Wanted: A Pen For Test Driving Ink

[elevennx]

In addition to the excellent suggestions above, kindly consider a Noodle's Ahab: it can be taken to bits, so is simple to clean and fast to dry

Easy to take apart, yes, but I have the opposite experience when it comes to cleaning out the piston. That second chamber is always hard to clean for me, and as a result the pen doesn't get used very often. It is possible that I just don't know what I'm doing, of course

 

On the other hand, my Ahab does lend itself well toward promoting frequent ink changing simply because the ink seems to dry out in this pen faster than in any other that I've tried. Could be the inks too, though. Just reporting my impression.

[Green Ink]

Thanks, I'm reading about the Ahab now....

[strictlyobiter]

I actually think the Esterbrook is a great suggestion. I have two (an SJ and an LJ) and it is a doddle to clean/flush them out and start anew. Much quicker than a converter or a piston IMO. My LJ cost 17 on eBay! Worth keeping your eye on.

[tonybelding]

TWSBI Vac 700. Seriously... It's fast to fill, fast to flush. When you are changing inks, that plunger can push a lot of water through the feed in a hurry. I only have two caveats. I experienced broken parts on my TWSBIs, although the company sent replacements quickly. Also, the Vac 700 sometimes stops feeding ink until I fiddled with the filler knob a bit to get it flowing again.

 

If you were willing to spend more money, a Gate City Belmont is even better. It has similar advantages to the Vac 700 and none of the problems.

 

The only other thing I would suggest is that any C/C pen can be very easy to flush, if you get a large hobby syringe and cut the tip so it will fit over the cartridge nipple of your pens. Then you can use it to pump a lot of water through the feed in a hurry. Just don't press too hard! If you get overly enthusiastic, the hydraulic pressure can actually damage the feed.

[elevennx]

The only other thing I would suggest is that any C/C pen can be very easy to flush, if you get a large hobby syringe and cut the tip so it will fit over the cartridge nipple of your pens. Then you can use it to pump a lot of water through the feed in a hurry. Just don't press too hard! If you get overly enthusiastic, the hydraulic pressure can actually damage the feed.

Good to know - thanks for writing this. I'd been thinking about getting a bulb to help flush my pens. Up until now I've managed with running water and a syringe. The bulb should make the process much easier. And I had actually wondered whether water pressure could be an issue. Glad you mentioned it.

[Fabienne]

I would use a TWSBI. A snap to take apart and reassemble. You can get them really clean and ready for the next thing without any trouble at all. Take off the grip and put the nib assembly on a bulb to force clean.* Put the grip back. Go after the body with a clean syringe and clean around the collar. Done. I love mine.

 

* The Radio Shack solder bulb is perfect and fits all nibs. Hope they still sell that one.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Fabienne

[Blue_Moon]

Depends on what you mean by "test drive". If all you want to do is write a little to see what colour the ink really after it dries and how it performs on different types/brands of paper,

I use a glass dip pen. I know this is counter to all other comments but it's what I carry when I go to the pen store to look for inks.

I concur. I'd use a glass dip pen, and specifically an Ernst glass pen. It will write from a third to a full 8.5 x 11 page with one dip, and nothing is easier, nor faster to clean. If you absolutely have to have a fountain pen, I'd go with the Vac 700. It will beat most other (fountain) pens' time for cleaning.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Blue_Moon

[Green Ink]

This ink tester pen - I would keep an ink in it a week or two and write on all kinds of paper to get a feel for it.

 

I just flushed out my Parker Vacumatic. I won't be changing inks in that pen often!

[A144]

I use a set of Pilot 78G pens in the F, M, and B (stub). I can fill one pen with the ink (I want to know how it writes out of a real fountain pen) and easily swap the nibs. Including my Metropolitan, I can ink up 4 different inks and swap the nibs around with a quick rinse and dry. They are also easy to clean and dry when you're done since they completely disassemble.

[WirsPlm]

I love my 78Gs and Metropolitans for ink testing (the M Metropolitan nib is a perfect size to get the ink color to really show) and they're usually easy to disassemble for a thorough cleaning, plus the 78Gs can be turned into an eyedropper relatively easily so you can just pour the sample into the pen barrel and use it until you want to switch.

