Waterman Carene hardstarts & skips

[iddqd]

I just bought an almost new Carene (lovely amber) however, it has a problem with hard starting by skipping first ~5mm / first half of the character.

Any fix for this?

- I assume I can't send it to Waterman without a receipt?

- Any nib meisters in Europe?

- Something I can fix myself? (I have feeler gauges and lupe that I've used on non-inlaid nibs).

[TSherbs]

First: Have you experimented with different inks? Have you soaked and cleaned the nib/section? 

 

Next: Do you know how to spot "baby's bottom" with your loupe?

[senzen]

Cleaning usually solves 95% of all problems; at the very least flushing with a drop of dishwashing liquid in a cup of water, until it comes out clear. This helps all pens, new or used.

 

If the pen was bought used, soaking overnight will also help.

 

Then make sure the converter's mouth is intact, Carènes have a knack for destroying Waterman converters; the older metal threaded converter helps but is becoming rare and expensive; I've been using a Faber Castell converter in a Carène and it hasn't failed.

 

Then, there is the special way of filling a Carène, as passed from user to user here on FPN: draw ink from a bottle; return four drops of ink; draw back air. My three Carène have been among my most reliable pens thanks to this.

 

I wouldn't touch the nib prior to this.

 

[iddqd]

The pen looks  brand new. The converter was definitely brand new (Waterman branded), and listed as such. 

 

Thus I have not done any cleaning of the pen. But I imagine if it's in need of cleaning, would that manifest itself as hard-start issue? This is why my suspicion falls on baby bottom, but I've only seen it illustrated through drawing, not sure if it's visible on my nib. The nib slit seems to be bang on. (Pictures taken with pen inked up with oxblood).

 

I might have to make my own pen cleaning fluid, according to youtuber Doodlebud's recipe (9 parts water + 1 part amonium + one drop dish soap) and give that a try.

[manolo]

It seems to have some baby-bottom, the ends of the tines are too rounded in the side facing the slit. Any other person agrees?

I would clean and try differente inks before touching the nib, as I am not very sure how to solve a baby-bottom problem.

[JWG J]

Cleaning absolutely can do no harm, would certainly try it, it is the first you always should do, but I would expect it to be especially effective in FP's with bad flow and skipping during writing; as I understand it, yours is only a start problem, so don't get your hopes up too high from cleaning. Also, because on the photograph, the Diamine Oxblood seems visible at the end of the feed, indicating no flow problems proximally. Personally, do not expect much from changing the Diamine Oxblood for another ink, but if you want to try, would try Waterman Blue Serenity; again don't get your hopes up too high from changing ink.

I have 2 Carènes: a Black Sea GT and an Amber Shimmer / Marine Amber GT; the latter had skipping at start of writing; eventually (=after all of the more conservative measures above failed), a bit of my micro-mesh treatment for baby-bottom was very effective: it starts (and writes) like a dream (with Diamine Writer's Blood, matching the Amber color of the pen). Baby-bottom can best be observed looking with a strong magnifying glass at the end of the nib, at the surface exactly where it would touch the paper when writing, because there the slit ink has no direct contact with the paper if there is baby-bottom, prohibiting immediate start of the capillary flow and thus the starting problem.

Hope this helps...

[TSherbs]

Looks to me like baby's bottom. 

[TSherbs]

On 2/22/2025 at 10:20 AM, manolo said:

It seems to have some baby-bottom, the ends of the tines are too rounded in the side facing the slit. Any other person agrees?

 

 

yes, judging from the images provided

 

My two cents