Jump to content

How To Darken Writing When Using A Cartridge?


Mysterious Mose

Recommended Posts

Inspired by a Goulet blog and instructional video, I've discovered a new way to clean Waterman fountain pens which use converters or cartridges. I've always flushed the pen by filling and rinsing, filling and rinsing, etc., with a converter. The new way is to remove the converter or cartridge, then use running water to flush out the nib and feed, and fill and rinse the converter by itself. I've got a bulb syringe on order.

 

However, I've immediately run into a problem. After doing this flushing, if I insert an ink cartridge and start writing, the writing is very faint. It takes a lot of writing before the writing darkens to a usable level. Dipping the pen in ink makes very little difference. Any suggestions on how to speed up the process of getting my writing to be dark enough?

 

Relevant details: Waterman Expert GT and Waterman Phileas pens, Waterman Intense Black and Serenity Blue 75mm cartridges. The Phileas is about 10 years old, the Expert ir 6 months old. I use a variety of inks.

Dan Kalish

 

Fountain Pens: Pelikan Souveran M805, Pelikan Petrol-Marble M205, Santini Libra Cumberland, Waterman Expert II, Waterman Phileas, Waterman Kultur, Stipula Splash, Sheaffer Sagaris, Sheaffer Prelude, Osmiroid 65

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 12
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Mysterious Mose

    2

  • fc2462

    2

  • Karmachanic

    2

  • sandy101

    1

I usually leave the pen in a cup with a bit of kitchen roll in the bottom.

 

The kitchen roll abosrbs the water - and by morning you are ready to go.

 

I find dipping the nib helps, or puttig the cartridge in and leaving the pen nib down for a while.

 

If you are using the same colour, it's much easier to not flush - just pop in a new cartridge and go.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Or, if feeling confident, shake the water out, as one would shake an older thermometer. Then wrap the nib/feed with a tissue and hold firmly for a minute. If you have more time, in addition, let it air dry for an hour.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For what it's worth, I generally put my freshly rinsed/cleaned/towel-dried nibs/feed into a clean and dry plastic container with a silica gel packet and put on the lid. I do this just before going to bed at night and generally in the morning things are ready to go.

 

The only problem I've had so far with this method is sometimes I get sucked into cleaning "just one more pen" til 3 am! Other than that, having my pens dry while I sleep is a pretty painless way to wait before inking them again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sandy101, what is a kitchen roll?

 

Thanks for these suggestions.

 

So far, I've left the pen lying down horizontally and uncapped and that seems to help.

 

Karmachanic - I remember those thermometers. I think I still have two of them.

Dan Kalish

 

Fountain Pens: Pelikan Souveran M805, Pelikan Petrol-Marble M205, Santini Libra Cumberland, Waterman Expert II, Waterman Phileas, Waterman Kultur, Stipula Splash, Sheaffer Sagaris, Sheaffer Prelude, Osmiroid 65

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sandy101, what is a kitchen roll?

 

A roll of kitchen paper towels, e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=kitchen+roll

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the above, but I also blow through the pen to dry the internals of the pen before using a Kleenex or similar to dry the the nib and feed. I know that some people just dip the feed and nib into the new ink instead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You don't need to rinse a pen unless you're changing inks, accidentally let it dry out, or much more than once or twice a year.

 

But when you do, you can place it nib down with the point touching a paper towel. This will wick out the water through the nib and feed for the most part (enough to re-ink) in 10-30 minutes.

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Must admit that I am very boring with my pen use, I fill a pen, use the ink up, wash and dry the pen, put it away and repeat with a new choice of pen.

 

I follow the practice of cleaning and drying, inside and out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have enough pens that usually when I flush one out, it's because I'm taking it out of my daily rotation and/or it's getting a new ink color. In this case, I usually just let it air dry on a paper towel overnight.

 

If I'm in a rush to change inks, I have used a can of compressed air (electronic duster) to blow out any excess water in combination with wicking out the water with paper towel. This usually results in a dry pen within 30 to 60 minutes and ready to be re-inked.

 

I rarely, if ever, flush a pen just to refill with the same ink.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Careful with that canned air. The propellants may have nasties that are deleterious (from vague memory) to the long term happiness of your pens.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Careful with that canned air. The propellants may have nasties that are deleterious (from vague memory) to the long term happiness of your pens.

 

 

Yes, it does talk about that on the can. You have to make sure to hold the can upright otherwise the nasty stuff comes out with the air. So far, I've not had a problem. But, again, I don't use this technique unless I'm trying to rush something so it's very infrequent. Good point to remember though and it can be risky.

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
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    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...