What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[carola]

13 minutes ago, ParramattaPaul said:

I have a T-shirt that says "QUIT COMPLAINING" on the front. On the back it says "NOBODY CARES".

 

I need that shirt. To wear it at work. Aimed at certain colleagues.

[Surlyprof]

16 hours ago, Wil D said:

I could get another Merlin. Do not know what number, nor if it will write. But it was 15 euros, so I took it. Now I'll have to wait and see.

I just looked this up and some really neat pens popped up at reasonable prices for 14k gold nibs (although not 15 euros reasonable).  I had never heard of them before but now may need to try out a Merlin!  A couple Marlens also showed up with 18k nibs to add some confusion.  Seemed like a different company out of Italy though.

[Cjtamu]

About 15 minutes ago I purchased a Waterman Le Man 100 and then what was advertised as a Le Man 200 but appears to actually be a Gentleman. The wait begins.

[Misfit]

I didn’t post when I made the purchase, but it was for a Conklin Word Gauge pen in blue with 1.1mm stub nib. It is due to arrive tomorrow. I hope it looks like the photo as it looked like blue sky and clouds. Other photos from online sellers look more blue with less white. 

[Wil D]

8 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

I just looked this up and some really neat pens popped up at reasonable prices for 14k gold nibs (although not 15 euros reasonable).  I had never heard of them before but now may need to try out a Merlin!  A couple Marlens also showed up with 18k nibs to add some confusion.  Seemed like a different company out of Italy though.

15 euros is the average price I pay for Merlins. They were a Dutch brand, so I can find them locally. I have 4 now. The most beautiful and most rare, a 44 does not write 😞. The other 2 (a lady and a 62) write very well. The fourth one has yet to arrive. If you can get one for a reasonable price and are sure it will write (or you can service it yourself), I would take it.

[carola]

21 minutes ago, Wil D said:

The most beautiful and most rare, a 44 does not write 😞.

 

What's the problem?

[Wil D]

11 minutes ago, carola said:

 

What's the problem?

The filling mechanisme is stuck. It is twist-nob filler. The nob does not move.

[carola]

3 minutes ago, Wil D said:

The filling mechanisme is stuck. It is twist-nob filler. The nob does not move.

 

I suppose that could be remedied. I know absolutely nothing about Merlins, but things that have gotten stuck usually can be made unstuck again.

[Wil D]

2 hours ago, carola said:

 

I suppose that could be remedied. I know absolutely nothing about Merlins, but things that have gotten stuck usually can be made unstuck again.

Suppose so, I will have go to some shop, some day 😉 It could even be some sort of piston filler. In the ink window I can see something sitting half way.

[Mercian]

13 hours ago, Wil D said:

The filling mechanisme is stuck. It is twist-nob filler. The nob does not move.

If it is the sort of pen that has a feed that is easy to remove, I advise you to try the following:

 

1- uncap the pen & stand it, nib downwards, in a glass of plain water, at room temperature.
The water should be deep enough to cover the grip-section, but NOT any part of its body or ink-window.

2- leave it there for four or five full days.
That should be long enough for capillary action to move water up into the feed, and between the feed-&-grip-section, and dissolve any old ink.
 

3- try (gently) to remove the nib/feed unit.
If it does not unscrew or pull out really easily, try soaking for a bit longer, perhaps in a solution of white vinegar (in case a previous owner let iron-gall ink dry-out in your pen). After a few more days of soaking, try to remove the nib/feed again.

 

4- once you have got the nib/feed out of the pen, you should be able to get-at the piston gasket/seal.
Initially, leave the pen (without nib/feed) standing in a dry mug/cup, with the open end of the pen facing upwards.
Put some plain water inside the pen body, and leave it to stand for a while.
This is in the hope of dissolving any old ink that has caused the piston gasket/seal to stick to the inner wall of the pen.

5- Leave it for a couple of days, then try gently to move the piston by turning the knob.
Again, you could need to repeat this process with a solution of white vinegar if iron-gall ink has dried-out in there.

 

6- if you can get the piston moving by doing that, you can then re-lubricate it with a tiny amount of 100% pure silicone grease (SCUBA stores sell it in 7g tubs/tubes. 7g is enough for a lifetime supply for pen users).
I use a ‘cocktail stick’ to do this; as follows:

 

7- put a lump of grease that is HALF the size of a grain of rice on one side of the end of a cocktail stick;

8- retract the pen’s piston fully (as though filling it with ink), then place the greased end of the cocktail stick right up against the fully-retracted piston, with the grease against the inner wall of the piston chamber;
 

9- rotate the pen, so that the grease gets smeared all the way around the inside of the pen;

 

10- try to move the piston fully back-and-forth a few times, so that the grease smears along the full length of the ink chamber.

