Hello! Advice Please With A Difficult New Pen...

[JillM]

Hi, new girl here, I have a lovely brand new Parker Premier and the ink flow is shockingly bad - have attached a sample. Have now cleaned the pen and changed to a blue cartridge but it's still awful. The shop tells me to post it back to them but I'd prefer to see if it's fixable. It's a gorgeous pink gold pen and I'd like to keep it if I can.

I wonder if anyone will even see this message?!

Best

Jill M.

[SujiCorp12345]

Hi, welcome to FPN.

 

See this article: http://www.nibs.com/Article6.html

about halfway down the page, he talks about pulling the tines apart to increase ink flow. I did it for my 78G which used to be drier than I'd have liked. It flows well now though.

Edited June 16, 2014 by SujiCorp12345

[JillM]

Thanks so much, but I think I'm a bit scared to do that. The pen cost £200 so if it isn't fixable I shall return it and get my money back so I can buy a new one that writes smoothly. I just wondered if there was a simple answer that won't hurt the nib.

Thank you again.

Jill

[The Blue Knight]

Hi, welcome to FPN.

 

See this article: http://www.nibs.com/Article6.html

about halfway down the page, he talks about pulling the tines apart to increase ink flow. I did it for my 78G which used to be drier than I'd have liked. It flows well now though.

 

 

I personally wouldn't do the above £200 is too much to risk, I myself wouldn't I would get either a professional to look at it or ask for an exchange. Also gold is a lot harder to work then steel so a professional is the best idea.

[SujiCorp12345]

I personally wouldn't do the above £200 is too much to risk, I myself wouldn't I would get either a professional to look at it or ask for an exchange. Also gold is a lot harder to work then steel so a professional is the best idea.

Oops! I didn't realize the pen was that expensive! I'd get professional help for sure. I only tried to do it on my 78G because it only costs like $10, so even if I messed up, it wouldn't be too big of a deal.

[Tadeusz]

Have you tried a different ink or a converter?

 

Maybe the ink is just very dry flowing, you might want to try Diamine inks, as they seem to be very wet-flowing. They also have cartridges if you do not want to buy a bottle.

 

I would explore the easy-options like the above before sending it away.

[JillM]

Ah, many thanks, I shall order some Diamine ink - have just been admiring the gorgeous colours! Hopefully it will do the trick - I'm so disappointed that such an expensive pen (my birthday present!) is writing so poorly.

[Clancy]

Hello Jill. Greetings from California and a warm welcome to FPN. Glad you've joined us; it's great to have you here. Best of luck with your new fountain pen. Some conventional thought is that new fountain pens ought to be thoroughly flushed before using. You might take a look at this video link and give it a try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzKVykcNP6M

Edited June 16, 2014 by Clancy

[JillM]

What a lovely friendly forum I've found here! I have carried out the flushing process twice now, but didn't use washing up liquid in case it means I can't return the pen. Most helpful, although the uneven ink flow is still apparent. (I am a novelist currently writing my 27th book and every one of them has been written by hand with a fountain pen, so I really would like this one to become easier to use.)

Thanks again for all the help and advice.

[gerigo]

If you check out the video by one of the members here, Matt of The Pen Habit, he reviewed the black version of this pen. He said it's one of those pens that had a reputation for nibs that are either amazing, or amazingly bad. I guess you got one that fell into the latter category. If memory serves me correctly, he said to either try before you buy or buy it from a place that will work with you to get one with a good nib.

Edited June 16, 2014 by gerigo

[RMN]

Hi and welcome to FPN

 

Flushing a pen is normal procedure, even with some drops of dishwashing soap. Just be sure to flush well with plain water afterwards.

It won't affect your right to return it.

 

A gentle nudge of the tines is no problem either, but gentle...

You could ask your shop to just exchange the section for you, so you can keep the rest of the pen. Or is the nib and section in Rose gold too? That would change things....

Rose gold is pretty, though the layer often wears of after a while, I hear.

 

Enjoy the forum

 

 

D.ick

[william2001]

Welcome to FPN!

If it's a expensive pen, it's not a good idea to experiment with it.

I hoped this helped!

Enjoy,

-William S. Park

[JillM]

Interesting! I tried one of these pens when I was in London a few months back and it wrote like a dream, so I asked my dad to order it online for me as he is housebound. Sadly neither shop has any more in stock so if I do return this one, I'll have to find an alternative. I do love fountain pens so much - have worked my way through some fantastic ones over the years. Sadly no specialist pen shops in Bristol where I live, although that might be a good thing as I'd end up buying even more!

[PAKMAN]

Hello and Welcome to FPN!! Glad to have you as a member!!

[Sasha Royale]

Have you tried a different ink or a converter?

 

Maybe the ink is just very dry flowing, you might want to try Diamine inks, as they seem to be very wet-flowing. They also have cartridges if you do not want to buy a bottle.

 

I would explore the easy-options like the above before sending it away.

 

+1 for the thoughtful approach, over the dramatic approach. I am not an advocate of BENDING, CUTTING, SCRAPING, etc, by the

inexperienced. (including myself) Certainly, never as a first step.

 

What do you mean by "cleaned" the pen ? A very dilute solution of DAWN dish detergent does a great flushing. However, most other

dish soaps contain lotions for the hands. These lotions coat the skin, and other surfaces, with a delightful. oily layer. The purpose of

pre-use cleaning is to remove manufacturing oil residue. If you don't have DAWN, use a 5% - 10% solution of ammonia and water, six

to ten cycles. Rinse thoroughly.

 

Dry thoroughly ! Remove the converter. Wrap the nib in a paper towel to "wick" out the water. An hour should do. When inking the

pen, make sure the nib gets dipped into the ink.

 

Are you certain that the pen is being used at the 45-degrees to 55-degrees fountain pen slant ? This is not a ballpoint pen.

 

Apologies, if some of this is "insultingly" obvious. I want you to exhaust the EASY, INEXPENSIVE, HARMLESS remedies , before

moving to the professional adjustments.

 

Your Parker Premier is quality instrument. It should write very pleasingly. I hope it is merely "dirty".

 

Write with joy.

 

BTW: A rubber, ear bulb (trimmed to fit) is an excellent investment for pressure flushing cartridge pens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[JillM]

Again, thanks so much, this has all been incredibly helpful. Sadly ammonia is banned from sale in the UK and we don't have Dawn either. I tried again with the pen this morning and it is so incredibly dry and difficult to write with - not even one word is 'complete' - that I've decided to parcel it up and send it back to the company so they can see if it's a faulty nib. I shall hear from them once they've assessed it and will post again to let you know what they say.

Thank you for your help. In the meantime I shall carry on using my lovely super-smooth Waterman Harley Davidson!

Best

Jill Mansell

[notVirtuThe3rd]

Hi! Welcome to FPN.
I'm really glad you've joined us.

Enjoy!

Kind regards,
VirtuThe3rd

[Wahl]

[TheModernGent]

Welcome to FPN

 

Keep as posted as to the problem/solution

[Planeta]

_{Please order a new blade.}

 

_{Kind regards}