one thing with bladder fillers if you dont mind getting alittle inky first put the nib in the ink depress the sac a few times then turn the pen nib up and tap it firmly into your hand to get the ink to go into the sac then still nib up squeeze the sac and then turn the pen down into the ink and release the sac you should have a full pen after that it might take a little bit of finessing but once you do you wont have any hard starting and they make really lovely pens just do NOT PUT PILOT IROSHIZUKU IN A BLATTER PEN IT WILL EAT THE SAC AND KILL YOUR PEN FAST even though it would probably make the pen write better the second best ink I can suggest is waterman tender purple its very wet or parker black :) Hope that helps
That's a good suggestion. I'll have to give it a try. That's what I do to get a full fill in my Custom Heritage 92. It's a piston filler, but basically the same principle of getting all the air out of the reservoir.
I repaired a dropped PILOT Metro Fine lib by straightening the tines and grinding to a stub. It is now in my Kakuno and is a fun pen. I also ground a DeLike Black Pocket pen fine nib to a stub with good results. Thanks for the video.
as far as shimmer inks go I put all my shimmer inks in a Noodlers Konrad with a fountain pen revolution ultra flex nib and the size of the channel of the feed is really how you can get the shimmer to flow really nicely either that or a fountain pen revoution himalaya v2 with an ultra flex nib that is the sweet spot there ... the only other exception is the Lamy safari , vista , take out the middle of the plastic feed bit and oh man that works really well getting the feed out though takes a really sticky coulet grip and some harsh force to get those nibfeeds out but once they are out taking out that middle bit really makes them excellent for shimmer inks :)
Hmm...the only Lamy I have right now is a Logo and it has my gold nib on it. I'm tempted to get a Goulet exclusive Vista with the black trim or an AL Star just to use with shimmer inks. Thanks for the suggestion. 😀
In my experience pens which are notorius hard starters can be fixed by a). Running a brass shim through the tines.b).Running a pointed screw driver through the feeder line on which the nib rests.c)Storing the pen horizontally.
@@puneetmalhotra7327 I do a) most of the time, b) I've recently had to do more often and c) is something I hadn't considered before. Thanks for the suggestions. 😀
I remember a Goulet Pens video about stub nibs that mentioned gold is not as good a material as steel for that particular nib. I believe they said it was soft enough to cause problem S which you wouldn’t find in other nibs. Edited to add that another I usually include the price of having a nibmeister tune a nib when I’m considering buying a pen. And of course some companies will include having the pen’s nib checked for free, while charging for a special grind (Nibsmith, Appelboom and Pen Venture come to mind).
I guess I missed the Goulet video about stub nibs. That's interesting. I'll have to look it up. My sister bought a Homosapiens from Goulet Pens that came with a custom grind from Mark Bacas and she loves it. I've never had a pen worked on by a professional, but if I ever spend that much money for a pen, I think it would be wise to go that route or get it from one of the retailers you mentioned and have it inspected and tuned if necessary. 😀
@@gadgetstop321 It was a good while back if after their Pens 101 since it had both Brian and Drew. It may have been about nibs in general. But I always remembered that bit and gone for stubs in steel. I’ve also been lucky in adjusting to the nibs (perhaps because I don’t have the sensitivity to notice smoothness or bounce as well as some.) But when I decided a zoom nib was not for me, I had Gina of Custom Nib Studios grind it into a cursive italic which I asked her to make smooth and wet. I love what she did with it at a very reasonable price. I think it was $60. Finally, there’s another video by Drew on inspecting your pen when you get it so that you can spot a problem and contact customer service. The two important things I remember to do from that are: 1. Hold the pen up to look at the nib against a light so you can be sure the slit between the tines is good. Of course you should always look directly at the nib which is how I noticed a feed was out of line and got help for it. 2. Always rinse that nib before you fill the pen. This will not only flush out any oils or residual ink where some have tested their pens which was Drew’s point, you will see for yourself how well water flows through the nib. Over time you’ll get a good idea if it’s too slow or fast. So if it’s normal when you’ve checked the nib. Then if you have a problem the first thing to do is clean it again, which will help you double check the flow. Then try a known friendly ink like Waterman Serenity. Doing this has spared method having to send a Pelikon 800 away for tuning.
