Comments On Ackerman Pump Pen

[NickKH]

Just want to share a bitter experience I had with the Ackerman Pump Pen here.

It has been a bad shopping experience and I remained unhappy since i received my pen.

 

Talking about the pen quality, it is sub-optimal. I am not talking about the shape, as I have no expectations on it being as fancy as similarly-priced pens like Lamy safaris.

I'm talking about the pen design.

First, the pump gets stuck with the cap, so i had a hard time pulling out or pushing in the cap. What I had to do is to rotate the cap and pull. In the end when i finally removed the cap, i ended up soaking my whole hand with ink, as the cap has been involuntarily pressed during the process.

Bear in mind that I have already opened the vent hole on the cap.

You can see the pump doesnt fit the barrel at all.

And when you push in the cap you also press the pump, making an absolute mess later.

 

Second, the ink feed unit is way too primitive that makes the ink flow inconsistent. As it doesn't have a hole for air to go in to balance the negative pressure created as ink is used, I had to press the pump to keep the ink flowing. When I repeat the pumping action, the first thing i experience is a splash of ink, ruining everything i have done so far.

The nib also rusted in extraordinary speed under normal use (just 2 months), probably because of the poor feed mechanism soaking the nib with ink (i.e. water).

 

To be frank, I was thrilled by the concept that this pen can replace dip pens. However with the poor pen design and feed mechanism, I would stick to dip pen and a bottle of ink now.

 

The last thing is the credibility of the seller, who put his surname on the pen. Due to certain mistakes i made during online purchasing, i accidentally ordered 4 pens while i needed only one. Our Mr Seller did ask me whether I needed one or four pens and i replied one. I eventually received one, and as we all know about credit card payment, i paid for FOUR pens' amount. Since May (1 month after i bought the pen) I have been e-mailing our Mr Seller about the money-returning issue, roughly once every month. To my greatest disappointment, I got no replies. Once he replied he would make the arrangement the day after but in the end nothing happened. To date (already 4 months) I have still not received any money he returned to me.

 

In short, I am a dissatisfied customer.

And I would not recommend this pen to others.

It's better to pay more and buy a quality flex nib FP from one of those big brands, which i eventually did after this unhappy encounter with primitive pens.

[QM2]

Wow, you actually received a pen? I believe some people are still waiting after having ordered months ago. Read some of the other threads about these pens here; your experience is, unfortunately, not unusual.

 

Best of luck getting a refund and please update re how that resolves.

[NickKH]

Wow, you actually received a pen? I believe some people are still waiting after having ordered months ago. Read some of the other threads about these pens here; your experience is, unfortunately, not unusual.

 

Best of luck getting a refund and please update re how that resolves.

I also read the other threads and feel sorry about them.

But I am really not that happy that I must do something to better inform other potential buyers.

I'll update when i have my refund, but looking at how things are going and his credibility, I may not have a chance to do so.

[yoplaboum]

These informations as usefull !

I was considering buying one of these pens. I think the idea is very cool, to use a dip pen nib with the facility of a casual fountain pen. But all what I could read about this brand is freezing me...

Perhaps is there an other brand who propose the same kind of pens, or perhaps somebody here knows a cheap pen to be easily transformed, to be used like ackerman pens ? Because if the seller is not serious, if the pen itself can be better designed, the idea itself is a good one...

Edited August 27, 2010 by yoplaboum

[wykpenguin]

The only nib I would use in this thing is a stainless steel G nib. Other nibs just disintegrate with rusting. Dip nibs are just not designed to be in constant contact with ink I guess.

 

I use the pump pen when I need to write a long paragraph and always clean it out thoroughly afterwards. The trick to getting ink flow is to squeeze just a little. The ink pools under the nib as it would in a dip pen and then you write from that little drop. I would still recommend squeezing it above a piece of scrap paper instead of your work piece though. That said, it isn't really that much more convenient than dipping.

[777]

well, that's certainly not a pen I'll be wanting in my collection...

