Comments On Ackerman Pump Pen

[Limner]

Gosh. I can't believe Mr. Ackerman is still in business. I ordered my first Pump Pen in...2005? (I think.) It took nearly a year to arrive, and didn't work. I went through months of hassle trying to get one that worked, eventually ending up with about six of them, all different models...none of which worked consistently. I finally gave up. I dumped them all the last time I moved, some were still new in the package! I couldn't even donate them in good conscience...

 

I have Mr. Ackerman to thank for getting me into vintage fountain pens, come to think of it. I have a Desiderata Sleek on order now; all the writing samples I've seen show that it has good flow.

[PrestoTenebroso]

Gosh. I can't believe Mr. Ackerman is still in business. I ordered my first Pump Pen in...2005? (I think.) It took nearly a year to arrive, and didn't work. I went through months of hassle trying to get one that worked, eventually ending up with about six of them, all different models...none of which worked consistently. I finally gave up. I dumped them all the last time I moved, some were still new in the package! I couldn't even donate them in good conscience...

 

I have Mr. Ackerman to thank for getting me into vintage fountain pens, come to think of it. I have a Desiderata Sleek on order now; all the writing samples I've seen show that it has good flow.

Haha!

[discopig]

Gosh. I can't believe Mr. Ackerman is still in business. I ordered my first Pump Pen in...2005? (I think.) It took nearly a year to arrive, and didn't work. I went through months of hassle trying to get one that worked, eventually ending up with about six of them, all different models...none of which worked consistently. I finally gave up. I dumped them all the last time I moved, some were still new in the package! I couldn't even donate them in good conscience...

 

I have Mr. Ackerman to thank for getting me into vintage fountain pens, come to think of it. I have a Desiderata Sleek on order now; all the writing samples I've seen show that it has good flow.

 

I've had nothing but troubles with my Akkerman pen as well, when I have some extra money I may just have to try a Desiderata pen, it seems perfect for what I need.

[Limner]

Haha!

THAT'S what I'm talking about!

[TeaHive]

I've been waiting on my Ackerman pump pen since October 31st of this year. First they didn't have the G nibs, then they didn't have the overfeeds in stock.. I asked if I could get a regular pump pen instead, and was told it would ship the day after my asking, (which would have been December 4th.) Still not here. Sigh. I wish I'd learned about the Desiderata pens sooner. They look lovely!

 

Guess I'll start saving up for one. I'll probably be able to buy one long before the Ackerman pen shows up. Despite the wait, I'm still looking forward to at least trying the Ackerman pump pen. Hopefully it isn't a dud as well as behind schedule.

[Limner]

Darn it, I used to have a full review/warning about the Pump Pen on my website (now defunct), close to ten years ago; I sure wish I'd saved the text and posted it here, and saved some people the money and headache. My experience was almost identical to that of the OP.

 

I do have the images that accompanied the review, however, including some showing a modification I made to the cap that alleviated the stuck-cap-ink-explosion problem. I used a jeweler's saw & dremel to cut a slot in the cap to accommodate the button (below). It didn't fix the flow problems, though, but it may help somebody...

 

 

[TeaHive]

Ooooh, very nice modification!

[Osmodivs]

Well, I have to give it a chance, I ordered the Mitchell Pump Pen Senior on Oct 6 2014, lets see how long does it takes to arrive all the way to México

Well, it has finally arrived today!

It came in simple white box with the name and address of the company who makes it printed in all sides. No instructions inside the box.

I found the feed a little bit too rustic, construction wise. It works as expected. I like this pen. Now, if only my other package of William Mitchell nibs arrived it would be perfect, I am stuck with the included 2½mm nib.

Edited December 25, 2014 by Osmodivs

[TeaHive]

My Ackerman pen finally arrived last week. As the overfeeds were out of stock after much asking where it was, I asked for a Senior body as a replacement to what would have been a Junior with overfeed, to make a more even price exchange. I was sent a Junior without overfeed anyway..

