Pen Leaking After Carrying It In A Pocket?

[william2001]

Hello. I have a pen that I got for a gift, which I think is a Pilot Metropolitan, so I filled it with Noodler's 54th Massachusetts. Today, I carried the pen in one of my pockets, and soon, I realized that ink was leaking out of the pen. Not only is the nib and the grip completely covered in ink, the ink is actually coming out through the closed cap and staining everything in my pocket. What's going on? How can I fix this? Thank you for any help you are able to provide.

 

I have attached some photos.

 

Edit: grammar

Edited August 28, 2019 by william2001

[Bo Bo Olson]

Pocket like in shirt or pocket like in Pants?

[william2001]

Pocket like in shirt or pocket like in Pants?

Pants pocket. The left one, if that matters (haha). I just checked the converter and it's nearly empty! I filled it yesterday and wrote barely nothing, so a lot of ink leaked out. For your information, I bought this pen in Japan, and the converter has small metal balls jiggling around.

[Chaos-incarnate]

Assuming you're carrying it nib up, perhaps the warmth of your pocket is expanding the air and forcing ink out. Is it cold where you are? You wouldn't think a full fill would have enough air but perhaps.

[Mr.Rene]

Maybe Hot pant

 

Pants pocket. The left one, if that matters (haha). I just checked the converter and it's nearly empty! I filled it yesterday and wrote barely nothing, so a lot of ink leaked out. For your information, I bought this pen in Japan, and the converter has small metal balls jiggling around.

Maybe HOT pants issue...

[Mech-for-i]

check the parts and connection , you might have force bend it some where , its not always a good idea to put fountain pens on pants pocket especially if its a tight fit

[SpecTP]

check the converter and make sure it doesn't have any crack

[cattar]

+1 what everyone else posted.

 

Also, make sure the converter is pushed all the way onto the pen. An incomplete connection can leak.

[william2001]

Thank you everyone!

 

Regarding this comment:

Assuming you're carrying it nib up, perhaps the warmth of your pocket is expanding the air and forcing ink out. Is it cold where you are? You wouldn't think a full fill would have enough air but perhaps.

You may be right. Although the converter was "full," the converter still had significant air at the top. By "full," I meant that I was filled to the maximum capacity, not necessarily that it was completely filled with ink.

[Bo Bo Olson]

In 1895 shirt pockets were invented to carry those new fangled fountain pens with the removable clips.

Kaweco sport was invented in the late '30's for those who wanted to play sports wearing pants with pockets. It is a short, thick pen, comes in solid plastic which is good enough (was so for a bit more than 80 years), if you don't think so, you can get it in metal (new with in the last decade.).

 

Unless the pen is fully metal, you have proved fountain pens are not designed for pants pockets, as many have said.

Some who insist on buying shirts with out pockets carry fountain pens in pouches, a man bag would be a good option.

LandsEnd will sew a shirt pocket into a pen pocket for free or just a small added charge. The other 3/4ts of the pocket could carry a small notebook.

 

Fountain pens are not good for three wall crome bookbag bouncing, nor kick the bookbag while standing on a subway.

One could have your cobbler sew you a soft leather belt pen pouch.

Edited August 29, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[txomsy]

That was my experience way back when.

 

Most plastic pens would yield on a pants back pocket when you sit on them, sooner or later. On a shirt pocket, plastic pens with a breather hole in the cap, or with a snap-on cap would typically leak, again, sooner or later. For whatever reason, most plastic sections would break (develop a crack near the nib) too, sooner or later. If that was not the case, then the clip would break (plastic) or deform (metal).

 

Wearing them on a shirt pocket would often be safe unless I was to move too much, still, I would typically have a cloth, napkin, tissue or kleen-ex ready when uncapping for very often there would be leaks. I still carry or have one at hand always for this reason.

 

That is what set me on a quest to look for a pen I could wear on the back pocket of my jeans. Specially so I could wear T-shirts and sit carelessly without having to remember taking the pen out (at work, in the tube, bus..). I finally ended up with a Noblesse/Slimline that has lasted me close to three decades (and still goes on, but I have tried not to abuse it excessively --or may be I had learnt from previous experience).

 

More recently I discovered the Kaweco AL and brass Sports, which I have worn in my jeans pockets with (almost) no issue. The only problem is that the removable clip is normally not strongly attached, so if I use it to clip it to the pocket, sooner than soon, it ends up detaching itself and being lost. I no longer use those clips (though I keep them). I'm pondering whether to use the clip with the Kaweco Copper Liliput (because this is a lot tighter) but I've gotten used to just throw them in my front pocket. Now, I use jeans, they may not be comfortable/aesthetical without clip for other kinds of trousers/pants.

