Pens That Evaporate Ink, Pens That Don't

[AmandaW]

I blogged this yesterday, but admitting that my post won't get much airplay in my dusty little corner of the web and believing it too important to anyone who lives in a warm climate (or a cold one with heating) to be buried and lost, I'm going to more or less repeat myself here. I apologise if that matters to anyone.

 

***

 

I thought I was imagining it - an empty pen - I was so sure I had inked it just a few days before. Cleaned it, re-inked it, again it dried out. Rinse and repeat. Several times. Several pens. So, I set up an experiment. Every fountain pen I own: all cleaned, all fully filled, all left in the same drawer for a month.

 

The bad ones:

• Hero 86
• Noodlers Nib Creaper
• Noodlers Ahab (two of them)
• Pilot Kakuno
• Pilot Prera
• Zinhao x750 (two of those as well)

The keepers:

• Lamy Safari
• Platinum Preppy
• Rotring ArtPen
• TWSBI Eco

Granted, good or bad, my pens are all from the modest end of the fountain pen spectrum, but it appears that cost has nothing to do with the problem - the two Pilots weren't cheap, a humble Platinum Preppy is a bargain. (And it's a available with an almost needle-like 0.2 nib… Just saying.)

 

The manufacturers and resellers don't take this issue seriously. Neither are standing behind the product they sell. It matters, really matters, because good ink is expensive. Telling me I should keep my pen empty unless I want to use it straight away doesn't cut it. These aren't collector-pens or vintage pens but modern ones made with modern materials. I expect to be able to have them inked up and ready to go.

 

That Pilot Kakuno is marketed for kids. A beginners pen. It dries out to leave a totally empty cartridge within a week. Whatever the reason, it's going to leave an entire generation, and their parents (and the aunty who bought the kid the pen), thinking fountain pens are unreliable. What were Pilot thinking?

 

The evaporation isn't limited to plastic pens: the Zinhao are metal. (Very cheap on eBay but they otherwise seem well made. I bought them intending to replace their nibs with the flexible ones from the Ahabs. Won't bother now.) That's useful information because I can hereby quit daydreaming about getting a metal Pilot Falcon, never mind the lovely soft nib, until it's proven (by someone else) that they don't evaporate the ink as fast as their plastic pens do.

 

I don't think I'm a fountain pen geek - I just love pen and ink. I use my pens. Or rather, I used to use them. The eight on the left will be cleaned up and stashed away. Useless.

 

To ease the disappointment I've ordered a Platinum Plaisir in Gunmetal Grey. It's just a metal Preppy. When it gets here I'm going to fill it with my very favourite Noodlers Lexington Grey ink. Now, I hear someone muttering that Noodlers ink isn't expensive. Well, it is here (in Western Australia) and far too much of mine has ended up dried up and washed down the drain, along with so much of so many others. Damned shame. Not happy.

 

 

[Jamerelbe]

I can't disagree with you re the tendency of Noodler's pens to dry out - it's the main reason I now only ink mine up fairly rarely (when I want a flexy nib, and plan to use the ink up quickly). Jinhao pens (x450, x750 especially) it depends on the plastic inner cap, and how securely it seals around the grip section (variable from pen to pen). I haven't had the same problem with my Pilot Kakuno (which is rarely inked) or for the Prera (which is new) - but the Kakuno pen I believe is *required* to have breather holes in the cap, which will tend to exacerbate these problems.

 

I know this isn't a real solution, but if you want to use these pens and dry-out is a problem, keeping them in a snap-lock bag will help to reduce ink evaporation in the pen.

[OCArt]

I use a Pelikan Pelikano Jr. for vacations as it is a nice writer and takes cartridges. I put it away six months ago and it started right up last week! I have also had very good luck with a Lamy 2000 and Lamy studio.

[mhguda]

I can understand your irritation, but don't quite share your experience. Yes some pens tend to dry out on me, but, for example, not consistently. My Ahab for example, is inked at the moment, but unused for over a week. I picked it up after reading your post and it started up right away, and it's still about half full, the way I left it somewhere early last week. I'm guessing the cap closes better? it has no cap hole that I can see.

Your climate may be much drier than where I am though. (a tropical, but not lush, Caribbean island). And if so, Jamerelbe's suggestion of storing the pens in a ziplock bag seems like a good idea. Also, closing them tight enough where possible.

