Dry Parker 61 Revived with Levenger Cobalt Blue

I bought a Parker 61 capillary filler fountain pen and pencil set that looked like new. (I wrote a brief post about this back in June 2014.) Even the silicone coating on the filler system is perfect with no flakes or scratches. However,  I couldn't keep it writing; the flow was so dry. 

No doubt it needed to be cleaned well, but I'm not willing to risk taking it apart after reading how easy it is to break them. So, I've flushed it out with a bulb syringe several times and refilled with different inks to try to improve the flow. This has only been partially successful and has improved marginally by using increasingly wetter inks. Until recently the best ink combination for this Death Valley dry writing 61 was Waterman Serenity Blue. But even that was not a great solution - no pun intended.  Obviously there must be some residue blocking the flow that I haven't been able to clear out and I was about ready to give up on it. 

However, recently I was reading about intense blue inks and ran across a review of Levenger Cobalt Blue in which it was noted that one of the problems with this ink is that it bleeds and feathers so badly because it is such a wet ink. Since I have a bottle of Levenger Cobalt Blue, I knew this to be true and was the reason why I stopped using it even though I love the color. Then it dawned on me that Cobalt Blue might be wet enough to flow through my Parker 61. So, I cleaned it thoroughly with the bulb syringe and after expelling all of the water,  I dunked the Parker 61 filler into the Cobalt Blue ink. 

Afterwards, I tried writing with it and there was no ink flow at all. Out of frustration I put the empty syringe on the end of the filler to see if any ink was in the pen, because I then wondered if the capillary system wasn't picking up any ink. I squeezed it and ink came out of the nib. So, I dipped the filler back into the ink bottle and then reassembled it to try it out. Amazingly,  it wrote the best it ever has so far. It still is a dry writer and feels a bit like writing with a soft pencil,  but not as dry as it had been in the past. The next morning I took the cap off to try it again thinking it will surely have stopped flowing or skip as it has in the past. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find it still wrote just as well. The next day it is still writing easily with no skips, drag or false starts. 

While this doesn't completely solve the partial clogging, it at least has the pen working at an agreeable and very usable flow. It is funny that an ink and a pen - both of which I had given up on - have turned out to be the perfect combination!

International Ink Cartridges

[PHOTO - left to right: International Short, Jinhao International, Waterman International Long cartridge.

Most of my fountain pens are filled from bottles of ink.  However, when I am away from home or office and not certain my pen will last through the day without a refill, I use a pen with a cartridge. Ideally, that will be a Waterman long international, which fits in my Waterman Carene, Levenger Truewriter and Jinhao 159/x750, among others. Most pens that will hold a long international cartridge will also hold two shorts - one installed and one in reserve. Frustratingly, this is not always the case.

What drives me crazy is the number of pens that are only a few millimeters shy of holding two shorts or a long international cartridge! Dear fountain pen makers: Does it never occur to you to test that before you put them into production? Way back when I first began collecting fountain pens, I was impressed by how smart that was that you could always have a spare cartridge in reserve inside your pen. But the more pens I collected the more I was surprised that was not the case. That irritation faded into the background the more I used piston-fillers, pneumatics, bladders, capillaries and converters.

[PHOTO - left to right: Taccia Portuguese, Levenger Truewriter, Waterman Carene, JinHao x750]

One of my favorite pens - a Taccia Portuguese is about the length of a pocket pen and writes perfectly, never drying or clogging, and no false starts. That makes it a perfect candidate for carrying around all day.  Except that it is too short for an average length converter. One short international converter is all that it will hold. Until now I have used a plunger style micro-converter, which probably holds less ink than even an international short cartridge. And since the Portuguese is a wet writer, it doesn't write long before needing a refill. The metal band at the bottom of the body prevents it from being converted to an eyedropper fill. So, it has always stayed home in spite of its portability. Until today, when an order from China arrived that I had forgotten about: 5 packages of JinHao cartridges (25 cartridges) for less than three dollars and FREE shipping!  The price was great, but even greater was the realization that they were medium length cartridges - a length between short and long international cartridges. This is a cartridge volume that appears to compare to that of proprietary cartridges like those of Lamy and Pilot. Unfortunately, I don't know the actual volume by comparison. But really, I don't care - I'm just thrilled to have an international cartridge that will last longer in those pens too short for long cartridges. Especially, my Taccia Portuguese, which can now become the awesome pocket pen it always was meant to be.