 

It cannot be filled by opening the back and putting ink in with a syringe. Because when you put the back cap back on, air forces ink to shoot out the section. I would be fine by pumping the pen in an ink bottle to fill it, except the section blocks half of the pump space on the inside of the pen's sac. This pen is difficult to fill, and pumping it sucks up very little ink. Less than a cartridge's worth. So it's not of any more use to me than a regular ol' dip pen.. which defeats the purpose of having bought this pen to begin with. Except that the feed allows me to dip less often, I suppose. (The one good thing about all this.) The cap also doesn't post. Which by itself isn't a big issue, but with everything else, is this (bleep)-cake's foul icing.

 

I will also note that this pen was postmarked on the day I opened a dispute through PayPal. After which, it arrived quickly enough.

 

The entire experience has been abysmally less than satisfactory. And that's putting it lightly. Because the actual words I would use are not allowed on the forums. I still have a dispute open in PayPal to get a partial refund, as I still used it out of curiosity, and the G nib itself is worth keeping. But I just wasn't sent what I ordered.

 

Mneh.

[BookCat]

Damnations! I ordered one of these about 30 mins before finding this thread. Seems like it'll take about two months to get here, if I'm lucky, and I'm not holding my breath about the quality.

[TeaHive]

I'd suggest cancelling your order as soon as possible.

[PrestoTenebroso]

 

I've had nothing but troubles with my Akkerman pen as well, when I have some extra money I may just have to try a Desiderata pen, it seems perfect for what I need.

And might I add, your purchase will support a struggling young musician!

[Mtrap]

After weeks of order, there was no confirmation whatever so.

It's a shame that I had to get help from Paypal to retrieve back my hundreds of dollars as I ordered a few of them to try.

Even while Paypal is investigation against my claim. Nothing I heard from this man.

 

Definitely not a good experience at all.

[BookCat]

After weeks of order, there was no confirmation whatever so.

It's a shame that I had to get help from Paypal to retrieve back my hundreds of dollars as I ordered a few of them to try.

Even while Paypal is investigation against my claim. Nothing I heard from this man.

 

Definitely not a good experience at all.

 

Hundreds of dollars? The pens don't cost very much, you must have ordered lots. I'm sure they were about $25 each, so four would have cost a hundred. Hundreds?

 

I've sent an email cancelling my order (one pen and an extra feed). If I don't hear within two months I'll open a paypal dispute.

[joly1]

yes ,Charles Ackerman can take a long time to deliver orders, but as I own 3 pump pens ,I do not totally agree to the understated bashing his pens receive here and there in this forum ,I use them to draw with rather thick inks : indian ink, acrylic ink, sumi ink, and with some patience to tame the beasts ,after some tinkering and modifications, for example adding an home made overfeed on the nibs, I obtain very good results each time I use them, the building quality is really good for the price, the pens, if properly cared of, resist fearly well to wear and time, and Charles Ackerman is always eager to improve his models, this is not a mundane fountain pen, It is a very clever tool, for those who remember, the Pelikan Graphos with its proprietary nibs whas not a lot more easier to use.

[TeaHive]

yes ,Charles Ackerman can take a long time to deliver orders, but as I own 3 pump pens ,I do not totally agree to the understated bashing his pens receive here and there in this forum ,I use them to draw with rather thick inks : indian ink, acrylic ink, sumi ink, and with some patience to tame the beasts ,after some tinkering and modifications, for example adding an home made overfeed on the nibs, I obtain very good results each time I use them, the building quality is really good for the price, the pens, if properly cared of, resist fearly well to wear and time, and Charles Ackerman is always eager to improve his models, this is not a mundane fountain pen, It is a very clever tool, for those who remember, the Pelikan Graphos with its proprietary nibs whas not a lot more easier to use.

 

I feel most of the dissatisfaction is aimed at the very poor customer service and quality control. When you get a pen that DOES work, it works well. (As it has for you, thankfully!)

 

Due to the frustration of my own order (more on that down below), I was kindly sent an older model by another forum user, and it works fairly well! Except the G nib and feed are completely stuck inside the metal collar that comes with that pen model. I can't pull them out, or knock them out from the back as there is nothing shape-wise for me to set the collar against to do so. So when the nib wears out, the pen will be rendered useless unless I can find a way to to get the pieces unstuck. Nothing has worked so far--soaking, heat, twisting, straight pulling, can't knock from the back. Nothing works, short of methods that would possibly destroy the feed or collar. But it does fill easily and write. A bit too wet of a flow for getting precise hairlines needed in my Copperplate practice, but it does work for sketching. I will use it until the nib dies, for sure.

