Wanted: A Pen For Test Driving Ink

[Green Ink]

All my pens were my parents' and grandparents'. They are either piston fillers, button fillers or lever fillers. I adore them but it does take awhile to switch from one color of ink to a very different color.

 

Would you recommend to me a pen that's a snap for ink swapping? Perhaps something that disassembles? I'm a sucker for a demonstrator.

 

I got my first order from Goulet yesterday. I have the Ink Syringe Set. I have a bulb syringe. I have samples of Iroshizuku Yu-yake, Yama-budo and Ku-jaku. I have Diamine Pumpkin, Orange, Ancient Copper and Oxblood. I have Pelikan Edelstein Mandarin. And I have a lot of old pens with dried up ink soaking in water.

 

I'd like a smooth writing pen that I can learn Italic writing with.

 

And what ink would YOU get with it?!!!

[OcalaFlGuy]

Interesting question.

 

Strangely, I'd suggest a user grade Estie. I saw user grade because it's not particular a good idea to constantly be pulling and retightening

the nib, but on a user, who cares?

 

I would bet you hard cash money that I can pull an Estie nib, bulb flush it and syringe out the sac faster than you can get Any Other pen Completely Clean.

 

Unscrew nib, hit it with a quick bulb flush, shake dry.

2 syringe water sac flushes

Nib back in

Done. Completely Clean.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl-I think I could do it in under 2 minutes

[OcalaFlGuy]

Ok, I actually had an Estie full of ink I needed to flush.

 

I choked up on the bat a little. I prefilled my bulb and syringe flusher with water. The syringe would need another fill. Got a piece of wadded wet paper towel.

 

Pen capped and full of ink.

 

1:40 sec. I could probably knock 10 sec off pretty easy so call it a minute and a half.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[dms525]

Interesting question.

 

Strangely, I'd suggest a user grade Estie. I saw user grade because it's not particular a good idea to constantly be pulling and retightening

the nib, but on a user, who cares?

 

I would bet you hard cash money that I can pull an Estie nib, bulb flush it and syringe out the sac faster than you can get Any Other pen Completely Clean.

 

Unscrew nib, hit it with a quick bulb flush, shake dry.

2 syringe water sac flushes

Nib back in

Done. Completely Clean.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl-I think I could do it in under 2 minutes

 

Bruce, This has the makings of a new Olympic event!

I will confess to moderate skepticism regarding the adequacy of the cleaning routine you described. I think it would require a bit more, but I am open to data. That said, I think there are additional reasons an Estie - J series, specifically - would be a great solution for the OP. For example, low cost. For example, the Estie J takes Osmiroid nibs, and a set of Osmiroid italic nibs can be had for little money on ebay and is, in my opinion, the ideal vehicle for learning italic script.

 

So, my advice would be to look for a NOS Osmiroid Italic set (six nibs ranging from Fine to B4), ideally a model 65 or 75. If a 65, it will need a new ink sac unless recently restored. And pick up an Estie J or three, so you don't have to do quite as much nib swapping and can compare how an ink looks with more than one type of nib. Lots of possibilities.

 

Good luck with your quest. When you get into learning Italic, drop by the FPN handwriting forum. There is lots of good advice to be had as well as other learners to commiserate with.

 

David

[linearM]

Actually I'd say a pen with a converter. You can remove the converter and see when it is clear of ink, drawing in and expelling water. A couple of flushes placing and ear syringe filled with water where the converter was seated and forcing water through to the nib usually clears any ink out of the section and nib and feeder. Sometimes ink seems to like to attach itself to the interior of the ink sac and you can't really see when it is clear. Water coming from the sac may appear clear but refill the sac and wait half an hour and expel the water and you may well see some ink color showing.

 

The Estie does have the advantage of being able to remove the nib section for cleaning with the syringe.

[Green Ink]

I have an Esterbrook J that was my mother's. It's a beauty - Dubonnet red. The nib is a 2556. (Mom used it to write shorthand. She's still really fast and she's 89.) I had it restored recently.

