Air Travel Friendly Fountain Pens

[como]

When it comes to air travel with fountain pens, I can think of 4 pens that have shut-off valves: Conid, Visconti power vac, Opus 88, vintage Onoto De La Rue with plunger-filler. I don't own the first 3 so have no first-hand experience of how air travel friendly they are (I never took my vintage Onoto with plunger filler onto an airplane). I understand that when travel in airplane, the pen should be either totally empty or totally full. Several times I drove through mountain ranges with big altitude change, and pushed all air out of my converter before the trip, and it seemed to have worked fine. But I never tried this on airplane. I am curious:

 

1. If you have used any of the above pens for air travel;

2. Do you know of any other pens that have a shut-off valve;

3. Any tips or experience that you would like to share with regards to traveling by plane with a fountain pen without an inky mess.

 

Thank you!

 

Regards,

 

como

[txomsy]

I remember having had issues on planes long, long ago (30+ years ago). No longer (and I've travelled a lot in the last decade -from short to intercontinental flights- ).

 

This is to say, I suspect that cabin compression is a lot better now, so pressure changes should be less of an issue. When I had problems they would usually manifest on opening the cap to write... Long ago I took to the habit of ensuring the pens were carried nib up and half-filled, and to be careful to uncap them nib down as well and having a dirty cloth/cleen-ex at hand to wipe them (the section and the inner cap).

 

My reasoning was as follows: first, I noticed that problems were more usual if the pen was horizontal, and lesser if vertical, so I would carry them on a shirt pocket, nib up. Also, in older times, when caps usually had a tiny hole for pressure compensation and travelling with fully filled pens, they would spill out ink even while on the pocket, so I though it was because the pressure changes allowed ink to expand and spill on the cap, through the hole and into my shirt. So, my reasoning went, by having them half-filled and nib-up, I allowed ink in the section to mostly go back to the reservoir, air in the reservoir would go up and expand through the section, out. This could have the problem that a small amount of ink might still be left in the section and pushed out by expanding air, and gushed out, but it would be minimal. So if I turned the pen nib down to uncap for writing,I would get that small amount of ink collected by the cap, and then with a napkin/paper tissue ready I would wipe out the section just in case and if it was stained, also the inner cap.

 

This wasn't much of an issue as, at the time, I already had the habit of always wiping the section out with a cloth before use (leaks were still common, specially on old pens, under normal use).

 

After I switched to an MB Noblesse/Slimline, I remember that the issue was even lesser, but I would still get the fingers stained if I used the pen during or after a flight without wiping with a cloth, whether it was full or half-filled. And sometimes even empty ('cos of the ink remaining in the section, you see). That was until the (mid?) '90s.

 

I kept my habits. In the last ten years I found that I no longer had issues normally with the pen and flights, only seldomly and then usually because it (the pen) had been shaken somehow. Anyway, I still carry a cloth, napkin or cleen-ex and customarily wipe the section after uncapping just in case. Whether flying or not. Old habits die hard.

 

I should point out: I used black pens (a black Noblesse, or black resin piston fillers) or black section pens, so it was difficult to say if there had been a leak. Nowadays with the Kaweco Brass Sport or the Copper Liliput, I can see if there has been a leak and if none, I don't wipe. Even so, I sometimes get inky fingers.

 

As for the OP question... I do not have those pens, so I can't guarantee anything. I would guess that as most vintage (pre-70s) pens, that'll likely have ventilation holes in the cap, so beware.

 

If you are to fly with them empty, give them a flush to avoid any ink remaining in the section to be pushed out.

 

If you are to fly with ink, ensure you keep them nib up. If half filled, it helps to give'em a centrifugal shake to send section ink back to the reservoir before putting them on a pocket nib up. Common wisdom says it is better to have them fully filled. I would still give a centrifugal shake (take it in you hand, nib pointing to the wrist, barrel away, raise hand, quickly lower it to vertical position, repeat a couple times) to try to empty the section.

 

Again, if they have a ventilation cap hole and will contain ink, I would be careful of leaks. I'd carry them in a plastic sleeve for a few flights to check they do not leak in spite of all precautions. At least for vintage pens with ventilation holes, since in these cases, any leak may spill out and will risk staining your shirt/vest/jacket/whatever...

