn]

Thank you so much for all the help. I will do a slight nib adjustment if I find the wetness continues. Right now the Noodler's black is drying very quickly. I am beginning to suspect I was the culprit all along in that I washed the feed etc. with 1 drop of dish soap in water before inking. I may very well not have flushed the pen as thoroughly as I thought I had. I tried several inks one right after the other with a good rinse in between so that no colour was showing but I'm beginning to really think it took all of that to get the last residues of soap out of the entire pen.

 

Once I finish up this converter full of Noodler's black I will try a different ink and see what happens. At least now I know what to do should it not prove to have been the soap residue to be the culprit.

[Sandy1]

Thank you so much for all the help. I will do a slight nib adjustment if I find the wetness continues. Right now the Noodler's black is drying very quickly. I am beginning to suspect I was the culprit all along in that I washed the feed etc. with 1 drop of dish soap in water before inking. I may very well not have flushed the pen as thoroughly as I thought I had. I tried several inks one right after the other with a good rinse in between so that no colour was showing but I'm beginning to really think it took all of that to get the last residues of soap out of the entire pen.

 

Once I finish up this converter full of Noodler's black I will try a different ink and see what happens. At least now I know what to do should it not prove to have been the soap residue to be the culprit.

 

Hi,

 

Indeed, 'dish soap' can leave a persistent residue, which is intended to eliminate water spots.

 

Much easier to flush the pen than tinker with the tines.

 

If you do choose to adjust the tines, I suggest using a [washable] ink with a mid-range tone, so that one can see the change of tone (dark to light) that should occur when reducing the wetness of the nib.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited October 5, 2012 by Sandy1

[DrCodfish]

Dish soap? Yikes!

 

But, if in the future you do try to 'coax the tines a little closer together' I would be interested to hear how that goes. I have Mont Blanc that writes just a little too wet for me and have considered trying this but being new to fountain pans, and this being an expensive pen (for me) in the hands of a newbie, well lets just say I am reluctant.

[alc3261]

I had the same problems with my Parson's Essential writing very wet (with Diamine) but I gave it a good flush out with dilute ammonia solution and then plain water.

I then used Pharmacist's Darkening Absinthe (iron gall ink) and it's totally fine.

 

(I've tried the same with my Onoto with limited success).

[alc3261]

I had the same problems with my Parson's Essential writing very wet (with Diamine) but I gave it a good flush out with dilute ammonia solution and then plain water.

I then used Pharmacist's Darkening Absinthe (iron gall ink) and it's totally fine.

 

(I've tried the same with my Onoto with limited success).

[PAC 1957]

According to my experience Omas inks are quite dry and have very nice shading. Omas and in general all pens with very flexible pins (and therefore usually on the "wet" side) work better with dry inks.

 

Best

Piero

[Jennings]

I also adjusted my Parson's nib and feed so that the feed didn't come as far down the nib as before...only about half a mm less...and that's helped dry it up a bit. I also have the fine italic nib. Still find it a very wet pen though, and my trick when in a hurry is to use a blotter as well. You can pick them up easily on ebay and the like. Helps stop the bleed with porous papers too if you blot it fairly rapidly.

[Cepasaccus]

Of the seven inks I have the old MB blueblack (the 50ml flask) is the driest. My old Pelikan 4001 black and the Pelikan Found India is in the middle. It might also be worth considering to adjust the ink feed with hot water.

 

Cepasaccus

[Bo Bo Olson]

Hot water is for ebonite nibs I believe. I don't think it helps modern plastic feeds.

 

There are nibmeisters for adjusting an expensive nib to being a dryer writer.

 

Pelikan inks are reputed to be dryer writers.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Bo Bo Olson

[Cepasaccus]

Yes, the hot water is only for ebonite nibs.

 

Cepasaccus