 

The newer model I ordered directly from Ackerman's website.. I was told at two different points in the process that it would ship out "tomorrow" or "at the beginning of next week." At neither point was it delivered. It was only delivered after I opened a dispute via PayPal. I know this because it was postmarked the day I opened the dispute. Now, this could possibly be coincidental, that the dispute had nothing to do with them finally shipping it out.. but I placed the dispute December 15th--quite some time AFTER I was told my pen would ship on December 4th.

 

It also took me sending three emails, spaced about every 4-7 days, before getting a single response throughout the whole process. Repeat this cycle of 3:1 between October 31st and December 15th. The last cycle of my emails gained no response at all.

 

As for the pen itself, I was sent the wrong one, even after discussing which model it was several times through our communications. It does not fill from the back as the product description proclaims (because closing the back cap forces air inside, causing ink to shoot out the front), and the pen's section blocks off half of the pump mechanism from the inside, making filling by pumping difficult and resulting in very little ink-fill. For me to use this pen on the go, I would still have to bring an ink bottle along. Because that small fill runs out after only a couple lines of writing. This defeats the purpose of buying the pump pen at all.

 

I can use the older model until the nib dies, and then replacing the nib becomes a whole new adventure, due to the parts being stuck. The newer model, I can only use at my desk, instead of out of the house, as I planned to do so when I discovered the pump pen. For all the time it took for shipping, communications, and getting the pen in hand to actually use and test, I honestly feel that it was all NOT worth it. I could have saved my money (cheap as the pen was), and just used the plain dip pen bodies and G nibs I already had. I just wanted the convenience of a fountain pen in dip pen form. I didn't really get it.

 

This is my experience; I can't speak for others' experiences. And it is not bashing if it's honesty. If you take the gamble and get a pen that works for you, great! Treasure that pen, because it is a useful tool for writing and drawing with great line variation, and for use with wet mediums other than just fountain pen ink. If you get one that has quality issues, don't be surprised. And really don't be surprised when Charles Ackerman and/or his customer service representative, Rebecca, don't get back to you without having to wheedle and pester them for several days for some kind of response.

[joly1]

I am sorry to read your story, I had to wait for more than one year for the first pen,

for your stuck nib, I think you could try to dissasemble the pen , removing the rear part of the barrell wich is just friction fit, you can pull it backward with the help of one or two drops of dish washing soap, you will then see the green ruber tube ( the body of the pump) that you also can remove by pulling it , it is not glued ,and then you will access to the rear of the section, and with the help of a long enough rod you can try to knock the feeder and the nib,I have done it to cut the inner green tube in half ,and fit at the end of it a removable clear plastic tube which I use as a cartrige to fill the pen, and which stays in the pen afterwards;

to put back the green tube in the tube is more tricky, as you have to push it back (again with soap) with a wooden chop stick, trying not to puncture the rubber, and little by little you will set it back to its initial position, it works, I did it on my three pens;

To have a better grip,I use a rubber strip cut from a bicycle tyre tube as the plastic of the pen is quite slippery .I hope this will help, best regards.

[randumbum]

Any new news on the Ackerman Pen quality and customer service? It has been a couple years; does anyone know if things have gotten better?

[joly1]

Any new news on the Ackerman Pen quality and customer service? It has been a couple years; does anyone know if things have gotten better?

I ordered spare parts from Ackerman some months ago, the shipping took two weeks, my order was perfectly delivered well wrapped and conform to my wishes.I believe someone may be helping him to give a better service to clients,I am looking forward buying new items from him .

[TDolce]

I can honestly attest that Ackerman STILL doesn't have his act together. I'm amazed,...no ....Gobsmacked...that years later he STILL doesn't care about Customer Service. I ordered two pens on Sept.3 with Paypal...he got the money on the 5th. I paid for two day shipping...ha! What a joke. It is now October 1st. NO PENS! I reached out to him after 10 days of the order and he apologized and said he would refund the extra costs for the Two day shipping. THAT never happened. He then said the pens were going out that day. Here are we in October and no pens.

 

I just opened a case with Paypal and want a full refund. I'm done with this dude. It is no way to run a business.

 

So NO...I would say things have NOT changed.

Edited October 1, 2017 by TDolce