Jump to content

Cartridge Pens Leaking


kamel

Recommended Posts

Hi all - I have 2 pens that I only use cartridges in. One is a Cross Compact and the other is a Bexley Jitterbug. Both pens work great until I'm down to about 1/4 to 1/2 ink in the cartridge. Then all the ink left in the cartrdige will leak into the cap of the pen. Fortunately I haven't ruined any clothes but I am concerned.

I read in one post where a change in temperature could cause this. What else can cause this to happen? I love both these pens but I am very concerned about carrying them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 9
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • kamel

    5

  • jar

    2

  • rwilsonedn

    1

  • jsolares

    1

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Just looked at the section of my Jitterbug more closely. The nib and feed asembly eas not tight in the section. Not sure if this caused the issue or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

An air leak that would allow air to get into the cartridge could certainly cause the problem you are seeing. So could a change in temperature or in barometric pressure, under some circumstances, but normally modern cartridge pens are able to absorb into the feed any ink forced out by temperature or pressure changes. So I'm guessing you have a leak. But in both pens? It could be bad luck, or something else. Do you by any chance use a lot of pressure when you write, so that you might be bending something?

ron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a light pressure when I write. Which is one reason I love fountain pens. Both pens will be fine one day and the next they have a lot of ink inside the cap. In fact the cartridge will be completely drained.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup. Air leak. And now likely ink between the cap and inner cap. You need to patiently keep soaking the caps until all ink is gone and they are fully dry.

 

My Website

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are you sure you're using the correct cartridges for them? are they new? if you've refilled them a lot the opening of the cartridges might've warped enough to allow air to get in and empty the ink into the cap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These are brand new cartridges from J. Herbin and Cross.

 

Air leak? How does one fix this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These are brand new cartridges from J. Herbin and Cross.

 

Air leak? How does one fix this?

 

You first need to find the leak. Often people mess with their nibs or feeds and so cause a leak.

 

My Website

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It may not be a leak. As the ink in your cartridge gets used, the air volume in the cartridges increases to replace the used ink. When the air heats up it expands and pushes the ink out causing it to drip out of the nib. My Parker 100 did this all the time. I could always tell when the ink was low because the pen starting writing real wet and occasional dripped ink. Keep the pen vertical when not in use may help. My experience is that there is no cure. It is poor design since the manufacturer did not take this into account. All my other pens have not done this.

Avatar painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 - 1905) titled La leçon difficile (The difficult lesson)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both pens are brand new and had not been used before. I'm leaning towards the air explanation. Wish there is a way to fix that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...