Thanks for the tips Joan! I really need to be more diligent of flushing my pens before using them for the first time. I'll look for that Goulet video about stub nibs. It sounds interesting. 😀
As my collection grew and my writing reduced, i have appreciated pens that seal well, listing some of them below Lamy 2000, twsbi eco, FC Loom, sailor pro gear large, 3776 century- slip and seal doesn’t really work in mine, came back after 2 months to this pen only to find that the ink had evaporated from the converter
That's a good point! Out of this group of pens, the Pro Gear and the Vac 700 have been stellar when it comes to writing without any issues, even after going without use for up to a week.
You're welcome! Even with the problems, these are fun pens...and I'm confident that it's possible to correct these problems (except maybe the Bexley). 😀
Thanks R! I'm really liking this Sailor Progear also. It ranks up there with my beloved Pilot fine nibs. It doesn't feel like a Pilot nib, it has more feedback, but I sure enjoy writing with it. 😀
My Laban Rosa lilac was horrible out the box. I did a little nib filing, so it's better. Still angry than such an expensive pen feels cheap and writes iffy.
I agree with your frustration. I get irritated when inexpensive pens like the Pilot Varsity can write perfectly every time but some $100+ pens are inconsistent. These days I try to stick with brands that have demonstrated good quality control. But even then, I've come across a few duds. Like you mentioned, being able to make some adjustments to your own nibs is a nice skill to have.
Having spent some hard earned cash on pens that don’t perform as expected is always (to me) a real disappointment. If I’ve spent upwards $100.00 or more and it has a gold nib, it should perform well. I’m not thrilled about having to decide whether to try to fix it myself, or send it somewhere, yada yada. I recently purchased a new 912 with a PO nib to use on recording some accounting figures in a non friendly paper with a dark ink. Great success with 99% of my Pilot Custom xxx. A disappointment as it was hard starting, and so light a line 🥴. I yanked the nib after viewing the nib under a loupe, no issues I could see except maybe a tight slit between the tines. I washed the nib and feed throughly, pushed a .004” steel feeler gauge through the tines, reassembled, and pushed some Monteverde Jade Noir (same from before) from the converter. It wrote way better, still a small line, but darker & wetter. I think washing a new Pens nib and feed is a must. Choice of ink of course can really affect how even a higher dollar gold nib’d fountain pen can be affected. Thanks for your videos Kathy, enjoy them, and find your easy going voice and style of presenting the videos a very enjoyable time watching. 👍😎👏😻. {I’m really partial to Pilot’s Custom line, 742, 743, & 912, but again ink choice can really make a difference… 🤔} [Psalms 37 😇]
Thank you Strshooter! And thanks for letting me know about the PO nib. That's a nib I've been interested in for a while because I had heard the reverse writing was more broad than the regular writing. But it sounds like even after you got yours writing properly it still writes too fine of a line. What size nib do you prefer in your Custom XXX series of pens? I've used EF through M Pilot gold nibs and the EF and M are really nice, but F is by far my favorite and I've come to the realization that If I buy anymore Pilot pens, that's the nib size I'm going to get. With Sailor pens, M used to be my favorite and I like the way my sister's B nib writes, but MF is my favorite. Fortunately, I've reached the point that if I get a pen that has issues with alignment of the tines or the shape of the tipping, I can fix it without too much frustration. However, there are certain brands that I stay away from because the feed delivers ink to the nib inconsistently and I can't fix that. The thing that bothers me most is knowing that new users are being turned off of fountain pens because of these issues of poor quality control.
@@gadgetstop321 Cathy, after owning a few of Pilot's Custom line, I like the "F" nib best. The "SFM" & "M" nibs do seem to write smoother for letters and such. The "PO" nib is firm, make no mistake, but with a little pressure only, does give a very small increase in width, and darker line. Maybe the tines still need to be opened up just a little more? I'd hate to ruin a nib trying to make it perfect. Reverse writing with this "PO" nib is there, but lighter overall, and is not consistent in flow. So many nice nibs and so little tines, er time... ;-) .... Thanks for the reply Cathy 🙂 All the best.
one thing with bladder fillers if you dont mind getting alittle inky first put the nib in the ink depress the sac a few times then turn the pen nib up and tap it firmly into your hand to get the ink to go into the sac then still nib up squeeze the sac and then turn the pen down into the ink and release the sac you should have a full pen after that it might take a little bit of finessing but once you do you wont have any hard starting and they make really lovely pens just do NOT PUT PILOT IROSHIZUKU IN A BLATTER PEN IT WILL EAT THE SAC AND KILL YOUR PEN FAST even though it would probably make the pen write better the second best ink I can suggest is waterman tender purple its very wet or parker black :) Hope that helps
That's a good suggestion. I'll have to give it a try. That's what I do to get a full fill in my Custom Heritage 92. It's a piston filler, but basically the same principle of getting all the air out of the reservoir.