 

For modern pens, with tight caps and no ventilation holes you have to worry only about two issues: one is a small, minor leak, which should usually be the risk if carried nib-up, the other is a major leak such that on uncapping a lot of ink might pour down (which should be rare, but possible if half filled, carried nib down and shaken). So, my advice is, have a tissue/cloth/napkin/whatever ready, uncap nib down, and now -this is tricky- wipe the section ensuring you don't tip the cap (so that it there is a lot of ink in the cap, it isn't poured out). If the section is clean, all should be OK. Otherwise (or in any case if you prefer), proceed to clean the inside of the cap of any gushed ink. Then use.

 

Sorry for the long post.

 

Bottom line (from my point of view) always carry a paper tissue or ink-cleaner napkin/cloth and have it ready when uncapping a fountain pen.

 

Yes, despite all my recent good experiences, I still keep being paranoid. Old habits die hard.

[como]

txomsy: Thank you very much for taking the time to write about your tips and experience. After reading this, I decided if for no better solutions, I would put any fountain pen that I wish to travel with into a zip-loc bag, then stick the whole thing into a cigar case during travel

[OCArt]

I did not see the Pilot 823 on your list, it is a wonderful vacuum filler with a shut off valve. Great nib. For much less money there is the recently released PenBBS 456-- again a vacuum filler with an ink shut off valve. A nice pen. I'm on an extended trip with many flights and took three of the PenBBS and a Pelikan M600. I did put them in a $5 "Plano Dri-Loc O-ring Seal 3400" box which I just threw in my carryon. The box is semi-transparent if TSA wants to look (they haven't) and I suspect its air tight nature would keep any pen from leaking. Crush proof too.

[OmegaMountain]

I travel with a full converter Platinum 3776 in my carry-on. I put it in a Ziploc bag and have never had any issues. As previously stated - it's only going to be a problem if the aircraft has pressurization problems.

Edited May 6, 2019 by OmegaMountain

[Karmachanic]

Any modern pen, full to capacity, nib up. Don't open before cruising altitude. Then with paper towel on hand, just in case.

[bogiesan]

Can you not live without your fine pens for a few hours?

[como]

I did not see the Pilot 823 on your list, it is a wonderful vacuum filler with a shut off valve. Great nib. For much less money there is the recently released PenBBS 456-- again a vacuum filler with an ink shut off valve. A nice pen. I'm on an extended trip with many flights and took three of the PenBBS and a Pelikan M600. I did put them in a $5 "Plano Dri-Loc O-ring Seal 3400" box which I just threw in my carryon. The box is semi-transparent if TSA wants to look (they haven't) and I suspect its air tight nature would keep any pen from leaking. Crush proof too.

Thank you, OCArt. I didn’t know about Pilot 823, indeed very interesting and seems a good option. The amber color looks nice.

[como]

Can you not live without your fine pens for a few hours?

Ok I can use a ballpoint if I must, on a plane, but only if it’s as beautiful as my fountain pens:-))))

[gerigo]

I travel regularly on flights that are more than 10 hours long and part of my indulgence on these long flights are to break out my fountain pens to write. I have found that any modern pen, like what Karmachanic said, does not pose a problem with these travel. That's because most modern feeds can deal with the different air pressure and absorb the inks that expand due to the air pressure. There is no particular prep you need to do. While positioning the pens with the nib facing up is preferred, I have put pens in the overhead lying flat and they have not leaked. Most cartridge converter pens hold so little ink that they really don't pose a problem. The only types of pens you need to keep an eye on are pens with hand cut ebonite feeds, eye droppers and vintage pens. Those MIGHT leak.

 

Contrary to what people say, the pens with ink stoppers can be problematic when you start using the pens. The release in pressure especially when the the nib is facing down can cause ink to blob out if you're not careful. Someone wrote about that before.

 

The one thing to watch out that most people don't talk about are ink bottles. While I don't ink up in the plane, ink bottles have a tendency to leak so double bag those ink bottles you carry with you.

[Bibliophage]

For me, it would make sense to fill most of the way, then tip the pen nib up and back the converter a bit. That empties the feed a little, giving an open air channel into the reservoir. Air pressure changes won't matter as long as you have a clear path.

