Cleaning my #FountainPens today. I don't know why, but I frequently have a hell of a time getting all the ink cleaned out of my Jinhao 10. I wish I weren't such a perfectionist sometimes.
Every time I would take the part of the pen that the converter plugs into out of the ultrasonic cleaner, a little bit of (still quite dark) ink would would drip out.
I finally figured out what I was doing wrong. It turns out that this part is so narrow that the surface tension of the water was causing an air bubble to get trapped inside, preventing the feed from being properly cleaned. I solved it by manually injecting some soapy water with a syringe inside to blow the air bubble out and it cleaned right out afterward.
Still, that's two hours of my life I'm not gonna get back.
Cleaning and re-inking my #FountainPens and I managed to spill one of my favourite Inkvent sample bottles. Fortunately, I somehow managed to save the majority of the ink. Don't ask me how.
So Katy has a #Jinhao10 and today the clicker seems to be jamming. When pressed, it seems to resist extending or retracting the nib. I'm giving it a cleaning right now to make sure there was no debris or anything in there stopping it from working, but I don't know if that'll fix it.
Has anyone experienced this before? Is there a fix?
So, keeping a #journal in #teeline has had some unexpected benefits for my #ADHD brain beyond my handwriting just being more able to keep up with the rate of my thoughts.
I might blog about this later, but the TL;DR is that the process of transcribing my entries requires me to think deliberately about the meaning of every word I've written.
So, I've finally settled on a technique to keep shimmer inks from clogging my #FountainPens and it's working well, but it's not exactly condusive to writing in #teeline which is what I use 90% of the time these days.
It looks like I wasn't moving the pen enough. As I would keep writing, the shimmer would collect in the feed until it just straight-up clogged. I didn't realize I had to periodically roll the pen around even while I was actively using it. This should have been obvious by the fact that my writing kept getting more and more, well... shimmery before the ink stopped flowing.
I'll try this approach in the future.
Rookie mistake, but in my defense, I didn't even know that shimmer inks were even a thing until late last year.
It always amuses me whenever I think about the fact that I got one of my favourite #FountainPens for free with a bottle of ink. It's even more amusing that I've never inked that pen up with that ink.
@Kate McDonald It's a bit of a pain to work with because I only use it with a dip pen* and have to juggle that with a UV flashlight. That aside, it works really well. Completely invisible under normal lighting conditions and shows up really well under UV.
* Because I feel that cleaning it out of a regular pen would be a pain.
So, with this past #Inkvent calendar, I've found myself in possession of a bunch of shimmering inks. Problem is that they tend to clog my #FountainPens. Are there any inexpensive pens that handle shimmering inks well?
I've found that my Wing Sung 3008s don't clog up much anyway, and when they do they're easy to take apart to clean them, at least once you know how. Also cheap enough to be disposable once they break. π The downside is that they're known for cracking and/or the screw in the cap rusting, hence the importance of being cheap.
I've cleaned out two this weekend - I can't usually get the last little bits of glitter out, but what's left doesn't seem to block it when reassembled.
It looks like I wasn't moving the pen enough. As I would keep writing, the shimmer would collect in the feed until it just straight-up clogged. I didn't realize I had to periodically roll the pen around even while I was actively using it. This should have been obvious by the fact that my writing kept getting more and more, well... shimmery before the ink stopped flowing.
I'll try this approach in the future.
Rookie mistake, but in my defense, I didn't even know that shimmer inks were even a thing until late last year.
@redbanjer πͺπΊπ¦π¨π¦π¬π±π²π½ Yeah, dip pens were my go-to solution. It's just annoying to have to keep mixing up the ink in the bottle in addition to continually dipping the pen.
So Katy has a #Jinhao10 and today the clicker seems to be jamming. When pressed, it seems to resist extending or retracting the nib. I'm giving it a cleaning right now to make sure there was no debris or anything in there stopping it from working, but I don't know if that'll fix it.
Has anyone experienced this before? Is there a fix?
Is the trap door opening/closing properly? It could be wedged somehow. You should be able to poke the nib unit through it manually with the top removed and see if it works as expected.
Also when it's apart you can press the rear of the nib unit up into the tail and press the button and see if it operates normally that way.
Then you at least know which end of the pen is misbehaving.
@Jim P. It looks like there was some debris caught in the mechanism. A good cleaning seems to have resolved the issue. I'm a little confused as to where it came from though.
Okay, I'm done making pen rolls. This is the first one I actually didn't eyeball and am reasonably satisfied with the finished result. Made an identical one for Katy. #FountainPens
Learned from the last pen roll and have significantly upped my sewing game. I made this one out of an old shirt that no longer fit me. (I swear it shrunk.) #FountainPens
I have never before in my life touched a sewing machine, but now that I have one, I decided that the first thing I'd try to make was a pen roll for my #FountainPens (one of them is a ballpoint, but we don't talk about that). There are definitely some things I'd do differently the second time around, but I freaking love this machine!