I repaired a dropped PILOT Metro Fine lib by straightening the tines and grinding to a stub. It is now in my Kakuno and is a fun pen. I also ground a DeLike Black Pocket pen fine nib to a stub with good results. Thanks for the video.
Wow, a Pilot fine ground to a stub! That must be the world's tiniest stub nib. That's a good idea for making damaged nibs usable again. 😀
as far as shimmer inks go I put all my shimmer inks in a Noodlers Konrad with a fountain pen revolution ultra flex nib and the size of the channel of the feed is really how you can get the shimmer to flow really nicely either that or a fountain pen revoution himalaya v2 with an ultra flex nib that is the sweet spot there ... the only other exception is the Lamy safari , vista , take out the middle of the plastic feed bit and oh man that works really well getting the feed out though takes a really sticky coulet grip and some harsh force to get those nibfeeds out but once they are out taking out that middle bit really makes them excellent for shimmer inks :)
Hmm...the only Lamy I have right now is a Logo and it has my gold nib on it. I'm tempted to get a Goulet exclusive Vista with the black trim or an AL Star just to use with shimmer inks. Thanks for the suggestion. 😀
In my experience pens which are notorius hard starters can be fixed by a). Running a brass shim through the tines.b).Running a pointed screw driver through the feeder line on which the nib rests.c)Storing the pen horizontally.
@@puneetmalhotra7327 I do a) most of the time, b) I've recently had to do more often and c) is something I hadn't considered before. Thanks for the suggestions. 😀
I remember a Goulet Pens video about stub nibs that mentioned gold is not as good a material as steel for that particular nib. I believe they said it was soft enough to cause problem
S which you wouldn’t find in other nibs.
Edited to add that another
I usually include the price of having a nibmeister tune a nib when I’m considering buying a pen. And of course some companies will include having the pen’s nib checked for free, while charging for a special grind (Nibsmith, Appelboom and Pen Venture come to mind).
I guess I missed the Goulet video about stub nibs. That's interesting. I'll have to look it up.
My sister bought a Homosapiens from Goulet Pens that came with a custom grind from Mark Bacas and she loves it. I've never had a pen worked on by a professional, but if I ever spend that much money for a pen, I think it would be wise to go that route or get it from one of the retailers you mentioned and have it inspected and tuned if necessary. 😀
@@gadgetstop321
It was a good while back if after their Pens 101 since it had both Brian and Drew. It may have been about nibs in general. But I always remembered that bit and gone for stubs in steel. I’ve also been lucky in adjusting to the nibs (perhaps because I don’t have the sensitivity to notice smoothness or bounce as well as some.) But when I decided a zoom nib was not for me, I had Gina of Custom Nib Studios grind it into a cursive italic which I asked her to make smooth and wet. I love what she did with it at a very reasonable price. I think it was $60. Finally, there’s another video by Drew on inspecting your pen when you get it so that you can spot a problem and contact customer service. The two important things I remember to do from that are:
1. Hold the pen up to look at the nib against a light so you can be sure the slit between the tines is good. Of course you should always look directly at the nib which is how I noticed a feed was out of line and got help for it.
2. Always rinse that nib before you fill the pen. This will not only flush out any oils or residual ink where some have tested their pens which was Drew’s point, you will see for yourself how well water flows through the nib. Over time you’ll get a good idea if it’s too slow or fast. So if it’s normal when you’ve checked the nib. Then if you have a problem the first thing to do is clean it again, which will help you double check the flow. Then try a known friendly ink like Waterman Serenity. Doing this has spared method having to send a Pelikon 800 away for tuning.
