Parker Sonnet + Penman = Weird (!)

[Phthalo]

About two weeks ago I put a Parker Penman Emerald cartridge into my Parker Sonnet. The Sonnet has a F nib that writes like a wet M, so I thought the thicker Penman ink would make it a nice writer.

 

For four days I checked the pen every day, but it was not really getting much finer, then I became ill and forgot about the pen. A day ago I uncapped it, and was wigged out to see that at some point, strange, iridescent, foamy-looking stuff had bubbled out around the nib section, and then dried.

 

I unscrewed the barrel and the Penman cartridge was bone dry. This is unusual for me, and rarely happens. I leave ink in pens for much longer and I haven't had a dried out pen for ages. I think I have read somewhere though that the Sonnet design means they can dry out faster than normal.

 

Anyway, here are the pictures:

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/PP-6469-01.jpg

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/PP-6476-01.jpg

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/PP-6478-01.jpg

 

What do you think happened here? The pen had been clean, empty and dry for the last couple of months, because I was thinking about sending it to Sanford AU to get the nib looked at again, but in the end I stuck it in the drawer and forgot about it. Then I put the Penman Emerald in...and yuck!

 

I currently have a Parker Arrow with a Penman Ruby cartridge in it. I wonder what will happen to it? From memory though, Ruby was always much better behaved than Emerald in my own experiences with the inks.

 

Any ideas? I've never had a Parker do this before...is the ink reacting with something in the Sonnet construction? Or was it just leaking at the section and has just congealed like this? The Sonnet has only had a dozen or so cartridges in it's life, but none have leaked before.

[playpen]

Did you completely clean it out or did you leave some residue? That seems to be the case, no?

[Phthalo]

I'm very confident the pen was clean. That purple-ish stuff is the Penman Emerald Green ink - it does have that iridescence to it usually - if I look at the nib of my Arrow with Penman Ruby in it - the same traces of purple iridescence are visible.

 

I'm just not sure why it has all bubbled out like that. I've swapped out cartridges without cleaning in many pens before, and have never seen that reaction...

 

I know Penman ink had a strange makeup, but this looks extra strange.

[playpen]

Why don't you contact either the store where you purchased it or the company itself. Something may be wrong with this batch or bottle of ink. In any case, they might supply you with some clue.

[Phthalo]

Penman ink has been discontinued for six years. I was more interested in just hearing from Penman users to see if this is one of the reasons it was discontinued...

[playpen]

Ah, what a sweet and polite answer to my obvious gaffe!

[Sonnet]

I've heard that the Penman cartridges are more apt to misbehave compared to their bottled counterparts. As for actually getting that stuff off your pen....beats me

[southpaw]

It's quite possible that the ink in the cartridge had dried out quite a bit, then it was put in the Sonnet, which as you mentioned is notorious for quickly drying out. So what you're left with is dehydrated Penman. Why it migrated out of the cart - not sure.

[antoniosz]

I am not surprised that the cartridge dried up. Sonnets overall a more susceptible to drying because of an opening on the cap.

 

The geometry of the deposit is very strange. I can not think why would ink dry up in this "form". I am very much afraid that this is a microorganism growth. I would doubt that it is from the Emerald. I suspect that previous inks on the pen. NOTE: Cleaning the pen with water will not remove such infections.

[KCat]

to my eye that is fungal. Whether from your cartridge or your pen is impossible to know. But the rounded forms look like fungal colonies and they will incorporate the dyes. Seen 'em before unfortunately (not in Penman which in bottle form seems like it would kill fire ants) and I would say the pen needs a thorough cleaning (Richard Binder has detailed instructions somewhere here - sorry I'm a bit rushed) and allowed to dry completely. Sonnet nibs screw out easily and this will help in cleaning. Also, IME, the Penman inks will dry and leave gunk if not taken care of - but not in two weeks and it would be more crystalline in structure (flakes, not globules). I'm also basing my guess on being in tissue culture and seeing how lovely little balls of ick (technical term )grow from fungus.

 

The Sonnet does dry faster than some, IME. And the carts you have may require some dilution (would have to see them to know.) So you could have a two-fold problem.

[HesNot]

I haven't had this happen to me but it certainly looked to my untrained eye like some sort of fungus rather than just dried ink. I sold my sonnet after it hard started and dried out if not used regularly, which caused me to flush it more than I used it. But I never had it look like that.

[HyperCamper]

While it doesn't look like the cotton candy-like growth I had forming on the nib of my Charleston recently, it does look like fungus.

 

You could try flushing the nib with a (diluted) fungicide. I did, left it overnight in a solution of water and fungicide, let it dry for a couple of days and it solved the problem.

[Phthalo]

How interesting! I would never have thought!

 

I remember reading a post recently where there was a similar issue, and did see Richard post some instructions. I will search for them.

 

Thank goodness that Sonnet has never been in any of my ink bottles! I've only had cartridges in it to date. Since I have not seen this before, and certainly have no other pen with this issue, I wonder if it picked up it's 'infection' during the two trips it has already had while being sent in for replacement nibs?