[silverlifter]

The only pens I have had issues with in the cabin are those with squeeze converter. I now regularly fly with my Lamy 2000 and it has never failed me. Iron gall inks are good on the arrival cards, too

[como]

The only pens I have had issues with in the cabin are those with squeeze converter. I now regularly fly with my Lamy 2000 and it has never failed me. Iron gall inks are good on the arrival cards, too

 

May I ask what is a "squeeze converter"? Is it the type of converter with rubber sac in the end? I learned recently of such thing for the Kaweco Lilliput pen :-)

[Bibliophage]

 

May I ask what is a "squeeze converter"? Is it the type of converter with rubber sac in the end? I learned recently of such thing for the Kaweco Lilliput pen :-)

Parker referred to them as 'aerometric fillers'.

 

Yes, just a bag with a breather tube.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Bibliophage

[txomsy]

No, I can't live without the pen on a flight. Hate ballpoint pens. It's nice to use them for crosswords, taking notes, underscoring text on papers, and specially filling in immigration/customs cards. That was one of the niceties of the Noblesse: its hard nib.

 

As commented, lately (like in the last 15 years that I remember) and with modern pens, I rarely have any issue or take major precautions. When I did, it was a minor spill and I suspect it was no different from ground issues.

 

With vintage pens... I like piston fillers and I often get inky fingers (or caps unscrewed in the pocket) on normal use. So I would expect at least similar problems on flight. Whether they are due to the flight or just business as usual is another issue.

 

On the practical side: when traveling, I carry the pens on a metal box for glasses from Ezeso together with an insulin syringe (to refill cartridges), a lens-cleaner microfibre cloth and two ~10ml Auchan vanille flavour PET bottles filled with ink. No bags. Only during flights, I do put the ink bottles in "the" 1L zip-lock bag for fluids for security clearance (I strive to travel only with hand luggage).

Open:

 

 

and closed:

 

 

That's a metallic box for glasses.

 

And I always have one or two modern pens on a pocket (flying or not). I haven't worried about plastic bags for modern pens in more than a decade.

 

For vintage pens, I am more careful and use some kind of protection (more often a leather sleeve, but also a microfibre or plastic one) at least to avoid friction and accidental uncapping/leaking. As recently as one month ago I forgot and put an old piston-filler on a shirt pocket, and it unscrewed, uncapped and stained shirt, skin and hands. Under normal use. What a mesh! It's gonna take some time until I forget to use a sleeve again.

 

So, to cut it short: it's always a good idea to use a zip-lock bag, mostly for old FPs. But, although possible, for me it has been rare to have any serious issue (other than a minor spill) with modern pens during a flight.

[como]

Parker referred to them as 'aerometric fillers'.

 

Yes, just a bag with a breather tube.

 

Aerometric... That's a good point. Perhaps all filling systems with a rubber sac have the same problem with air travel: lever-fillers, button-fillers, pneumatic fillers... The list is long but the system is rather old.

 

It seems that the converter type (captive type included) would be well suited for air travel, or even the piston type. I had been thinking of getting a pen with shut-off valve just for air travel but now it seems really unnecessary.

[miwishi63]

My preference when traveling is been to use cartridge pens on the plane. I stash anything else in a ziplock bag in my backpack and open it carefully when I arrive at my destination.

[BaronWulfraed]

When it comes to air travel with fountain pens, I can think of 4 pens that have shut-off valves: Conid, Visconti power vac, Opus 88, vintage Onoto De La Rue with plunger-filler. I don't own the first 3 so have no first-hand experience of how air travel friendly

 

Pilot Custom 823

 

However, in a previous life, I used to travel with regular cartridge/converter models a couple times a year. I can recall only one time I had leakage -- and that was in a pen that spent most of the flight laying sideways or nib-down.

 

Normal advice of making sure the pen was full (no air -> no expansion to push out ink) or practically empty (air could expand, but not enough ink to be pushed out) was sufficient for my travel.

 

Granted, I never encountered a decompression scenario at 35 thousand feet. And the few times I had to use them in flight was for the landing card, below 10 thousand feet [which is what the cabin is supposed to be pressurized at anyway].

[Mech-for-i]

well properly stored I have had never any trouble with fountain pen on air travel, even my high capacity eyedropper, though for sake of safety one with shut off valve like any of the Vac models seems the obvious choice

[SoulSamurai]

I believe the TWSBI Vac 700 and Vac Mini have the same sort of shutoff valve. The Pelikan Level pens have a complicated valve system; I am not sure they are airplane safe, but I think they are supposed to be if you have the front vslve in the closed position?