[Sandy1]

Easy to take apart, yes, but I have the opposite experience when it comes to cleaning out the piston. That second chamber is always hard to clean for me, and as a result the pen doesn't get used very often. It is possible that I just don't know what I'm doing, of course

 

On the other hand, my Ahab does lend itself well toward promoting frequent ink changing simply because the ink seems to dry out in this pen faster than in any other that I've tried. Could be the inks too, though. Just reporting my impression.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

Ah Hmm - I'm not sure what is meant by "That second chamber is always hard to clean..."

 

Might you be referring to the piston shaft - which is a cylinder closed at one end, has the seals, accepts the breather tube in the open end, and the closed end extends through the ink tank, and is threaded to attach the Black grip? If so, I find a syringe will flush that out quite easily.

 

As for dry-out: The Ahab cap does not have an internal 'nib seal', there is a bit of dead air, but perhaps the dry-out is mostly due to the abbreviated simple collector, which doesn't retain all so much [wet] ink in the feed. If the pen's dried-out just a bit, a quick dip in water up to the end of the nib slit might get things going, or if quite dried-out, I press the piston down until I can see the ink cresting in the nib+feed - just enough that the feed+collector is flooded and I don't have to wipe away any excess ink - then raise the piston.

 

Bye,

S1

[Ada]

Having just cleaned out a Pilot Prera which I filled several months ago with Platinum Pigment Red and then forgot about (yes, I do know that was not a good idea), a Pilot Custom 74 which had been filled with Iroshizuku Murasaki-shikubu for a while, and a Waterman Phileas and a Bexley Jitterbug which have been repeatedly filled with the same ink and not thoroughly cleaned in a while, I can confidently say that the Prera is amazingly easy to clean.

 

Since the Prera's nib is easily removed and the Pilot twist converter has a very wide neck, cleaning out dried Pigment Red was a snap. It would be even easier for you, since you would probably be cleaning it fairly frequently instead of foolishly letting ink dry out in it.

[amberleadavis]

I have an Esterbrook J that was my mother's. It's a beauty - Dubonnet red. The nib is a 2556. (Mom used it to write shorthand. She's still really fast and she's 89.) I had it restored recently.

 

Getting the Osmiroid set sounds good.

 

Do I need to worry about wear and tear on the pen from taking the nib out repeatedly? This pen has lots of sentimental value.

 

 

No, don't abuse Mom's pen, get someone else's mom's pen.

[amberleadavis]

Well, I can say that I've used most the pens that have been mentioned. (Tony will likely convince me on the Gateway City Belmont someday).

 

I'm getting ready to test more than 50 ink. When I need to do a comprehensive review --- well, I start by looking at Sandy's reviews and reminding myself what a serious review looks like. (My reviews lack the gravitas and vocabulary of Sandy's, but have a lot more doodles). Next, I try and use the ink in more than one pen and on more than one paper.

 

I've broken my last few glass pens - a great nib will write for an entire page. That's what you want if you do a glass pen.

 

Several members suggested using a Esterbrook Dipless .. and then dipping. I haven't tried this, because I'm confused about dipping a dip-less.

 

I use my TWSBIs daily and they are the primary testers for my inks. The Jinhao 599s I purchased just don't work for me because I use a Broad or a stub usually.

 

My Sheaffer Targa is fun to use and easy to clean. Right now, I have two loaner pens both have sacs - the Estie (See Bruce above) and a Flex - Good Service. I like the smaller fill when testing inks.

 

Also, I just pulled out my Pilot Plumix pens - they are inexpensive, write well, and if you get really mad, you can throw them. (Well, don't throw them at someone, they might lose an eye). After throwing, the pen and nib still work. I did a quick fill of the cartridge and that's been sort of fun.

 

So, now that I've made you crazy let me suggest that you just start, try a few things and learn what you like. Journal about your experiences so that you can learn what does and does not work for you. Right now, you may not know the questions, so you can't be finding the answers.

[Green Ink]

I began an ink/pen journal. That's fun. I use an old Levenger circa notebook. I'm not nuts about the paper, but it's easy to punch holes and add other papers.

 

NOS Osmiroid 65 pen and nibs should arrive tomorrow. I'm looking about for a second Esterbrook (so Mom's pen can be in a gentle rotation).