 

I think I'll chuck the whole thing in the bin - that Sonnet was a lemon from the start, and now gross goo... no thanks!

 

Thanks everyone for your replies!

[tryphon]

How interesting! I would never have thought!

 

I remember reading a post recently where there was a similar issue, and did see Richard post some instructions. I will search for them.

 

Thank goodness that Sonnet has never been in any of my ink bottles! I've only had cartridges in it to date. Since I have not seen this before, and certainly have no other pen with this issue, I wonder if it picked up it's 'infection' during the two trips it has already had while being sent in for replacement nibs?

 

I think I'll chuck the whole thing in the bin - that Sonnet was a lemon from the start, and now gross goo... no thanks!

 

Thanks everyone for your replies!

Our SterilInk will remove all traces of the fungal or bacterial growth.

Use a few drops in a cup of water and rinse the pen repeatedly.

SterilInk is not BasicG, it is not 409, it is specially formulated to totally eradicate any fungal or bacterial contamination from a fountain pen.

 

See it at:

 

Pen care products: you can find it all here!

[kissing]

*shock* *horror*

 

after you wash it like the instructions given above, it would be important to dry it completely in the sun or something.

 

Fungi cant thrive in dry, sunny conditions

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Wow! I've never seen quite that reaction before.

 

I suppose that if you can live with throwing the Parker Sonnet away that would be the easy solution. The rapidity of the ink becoming gunk does suggest either a chemical reaction with something already in the pen or some living thing taking up residence.

 

I think that taking the pen apart and cleaning and soaking it in dishwashing detergent would work to get either the chemical or the creatures out. But I hadn't known that the Sonnet was prone to rapid drying problems. Glad I never got one.

[Phthalo]

Well, I soaked it in Dettol, and it wrecked the grip.

 

The glossy black grip, made of a resin-like material, had turned dull when I took it out of the Dettol bath. The grip had also softened, which I realized almost straight away, but I still managed to leave a couple of light fingerprint impressions in it. :/

 

I figured the thing was wrecked, so I rinsed it all and put it outside over the weekend to dry. Just looking at it now, the grip section has gone hard and glossy again, but is by no means smooth. I can still faintly see my fingerprints, but the rest of the grip is just lightly textured now. It actually looks kind of neat, you wouldn't think anything had really happened to it.

 

The Dettol also made the black plastic feed turn light grey...oops. Who knows if it's turned brittle or not.

 

So, now I have a totally custom Parker Sonnet - it's marked with my very own fingerprints, and has an attractive light grey feed which compliments the bright Stainless Steel finish!

 

:bonk:

[tryphon]

Well, I soaked it in Dettol, and it wrecked the grip.

 

The glossy black grip, made of a resin-like material, had turned dull when I took it out of the Dettol bath.  The grip had also softened, which I realized almost straight away, but I still managed to leave a couple of light fingerprint impressions in it. :/

 

I figured the thing was wrecked, so I rinsed it all and put it outside over the weekend to dry. Just looking at it now, the grip section has gone hard and glossy again, but is by no means smooth.  I can still faintly see my fingerprints, but the rest of the grip is just lightly textured now.  It actually looks kind of neat, you wouldn't think anything had really happened to it.

 

The Dettol also made the black plastic feed turn light grey...oops. Who knows if it's turned brittle or not.

 

So, now I have a totally custom Parker Sonnet - it's marked with my very own fingerprints, and has an attractive light grey feed which compliments the bright Stainless Steel finish!

 

:bonk:

Dettol will mar many plastics. Same for many other industrial or household disinfectants: do not use on fountain pens!

There are specific products developed for use in fountain pens. They are inexpensive, safe and WORK!

In your case the best solution (IMHO) would have been to dissolve half a vial of SterilInk in a small cup of water and rinse the pen by repeatedly filling and emptying the converter, or you could have soaked the section overnight.

Safe and very effective: Cost: less than 50 cents (Two dollars buy three vials, or enough treatment for six pens). SterilInk can also be used on contaminated ink (one or two drops per bottle) and even in ink that shows the presence of fungus or bacterial growth, after straining the ink.

Another solution (same price) is called InkSafe: it does destroy fungus and bacterial growth (although it is not quite as strong as SterilInk) and also improves ink flow when added (one or two drops) to a bottle of ink.

 

http://www.tryphon.it/sterim.jpg

 

Pen care products: they're all here!

Edited May 22, 2006 by tryphon

[dr4kds]

Don't throw it away, sell it on eBay.

 

"Rare Parker Sonnet, dual purpose pen, not only a writing but is so eco-friendly that it supports biological function." (only a joke of course, but . . .)

[Gregory]

I have a first generation Sonnet that would consistently do exactly the same thing with Sheaffer pre-Slovenian brown. Absolutely disgusting. I tried everything...I know that pen was sterile a couple of times! I switched to Pelikan Brilliant Brown and haven't have a problem with the Sonnet since. The Sheaffer brown never did that with another pen, so I don't think the bottle was contaminated.

 

Greg