 

Sorry. Can't resist. I always remember Mae West's attributed line "Is that a gun in your pocket...?"

 

These last paragraphs seem to suggest that a metal EDC FP (of which there are many nowadays) may be the safe way to go for (pants) pocket pens.

 

Not so. I also got some of the latest DelikeAlpha/KawecoSport super-cheap clones. One of these last clones gave me a very bad surprise last week. Got it in my jeans pocket all day (I had gone out hiking, but previously had no issues with other mentioned pens) and when I reached for it, the cap had unscrewed and got free, and the nib had (from contact with the cap and keys) bent upwards. I've also had one of these clones where the plastic threading inside the cap has unglued and got loose (so the cap got free as well). I've been able to fix them, but learnt the lesson:

 

It is not enough to have a sturdy (e.g. metal) pen as an EDC, it must close well, that is, tightly enough that the cap cannot get loose. Consider that many metal pens (e.g. Jinhao 450 and 750) do have a plastic sleeve in the cap to clap it to the body, and that plastic sleeve is easier to damage. A screw system may be safer than a snap-on cap, but you also want to have enough threads (turns to uncap), a solidly fixed threading (better if properly carved in the metal as in the Kaweco), and proper ink flow control.

 

The last one was the only nice surprise in the "bad surprises" I mentioned: the cap had gotten loose but there was no relevant ink spill, likely because the nib was an EF.

 

So, to summarize: many pens, specially with broad nibs and snap-on caps will leak when shaken, typically inside the cap. If you hold them by the cap and shake them (as when they are fixed by the clip to a pocket), it is also likely that the cap will get loose and spills will leak out. This usually means not shaking with a pen in a pocket.

 

Not all pens are like this: sturdy pens will stand abuse, it is better if they have a screw-on cap (for snap-on caps tend to become loose with use, although well engineered ones, like Montblanc might still survive), preferably with several turns to close/open (3-4), if possible prefer a well engineered thread system (if it is too loose or badly fixed to the cap, the cap will open), and as a last resort, an EF nib is less likely to leak. An EF nib is also less likely to dry out (in my experience), which is good for screw-on cap pens.

 

Looks like an awful lot of things to look for but, thankfully, there are many affordable pens nowadays that you can get and use as reliable EDC pocket pens. The Kaweco Sport (plastic, AL, brass, steel, carbon fibre...) and Liliput, the OTOH Tasche, the Delike Alpha (although there are reports that it might be less reliable), and many, many more.

Edited August 29, 2019 by txomsy

[Mech-for-i]

well I seldom carry my pen ( and not just fountain pen ) in my pant pocket , its just not the place for a pen ; if I need to be out and both hand free , I would had my pen on my shirt pocket or my pant's cargo pocket ( if it had one ) otherwise a small belt pouch is a good place for all the little things including that pen, I suppose it might not hurt to had something like this though.

 

plenty good fountain pen are made with heavy duty all metal construction ( that I mean barrel, section, and cap ) in all sizes and they generally stand the abuse of day usage and grind. The Pilot Metro though not one of them.

[sandy101]

Do you have the correct converter?

 

One version of the Pilot Met takes international standard.

 

The other takes Pilot's own system.

[txomsy]

A second possibility, I just had a colleague point out his pen had leaked, we had a look and the nib/feeder were a tiny little bit loose, enough for ink to leak completely. Could this be the case?

[Antenociticus]

I carried a Kaweco Sport around in my trouser pocket for about 12 years. A plastic one for the first few years, then the aluminium version. Not clipped, just loose with my keys or whatever. Never had a single problem with ink leakage.

[Bibliophage]

Interestingly enough, I just had a Jinhao 599 (the plastic version) snap in my pants pocket. The cartridge I had jammed into it (Thornton's Lamy/Parker/International double ended) was still firmly in the section.

 

What broke was the bottom of the section - the entire threaded area snapped even with the barrel. (I unscrewed it to check) Cap cracked as well, as I think the section was pushed a bit too far up at the same time.

 

So, I now have a spare barrel and nib/feed

[CoolBreeze]

My pilot metro leaked like crazy when jostled. I always thought it was a pen design flaw. Interestingly enough, my prera never did.