Esterbrook Radio Nib #914

The Esterbrook Radio Nib #914 combined with Tachikawa Comic Pen Nib Holder, Model 40 (T-40) is a great combination for drawing.

The nib was found on eBay and the holder on Amazon. The two together were less than $20.00.

The Radio Nib is supposedly the one that Charles Schultz used to draw Peanuts. This nib is long and flexible and easily provides a variable line. It is easy to see why it was Charles Schultz's favorite nib.

The Tachikawa nib holder is made from wood and has a soft band that keeps your fingers from slipping and makes the pen very comfortable to hold.

Big Pens

I love large pens. However, it is difficult to determine the relative size of a pen online. So, here is a somewhat random assortment of my favorite large pens together for size comparison. They are listed left to right: (1) Jinhao 159, (2) Delta Scrigno, (3) Laban Mento, (4) Levenger Boulevardier, (5) Libelle Siena, (6) Sheaffer Legacy, (7) Pilot Custom 823, (8) Bexley Poseidon, (9) Visconti Rembrandt, (10) Lamy 2000.

If you had never held any of these pens, by looking at the photo, you might think the Libelle Siena or Sheaffer Legacy are relatively small pens. But they are both fairly large. They just look small next to the Jinaho 159, Delta Scrigno and Laban Mento, which are simply immense.

Parker 61 Fountain Pen and Pencil Set

I am probably the only fountain pen collector who doesn't have a Parker 51 or 61.  So, I have had my eyes on them for several years. But up until recently had not found one of the quality/style I would like, and that I could afford.  Yesterday - with the help of a very pleasant eBay seller - I purchased my first Parker 61 (pictured here).  I had been searching for either the black plastic model like this one, or the stainless steel Flighter. I don't care for the gold trim versions, so that limited my choices considerably. This set is in mint condition, and included the mechanical pencil, as well.  While, I have not received it yet - I already find myself with the dilemma of whether or not I should use it. I buy pens to use them, not as collector pieces to be displayed.  But this set almost seems like it should be kept in pristine condition. Plus, from what I have seen from other owners of the capillary fill system, they are not very easy to clean.  Hmmm...I probably won't be able to just store it away, since I originally wanted these as daily writers. My only other matching pen and pencil set is a Cross ATX, before they were made in China - same color scheme: black and chrome. If you have one of these Parker 61 sets, I'd love to read your impressions...please add a comment.

Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy Set

Occasionally, I will fool myself into thinking I will take the time to learn calligraphy. This is not one of those moments.  I purchased this set because I love Rembrandt pens and it was too good of a deal to pass up. As I am writing this, I think the set can still be found for $160.00 or less.  I purchased my set from Goldspot, who provides excellent customer service.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

One Rembrandt pen body and cap of one of the following colors: ivory, black, red, orange, blue or purple; Three palladium steel nibs: .5 italic, 1.5 italic and standard medium (Note: not all sets include the medium nib); A pad of blotting papers; A booklet on calligraphy; A bottle of black ink; And two converters.  The box itself includes a couple of built in nib holders, so that you can alternate between two nibs without removing the converters.

OBSERVATIONS.

The italic nibs are housed in plastic sections, rather than the steel housing of the standard pen.  This reduces the weight of the pen considerably. I found the lighter weight to be so comfortable that I've been using the .5 Italic nib as a daily writer.

The calligraphy booklet is written in Italian, English and German. It is a brief 24 pages long, four of which are taken by the cleaning, filling and warranty information. The booklet includes samples and instructions for the following alphabets: Italic, Gothic, Uncial, Foundational, Rotunda and English Script.

I find it difficult choosing a pen color online, because I don't trust the accuracy of the colors on the photographs. I already had the black pen and none of the other colors appealed to me.  I prefer dark colors for pens, so that left only the purple pen, which is not a color I'd normally choose. I was pleasantly surprised by the deep rich color and the hint of red in the swirls.  Had I been able to see the pens in person, I might have chosen the red or the blue, but they appeared too light online.