 

I'm sorry about your troubles, what a bummer... I can't stand bad customer service. At least since the pen stunk the guy could have treaded you better

 

oh well... there will always be bad sellers out there. All we can do is warn each other (like your doing) and keep away from them.

 

Regards,

777

[jbb]

The Ackerman Pump has a terrible reputaion. Posts like this have come up before. I think it's good to let other dip pen users know.

 

For what it's worth, you can put a feed on a dip nib to increase the amount of words you can get per dip. I make one out of bees wax that I press into the back of the nib under the breather hole. I then incise some lines into the wax so that it will hold more ink.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4932123969_409bde03e0_b.jpg

Edited August 27, 2010 by jbb

[epic]

@jbb - Could you attach a picture or two of this beeswax feed? More detailed instructions maybe? I would really appreciate it!

 

The Ackerman Pump has a terrible reputaion. Posts like this have come up before. I think it's good to let other dip pen users know.

 

For what it's worth, you can put a feed on a dip nib to increase the amount of words you can get per dip. I make one out of bees wax that I press into the back of the nib under the breather hole. I then incise some lines into the wax so that it will hold more ink.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4932123969_409bde03e0_b.jpg

[jbb]

@jbb - Could you attach a picture or two of this beeswax feed? More detailed instructions maybe? I would really appreciate it!

Here it is. I just take a teeny piece of bees wax. Press in into the back of the nib below the breather hole and incise lines with a metal nail file. It only takes a minute.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4328026978_c1f01faa11.jpg

[epic]

Thank you very much, jbb!

 

And my apologies about hijacking the thread.

[Artlike]

I'm so glad to find this forum and I was close to ordering one of the Ackerman pens. I think I will do more reading and searching. I'm interested in doing ink and watercolor art work and I have been using technical pens...they work great....but I would like an inexpensive fountain pen that could have changeable nibs or a good all around drawing and writing pen. Obviously....i'm wanting to make from thin lines to flourish lines.....any help is appreciated.

 

Ed

[jbb]

I'm so glad to find this forum and I was close to ordering one of the Ackerman pens. I think I will do more reading and searching. I'm interested in doing ink and watercolor art work and I have been using technical pens...they work great....but I would like an inexpensive fountain pen that could have changeable nibs or a good all around drawing and writing pen. Obviously....i'm wanting to make from thin lines to flourish lines.....any help is appreciated.

 

Ed

 

Welcome to FPN Artlike. The simplest and cheapest solution is to use a dip pen. Once you get used to them they're the best for flourishing and getting line variation. Also, there are fountain pens with quite a bit of flex -- and lots of information on FPN about them.

[rwilsonedn]

+1 to what jbb says. Welcome! And do try dip pens first. Unless you are a very fast writer with fully flexible nibs, the time it takes to dip the pen is insignificant compared to the time it takes to actually draw the letters. The only advantage I can see to something like the Pump Pen (if it worked correctly) or for that matter a full-flex fountain pen like an ancient Waterman is that when you are away from your desk you don't have to carry a traveling ink pot. I find that my writing speed is a function of the flexibility of the nib and how careful I'm being, not of how the ink gets to the nib.

ron

[bengkia]

I placed my order in September 2010 and still have not received my pens. Definitely be cautious with this seller. If you're paying by Paypal, do note that you have 45 days within which to seek recourse. I waited until day 60 and then realised too late that Paypal weren't going to help. I've lodged a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but he seems to be shrugging them off too. *sigh*

[Tweel]

I've seen this with another cottage industry in another hobby, where the seller took money immediately, and months (or more) to ship orders. The most effective stratagem for lighting a fire under him seemed to be writing to his state's attorney general.

Edited January 15, 2011 by Tweel

[dennyk2]

Thank you very much, jbb!

 

And my apologies about hijacking the thread.

 

I've never understood this expression, "hijacking the thread". I cant see that you did anything wrong. What was it?

 

DennyK

Old guy.

[jbb]

Thank you very much, jbb!

 

And my apologies about hijacking the thread.

 

I've never understood this expression, "hijacking the thread". I cant see that you did anything wrong. What was it?