 

If its action isn’t as smooth as a hot knife cutting through butter, add another half-rice-grain of 100% pure silicone grease to the cocktail stick, and repeat the process.

 

If you can ever see any grease inside the barrel, you have applied too much grease.
In which case, just take a piece of ‘kitchen roll’ paper, and twist one corner of it into a ‘spike’.
Place that inside the piston chamber, then extend the piston so that the paper gets pushed gently against the inner end of the pen. Rotate the pen, so that the paper gets rubbed against the piston seal & the inner wall of the pen. Then retract the piston, and take the paper out.
This should have removed all the excess grease, and you should now have a properly-lubricated piston, and be able to re-fit the nib/feed unit and ink your pen.

 

If the piston cannot be made smooth, or if it won’t draw-up water (or if there are any leaks), it may mean that your pen needs a new piston gasket/seal.

 

I don’t know anything about Merlin pens, but if the pen is valuable, and you find that its piston/gasket is/are damaged, you could always send it to a repairer and get a quote for fixing it.
One repairer who has a great reputation is Francis Goosens in Belgium (he posts here as ‘Fountainbel’).

 

Slàinte,
M.

 

 

Edited June 22 by Mercian
Edited to correct some fershlugginner FFEs. Comme d’hab.

[Wil D]

45 minutes ago, Mercian said:

If it is the sort of pen that has a feed that is easy to remove, I advise you to try the following:

 

1- uncap the pen & stand it, nib downwards, in a glass of plain water, at room temperature.
The water should be deep enough to cover the grip-section, but NOT any part if its body or ink-window.

2- leave it there for four or five full days.
That should be long enough for capillary action to move water up into the feed, and between the feed-&-grip-section, and dissolve any old ink.
 

3- try (gently) to remove the nib/feed unit.
If it does not unscrew or pull out really easily, try soaking for a bit longer, perhaps in a solution of white vinegar (in case a previous owner let iron-gall ink dry-out in your pen). After a few more days of soaking, try to remove the nib/feed again.

 

4- once you have got the nib/feed out of the pen, you should be able to get-at the piston gasket/seal.
Initially, leave the pen (without nib/feed) standing in a dry mug/cup, with the open end of the pen facing upwards.
Put some plain water inside the pen body, and leave it to stand for a while.
This is in the hope of dissolving any old ink that has caused the piston gasket/seal to stick to the inner wall of the pen.

5- Leave it for a couple of days, then try gently to move the piston by turning the knob.
Again, you could need to repeat this process with a solution of white vinegar if iron-gall ink has dried-out in there.

 

6- if you can get the piston moving by doing that, you can then re-lubricate it with a tiny amount of 100% pure silicone grease (SCUBA stores sell it in 7g tubs/tubes. 7g is enough for a lifetime supply for pen users).
I use a ‘cocktail stick’ to do this; as follows:

 

7- put a lump of grease that is HALF the size of a grain of rice on one side of the end of a cocktail stick;

8- retract the pen’s piston fully (as though filling it with ink), then place the greased end of the cocktail stick right up against the fully-retracted piston, with the grease against the inner wall of the piston chamber;
 

9- rotate the pen, so that the grease gets smeared all the way around the inside of the pen;

 

10- try to move the piston fully back-and-forth a few times, so that the grease smears along the full length of the ink chamber.

 

If its action isn’t as smooth as a hot knife cutting through butter, add another half-rice-grain of 100% pure silicone grease to the cocktail stick, and repeat the process.

 

If you can ever see any grease inside the barrel, you have applied too much grease.
In which case, just take a piece of ‘kitchen roll’ paper, and twist one corner of it into a ‘spike’.
Place that inside the piston chamber, then extend the piston so that the paper gets pushed gently against the inner end of the pen. Rotate the pen, so that the paper gets rubbed against the piston seal & the inner wall of the pen. Then retract the piston, and take the paper out.
This should have removed all the excess grease, and you should now have a properly-lubricated piston, and be able to re-fit the nob/feed unit and ink your pen.