Usually, this drying out happens when I leave my pens unused for months on end. It's then a minor irritation that I remedy by adding a little water (to the converter or, in most cases, directly to the eyedropper barrel), then priming the nib & feed. And resolving not to let my pen sit unused for so long (a promise usually broken when a new ink or new ink idea or rekindled interest in an old ink rolls around...

What I want to say, I guess, is don't give up on all of them. Those with snap-on caps, possibly, but the screw-on caps with holes: if you close off the hole the evaporation reduces tremendously. And since the cap screws off, there's no danger of drawing a vacuum and making it spew ink...

 

Good luck!

[Cocobird]

I have a couple of Jin Hao 750s. Mine do dry up quickly.

[bizhe]

Artificial product tiering.

[antichresis]

Thank you for sharing. I have had a poor experience with my Ahab as well as regards ink evaporation. It has been relegated to the drawer despite being a surprisingly good writer.

[pen2paper]

I too have found the rare dry out perplexing.. until I realized where it wasn't happening, for me anyway.

Daily user pens, except during weekends, vacations, brief loss, that still were raring to write after days + were Lamy Safari, and Plaisir, both typically cap tight, and the later known for it's anti-dry cap.

My opportunity to try the tier up 3776 continues this satisfactory design feature.

 

When I move briefly back to my beautiful celluloids, it's for that day, since the anti-dry out is a reliable feature I favor most.

 

Quick note that your mileage Will vary due to location, since desert conditions are said to affect evap. and my location is mostly affected in summer.

Edited April 16, 2017 by pen2paper

[senzen]

Leaving my pens out in the air, in a cool interior albeit with warm dry outside weather, at 2,400 meters above sea level (that's 94 thousand inches, 3 shillings and 5 bushels for the metrically impaired)...

 

Doesn't seem to evaporate: Pelikan M400.

Don't seem to evaporate that quickly: Waterman Le Man 100, Sailor pro gear, Muji (x4).

Clearly evaporate: Lamy Safari (x7), Platinum Cool (x2).

Seem to evaporate in a matter of hours: Parker Sonnet x2.

 

Keeping them in zipped pouches seems to solve the problem. I don't mind evaporation so much as darker colours, particularly for blues and Yama Guri.

[AmandaW]

Unfortunately I've had to amend my list of bad pens to include the Lamy Safari. My mistake - made because I have two - one which was used in the test, one which I kept out and inked to use. They look the same and got muddled during the evaluation. I expect they will join the bundle at the back of the drawer. Very disappointed.

 

That leaves me with just three reliable pens: TWSBI, Rotring ArtPen and Preppy. They do at least prove that it's possible to build a fountain pen that can hold onto it's ink and that a bunch of manufacturers need to lift their game.

 

[DrDebG]

Thank you for your post.

 

I believe the evaporation issue and "dry start" issue may be related to the environment you live in.

 

I live in a arid climate (daily relative humidity less than 20%). I store all of my pens in either my pen chest, or in a zippered pen case.

 

Here is my list with my rating (1-little to no evaporation; 2 - some evaporation, occasional hard start; 3 - frequent hard starts, substantial evaporation):

 

Jinhaos (all): 3

Hero (all): 3

Duke (all): 3

Picassos (all): 3

Kaigelu: 3

 

Bexley Submariner: 3

Bexley Elegancia: 1

 

Pilot VPs: 2

 

Montblanc 144: 2

 

Faber Castell Loom: 2

 

Platinum 3776: 1

 

Lamy Safaris: 1

Lamy Al Stars: 1

Lamy Studio: 1

Lamy 2000: 1

 

Italix Captain's Commission: 1

 

Conklin Duragraph: 1

 

Delta Capri Marina: 1

Delta Vintage: 1

Delta Horsepower: 1

 

 

BUT, when I travel to places that are more humid, I have no problems with any pen. In Shanghai, for example, all of my pens perform wonderfully, especially my Chinese and Japanese pens.

 

 

The ink also has something to do with it. For example, I have less problems with evaporation from Pilot Iroshizuku or Montblanc inks than Rohrer & Klinger or J. Herbin. Likely, it could also be the colors that I am using.

[AmandaW]

Also, on the Lamy Safari which was dried out: there was a tiny amount of useable ink in the nib and feed so it wrote a couple of words before it stopped. When I opened the pen I found the converter only had a residue of colour remaining. It was definitely full when I it put away for the test. That suggests the Safari evaporation is from the back of the pen rather than the nib/cap.

 

What type of material are the zippered pen cases which are preventing evaporation?