 

DennyK

Old guy.

Generally speaking, one tries to stay on the topic of a given post -- to be polite. "Hijacking" is a taking the topic off topic... like discussing "hijacking" in the middle of post on Ackerman Pens... uh oh... as you can see it's very hard to never hijack.

[WontonST]

Darn, now I have to cross the Ackerman pen off my to-buy list.

 

I hope someday they'll perfect a pen that takes dip pen nibs.

[lennart]

I would like to share a little different perspective on the Ackerman Pump pen (manga G nob) which now I have used a few weeks for drawing.

 

I wanted as so many others a fine flexible nib and not to be forced to dib all the time with the problems that implies. I have tried dip pens and vintage superflex pens, which many rave about (I have a couple) - and they do NOT do the job for me.

 

But my Ackerman pump pen does the job!

 

So I feel fine about it: It draws and draws, making delicate lines and flexing as I want it to.

 

It is not as fast as a modern fountain pen, and it may need a little cleaning wip on the nib now and then (depending how it is used).

But: Unless you get a nibmeister to enhance a XXF gold nib, I don't know how to get such fine flexible nib writing on and on. Except in a dip pen - I have 15 - they don't do it for me.

 

However the punp pen is not exactly a fountain pen! Don't expect that it is, because that may frustrate you. It behaves sensitivly. One needs to befriend the pen because it needs more sensitive rutines and writing/drawing habbits than the fmodern fountian pen - otherwise one may get some poor experiences. There are a few points:

 

1. The ink: To my experience it works well with the different india inks - I add some drops of water, even a few drops of methyl alcohol - depending on the type of india ink / tusche I use. I was not sucessful with my traditional fountain pen ink, noodler black (but that may be because that was the first ink I tried).

 

2. The paper: One need good paper - a lot of poor paper tends to clog the pen esp. when one preasures to use the flex. This is an experience I have had with all my penns with a very fine nib. I recognized this problem with for instance sailors fine nib desk pen, which I love to work with, as well as the pilot pennmanship fountain pen, which has a very very fine stiff nib, which I find it hard to work with. But due to the needle sharp manga G nib this issue needs a little consideratin when working with pooreer quality paper.

 

3. As mentioned by wygpenguine above, a steady ink flow is created by a delicate handling of the pump-buttom. I let a finger lean on the pump-button while drawing - this creates a very mild change in pressure, which keeps the ink flowing and flowing.

 

For me this works much much better than a dip pen or a wintage superflex flex pen which many rave about. So I love it. But: it needs care and patience to befriend oneself with the pen. But then it rewards you with creating this delicate flexible line on and on.

 

As to the other problems:

1. Thanks for the information about the risk for rust problems - I will think about how to avoid the problem, if possible. A drop of oil or broun soap would be good against rust, but can it work then? Luckily a nib is not expensive. (My dip pen nibs also rust easily. I even have had two nibs for dip pen, that broke themselves over night after I used them one single time.)

 

2. The business: I guess mr. Ackerman may be alone and has to do everything. I have also experienced that the contact can be a little shaky. But he made me get this pen that does things nothing else can do and for little money. It only needs a little pantience, delicate handling and not too fast writing.

 

This pen deserves a place in the market because it answers to a great wish and need we have. It is simple compared to modern fountain pens, and it is not as easy to write with as they are. But it can do something they cannot, and which some people like me and many others want. But it clearly is not for everybody.

 

Lennart

Edited January 23, 2011 by lennart

[Seaheff]

I've seen this with another cottage industry in another hobby, where the seller took money immediately, and months (or more) to ship orders. The most effective stratagem for lighting a fire under him seemed to be writing to his state's attorney general.

 

 

I'm among one of the people who ordered a pump pen and, although my credit card has been charged, I haven't heard any word at all from Ackerman. I ordered the pen in November of 2010. I've emailed and called the number provided looking for a refund, to no avail. I wonder if something has happened to Mr. Ackerman, or if he really is just shrugging off a number of paid customers. I guess Tweel's advice may be the best route to finding out.