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Suggestions To Prevent Drying Of Ink During Brief Pauses While Writing?


Savit

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- Think faster,

- use hooded nib,

- use bigger nib widths like medium (YMMV),

- break the dried ink by doing a trick where you press down and twist a bit so the tines slightly misalign (but not permanently),

- use a soft gold or similar nib so this breaking of the dried ink happens more frequently,

- pull down with your finger from the end of the section, down over the nib, once, to wet the top of the nib (somehow this works for me on cheap pens),

- lick the nib (probably contaminates ink),

- clean your pen.

 

The last thing will probably have the best effect. You may have old dried particles in there somewhere that make the flow slower or more dry.

 

I have this problem really only on cheaper chinese pens that have dried out completely. I recharge the ink in the pen with distilled water and it usually works fine. Maybe it writes wetter but the ink is lighter or it's the opposite. On some pens I had the problem you described so I took em apart and had particles all over blocking flow.

>8[ This is a grumpy. Get it? Grumpy smiley? Huehue >8[

 

I tend to ramble and write wallotexts. I do that.

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I solved this problem for me by "making" a pen cap holder.

 

There is a commercial produce that does the same thing -

the Penwell pen holder:

https://goodmadebetter.com/

 

I took a half-height coffee cup, folded up a washcloth, and "zig-zagged" it in to allow space for a couple of pen caps between folds.

 

For this to work the pen has to be long enough that you can use it unposted.

 

I insert the cap into the washcloth fold, and when not using the pen gently place nib down into it's own cap. Essentially you have made your pen into a desk pen.

My solution doesn't look as cool as the Penwell, but a lot cheaper. And the cup can easily fit two caps (as in red and black ink).

 

 

.

 

...

"Bad spelling, like bad grammar, is an offense against society."

- - Good Form Letter Writing, by Arthur Wentworth Eaton, B.A. (Harvard);  © 1890

.

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Markh, I was gong to add the link to the Penwell. holder. Thank you for doing so. I'd love to see your solution in action. Do you have any photos?

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

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I keep a shot glass on my desk with the tears of regret I cry to dip the pen if the pen nib has dried. It ads a personal touch. Water works to.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I keep a shot glass on my desk with the tears of regret I cry to dip the pen if the pen nib has dried. It ads a personal touch. Water works to.

:lol:

 

Hi all,

 

I do something similar; I remember reading how our late friend, ParkerDuofold, (Anthony), used to keep an old Sheaffer Skrip bottle, (with the built in well), filled with water on his desks.

 

I took his advice, but I added a couple of drops of phenol to prevent mold growth. ;) Works like a charm. 👍

 

 

- Sean :)

https://www.catholicscomehome.org/

 

"Every one therefore that shall confess Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father Who is in Heaven." - MT. 10:32

"Any society that will give up liberty to gain security deserves neither and will lose both." - Ben Franklin

Thank you Our Lady of Prompt Succor & St. Jude.

 

 

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I write relatively long durations, but it is not writing 100% of the time. There will be brief pauses, when I will be reading or reflecting, with pen being held open in hand or resting on desk. It is a distraction to close the pen every time when there is a need for 30 seconds pause in writing. Most of the time, ceiling fan will also be on.

Under these circumstances, how can I reduce the drying of ink on the nib as much as possible?

Will any choice of type of nib (fine vs broad) or type of ink (dry vs wet) or adjusting ink flow help reduce drying?

What do you do in such circumstance?

Thanks in advance.

Its actually same issue as me so what I do is very simple.

I just put cap next to me on table and put pen in it, not capped or threaded, just kept in it. Idea is to prevent air from entering the nib directly (fan is big culprit here) and stopping the nib from getting exposed to direct air for small time. No need for arrangement or anything just your cap is good enough for it. This worked with all of my inks including R&K sallix and platinum carbon black on permanent side to all iroshizuku inks (I have 3) and camlin and sheaffer inks.

The only downside is that its not possible to hold the pen while doing this it needs to be on table or any surface.

 

A small example of what I do. Pen is Kanwrite Desire and ink is platinum carbon black (A wet ink by flow). Nib is Kanwrite Fine nib.

 

IMG_20200908_090155.jpg

 

 

Other options include hooded nibs and many already suggested and generally wetter inks (iroshizuku and waterman in my case are fine even when left open).

 

Dipping nib in ink is also option works fine ( not for me though cos it cant really be done on the go plus not like I always have a bottle around). Water is good too but there might be some color loss next instance...

 

wider nibs work in a way as well but why should one direct his/her favored nib due to its drying faster plus I feel ink plays bigger role in this case, I always use fine nibs (I like them for long writing sessions and I use cheap papers which will bleed if I started to use broad).

