Ink Splatter

[mattjg01]

Hi all

 

I am a newbie here and apologise if this has been covered before/seems obvious etc. I am a recent convert to fountain pens and have picked up a nice Conway Stewart 480. The pen writes beautifully however I am experiencing one issue. Ever so often when I pick up the pen or move it a blob of ink will come out of it and splatter somewhere, occasionally on the paper and sometimes on my desk. Now this isn't a big issue to wipe clean or blot on the paper but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas to reduce the occurrence.

 

Many thanks

Matt

[Robert Hughes]

Hi all

 

I am a newbie here and apologize if this has been covered before/seems obvious etc. I am a recent convert to fountain pens and have picked up a nice Conway Stewart 480. The pen writes beautifully however I am experiencing one issue. Ever so often when I pick up the pen or move it a blob of ink will come out of it and splatter somewhere, occasionally on the paper and sometimes on my desk. Now this isn't a big issue to wipe clean or blot on the paper but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas to reduce the occurrence.

 

Many thanks

Matt

 

Welcome to the world of fountain pens. Indeed, FP's will splatter ink all over the place if they're roughly handled. I dropped an Esterbrook pen this morning and later found the cap was filled with sticky ink! Move slowly and carefully when using a fountain pen. Did you know that some of them are made of celluloid, which is another name for cellulose nitrate - gun cotton. So treat it like you're moving a bomb that's primed to go off at any excessive jostle, and you'll stay happy and ink-free for the rest of your FP carrying days.

[FrankB]

An ink splatter problem can become very discouraging if it persists. You can wipe up an ink spot at home, but if you are out and about with the pen it becomes an intolerable mess.

 

Any FP will drip ink if you sling it hard enough. I asssume you are not flinging the pen about like a sabre, so it sounds like you have an ink flow issue with the ink feed. If you bought the pen new in the box, I would contact the seller or Conway Stewart to have the ink feed looked at. A CS pen is too good a pen to have an on-going issue like that.

[Shangas]

It doesn't sound like you're treating it roughly (If you were, you'd be complaining about a LOT more than a few blots of ink!). Take it to be serviced and looked at. I think you have an inkflow problem. A little tinkering by a trained technician will sort it out.

 

Welcome to the world of fountain pens! Of nibs, of feeds, of curious fillers, of inks and blotters, of celluloid, metal, hard rubber and vintage mysteries found in old desks in attics of locked-up houses, long-forgotten...