 

Getting the Osmiroid set sounds good.

 

Do I need to worry about wear and tear on the pen from taking the nib out repeatedly? This pen has lots of sentimental value.

[Ada]

I would suggest a Pilot Prera or Metropolitan. I think pens with converters are quicker to clean, and the Pilot piston converters are the fastest of all my converters. There are demonstrator versions of the Prera, and both pens are fairly inexpensive (especially the Metropolitan).

[Sridhar]

Go for a C/C pen or if your budget is lesser go for an India eyedropper from FPn revolution or ASA pens (no affiliation)

[SirVival]

Completely different direction: Get a TWSBI Vac700. The flushing of the vaccum filler is crazy fast, no nib disassembly required.

And it is a clear demonstrator that can be fully user disassembled for more thorough cleaning once in a while. And interchangable nibs and and and...

[BillZ]

Depends on what you mean by "test drive". If all you want to do is write a little to see what colour the ink really after it dries and how it performs on different types/brands of paper,

I use a glass dip pen. I know this is counter to all other comments but it's what I carry when I go to the pen store to look for inks.

[tmenyc]

Good question!

 

I'm with Bruce -- first I use an Esterbrook, whatever is lying around and there's usually at least one on the way in or out, with a well-worn 2556 nib for first ink use. The nib is what counts, and I've driven this nib a lot. It's probably wetter than my kitchen sponge at this point.

Once an ink gets past that nib, it goes in my Pilot Metropolitan, the best $15 investment I've ever made. The Pilot is a touch dryer than the 2556 (well, anything is, but the Pilot is just a bit dry), so I know that it's gonna balk a little bit with a really dry ink.

If the ink gets past both of these test, it gets a longer run...

 

Tim

[Sandy1]

Hi,

In addition to the excellent suggestions above, kindly consider a Noodle's Ahab: it can be taken to bits, so is simple to clean and fast to dry, and inexpensive nibs can be had in various widths & shapes.

As for the nib width, I tend to favour a Western M - B nib, just so I can discern the inks' hue more readily. For a while I used a Pelikan BB nib, but that made my written samples rather skewed away from my usual M-ish nibs.

One thing that can be tricky is setting the wetness of the nib to a fairly 'neutral' flow rate, or leaning towards your preference - taking into account that you have an array of vintage pens, which might trend toward a leaner flow than modern pens. I found that adjusting the wetness of pens with open nibs is much more readily done than nibs of other shapes. I suggest using a 'standard' ink for setting the flow - one which does not have a high dye-load. Waterman Serenity, or Mysterious Blue as favoured by Richard Binder, or Sheaffer Skrip Blue,which I recall is used by Ron Zorn.

Our amberleadavis started the Topic Inky TOD - Quick Ink Changes - Tips And Tricks, which includes some additional information about en masse ink sampling which you may find useful. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/269032-inky-t-o-d-quick-ink-changes-tips-and-tricks/?p=3032695

Bye,
S1

[napalm]

i have a different perspective to it:

 

- if you want to create those sheets of paper with 20-30 colors on them for water /fade tests, then nothing beats a dip pen

 

- if you want to test drive 2-3 inks against each other and get a better understanding of their properties and attractivness, you need to have them loaded for at least 2-3 weeks and try them in different situations / papers etc. i'd suggest a pair of pilot 78g in M nib to be used in addition to your regular pens.

[cpark2005]

A dip pen is easiest to clean if you want to keep an ink journal. Otherwise,I'll second the suggestion of a noodler's Ahab.

[PDW]

I'd use a Parker 45 with a slide converter for testing. Quick to flush, and if you really need to clean it thoroughly you can disassemble the nib unit and get the last annoying remnants of ink out.

