Lamy Demonstrator - is ink supposed to splotch over the feed in the grip section?

[Saturninus]

I bought a Lamy Safari Vista Clear as a cheap way to get into fountain pains as a wait to make a selection amongst the more expensive brands. Thought a cheap demonstrator type would give me some "insight" into the basic workings of a fountain pen.

 

I noticed after a few days, I could see ink spills splotched over the feed against the clear barrel of the grip section. It looks as if ink spilled, seeped or leaked from the sac section where the cartridge engaged into the grip section down into the feed along the inside surface of the barrel.

 

Having never owned a demonstrator fountain pen, I have never seen this before. It doesn't affect the writing, but it sure does look messy in there. Is it supposed to look like this, does this happen all the time, or is this a malfunction? I know this is a very expensive pen, but it does have a warranty and if ink isn't supposed to smear around in the grip section over the feed like that then I might as well send it in.

 

If this occasionally happens and is normal, how do I clean this thing?

 

I can post a picture if what I am saying doesn't make sense

 

But please reward my clever rhyme in the subtitle with some helpful replies?

[I am not a number]

It's normal.

[UNDERDOG]

I just got the Vista too. Yes. It's normal. It only took a day or two for mine to go from splotchy looking to the fill looking completely saturated and "loaded" with ink. The ink just kinda sit in the feed so it's ready to go once writing begins. You'll notice the air filling the converted/cartridge too as you use more and more of the ink.

 

I bought a Lamy Safari Vista Clear as a cheap way to get into fountain pains as a wait to make a selection amongst the more expensive brands. Thought a cheap demonstrator type would give me some "insight" into the basic workings of a fountain pen.

 

I noticed after a few days, I could see ink spills splotched over the feed against the clear barrel of the grip section. It looks as if ink spilled, seeped or leaked from the sac section where the cartridge engaged into the grip section down into the feed along the inside surface of the barrel.

 

Having never owned a demonstrator fountain pen, I have never seen this before. It doesn't affect the writing, but it sure does look messy in there. Is it supposed to look like this, does this happen all the time, or is this a malfunction? I know this is a very expensive pen, but it does have a warranty and if ink isn't supposed to smear around in the grip section over the feed like that then I might as well send it in.

 

If this occasionally happens and is normal, how do I clean this thing?

 

I can post a picture if what I am saying doesn't make sense

 

But please reward my clever rhyme in the subtitle with some helpful replies?

 

[UNDERDOG]

Wow! I gotta work on my typing/spelling. I meant to type "feed" not "fill" and "converter" not "converted" and "sits" not "sit."

 

I just got the Vista too. Yes. It's normal. It only took a day or two for mine to go from splotchy looking to the fill looking completely saturated and "loaded" with ink. The ink just kinda sit in the feed so it's ready to go once writing begins. You'll notice the air filling the converted/cartridge too as you use more and more of the ink.

 

I bought a Lamy Safari Vista Clear as a cheap way to get into fountain pains as a wait to make a selection amongst the more expensive brands. Thought a cheap demonstrator type would give me some "insight" into the basic workings of a fountain pen.

 

I noticed after a few days, I could see ink spills splotched over the feed against the clear barrel of the grip section. It looks as if ink spilled, seeped or leaked from the sac section where the cartridge engaged into the grip section down into the feed along the inside surface of the barrel.

 

Having never owned a demonstrator fountain pen, I have never seen this before. It doesn't affect the writing, but it sure does look messy in there. Is it supposed to look like this, does this happen all the time, or is this a malfunction? I know this is a very expensive pen, but it does have a warranty and if ink isn't supposed to smear around in the grip section over the feed like that then I might as well send it in.

 

If this occasionally happens and is normal, how do I clean this thing?

 

I can post a picture if what I am saying doesn't make sense

 

But please reward my clever rhyme in the subtitle with some helpful replies?

 

[zquilts]

"......I bought a Lamy Safari Vista Clear as a cheap way to get into fountain pains ....."

 

I actually thought that using the word pains might, indeed, pertain to some pens ...errrrrr, I mean pains!

 

The splotches seem to be normal in demonstrator or translucent pens - I have a Waterman Kultur that does that too

[jmw19]

The ink is doing the same thing in non-demonstrator pens as well, you just can't see it. I thought it was messy at first, but now I like having a quick confirmation that there's ink in the pen, and available to the nib.

 

A number of rollerball pens work the same way (The Pilot Precise line, for example), and I always thought those were messy as well, but I liked seeing how full the section got over time.

 

Provided you flush the section thoroughly enough to get that ink out when changing colors or storing the pen, you'll be fine.

[dcwaites]

The set of fins is called the collector. The feed runs down the middle of collector and carries the ink down to the slit of the nib. The job of the collector is to literally collect ink and keep it till the nib needs it. You might find that if the pen is warm, the fins fill up so that the ink doesn't blurp all over the nib. That is them doing their job.

 

It is the set of very fine fins in the collector of a Parker 51 that makes flushing them properly such a tedious task. However, it is that very same set of fins that 1) makes them such reliable writers and 2) helps them cope with pressure changes in aircraft.

 

 

[Saturninus]

ok thanks for helping a newbie out. yes, i meant fountain PAINS as in PAIN this is going to cause my wallet once I start coveting the expensive pens.

[rsx]

ok thanks for helping a newbie out. yes, i meant fountain PAINS as in PAIN this is going to cause my wallet once I start coveting the expensive pens.

 

I've had the same thing. Just yesterday I flushed the section then soaked it in water overnight and the ink is gone and the collector looks like new.

 

Specifics - I use an ear bulb from a drug store (like a squeezable rubber ball with a spout), fill it with warm water, put the spout into the section where the ink cartridge goes, and squeeze water through the collector and nib. When it comes out the nib clear, I put the section into warm water overnight. All the ink is gone, the section and collector are like new.

[eilu]

If you want less ink splotching around the collector you can fill the converter via syringe, so the in doesn't go through the collector twice (once at fill and another on writing)