FP Dip Testing

[Just J]

Let me ask here.... 

When 'dip testing' a fountain pen, how long do you keep it dunked before start-of-writing? 

I sometimes only want a word or two to feel/see how the nib performs; other times I want a good load to see how far it will write, &c.  What's your personal habits re this subject? 

& TIA! 

 

 

[Penguincollector]

Whenever I’ve done it, it’s been at the store, and usually the purveyor is the one that dips the pen and hands it to me. I imagine that they are trying to keep spills to a minimum.  My last purchase wrote even when I was at home for a bit. 

[Ink Stained Wretch]

20 hours ago, Just J said:

Let me ask here.... 

When 'dip testing' a fountain pen, how long do you keep it dunked before start-of-writing? 

I sometimes only want a word or two to feel/see how the nib performs; other times I want a good load to see how far it will write, &c.  What's your personal habits re this subject? 

& TIA!

 

IMO it varies. Some pens will will soak up more ink than others if you leave them dipped for an equal amount of time. But I think that a few seconds should be all that's needed. Maybe count to 10 or something.

[dipper]

I don't dip-test my fountain pens, despite my forum display name! (That refers to dipping a "dip pen".)

 

Writng results using a dipped fountain pen can be so misleading........

The feed may be saturated, or maybe not. Depends on time, depth of dip, and how rapidly the ink wicks into the feed.

The feed is likely to be more saturated than it would be in normal use.

The pen's air breather system is not engaged as there is no ink covering the back end of the feed.

If given a generous dip the pen will generally write wetter than in normal use (at first). All that extra ink lubrication will tend to mask any flaws in nib tip adjustment or feel.

 

And if I did dip-test there are only two possible outcomes:

1) I decide to use the pen. So now I have to fill it anyway.

2) I decide to not use the pen. So now it needs flushing and draining before going back into storage. Easy to dump the unused ink back into the bottle, and flush/drain as normal - using the pen's filling mechanism.

 

That all leaves me with one annoying puzzle... Pens that are cartridge/converter fill, but I have a specific ink in cartridges only. Currently I have no bottled Sailor Kiwaguro pigment ink, but do have plenty in cartridges. Dip testing in a different dye based ink would be misleading.

 

To pierce a new cartridge or not to pierce.. that is a question 🤔.

 

 

[Horseflesh]

21 hours ago, dipper said:

Writng results using a dipped fountain pen can be so misleading........

 

So true. It's the crudest test of the pen and ink, nothing at all like when it's properly inked up. I guess you can get an idea of the nib feel but I find anything about the ink flow (and therefore shading, etc) to be unreliable. 

 

 

[Just J]

Boy! You guys are nailing my concerns left & right! 

Thanks for your input, all. 

FWIW, I've gotten an extra bottle of Waterman's Serenity Blue per the expert nibmeisters' advice (effective, yet easy to wash off clean) to use for this purpose, & pondering best process for doing some pen testing. My main objectives (I'm thinking right now) is seeing what kind've mark it leaves on paper, & consistency. 

 

Now to find some newspaper for insurance. Do they still exist? 

 

[InesF]

You can always dip-test a new pen to see if the overall nib-paper contact is to your liking. But it always draws a more wet and maybe a bit more fat line than later when the ink is supplied through the feed towards the nib.

[dipper]

16 hours ago, Just J said:

& pondering best process for doing some pen testing. My main objectives (I'm thinking right now) is seeing what kind've mark it leaves on paper, & consistency. 

Here is one "test" process that I find useful. It gives a collection of comparitive test results between different pens and nibs and inks, and costs no effort at all.... just patience.

 

I keep a few sheets of different types of loose paper on a shelf nearby to my pen and inks store. The same sheets have been sitting there for a year or more.

New sheets can be added whenever I buy a fresh pack of paper.

 

Whenever I fill a pen with ink I have the option to write just one line of text on each sheet. Perhaps the date, pen, nib, ink name, some straight lines at various angles, and maybe a brief comment such as "..have just polished tip on 8000 micromesh". Then the sheets go back onto the shelf and the filled pen continues to be used for a few days or more in my notebooks etc. So no significant extra work is needed.

 

Over time though, as the test samples accumulate on each sheet, a little reference library develops. Line widths, flex effects, italic features, ink flow,  etc.

 

(One totally unexpected result seen in those records was that bleed-through of a given ink on a given paper can be minimal in dry midsummer, but horrendously bad in damp autumn/winter.)

 

[Just J]

Dunno why I didn't think of it before, but sure enough,  there are videos on the Toob. 

Kinda funny tho, only 1 addresses the base question - how long? - and she does it based on depth of dunkage et al, then proceeds to write with zero wipe-off, re-dipping when that particular nib doesn't 'get' far, & generally making me crazy wanting to show her how to do it right. LOL