Fussy Fountain Pens

[Mendel]

In reviewing my current collection of fountain pens, the following have proven to be fussy for me. By the way, I always flush the nib of a new pen. Moreover, my pens are stored horizontally in a pen case. Last, I primarily use Diamine ink. I have also tried PR ink and Levenger's ink these pens.

Mendel's Fussy Fountain Pens:

Baoer:
Red 516 with Fine Nib - Horrible! I have to flush it daily and tried different inks in it. It's a cheap pen and acts like it.

Conklin:
Mark Twain Crescent Black with Rosegold Trim and Medium Stub. Disappointing! I should have listened to Brian and purchased a vintage Conklin.

Noodlers:
Ahab Flex Cardinal Red Fine / Medium Flex Nib. Really horrible! Have to keep on tweaking the nib, etc.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

My Noodler's Nibcreeper Piston Filler used to be solid, now its quite fussy. Slow to start if it starts and needs flushed daily. It is in a box somewhere

I have an unknown vintage pen from the 20s or 30's that I can't get the feed in the sweet spot. It is just too wet. TOO WET!

I have a 78g in BB that I need to keep working on. It could be smoother but it works.

 

[rearviewmirror]

The Boaer and the Noodlers I can understand. They're pretty....low quality.

The FC's and Twain shouldnt though. Perhaps have somebody look at them to tweak the nib, or let Gilligan chew on them.

 

[andrew98]

My F-C Model 02 needs about half a stroke, as in the first down stroke when writing a capital letter 'P', to get going. After that, it's a nice wet writer. Strange. It could just be the ink. I'm using the cart that came with the pen, so I'll know more after I try a different ink.

-Andy

 

[mikeschu]

My TWSBI Mini in EF seems to throw a lot of ink on the page for an EF nib, regardless of the ink. I am not sure I want to adjust it myself as of yet.

 

[Snargle]

I received a new Waterman Carene as a gift from my wife last Christmas. I loaded it with one of the included cartridges (Waterman Serenity Blue, AKA Florida Blue) and it never wrote well...it would start skipping and refused to lay down a clean line without really bearing down on the nib. I finally got frustrated this afternoon, gave it a thorough flushing and cleaning with a light soap solution, and filled the converter up with Noodler's Ottoman Azure. Wow! You'd think the pen just came back from the ministrations of some god-like nibmeister! It's like a completely different pen. Don't think I'm going to be loading this with Waterman cartridges anytime soon.

 

[strop]

I would guess it's the cartridge and not the ink. Waterman ink is generally a very good ink. I have noted this phenomenon with other inks as well, and is one of the reason I only use carts as emergency backup.

 

[andrew98]

I received a new Waterman Carene as a gift from my wife last Christmas. I loaded it with one of the included cartridges (Waterman Serenity Blue, AKA Florida Blue) and it never wrote well...it would start skipping and refused to lay down a clean line without really bearing down on the nib. I finally got frustrated this afternoon, gave it a thorough flushing and cleaning with a light soap solution, and filled the converter up with Noodler's Ottoman Azure. Wow! You'd think the pen just came back from the ministrations of some god-like nibmeister! It's like a completely different pen. Don't think I'm going to be loading this with Waterman cartridges anytime soon.

Probably just had some manufacturing oil in the feed or something. It happens with modern pens. I intend to do the soapy water flush with my F-C, although it was a demo pen prior to my owning it. It may just not like sitting idle for a day or two. Sometimes that happens. Anyway, I'll hopefully get its one minor flaw fixed. Otherwise, that pen's a definite favorite, but then, most of my fountain pens are favorites.

-Andy

 

[nemo]

Konrad
$20 I could have used for tacos.

 

[Myosin]

I've borrowed a friend's Noodlers Ahab and it was a little annoying.

I don't understand why people say that pen is "adjustable." I found that there was only one nib and feed position that actually let it write. Even when adjusting the angle I was holding it, it only worked in one spot. The rest of the time it either didn't write, rail roaded, or shot out drops of ink.

