Some Thoughts On The Conid Minimalistica (2 Months~ Impressions)

[Lloyd]

The rod in the Minimalistica comes from one of the other models (I think the Regular) as opposed to being engineered specifically for it. This is to keep the cost of the Minimalistica down. Unfortunately, this leads to the channel being longer than ideal for many inks to flow. So, some inks require an occasional shake to keep the ink flowing. Some inks, however, seem to maintain flow without the occasional shake. Personally, I'd rather pay the extra money for a properly engineered Minimalistica as it's my favorite size (wide but not too long).

[Karmachanic]

Piston was not unscrewed. Conid did not recommend that.

 

If you dig out the User Guide that came with the pen you will find on the back of the page: FOR LONGER WRITING SESSIONS: OPEN THE HAND NUT (Gap: 1.5mm)

 

The piston also functions as a shut-off valve. Similar to that found on the Pilot 823, Koloro, and Japanese eye dropper pens. This not being open is the cause of your ink starvation.

[Precise]

 

If you dig out the User Guide that came with the pen you will find on the back of the page: FOR LONGER WRITING SESSIONS: OPEN THE HAND NUT (Gap: 1.5mm)

 

The piston also functions as a shut-off valve. Similar to that found on the Pilot 823, Koloro, and Japanese eye dropper pens. This not being open is the cause of your ink starvation.

 

There were never writing sessions longer than a few sentences. The problem occurred when the pen was in my shirt pocket, at work. I opened the pen and it would not write, even though the reservoir was full.

 

With conventional converters or pistons, I've sometimes had to turn the knob carefully to push some ink out to the feed to get it writing again. But that not possible with the Minimalistica, and Conid confirmed that.

Edited September 1, 2018 by Precise

[Karmachanic]

Sounds hopeless. I'll give you £100 for it.

[Precise]

Sounds hopeless. I'll give you £100 for it.

 

Send me a message and it's a deal.

 

Alan

[25_15_3]

I've never run into that issue myself @precise.

 

To add a bit on what happened since the original post. The delrin model that I originally reviewed ended up being sold as I did not like the delrin material feel. A bit too silky I suppose. Not so great for a grip for me. I did eventually try again with the Monarch minimalistica model. The pen was fine, no mechanical issues or anything - and also better QA this time on the cap bands and what not. I just did not enjoy a demonstrator pen all that much, alongside yearning for a longer uncapped pen and thicker grip, so it was sold.

[Mulrich]

I really like the minimalistica but have similar starvation problems. Even with the blind cap pulled back a bit the pen goes dry after a few minutes. I can sometimes get the ink down into the nib but I havent figured out a consistently successful way to do this.

 

This is why I really think the pen needs an ink window. Ive mistakenly dumped multiple ml of ink thinking the pen was empty when it was still mostly full. Its also hard to tell how much ink I get when filling and how much Ive used while writing. Ive yet to use a full barre of ink because I keep thinking the pen is empty when its not.

 

When the ink is flowing, its an awesome pen; I really love the size and feel. The nib is smooth and aside from the flow issue is a well made pen. But flow issues are a big deal.

 

I actually have this pen inked right now and hope I can figure it out before the ink runs dry again.

[Precise]

"... I really think the pen needs an ink window." Yes, recall that they sent me a clear acrylic body. Thus I can see exactly what's happening with the flow. In my opinion, they should only make it clear. That is after they fix the issue discussed here.

Alan

[Lloyd]

Try different inks. Some inks seen to work better at "pulling themselves" down the narrow channel than others. In using a limited edition Noodlers bulletproof ink and it's been fresh great. Before that, I used a few other "typical" ink brands with less success.