Worst Fountain Pen Mistake?

[atetrachordofthree]

sometimes when sitting in lectures being bored, i have this weird habit of turning the end of the converter and see how far I would go before ink gets forced out of the feed. It's kind of a pathetic graduate student mini-thrill, if you well.

 

This one time, in the middle of my-whatever you'd call this-- the professor suddenly said something very important and very interesting. i was distracted but my hands kept going, so I squeezed out all the ink onto my notebook, and have no more ink to write with for the rest of the day.

 

good times.

[amyx231]

setting a pen on fire?!?!?

surely theres stuff in the plastic to keep that from happening!

[amyx231]

well, at least you dont wet the nib with your tongue. i need to never do that again (in my defense, only did it 2 times now), the habit will toxify me in a few years.

[redisburning]

Selling my Sheaffer touchdown (white dot too).

 

Using the funds to buy an old Pelikan.

 

Mistake number 1 and 2 right there.

 

p.s. before you jump me the Pelikan was nice just not for me. I spent a fair bit of money and all I got to show for it was a lesson learned.

[79spitfire]

I'd have to pick one....

 

Caught one on fire.. well how about 2

 

Bought cheap pens thinking it would keep me from buying pricer pens, lost count :bonk:

 

Dropped a Parker nib then rolled over it with the chair cracking it

 

But I think the printer ink in the fountain pen pretty much tops it for me!

[MidnightBlue]

Yes Amyx231, resin is merely plastic............with a $40 name. Thanks

[alvarez57]

Yes Amyx231, resin is merely plastic............with a $40 name. Thanks

 

Yes indeed.

[camoandconcrete]

Becoming obsessed with Italian pens (they're soo expensive!), but if I started over again I'd still fall in love with them.

[amyx231]

ouch.

i hope i never do anything like that. but then again, i dont see myself using fire, or removing nibs. ever. im the, run it under water for an hour type. caution wins the day - or at least preserves the nib/feed.

but i did see some $2 nibs at a store, but that was prob an old supply-they looked broken, to me.

 

but yeah, not changing the nib myself. cleaning tops. no melting anything. i want stainless steel barrel eventually, too - for flashiness :ltcapd: :roflmho:. yeah, i wanna keep a heavy, metal pen to look good, but i'd of course still use whatever i use. right now i have a gorgeous ballpoint, fake marble and gold look. real heavy. does it write? nope. cant stand how it writes. but it looks great, and i like holding it. what can i say, when im thinking, i need to hold something solid (no jokes here, please).

[thebestnoobcake]

sometimes when sitting in lectures being bored, i have this weird habit of turning the end of the converter and see how far I would go before ink gets forced out of the feed. It's kind of a pathetic graduate student mini-thrill, if you well.

 

This one time, in the middle of my-whatever you'd call this-- the professor suddenly said something very important and very interesting. i was distracted but my hands kept going, so I squeezed out all the ink onto my notebook, and have no more ink to write with for the rest of the day.

 

good times.

Yes. I agree. I keep doing this with my TWSBI. You know how you can twist the end cap about 180 degrees before the piston engages and starts moving? I wasn't paying attention and... :roflmho:

 

My worst mistake would be carrying my Sheaffer Palladium Admiral (I think that's what it is) in my pocket. So many little scratches. Also the lava on my Rotring 600 has bits rubbed off..

[Skeet]

Laying a bead of Krazy Glue to stop a leaky feeder/nib. It worked so well, that the pen stopped writing altogether. I surmise that life's best lessons are taught to you, by none other than you.

[Edgar Allan Bo]

Not being born 100 years earlier...

[georges zaslavsky]

having my parker badly repaired in 2002 and having it writing worse than before and being crooked of 60€ for a nib exchange

[tanburi]

Not having paid enough attention to the body material when I first fell into the FP world (and having paid that much so far for shiny plastic).

Edited February 22, 2011 by tanburi

[PDW]

Not filling my pen properly before I came to work this morning and having it run out. Bottle of ink at home. grrrr. **!"??!* ballpens!

Edited February 22, 2011 by PDW

[amyx231]

ouch.

well, at least it's not dried out. just empty. and you really should keep a gel pen(s) (1 in black and 1 in blue) around, cause you know that would happen. BPs though...harsh. did your hand hurt?

[ADKaid]

Not filling my pen properly before I came to work this morning and having it run out. Bottle of ink at home. grrrr. **!"??!* ballpens!

 

I once dropped a bit of water in a cartridge that had run out. I put it back in the pen, shook it a tad, and I was able to write for the rest of the day with almost no difference in the color saturation. It was Noodler's bulletproof black.

 

On to my mistake:

 

My worst decision so far was attempting to smooth out my EF TWSBI nib on my own with "suspect" supplies.. I only made it worse, and now I'm just hoping someone will answer my post about it in the pen services forum.

[amyx231]

Not filling my pen properly before I came to work this morning and having it run out. Bottle of ink at home. grrrr. **!"??!* ballpens!

 

I once dropped a bit of water in a cartridge that had run out. I put it back in the pen, shook it a tad, and I was able to write for the rest of the day with almost no difference in the color saturation. It was Noodler's bulletproof black.

 

On to my mistake:

 

My worst decision so far was attempting to smooth out my EF TWSBI nib on my own with "suspect" supplies.. I only made it worse, and now I'm just hoping someone will answer my post about it in the pen services forum.

 

EF nib...does it even have a surface to even out? id imagine its a needle point.

[LuckyDog10]

Two part mistake, about 7 years apart.

 

My husband and I each bought a Waterman Phileas at the same time - his a red, mine blue. After a few years, he stopped writing with his and I asked him about it. He said it had gotten scratchy. I pulled off the cap and immediately realized my husband had no idea how to write with a fountain pen; the nib was bent 90 degrees. (That quafilies as HIS biggest FP mistake. :blink: He is now thoroughly corrected of it.)

 

Shortly afterward, we were in the midst of some serious spring cleaning and the red Phileas surfaced. He asked if I should toss it, and I said...yes. In the trash it went, along with a small jar of Sheaffer King's Gold ink that I was not fond of and figured I'd never use. (And that is my biggest ink mistake.)

 

Fast forward to Fall 2010. I am attempting to work on a black Phileas, and I carefully pull the nib and feed from the section. It comes loose much quicker than I expect, my hand slips, and the nipple of the feed bashes into my opposite thumb, cracking it. Had the red Phileas still been around, I could have raided it for parts. :bonk:

[Philosophy Student]

sometimes when sitting in lectures being bored, i have this weird habit of turning the end of the converter and see how far I would go before ink gets forced out of the feed. It's kind of a pathetic graduate student mini-thrill, if you well.

 

This one time, in the middle of my-whatever you'd call this-- the professor suddenly said something very important and very interesting. i was distracted but my hands kept going, so I squeezed out all the ink onto my notebook, and have no more ink to write with for the rest of the day.

 

good times.

 

 

HA goodness, I am not alone! I always do this and end up with blots of ink on my paper.... luckily i always have another fp with me. I didnt do that in grad school but i cant help but do that in law school. Love it too funny.