When the ink runs out

[Soupy1957]

It's obvious to say that "when the pen stops writing, you're outa ink" but I don't think it's that simple when it comes to Fountain pens.

 

I'm using a pre-filled cartridge in my Waterman (Phineas?) and I started writing daily (one small page each day, perhaps 15 lines), journal entries on Sept 1.

This morning as I neared the end of my daily journal entry, I was having trouble getting the ink to flow.

 

Is it likely "out of ink" (I don't personally think so)?

How long do pre-filled cartridges last (relatively speaking)?

Is it about the angle of my approach to the paper?

is it that I'm writing too fast and the ink can't catch up?

 

 

Suggestions, ideas, thoughts?????

 

-Soupy1957

 

[Shangas]

It's obvious to say that "when the pen stops writing, you're outa ink" but I don't think it's that simple when it comes to Fountain pens.

 

I'm using a pre-filled cartridge in my Waterman (Phineas?) and I started writing daily (one small page each day, perhaps 15 lines), journal entries on Sept 1.

This morning as I neared the end of my daily journal entry, I was having trouble getting the ink to flow.

 

Is it likely "out of ink" (I don't personally think so)?

How long do pre-filled cartridges last (relatively speaking)?

Is it about the angle of my approach to the paper?

is it that I'm writing too fast and the ink can't catch up?

 

 

Suggestions, ideas, thoughts?????

 

-Soupy1957

 

A decent-sized ink-cartridge should last at least a month. I've never heard of one running out in the space of two weeks. Especially not with the type of writing you describe.

The speed of writing is an unlikely culprit. If fast writing caused skipping, I would be permanently screwed, because I write at the speed of light. Of course, there IS the possibility of the cartridge actually being empty, although I doubt this. Unscrew the pen and look at the cartridge. That's the easiest way to tell. Holding the pen at an incorrect angle is also a possibility. Usually a fountain pen works best if held between 20-35 degrees.

 

 

 

[Pengrump]

It's not likely your cartridge has run out, but check that first. You might also look at your nib and see if particles of paper or hair or any other detritus has gotten stuck between the tines. I've had that stop a pen from writing. Another culprit could be ink drying in the nib or feed. Try dipping the nib in water to see if that starts the ink flowing again. Good luck.

[Ernst Bitterman]

Nowt wrong with the Phileas. Mine's as trusty as a very dependable thing, and plenty of others speak well of it locally.

 

A question-- it is a long or a short cartridge? Short one COULD be out of ink. Angle is worth considering. Also, if there's contemplative pauses between bits of writing, there could be some drying in the feed, in which case the water dunk is the way to go. A lot of folks here advocate giving a pen a nice rinse-out to clear various manufacturing goos, which may also be causing an issue if the pen's on its first cartridge.

[antigone]

A decent-sized ink-cartridge should last at least a month. I've never heard of one running out in the space of two weeks.

 

Hell, I'm lucky if a cartridge lasts me two weeks! I'm even lucky if a piston FP filling lasts me two weeks.

 

Maybe it's better to speak about how many words, pages or miles of writing a cartridge will last you. In my experience it is also an important factor what nib size the pen has and how wet it writes.

 

[Shelley]

Try taking the cart out, giving the pen areally good clean in lots of fresh water, then putting a new cart in, also watch the quality of the paper you write on, and remember, "glide, don't inscribe".

[Soupy1957]

All great thoughts and suggestions! One question that was asked was what the length of the cartridge is....The box says "Large Size Standard Cartridge" and the length, well....about 2" plus...

 

-Soupy1957

 

 

[Ernst Bitterman]

The box says "Large Size Standard Cartridge" and the length, well....about 2" plus...

 

The shorts are rather shorter than that. Let's hope it's a short-lived and easily cleaned problem, then.

[OboeJuan]

A decent-sized ink-cartridge should last at least a month. I've never heard of one running out in the space of two weeks.

I must be doing something wrong. I have to refill my Van Gogh M every couple of days, but I write alot. Don't worry about the time factor. It is irrelevant. I'm with antigone, nib size, paper, and amount of writing all count for more.

 

Kath

[dwmatteson]

What type of nib do you have? I have a Kultur with a medium nib that puts out a ton of ink when I write -- it's really wet; almost fire hose-like. If I used that pen regularly, I'd be lucky to have a long cartridge last me two weeks.

 

From what I understand, the Phileas and Kultur are essentially the same pen. If that's the case, and you're using a medium or broad nib, there's a good chance you really are out of ink. If it's a fine nib, that's a different story. My fine-nibbed Phileas lasts quite a while on a single converter (less ink than a cartridge).

 

Just some more data to throw into the mix.

 

Don

[petra]

Uh - am I missing something? If it's a cartridge pen, you can just unscrew the barrel and look at the cartridge -- then you'll KNOW if you've run out of ink, or if it's another problem...

 

And that's precisely why I DON'T like piston fillers that don't have an ink level window. Sometimes you're out of ink... and sometimes it's just a pen wanting to be finnicky that day.

 

Petra

[Stylo]

Soupy, there is really only one thing to do first: unscrew the barrel and check how much ink is left in the cartridge.

[captnemo]

It depends on how much you write. I've drained a Waterman piston in one session of letter writing. That's one reason I like my eyedropper Sheaffer school pens. They hold about a gallon of ink.

[Ghost Plane]

I write so much a day that I can rotate thru 5 pens and still be out of ink. It's all down to usage, nib size, etc.

[capnrefsmmat]

Indeed. I go through a Lamy cartridge a week now. (Time for bottles.)

[wvbeetlebug]

I went through a Parker cartridge in about two weeks. It was one of the long ones. I like bottled ink best.

[Soupy1957]

Personally, I think I'm either writing too fast for the ink flow, or changing the angle too much..it's a learning curve I guess.

Soupy1957

 

P.S.: as I am currently "on vacation" and checking my e-mail remotely, my responses will be somewhat spuratic at best.

I find myself in Ohio and wondering if I could find a store here that sells Fountain Pens in the Akron area, .....

 

Where have YOU found is the best place to look for pens when you travel?

 

 

[PigRatAndGoat]

Try taking the cart out, giving the pen areally good clean in lots of fresh water, then putting a new cart in, also watch the quality of the paper you write on, and remember, "glide, don't inscribe".

 

The weight of your hand is enough, right? No addition effort should be present to "press" the nib onto the paper, right?

 

Anyways, I have a MB 145 converter and I also have such problems of running out of ink. I have found myself consistently needing to refill it every three days!

[Soupy1957]

For what it's worth, I've finally taken a moment to check the cartridge (I tried before but it was in poor light), and note that I am no where's near running out of ink, so I believe it is my angle or speed, which fluctuates as I write, (especially depending on the location on the sheet of paper I'm on, (the closer I get to the bottom of the journal page, the more the angle is closer to a 90º to the paper, but I try really hard to avoid that).

-Soupy1957

[Oracle1729]

For what it's worth, I've finally taken a moment to check the cartridge (I tried before but it was in poor light), and note that I am no where's near running out of ink, so I believe it is my angle or speed, which fluctuates as I write, (especially depending on the location on the sheet of paper I'm on, (the closer I get to the bottom of the journal page, the more the angle is closer to a 90º to the paper, but I try really hard to avoid that).

-Soupy1957

 

When I bought a Waterman Phileas I had similar trouble with it at first until I got used to it. The problem is probably with the angle between the pen and paper. Specifically, rotate the pen around it's long axis until it works properly. I found what worked best was about 30 degrees towards the nib facing me.

 

You can not write too fast for the pen to keep up.