Thanks for the tips Joan! I really need to be more diligent of flushing my pens before using them for the first time. I'll look for that Goulet video about stub nibs. It sounds interesting. 😀
As my collection grew and my writing reduced, i have appreciated pens that seal well, listing some of them below
Lamy 2000, twsbi eco, FC Loom, sailor pro gear large, 3776 century- slip and seal doesn’t really work in mine, came back after 2 months to this pen only to find that the ink had evaporated from the converter
That's a good point! Out of this group of pens, the Pro Gear and the Vac 700 have been stellar when it comes to writing without any issues, even after going without use for up to a week.
Thank you for telling us about the problems you have been encountering with the pen/ink.
You're welcome! Even with the problems, these are fun pens...and I'm confident that it's possible to correct these problems (except maybe the Bexley). 😀
Hi Cathy! I really like that orange colored Sailor Pro Gear.
Thanks R! I'm really liking this Sailor Progear also. It ranks up there with my beloved Pilot fine nibs. It doesn't feel like a Pilot nib, it has more feedback, but I sure enjoy writing with it. 😀
My Laban Rosa lilac was horrible out the box. I did a little nib filing, so it's better. Still angry than such an expensive pen feels cheap and writes iffy.
I agree with your frustration. I get irritated when inexpensive pens like the Pilot Varsity can write perfectly every time but some $100+ pens are inconsistent. These days I try to stick with brands that have demonstrated good quality control. But even then, I've come across a few duds. Like you mentioned, being able to make some adjustments to your own nibs is a nice skill to have.
Having spent some hard earned cash on pens that don’t perform as expected is always (to me) a real disappointment. If I’ve spent upwards $100.00 or more and it has a gold nib, it should perform well. I’m not thrilled about having to decide whether to try to fix it myself, or send it somewhere, yada yada. I recently purchased a new 912 with a PO nib to use on recording some accounting figures in a non friendly paper with a dark ink. Great success with 99% of my Pilot Custom xxx. A disappointment as it was hard starting, and so light a line 🥴. I yanked the nib after viewing the nib under a loupe, no issues I could see except maybe a tight slit between the tines. I washed the nib and feed throughly, pushed a .004” steel feeler gauge through the tines, reassembled, and pushed some Monteverde Jade Noir (same from before) from the converter. It wrote way better, still a small line, but darker & wetter. I think washing a new Pens nib and feed is a must. Choice of ink of course can really affect how even a higher dollar gold nib’d fountain pen can be affected. Thanks for your videos Kathy, enjoy them, and find your easy going voice and style of presenting the videos a very enjoyable time watching. 👍😎👏😻. {I’m really partial to Pilot’s Custom line, 742, 743, & 912, but again ink choice can really make a difference… 🤔} [Psalms 37 😇]
Thank you Strshooter! And thanks for letting me know about the PO nib. That's a nib I've been interested in for a while because I had heard the reverse writing was more broad than the regular writing. But it sounds like even after you got yours writing properly it still writes too fine of a line. What size nib do you prefer in your Custom XXX series of pens? I've used EF through M Pilot gold nibs and the EF and M are really nice, but F is by far my favorite and I've come to the realization that If I buy anymore Pilot pens, that's the nib size I'm going to get. With Sailor pens, M used to be my favorite and I like the way my sister's B nib writes, but MF is my favorite. Fortunately, I've reached the point that if I get a pen that has issues with alignment of the tines or the shape of the tipping, I can fix it without too much frustration. However, there are certain brands that I stay away from because the feed delivers ink to the nib inconsistently and I can't fix that. The thing that bothers me most is knowing that new users are being turned off of fountain pens because of these issues of poor quality control.
@@gadgetstop321 Cathy, after owning a few of Pilot's Custom line, I like the "F" nib best. The "SFM" & "M" nibs do seem to write smoother for letters and such. The "PO" nib is firm, make no mistake, but with a little pressure only, does give a very small increase in width, and darker line. Maybe the tines still need to be opened up just a little more? I'd hate to ruin a nib trying to make it perfect. Reverse writing with this "PO" nib is there, but lighter overall, and is not consistent in flow. So many nice nibs and so little tines, er time... ;-) .... Thanks for the reply Cathy 🙂 All the best.
What’s that kitty meowing about in the background? Seems like they want to add their opinion to your review!
She is dying of curiosity. 😹