Forget putting that pen in your pocket. One little bump or shake and you're gonna have to reposition everything again when you want to write.

In their defense, it was a very nice writing pen when I got it in that one spot. Would be an amazing value if they just dropped the adjusting part and just made the nib and feed fixed.

My TWSBI Mini in EF seems to throw a lot of ink on the page for an EF nib, regardless of the ink. I am not sure I want to adjust it myself as of yet.

Email Twsbi about that because that is definitely a problem in your pen that mine doesn't have.

 

[syngent]

I like tacos, I would trade a Konrad for tacos, but i dont own one.

Mendel what dont you like about the modern Conklin, I remember thinking it felt really light at first but i like that now, and i find it to be a great writer for me, but then i just have a "f" nib on it

Flushing it out on the other hand, well thats a complete Pita lol, filling it is a dream though

 

[Mendel]

I like tacos, I would trade a Konrad for tacos, but i dont own one.

Mendel what dont you like about the modern Conklin, I remember thinking it felt really light at first but i like that now, and i find it to be a great writer for me, but then i just have a "f" nib on it

Flushing it out on the other hand, well thats a complete Pita lol, filling it is a dream though

The Conklin takes too long to get started. It upsets me.

 

[brianw]

I have noticed with The Franklin Masuyuma ground italics that a touch too heavy on the stroke causes skipping and hard starting. A really light touch and it's all roses

 

[syngent]

I have noticed with The Franklin Masuyuma ground italics that a touch too heavy on the stroke causes skipping and hard starting. A really light touch and it's all roses

i think fussing the with Sheaffer Italics had me prepared, my Masuyuma M italic on the FC writes great for me, first time every time even if left for a few days, but much like our old shaving sayings, pressure and angle can be key

 

[gmgaj]

I've been really lucky with my pens so far, and the only problem I had was due to fast drying ink. I do have a creeper flex ordered, so I'm sure that things will change....

 

[Mendel]

I have noticed with The Franklin Masuyuma ground italics that a touch too heavy on the stroke causes skipping and hard starting. A really light touch and it's all roses

You are right!!! My FC pens have now left my fussy fountain pens list and have relocated to my fantastic pens list!

 

[Deacon Frank]

My daughter's Pelikano is a touchy pen. The nib seems scratchier than most, and the nib dries out easily. It is very sensitive to the ink used.

I also have a 1998 Parker Frontier that has a terrible nib. Scratchy nib that skips all the time, needs a very wet ink in order to work consistently.

 

[Snargle]

Going to add this to my list of fountain pen pet peeves. My Parker 51 is a super nice pen and writes great...as long as I hold it correctly! The design of the pen is such that you really can't see which way the hooded nib is oriented; I constantly find myself unconsciously turning it and end up writing with the (scratchy) side of the nib. I'm tempted to paint an alignment stripe down the center of the barrel! I have no such problems with other pens with an exposed nib.

 

[u56rh]

I have an m200 that just won't write for me. 30% of the time it ink refuses to come out on the downstroke. What's absolutely maddening is that I bought two new nibs for it:- a new Medium Gold plated steel M200 nib, and a cursive italic, both from the Mr Binder's fantastic site.

The same problem persisted, so I bought a sampler of inks from Goulet Pens to verify it wasn't the ink's fault. Then my father in law bought me a Visconti Van Gogh "Starry Night", which i fell in love with. I've not really returned to the M200.

It was my first fountain pen since I left school. I love it. I want it to work. Humph......!

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Any Noodler's pen, and I don't buy this crap saying, "Well, they're not supposed to write well OOB, you're supposed to adjust them to suit your needs and wants". Yada yada yada. If a pen won't do a damn thing it's friggin supposed to, like write things, then it is not a good pen. I've bought most of the line with the exception of the new Konrad. They're the most unreliable, finicky wastes of money when it comes to pens.

That said, I am a Noodler's fanboy. I LOVE Noodler's inks. Their pens? Not so much.