[DrDebG]

Also, on the Lamy Safari which was dried out: there was a tiny amount of useable ink in the nib and feed so it wrote a couple of words before it stopped. When I opened the pen I found the converter only had a residue of colour remaining. It was definitely full when I it put away for the test. That suggests the Safari evaporation is from the back of the pen rather than the nib/cap.

 

What type of material are the zippered pen cases which are preventing evaporation?

I have a couple of Manhattan Portage zippered pen cases made from cordura nylon. I use these for my daily carry. I also have two pen cabinets - one which houses my "non-inked" pens and the other "inked" pens. The cabinets are at work. Finally, I have a Franklin-Christoph Penvelope that carries 13 pens. It has a snap top. I generally keep this at home and rotate these pens between my daily carry and work. I generally have 12-20 pens inked at a time, and all inked pens are cleaned every two weeks.

 

This might not have anything to do with evaporation, but my pens are all stored in a horizontal position, not upright.

Edited April 17, 2017 by DrPenfection

[pajaro]

I find that a lot of the modern pens dry out fast. Enough that I usually refill them when I want to use them, but I would rather use older pens that resist drying or the few pens from the 80s and newer that resist drying, like Montblanc 144 and Pelikan M200 and M400. I am in fact getting sick of writing with fountain pens after about sixty years of writing with them. Starting to use ballpoints much more.

Edited April 17, 2017 by pajaro

[mitto]

The Parker Sonnet is one of the high end pens that dries out as fast as could be. Sorry to hurt the feelings of Sonnet lovers.

[Mary P]

The only pen in my collection that tends to dry out is a Parker Sonnet. I have 3 Jinhao pens and have had no drying issue with any of them. I'm not sure quite how many of the Hero Parker 51 clones I own. I bought several packages to test inks. None of them tend to dry out. I regularly have 3 Pelikan 200s inked as well as 2 400s. No evaporation issues with any of the birds. I use a zippered leather pen case on my desk but I'm not sure that makes a difference.

 

I live in western Washington where we have had record precipitation.

[overwriter]

Interesting thread and perhaps one that should have been covered earlier. I live in Calgary where it is dry as heck but my findings mirror those of others.

 

My Lamy Safari Vista, Pelikans, Pilot Custom 74, Platinum 3776, and TWSBI Eco are all very good. My two Sailors are so-so but the two Waterman Experts that I have are not so good at all.

[Tweel]

Possibly the best-sealing cap I have is on my Kaweco AL Sport. Does that confirm anyone else's experience, or is it luck of the draw?

 

My Pelikan M800 is quite good, too.

Edited April 20, 2017 by Tweel

[Driphtwood]

Thank you for your post.

 

I believe the evaporation issue and "dry start" issue may be related to the environment you live in.

 

I live in a arid climate (daily relative humidity less than 20%). I store all of my pens in either my pen chest, or in a zippered pen case.

 

Here is my list with my rating (1-little to no evaporation; 2 - some evaporation, occasional hard start; 3 - frequent hard starts, substantial evaporation):

 

Jinhaos (all): 3

Hero (all): 3

Duke (all): 3

Picassos (all): 3

Kaigelu: 3

 

Bexley Submariner: 3

Bexley Elegancia: 1

 

Pilot VPs: 2

 

Montblanc 144: 2

 

Faber Castell Loom: 2

 

Platinum 3776: 1

 

Lamy Safaris: 1

Lamy Al Stars: 1

Lamy Studio: 1

Lamy 2000: 1

 

Italix Captain's Commission: 1

 

Conklin Duragraph: 1

 

Delta Capri Marina: 1

Delta Vintage: 1

Delta Horsepower: 1

 

 

BUT, when I travel to places that are more humid, I have no problems with any pen. In Shanghai, for example, all of my pens perform wonderfully, especially my Chinese and Japanese pens.

 

 

The ink also has something to do with it. For example, I have less problems with evaporation from Pilot Iroshizuku or Montblanc inks than Rohrer & Klinger or J. Herbin. Likely, it could also be the colors that I am using.

 

I think this is the key to the mixed results people seem to be having. I have had the same experience as DrPenfection, most notably with my Franklin-Christoph Model 03. Great pen, not tightest seal. It works fine in California, which isn't even that humid, but I noticed it would dry out after only a few days in Colorado Springs, which is of course very, very dry.

[Driften]

My Pilot MR and Lamy Al-Star dry out and ink evaporating, but my Pilot 74,91,92, Pelikan m200,m215, TWSBI ECO, and Bexley have not had the issue.