 

I find it's a snap to take the nib out of my old Reform Calligraph and flush it. It's a piston filler. No cartridge, no converter. I think it's pretty great for testing ink. There's even an ink view window. I remembered I have a Levenger glass pen, never used, and dug that out.

 

Amber is right - I don't think I know the questions yet. I read what all you folks write about ink. Thanks so much for every review and ink chart. I'm lurking.

 

My newest pen is from the seventies. The more I read about the new ones, the confuseder I get. Well, what a fun problem.

[dcwaites]

I'm going to give you a completely different suggestion -- get a couple (or a few) of the Jinhao X-750 fountain pens. They are typically in the $5 ~ $7, with free postage, or you can get a set of 5 of different colours for $30.

They are generally good and reliable writers, and you can feel comfortable about removing the nibs and feeds if you need to adjust them or clean them. The different colours will help you keep track of what ink is in what pen.

 

Set of 5 on eBay

[FayeV]

I use a glass dip pen. I know this is counter to all other comments but it's what I carry when I go to the pen store to look for inks.

 

How do you carry/transport your glass dip pen? I'd be afraid of taking mine out of the house.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Back when I wasn't so lazy, I'd take 8 assorted width and flex pens, 5-6 papers for each new ink.

Now it's 3 pens and 3 papers..... Too lazy for my own good.

 

There is no "one" pen/nib that can test all inks.....if so, a 'true' regular flex* M. I find some inks test quite well with 'true' regular flex M&F nibs. In I am looking for two toned shading.

It could be an ink needs a B.....few are really good with semi-flex, in that is a wetter writing nib, due to ease of flex.

Too wet a nib can drown shading.

 

If all you are interested in is vivid monotone high saturated inks....a nail could so as well as any other.

I suspect nails don't do quite as good with shading.

 

** 'True' regular flex....I've gone over to clarifying that, in many modern nibs are not regular flex but semi-nails.

True regular flex when well mashed spread their tines 3 X a light down stroke. Semi-nail like a P-75 or 600's, only 2 X.

[stuartk]

Well, I can say that I've used most the pens that have been mentioned. (Tony will likely convince me on the Gateway City Belmont someday).

 

...

 

Several members suggested using a Esterbrook Dipless .. and then dipping. I haven't tried this, because I'm confused about dipping a dip-less.

 

 

I've been thinking of a Belmont as well. I have quite a few inks as well and like switching around and a syringe filler would be ideal for that.

 

As for the Estie Dipless, it's "dip less," not "dip free." It was designed to hold more ink than a regular steel nib dip pen, so it didn't need to be dipped as often. I have several of them and they must have been a wonderful thing for anyone who used a dip pen.

 

The pen I currently use for trying out inks is a Noodler's piston-fill pen with a standard (non-flex) nib. It doesn't hold a huge amount of ink, so I don't have to wait as long before refilling with the next ink. It also has a small nib and it's quite thin, so it works well with ink in the small plastic sample bottles that most vendors use. It's no better or worse to rinse out than any other piston-fill pen. The current $14 Noodler's piston-fill pens with flex nibs would work well too.

 

I've thought about getting a TWSBI 700 Vac pen because one of my friends has one and it is indeed easy to fill and flush. However, I've never been able to work up much enthusiasm for the TWSBI pens. They just seem kind of awkward and clunky to me.

 

 

[Green Ink]

I recently got a TWSBI Vac 700. I saw on Goulet's site that you can fill it with a syringe. (Unscrew and remove nib section. Slide the syringe needle past the piston seal while the plunger is all the way down. Inject ink.)

 

It works. I can add just a bit of ink for testing. This is great because the nib is too big to get down into a sample vial.

 

My writing is small so I got an EF. This is not the right nib for testing ink! (You need a wet ink that's not too pale for the EF.) I'll probably get another nib soon for testing inks.

 

I do like the pen. Easy to clean. I got the demonstrator. It has a great steam punk vibe. Not sure that's wise for testing ink, but so far no stains. Goulet's site also says the modern plastics don't stain much. I'll let you know what my experience is.

 

 

I'm learning. Amen to what Bo Bo Olson said about nibs, a few posts above this one.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Green Ink