Faber Castell Pens. Have You Experienced Drying Out Issues?

[arcadeflow]

I've been a month with the gorgeous black resin Faber-Castell Ambition. Nib is great, flow is high, cap is a little too tight to uncap, gripping the pen by the barrel is not my thing, but I still like the pen.

 

However, I noticed that ink gets darker in the first few words/sentences the longer I have let the pen inked without use. I made a test letting it sit for 5 days. Iroshizuku Shin-Kai acquired a gorgeous red sheen. I kept writing to see if it would go back to normal and it is very slowly losing the sheen and going back to a lighter version. I noticed the cap is not airtight, air escapes from the top of the cap.

 

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Is the cap letting too much evaporation? How about the nib design that lacks a breather hole, can it play a part in this? I did a search and found no complaints of these pens having drying out issues, but I am noticing evaporation concentrating the ink, if I am not mistaken.

[ink-syringe]

My oak ondoro, lovely pen in every other way, does indeed dry out very very quickly. I dip it in a little water or prime the feed and it is fine, very reliable and good writer but the nib dries out if you leave it more than a day or two. The cap just doesn't seem to be a tight enough fit.

 

Literally the only issue with the pen, but yeah it totally has to be used every day or it it dries up in a hurry.

[arcadeflow]

I don't think I have experienced a hard start like that, but that is a shame. I will to leave it 2 weeks inked to see if it dries up. I only noticed the ink getting concentrated but it still started...

[pbhat]

I have a similar problem with the Ondoro smoked oak what ink - syringe has described. Not a problem as such but not using the pen over the weekend (I keep the pen at the office) sometimes dries it out by Monday morning and can be overcome by just filling the ink once again. The cap is very tight inspite of one year of continuous use, so technically where the problem lies is not known but my hunch is it is with the Fine nib itself with lack of breather and hair line slit.

 

Further the pen is pretty finicky with certain inks especially the saturated ones where it sometimes stops writing and has to be given a wash. Like to know if any of you have similar experience.

Pbhat

[FountainPages]

I had two Graf Intuitions. Neither wrote more than three or four sentences before running dry. Nothing I did worked to make them write right.

Edited June 29, 2015 by FountainPages

[Algester]

my observations the converter doesnt like "thick" inks in that sometimes it will get stuck on the top of the converter, the ambition has a seal problem more or less a design flaw where its letting too much evaporation I just bought the ondoro and I'm also observing that one

other than that I use Iroshuzuku inks in both already so this will be an interesting observation

ops wait I remembered I emptied the Murasaki-Shikibu on my Ambition and is now currently loaded with Diamine Twilight

but initial testing has been quite good with the performance that the ambition is no longer drying out like when I loaded it with Sailor Sou-ten which is quite "thick" of an ink I'm wondering if the same can be said of the Kon-Peki...

Edited June 30, 2015 by Algester

[DrDebG]

I have a Faber Castell Loom. I bought it to be a "carry" pen. The cap fits very tightly and can sometimes be a bit difficult to get off. But, I really haven't had too many problems with it. It is a "dry-er" writer. It definitely prefers "wetter" inks. I've had very good luck with J. Herbin Rouge Bourgoyne, Pilot Iroshibuku Asa Gao, all of the Waterman inks, and Rohrer & Klingner inks. But, it does not like any of my Montegrappa inks. So, yes, it is a bit more picky than other pens. But it is a real workhorse, and starts right up every time.

[ink-syringe]

Running dry while writing or just being a dry writer or drying out due to cap off time are not really what I understand the OP query to be about at all. I think those issues just muddy the water. The issue is that the pen dries out quickly even capped. That is exactly my experience. It is not a pen that likes to sit.

[Algester]

though in the past where I have exposed the Ambition to the air conditioning it seems to have hard starts... but for now I have kept the ondoro inside my bag

Edited June 30, 2015 by Algester

[ransky]

My Intuition Platino Grenadilla dries out when capped. If it sits for a day without use it won't start. I really don't use the pen much for that reason. It's not dependable.

[dylim1]

I have a Faber Castell Ambition. The cap was pretty loose. I contacted Faber Castell and they asked me to send the pen to them. I got the pen back yesterday and it's all fixed without charges. I'd suggest contacting Faber Castell and see what they suggest. They have great service.