You don't have to post yours openly. I think there are various forums for sharing in a more limited manner, i.e. direct with someone. You can find addresses and mail to them first.
Pretty sure even short hand written notes count, so you could leave some fancy notes for people in your life who you appreciate.
Who was the genius that decided that Cult Pens' search bar should disappear as you're typing in it on mobile? This person belongs in UX jail. #FountainPens
Could be a component of a dark color. Try some paper chromatography with a dot of ink. See if any green shows up. I use coffee filters but paper towel will work.
@Tallastro πΊπ¦ I had two pens inked up with dark inks. One with Parker Quink Black and the other with Diamine Chilly Nights. I hadn't really handled either, but they were both in the same bag with the pen I was using. I see no evidence of leaking.
Interestingly enough, the pen I was using had previously been filled with green ink, but I'd cleaned* and re-inked it with something else a couple days prior. Maybe it was a leftover ink stain from when I did that? They usually don't hang around that long though.
* There was an ultrasonic cleaner involved, so it should've been really clean.
I am now the proud owner of an ultrasonic cleaner for my #FountainPens which, per the instructions, is "suitable for lazy people in sports without rolling hair".
Say what you will about the materials quality of #TWSBI pens, but their customer service is top-notch. They're working on sending me replacement parts for my pen, though there are still some lingering shipping issues in the aftermath of the Canada Post strike. #FountainPens
if their pens held up better, people wouldnβt need to use their customer service as much thoughβ¦ the fact that everyone knows about their customer service being good is kind of a failure in itself
counterpoint is that plenty of budget pen makers donβt have these issues to nearly the same degreeβ¦ not to mention budget pens from the big manufacturers like Pilot or Faber Castell
My replacement TWSBI cap finally arrived today. Went to finally ink the pen up only to discover that the thread that connects the nib assembly is broken.
I know I can order a replacement nib assembly relatively inexpensively, but I don't know if the thread in the pen body is intact either.
It looks like when I lost the cap I didn't clean the pen out properly before putting it in storage and there was still some ink sitting in it for a few years. I don't know if that was what caused the damage.
My local pen shop apparently has an AL in stock, and I happen to have gotten a gift card for them for Christmas that would cover the difference between the Diamond 580 and the AL. Perhaps it's time to upgrade?
at this point I would consider a different brand of pen. Hongdian has good piston fillers if youβre into that. Fine Writing International has the Scepter button filler which is very good. Opus 88 might be worth a try also if you are curious about Japanese eyedroppers
@paradoxmo Have you had problems with TWSBI in general? The pen actually served me pretty well for years. I suspect the problem may have been my fault.
my one remaining TWSBI is OK (580 ALRβsold or gave away my others), but TWSBI has a long history of materials issues. Cracked cap, cracked barrel, faulty threads, these are all pretty common complaints. Itβs not just you, I wouldnβt assume itβs your fault.
@paradoxmo I've heard that. I really like my TWSBI though. It's a combination of factors. The fact that it's a piston filler was the initial selling point, but I also like that it's a very wet pen. I need something that lays down a good amount of ink. The price is also a major factor. I have a hard time justifying spending over $100 on a pen.
I don't need a new pen. I have a bunch. It's just that my TWSBI was my favourite.
yes, a lot of people really like their TWSBIs, they are well-designed from the user perspective and have good features, thatβs why I try not to βyuck peopleβs yumβ on them too much. TWSBI is objectively not the best company though and I say this as a Taiwanese person who is otherwise inclined to support a domestic company.
Bottom line, there are many other good Taiwanese pen makers at this point, TWSBI were among the pioneers of budget pens but theyβre far from the only option these days.
TWSBIs have a cracking issue. They used to be much worse, but they still having a cracking issue. Iβve sold all my TWSBI pens and refuse to get more. I picked up a Moonman/Majohn T1 to replace my 580 that cracked 3 times.
I've reached out to TWSBI to find out if it's possible to get a replacement barrel for the pen. If so, I know the replacement nib assemblies are relatively inexpensive. This is turning into the Pen of Theseus.
@fedops ππ Yeah, I thought about that too. The local place I normally get stuff from doesn't carry a whole lot of TWSBI stock though, all they have in stock right now is the one AL (though their online stock has been known to be inaccurate).
the chameleon inks in the calendar have a shimmer that shifts between two colours depending on light and angle even though the ink itself stays the same colour.
Chameleon ink has shimmer that shows different colours depending on the angle of light or the angle you look at it. I managed to take photos demonstrating it on one of the Inkvent inks here: social.scribblers.club/@Anke/1β¦
Diamine really should have some way to define their ink designations without spoiling. If someone is completely new to it and doesn't watch or read other fountain pen creators' videos/posts about them, they might not understand what Chameleon or the other terms mean.
The #Inkvent calendar we ordered and which has been stuck in the postal strike finally arrived. We're just going to open three a day until we're caught up. #FountainPens
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