[inkstainedruth]

I'm pretty with the c/c school of thought. I have a bunch of Vectors that have largely become the tester pens -- easy to soak the nib unit, easy to pull flush the converter with a syringe if needed, and a big enough capacity to give a reasonable impression of the ink's behavior. Barring that, instead of an Ahab I would suggest a Flex Piston Creaper -- a smaller, cheaper pen, that also can be completely dismantled and re-assembled.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Sandy1]

i have a different perspective to it:

 

- if you want to create those sheets of paper with 20-30 colors on them for water /fade tests, then nothing beats a dip pen

 

- if you want to test drive 2-3 inks against each other and get a better understanding of their properties and attractivness, you need to have them loaded for at least 2-3 weeks and try them in different situations / papers etc. i'd suggest a pair of pilot 78g in M nib to be used in addition to your regular pens.

 

+1

 

The manner of generating samples needs to be fit for purpose; and samples that are suitable for one purpose may not be suitable for others. Beware of taking a shortcut to nowhere.

 

Either method is better than swabs.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited June 28, 2014 by Sandy1

[OcalaFlGuy]

 

 

I will confess to moderate skepticism regarding the adequacy of the cleaning routine you described. I think it would require a bit more, but I am open to data.

David

 

I'm not sure how you can argue with not a hint of any ink left...

 

The nib is probably 95% dry from being thermometer shaken and there wasn't enough water residue left in the sac to cause any concern.

 

Clean is Clean. Even in less than 2 minutes.

 

 

 

Do I need to worry about wear and tear on the pen from taking the nib out repeatedly? This pen has lots of sentimental value.

 

I wouldn't worry. I Would keep it in mind.

 

The threads in the section and on the nib are Ebonite, not steel. Repeated ins and outs over decades may put some "slop" into those threads. If it gets bad enough to where the nib doesn't seal very well anymore you could just replace the section. But the "keep it in mind" part comes in when you're tightening the nib back in. Just enough. (Unless the threads ARE already badly worn and you are purposely torquing down as a last resort to stop ink seeping around the threads.)

 

 

Many seem to mention getting the converters/piston barrels, etc; clean. Not so many mention the nib end.

 

You gotta get that All The Way clean too if you're testing inks.

 

IMO, the Estie has a sufficiently developed feed system that also is still pretty simple and Fast to flush clear. When you start talking pens with Collectors in them like that P-45 or newer pens with Extensive Collector type nib sections, again, it takes a LONG time to get that section all the way clear.

 

I've told you the Estie I cleaned was clean. In fact, it was going to it's new FPNer owner this morning. I think you can be pretty sure it was CLEAN. How many of you think I'D send out a dirty, wet, pen? Hmm? And not even going nuts on it, late at night, I got 'er done in 1:40.

 

Everyone who thinks they're so fast?

 

Prove it.

 

I ALMOST had to agree on the dip idea. There's certainly nothing else faster. The stick in the spokes though is that a dip need doesn't give much indication of how the ink flows in a fountain pen/nib/feed and that DOES happen to be an important ink critique point. If you just want to see what the color looks like, sure, dipping is fine. Not so fine for a full blown ink review though.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

[Green Ink]

At this point (thanks for your suggestions!) I'm looking at a Pilot Prera and the TWSBI Vacuum, both with stub italic nibs. I like writing with a stub nib, so my ink tester pens should probably have them. Is it pretty easy to clean out their nib end? Any thoughts about the Prera VS the TWSBI Vacuum?

 

And I'm also going to get a set of Osmiroid 65 or 75 nibs on ebay for my Esterbrook. I'm looking right now.

 

I want a smooth writing pen with good flow. I say this because last night I remembered my old reform Calligraph 1.1. The nib says W. Germany on it! I loaded in some of my Diamine Ancient Copper sample. Love the color of the ink. Once I figured out I can screw the nib off it was easy to clean. But the nib needs work. It is not a smooth writer with good flow right now.

 

If you have other thoughts I want to hear them!

 

 

[dms525]

 

 

I'm not sure how you can argue with not a hint of any ink left...

 

The nib is probably 95% dry from being thermometer shaken and there wasn't enough water residue left in the sac to cause any concern.

 

Clean is Clean. Even in less than 2 minutes.

 

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

 

 

I'm not even going to try to argue. I'm going to go for a "trial adoption" of that method, in fact.

 

David