[ink-syringe]

Second to none. Above and beyond.

 

They have great service.

[I.M.]

I have absolutely no problems with my E-Motion.

[larnivon]

I had two Graf Intuitions. Neither wrote more than three or four sentences before running dry. Nothing I did worked to make them write right.

 

Similar problem with mine. I've only used it for four fills, but three of them gave trouble after the first few days. I think the ink makes a difference, though: the DC Electric Blue flowed freely right until the converter was empty.

[Poojaby]

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to add that I've been using a Neo Slim. I filled it with the beautiful Aurora Borealis, the thing is that everytime I wanted to write it'd start dry and eventually ink would come out (sometimes), I gave it a big flush and once again filled it with Aurora Borealis, it worked wonders or so I thought... to test it I've been writing non stop, filled one page: all good. Filled a second page: all good, but noticed ink started to get lighter, and so when I started a third page it was just dry. 

 

Contrary to my first issue that the pen would dry if I stopped using it even with the cap on, now it dries while I'm using it :(

 

I suppose Diamine inks are just thicccc for this pen? I hope that's the case. I'll switch to a wetter ink and come back with the update someday soon.

[senzen]

Pearwood Ambition EF bought new, cap started tight, soon got wobbly, which doesn't bother me but might be related to ink going darker and developing starting problems. The interesting bit is how one can get used to something not really working until you have to accept you're just not using it.

 

Finally managed to tame the problem with a bit of masking tape in the cap. Ink now comes out in a medium hue, which eventually goes darker but much more slowly and with no starting problems. I'll probably still have to keep it at least in a single velvet pouch to get a consistent ink colour.

 

With less drying out I'm rediscovering this nib's smoothness, it has always seemed to be dragging on paper.

[AoKiu]

ELEMENTO OLIVE Limited Edition: drying out after a few days and doesn't start writing!

INTUITION TERRA: does NOT dry out, even after three weeks the pen writes when the nib touches the paper!

[InesF]

On 6/25/2015 at 6:12 AM, arcadeflow said:

I've been a month with the gorgeous black resin Faber-Castell Ambition. Nib is great, flow is high, cap is a little too tight to uncap, gripping the pen by the barrel is not my thing, but I still like the pen.

 

However, I noticed that ink gets darker in the first few words/sentences the longer I have let the pen inked without use. I made a test letting it sit for 5 days. Iroshizuku Shin-Kai acquired a gorgeous red sheen. I kept writing to see if it would go back to normal and it is very slowly losing the sheen and going back to a lighter version. I noticed the cap is not airtight, air escapes from the top of the cap.

 

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Is the cap letting too much evaporation? How about the nib design that lacks a breather hole, can it play a part in this? I did a search and found no complaints of these pens having drying out issues, but I am noticing evaporation concentrating the ink, if I am not mistaken.

Hi @arcadeflow.

I never noticed a nib drying in my Ambition (wood version) and, the nib is the most perfect steel nib of my collection. To grip the barrel instead of a (almost nonexistent) section is a mental thing only. Imagine this pen would have a section of the barrels diameter, that may help.

 

Sorry to read about your nib drying. I observed this with all of my Parker pens and simply closed all slits and holes with pure acrylic painting medium (and letting dry for some days). It solves the problem without need of sending something back.

[tde44x]

I have the e-motion with a broad and have not experienced any drying out problems.

[Tas]

On 6/25/2015 at 9:42 AM, ink-syringe said:

My oak ondoro, lovely pen in every other way, does indeed dry out very very quickly. I dip it in a little water or prime the feed and it is fine, very reliable and good writer but the nib dries out if you leave it more than a day or two. The cap just doesn't seem to be a tight enough fit.

 

Literally the only issue with the pen, but yeah it totally has to be used every day or it it dries up in a hurry.

My black plastic Ondoro was marvelous to start with but after a goodfew months it sadly began to behave like yours. It's no longer permanently inked which is a shame as I found it ergonomically wonderful. Faber Castell kindly FOC sent me a replacement cap but that sadly made no difference.

My Basic and Hexo are way better than the Ondoro in this respect. (My medium nibbed Hexo has replaced the Basic on the desk for the time being. Super wet, super smooth)