 

If the piston cannot be made smooth, or if it won’t draw-up water (or if there are any leaks), it may mean that your pen needs a new piston gasket/seal.

 

I don’t know anything about Merlin pens, but if the pen is valuable, and you find that its piston/gasket is/are damaged, you could always send it to a repairer and get a quote for fixing it.
One repairer who has a great reputation is Francis Goosens in Belgium (he posts here as ‘Fountainbel’).

 

Slàinte,
M.

Thanks, I have started with 1 and 2

[inkstainedruth]

On 6/21/2024 at 1:37 PM, carola said:

 

I need that shirt. To wear it at work. Aimed at certain colleagues.

Yeah, I might as well.  Almost as much as a bumper sticker I saw the other day in which the driver was apologizing for tailgating the car BEHIND them....   Especially after some jerk in an SUV cut me off and got between me and the other car in a construction zone....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

@Mercian  Thanks for the detailed instructions.  I may try that with the two German piston fillers I picked up a couple of months ago at an estate sale (one is a brand called Singwitz and the other is a brand calle Heiko (apparently an East German company (assuming I can get them open, of course).  They didn't cost a lot -- $8 US apiece.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[Mercian]

31 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Almost as much as a bumper sticker I saw the other day in which the driver was apologizing for tailgating the car BEHIND them....

 

I would like to get a rear bumper sticker that says “Unless you want to buy me a new car, BACK OFF!”

[Mercian]

28 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

@Mercian  Thanks for the detailed instructions.  I may try that with the two German piston fillers I picked up a couple of months ago at an estate sale (one is a brand called Singwitz and the other is a brand calle Heiko (apparently an East German company (assuming I can get them open, of course).  They didn't cost a lot -- $8 US apiece.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

$8 each? 
 

Now you’re just showing off!
 

(I am Jack’s bottle-green eyes. I used to be blue, but my colour has been affected by Jack’s raging envy! )

[Merrick]

Two follow ups:

 

1. Platinum President M grew on me as I used it more, so I’m keeping it. The B is going back. 
 

2. The Pilot 742 arrived very quickly, and wrote terribly. I checked the nib and it’s bent. I don’t want to spend extra money getting the nib fixed; at that point I’m close to the price of a new one. I asked for and already received a refund from the seller. 

[wikeh2004]

On 6/17/2024 at 4:03 AM, Mercian said:

At least all your recent ‘impulsive’ buys have all been reasonably-inexpensive.
You’ve managed to get five pretty good pens for less outlay than the price of just one Pelikan Souverän or Montblanc Meisterstück or Visconti HS or Graf von Faber Castell (etc).

 

And, should your partner question your recent ‘impulsiveness’, this is how to justify this ‘spending spree’!

 

(Since you ask, yes; I am currently wearing my ‘Evil Enabler’ hat, and twirling the end of my moustache 😉)

 

 

And, I just got that Majohn A2 Pilot Capless copy from Ali Express. Although it had an EF nib, it laid down almost an F line and is quite smooth. Pretty nice. 🙂

 

I also got a Kokuyo Campus binder to provide a home for some Campus B5 loose-leaf paper I bought in Okinawa in 2013. After distributing sheets to fellow fountain pen club members to try, the packs of paper had laid around gathering dust. Got the compatible B5 smart binder. Boy, those Campus binders are nice with 26 plastic rings that open with the push of a button and treat the paper very nicely. I got a pack of Sarasara (very smooth for FPs) and Shikkari (toothier for ballpoints and pencil), but both are FP friendly. I'm impressed with those binders and the paper. Even after 11 years of sitting around exposed to air, the paper did not yellow at all. High quality stuff. The binder was pretty inexpensive from Amazon. Recommended if you're looking for good paper.

[Wil D]

9 hours ago, Mercian said:

$8 each? 
 

Now you’re just showing off!
 

(I am Jack’s bottle-green eyes. I used to be blue, but my colour has been affected by Jack’s raging envy! )

Well in fact I got the Merlin 44 (only one I have ever seen sofar, and I am looking for them) for "free". It came with a marble deskset I bought. There were a lot of ink bottles, dip pens and fps with it. I saw the Merlin on the pics, and wondered which one this was, as I had not seen one like it before.

[inkstainedruth]

19 hours ago, Mercian said:

 

I would like to get a rear bumper sticker that says “Unless you want to buy me a new car, BACK OFF!”

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[gweimer1]

I finally did it.  Chilton Wing-Flow