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I solved this problem for me by "making" a pen cap holder.

 

There is a commercial produce that does the same thing -

the Penwell pen holder:

https://goodmadebetter.com/

 

I took a half-height coffee cup, folded up a washcloth, and "zig-zagged" it in to allow space for a couple of pen caps between folds.

 

For this to work the pen has to be long enough that you can use it unposted.

 

I insert the cap into the washcloth fold, and when not using the pen gently place nib down into it's own cap. Essentially you have made your pen into a desk pen.

My solution doesn't look as cool as the Penwell, but a lot cheaper. And the cup can easily fit two caps (as in red and black ink).

 

 

.

 

 

Longish pauses is precisely the reason why I stopped using screw-cap pens a very long time ago.

 

Back then, I tried something similar with a Pelikan (m200 maybe). Put the cap in a shot glass, so it would be propped up and just dropped the pen in during my pauses. Worked kinda well until I left the pen like this for about an hour, during which, for some reason, the ink poured out of it and the ink poodle managed to dissolve the gold paint from the logo on the top of the cap.

 

No idea what caused this, as this pen had never leaked, but I never tried to bother again after that.

 

Alex

---------------------------------------------------------

We use our phones more than our pens.....

and the world is a worse place for it. - markh

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For me, longer pauses are actually the reason why I stopped using snap-caps! :)

 

The reason was that if the cap was tight, it would often result in spills as the cap snapped when closing or opening it, and if it wasn't, then it did little that a threaded cap wouldn't do as well.

 

What I do (as already mentioned) is I keep the cap around and place the pen in it without threading it.

 

Besides, I always keep a (small jam) jar filled with water at my desk to dip the pen if it dries out too thoroughly and will not start at all (a step beyond hard-starts) and a spare cloth or cleen-ex box to wipe it out afterwards (and after refilling or after opening it if there's been any spill).

 

I got this habit back in the old times of threaded caps with breather holes: sometimes the ink would dry in an unused capped pen as well.

 

Nowadays, I do find that I can keep a Kaweco Spor or one of its clones (Delike Alpha or C3 Travel) capped and unused for over a month and they will still start straight off even with IG or dry inks (the cap seals very effectively). If I do see a hard-start after a long (weeks) pause, it usually is because it was nib-up and ink dropped to the piston-side of the C/C and the nib dried 'cos of gravity. With an EF nib it is rare that I find a hard-start on short breaks, but with a stub nib it might still happen from time to time during short breaks, which is why I still keep the jar and cloth.

 

I feel (may be wrongly) that there is a connection between drying and ink wetness, and that it is also connected to long writing sessions, in that if the ink is dry, like an IG or permanent ink, then it is easier to dry as well on an uncapped nib and vice versa. Now, for long sessions I do want an ink that dries fast so it does not stain the opposite page when turning a page and there are less chances of smearing. Generally I favor IG or permanent inks for this reason, and also because I do not like the idea of losing relevant notes. During a meeting the chances of a coffee or water spill are non-negligible. For reference notes, these chances are less, but the time until use is longer, levelling chances.

If you are to be ephemeral, leave a good scent.

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the ink poured out of it and the ink poodle managed to dissolve the gold paint from the logo on the top of the cap.

 

Wonder if that explains why the logo went from two chicks to one -- the poodles are eating them :lticaptd:

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Medium Parker 51.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bought the old Sheaffer deskpen holders because they hold most pens and then I just put the pen in the older when I am pausing. I also took old paperweights that I found for cheap because they had an inclusion, and that is where my friend and I drilled to make it a pen holder. I probably have a dozen of these and they are highly useful.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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One can just slip the cap on, not fully. Not pushed closed nor threaded closed.

 

I have used a shot glass with a dab of water, but I have a German post office bought rubber cup with a wet sponge in it to dip the pen into. (we still have lick stamps.) No chance of spilling it like a shot glass.

 

 

I have often 17 or more pens inked and who but god knows how long it is between uses, so the damp sponge works well on a dried out pen. But I think the easiest way is to just put the cap lightly on the pen when chasing a thought.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Two words: Parker 51.

+1 to this. Forgot one uncapped for 30+ minutes and it started writing without hesitation or a hard start. Ink was Diamine Eau de Nil.

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If you have a P51 medium, consider using that. I have some mediums, and they stay wetter longer. The P51 EFs can dry out, but the fines are usually better, but the mediums are a sure thing without making the line width too broad. The medium is usually the one I use. .

Edited by pajaro

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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