Parker Classic, Leaking Or Not?

[civil]

Hello. Someone gave me a Parker Classic with a medium nib sometime ago. I had some difficulties getting it to work right with an international cartridge with Monteverde ink in several colors, always leaking, didn't write quite right. Switched to Parker Quink ink black, same issues, plus it didn't look black but gray.

 

Then I got a Parker converter, and was amazed to find that the gray looking Parker Quink ink transformed into a beautiful black ink, almost as dark as Noodler's black, just from adding the Parker converter alone. The leaks greatly diminished also, but did not quite go away. I wondered whether silicone grease applied somewhere on the nib would help, but hesitated to experiment.

 

Then I read about someone having leak issues with a Parker 180 and the Quink ink, which he claimed they went away when he switched to a drier ink, Sheafer I think (the 180 and the Classic use the same nib, I am told). So I switched to Noodler's blue, the driest ink I currently one, per experience with other pens. All leak issues went away, and it writes a rather wet line at that!

 

So the question is, do I have a problem or not? While I am glad to have a combination that works, I am not happy that a Parker pen doesn't work with a Parker ink supposedly designed for it.

 

Any thoughts on this issue appreciated.

 

P.S. On the leak issue, it made some difference whether I inked the converter from the nib, or with a syringe, and whether the pen was completely dry of all water after a rinse.

In the current non leaking situation, I filled the converter directly, avoiding the nib, and started with a completely dry pen, so I am not entirely sure the leak is fixed since I took steps to avoid it.

[Matlock]

Parker pens are not designed to take international cartridges, could that be your problem?

[civil]

Parker pens are not designed to take international cartridges, could that be your problem?

 

Really? I was told to use them on this site a few years ago. I could look for the link, but for some reason the member history only goes back so far.

 

That would explain my earlier problem, which went away after using a Parker converter, but the leaking at the nib I don't think could be explained that way.

Edited July 10, 2014 by civil

[Matlock]

International cartridges have a smaller nozzle than Parker ones and it is just possible that this could have damaged the nipple within the nib unit.

I am no expert and I am sure someone will come up with the correct answer. Hope that this is not the case but that is the only thing that I can think of.

Nib units are still available for 180/Classics so if yours is damaged, all is not lost.

[Matlock]

The Battersea Pen Home has Classic Nib Shells for £20 ex VAT and Nibs (Broad only) for £10 ex VAT. They will ship to USA. They state that the Nib Shells are prone to cracking as they get older so that may be your problem.

[civil]

Thanks for the tips, I will look into that site further, though the biggest nib I am comfortable using is medium, not likely to get a broad.

[Mike 59]

I took a photo a few months ago to compare the Parker 'Quink' cartridges with the 'International' type.

International cartridges do fit many pens, but not Parker.

 

[civil]

I took a photo a few months ago to compare the Parker 'Quink' cartridges with the 'International' type.

International cartridges do fit many pens, but not Parker.

 

Thanks for the pointer, I just took out an unused Parker converter and an empty Monteverde cartridge, and I can see the difference. However, for some reason both seem to fit my Papermate fountain pen just fine, but the converter only fits my Parker, oh well.

[ac12]

If you are still having a leak between the converter and the section, you may have a bad converter, and need to get a new one. A leak here is completely different than an ink problem.

 

If you are having not a leak but the pen is "drooling," where ink will drip out of the nib onto the paper. Then that was me who had that same problem with Parker Quink black in my 180. I changed to Cross/Pelikan ink, and no more drooling.

 

Pens are somewhat individual. Some pens of the same make and model may like one ink and other pens will hate it. This is why I have 2 different inks (Waterman and Cross/Pelikan) to use for black and blue inks. If the pen is too WET with Waterman ink, I switch to Cross. Or if the pen is too dry with Cross, I switch to Waterman. Between these 2 inks I have been able to deal with most of my pens. But there were a few that needed nib adjustment to flow properly, or at all.

 

I use a trick that I learned from the Lamy instructions, which seems to help fight an over-WET pen right after filling the pen, where the feed/collector is saturated with ink from filling the pen.

- I do a complete fill, converter in the pen, nib into the bottle, draw up a full converter of ink

- point the pen down toward the bottle, then turn the converter screw to drop 3 drops of ink back into the bottle.

- Then point the pen nib UP, turn the converter screw out, to suck the excess ink in the feed/collector into the converter.

 

Personally I would not repeatedly remove/replace the converter, as that could wear out the seal at the front of converter. It may take a LONG time to do, but I would rather not create a problem. I keep the converter on the pen except when I am cleaning the pen and flushing it with a bulb syringe.

[civil]

My initial problems seemed to be related to an incorrect cartridge size, after I got a Parker converter the problem was just the nib, but not exactly drooling into the paper, bu rather into the cap, the pen would be messy almost every time I removed the cap, the most common symptom being that the metal ring around the neck of the nib would be covered in ink to different degrees. For some reason it never caused a problem with actual writing, only upon removing the cap.

 

As far the Lamy suggestion, the only issue would be that the Lamy converter has no ball stopper, but the Parker converter does, I discovered this while trying to rinse it out with water.

 

The converter is fairly new, so I have not removed it too many times, mostly related to trying to fix the leaking issue. But I fear that if I refill via the nib, the leak will return, as explained above.

 

Thanks for your comments.

Edited July 11, 2014 by civil

[ac12]

Cap spitting is a different issue with many possible causes.

 

How do you close the cap?

- nib up or down? I always point the nib UP.

- how hard/fast do you snap the cap on? I always put it on slowly.

> nib down and a fast snap can cause the pen to spit.

 

How do your remove the cap?

- fast or slow pull? A fast pull can cause the pen to spit into the cap. I slowly open the cap.

- nib up, down or horizontal.

> Fast pull with the nib down, can cause the pen to spit.

 

How do you store the pen, and in what environment?

- Too much heat will cause the air in the feed system to expand, pushing the ink out of the pen into the cap.

- Is the pen subject to vibration/shaking while capped?

 

The reason for the Lamy method is to suck the excess ink in the feed/collector into the converter. If you do not do that, your initial writing will be WET, because the feed is saturated/flooded with ink. And until the excess ink in the feed/collector is used up, the pen will write WET.

 

From what you said, I think you have the sliding converter, not the screw converter.

My Parker screw converters do not have a ball. The reason for the ball is a totally different problem, that of surface tension of the ink in the converter.

[View from the Loft]

The tip from ac12 regarding expelling two or three drops of ink having filled the convertor is good advice, and I apply it to all piston convertor and piston fill pens.

 

And you are right to be hesitant about using silicone grease anywhere near the ink - not a good idea.

 

Pens are all individuals, even the same model with the same size nib. One will be a dry writer, one may be wet. Before you start tinkering with the pen, try using the filling suggestions and capping/uncapping suggestions, and see if these make a difference. Let us know how you get on, and if necessary, we will make some further suggestions.

[Matlock]

I use a trick that I learned from the Lamy instructions, which seems to help fight an over-WET pen right after filling the pen, where the feed/collector is saturated with ink from filling the pen.

- I do a complete fill, converter in the pen, nib into the bottle, draw up a full converter of ink

- point the pen down toward the bottle, then turn the converter screw to drop 3 drops of ink back into the bottle.

- Then point the pen nib UP, turn the converter screw out, to suck the excess ink in the feed/collector into the converter.

 

 

 

Older Parker instruction sheets give this advice too.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Matlock