Dry-Resistant Pens

[dragondazd]

What are the pens best designed to still start up after a long sit unused? How many days can they go for?

 

let's say you wanted a fountain pen but for an occasional use, such as a highlighter or something inked up in red that you might use once a week. What sort of pens would you use?

[BBU]

Platinum's 3776 Century line uses some kind of sealing mechanism to prevent drying out. I think they claim for a year or two? Sorry, that's all I know about.

[fledermaus89]

All my Pelikans have had no issue starting up right away after weeks of sitting in the pouch; if they are stored nib-up the instant start-up period becomes shorter. I believe Platinum's Century series pens have a seal on the cap that allegedly prevents the pens from drying out. In my experience, if a pen is stored sideways, it can withstand a week of non-usage easily.

[usk15]

If you gonna use very occasionally, why don't you use a Pilot G2 gel with red ink refill? It's a very decent writing instrument and does very well the job, but it's not a fountain pen.

[KBeezie]

Platinum's 3776 Century line uses some kind of sealing mechanism to prevent drying out. I think they claim for a year or two? Sorry, that's all I know about.

 

Yea their "Slip and Seal" Cap, they claim to prevent the pen from drying out for up to 24 months. For me personally if it can prevent dry outs for up to a week or two that'd be great, if I'm not going to use it for a month or two it's usually going to be de-inked for storage. I'd be concerned of fungal/mold growth in a pen left sitting with ink in it for up to 2 years.

Edited May 16, 2014 by KBeezie

[Moshe ben David]

+ 1 regarding Pelikan performance in this regard; and I vouch for the 'nib up' storage

 

I also recommend the Pilot VP in this regard. I've never had one dry out on me, even if left for a week or two

[casualmerlinconstant]

Any pen should do the trick provided there's no manafacuring defects. My safaris, parker frontiers, pelikans, twsbis, sheaffer snorkels have all sat there for weeks on end and still start right up.

[Aurko]

You may want to look at one of the legendary Parker 51s. Otherwise, I've found that most fountain pens that I've had the fortune of owning are pretty good even if used once a week.

[picautomaton]

- Twsbi 530/540 (weeks)

- Pilot Varsity (months - years)

- Platinum Preppy (months)

- Montblanc 146 (weeks)

Edited May 16, 2014 by picautomaton

[Bo Bo Olson]

Sigh, that tells me how long a pen of mine sits unused in the cup..that is the color of the ink in it.

 

I have a rubber postal sponge holder that I keep wet.

One quick dip and I'm good to go. A shot glass of water will do too.

[Bigeddie]

As a general rule screw caps seem to have better seals than push/click caps (with some exceptions - the pilot varsity / v-pen seems to have an unbelievable ability to not dry out). I can quite happily leave a MB146 or Pilot Custom unused for two weeks, whereas a Parker Sonnet requires daily attention in order to remain usable (I assume this is also due to the big vents in the cap).

[dragondazd]

Whaaaaat? Mystery solved. I thought air passed through the caps of all Safaris. Alas, only the first one I owned (which sees by far, the most use out of all my pens)

 

Anyway, it's not that I want to store a pen with ink in it for a month. It's that sometimes it happens.

[amberleadavis]

Pilot Varsity - longest .... 10 years.

[Runnin_Ute]

I sometimes have minor issues with my Waterman Phileas after a week or so, but it seems to be slightly ink dependent, but I could be wrong. A dry ink in that pen needs more frequent use. On the other hand, a dry ink in one of my Pelikan's? No problems.

[fabri00]

Platinum has the Slip and Seal system in some models (3776 century, preppy, plaisir), and this really makes a difference.

Plaisir and Preppy are the pens I use with Noodler's Baystate Blue, as only with those pens it does not dry on nib.

[ac12]

A DESK pen.

The holder positions the pen nib down, so the nib/feed does not dry out.

HOWEVER, due to evaporation, the ink in the feed can become concentrated if the pen is not used for a long period of time, say a couple weeks. So the initial few line could be very dark, until the ink from the sac has replaced the concentrated ink in the feed.

[sargetalon]

That is one of the things that I like about Pelikans. They just write. Even after 2-3 weeks plus of downtime, I've never had a problem picking one up getting to work.

[BiggieD]

This is one of the things I track in my pen journal - if I have a pen that consistently dries out in under a month it gets sent to Mike M or Ron Z for repair. If they can't fix it I don't use it. I only make exceptions for pre-1940's pens. So far they've been able to fix any pens I have that dry out except a very old Waterman W5 lever fill (which dries out after about a week). I have about 50 pens that can go a month without drying out.

 

That said my Pelikan M800's and my MB146 have never dried out - I did several tests where I left them for 6 months.

 

A low cost refillable option is a Platinum Preppy converted to an eye dropper. I keep one by my bedside filled with Noodler's HoD and it's gone two years with very infrequent use.

Edited May 20, 2014 by BiggieD

[WilsonCQB1911]

Platinum's 3776 Century line uses some kind of sealing mechanism to prevent drying out. I think they claim for a year or two? Sorry, that's all I know about.

 

That's immediately what I thought of. I have one on the way, but don't have any experience with them yet.