THE BOTTOM LINE.

Whether you are a calligrapher, artist, or writer, this is an excellent pen for a reasonable price with a lot of options.

For a thorough review of the standard Rembrandt pen, read my post here from June 28, 2011.

Black and White

I realized, once again, how stuck I am on black and white, or silver and black pens.  This photo is actually several years old and I have added a number of pens since then, most of which are black and white or black and silver.  Recently, I was about to purchase another pen, which was black carbon fiber and silver.  I paused and wondered why I would buy another pen of the same color combo as most of my others?  The answer was simple, I still like that color (less) combo!  (Although, I did not buy that pen due to marginal reviews.) No surprise, my favorite ink is basic black - though I note that they are not all equal.  For example, Pearl Noire from J. Herbin is the blackest of blacks, I love that ink.  My pens seem to like Pilot black the best:" it doesn't clog or dry out very easily.  While I would never wear a tuxedo that is not basic black, I do have some pens in other colors, which I enjoy and use often.  But in the end my first choice is always basic black.  By the way, one of the best and most affordable basic black fountain pens is the Levenger Truewriter Obsidian.  It is one of my basic work pens, filled with Noodler's Polar Bulletproof black.  The TW Obsidian is always ready to write, even if I've not used it for several days.  No matter how beautiful a pen is, knowing that it will write the moment you touch it to paper is the best feature of any fountain pen.

Giant

Here is a recent doodle using a Laban Mento fountain pen (M nib) with Noodler's Kiowa Pecan ink. 

Libelle Siena Fountain Pen - Nero Black

My wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year, and I replied with an embarrassed grin that it was already on the way.  I had been eyeing the Libelle Siena fountain pen and when it went on sale, I grabbed it up.  I've read a number of comments by fountain pen collectors about black pens with chrome trim being boring, but they are still my favorite.  It is just a classy masculine combination.  The Libelle Siena combines it with a ribbing that reminds me of designs from the 1930s.  

Libelle Siena Fountain Pen

This pen is large but not heavy: 5 3/8" capped.  5/8" in diameter. 6 3/8" posted. 4 7/8" with the cap off.

The clip is solid (not folded metal) and due to the up-turned end, it slides easily over a shirt pocket.  The tell-tale Libelle dragonfly logo is well-presented in the cap button. The etching in the cap band is very shallow, which always looks cheap to me.  But the rest of the pen looks and feels well made.

Cap button with dragonfly logo.

The cap posts by screwing onto the end of the pen.  So, there's no bother with the cap falling off while writing.  However, with mine posted, the clip does not line up with the nib - it is about 90 degrees off which annoys me.  The Siena is amazingly long at nearly 6 1/2" with the cap posted, which I like. It is a bit top-heavy but not uncomfortable.

Pen with cap posted

The Siena comes with a long Libelle converter, with an agitator.  I have seen these little balls in converters before but didn't know why they were there.  And recently ran across a comment elsewhere about how agitators in converters help to break up surface tension and so aid the ink flow.  Of course there are many factors that effect ink flow, but I can say that my Siena does not have ink flow problems after my second ink fill.  (The first time I filled the pen it would skip on the first stroke.)  It is filled with Waterman black and writes very well.

Large steel medium point nib

The nib is a large steel iridium point (Schmidt?)  medium nib that writes with an easy wet line.  I'd describe this nib as medium-plus.  It gives a fuller line than say a Japanese medium nib. The large nib provides a nice balance to the large pen.

Visconti Rembrandt Fountain Pen

First Impressions. [10/10] The very first impression was “This is a high quality pen and altogether different than any other pen I've owned.” This Visconti Rembrandt is made out of black resin with a slight hint of very dark silver veins. On this pen the veins are nothing as distinct as the photograph that I saw online. At first I was disappointed by that but over time have grown to love the subtlety. It doesn't jump out at you the way some bright and bold resin mixes do. Instead it conveys the serious chiaroscuro that the Visconti's designers envisioned. While the pen is very ingenious and modern in the way the pen is designed to function, it communicates a centuries old impression – as it was clearly intended to do. As an amateur student of art who has studied Rembrandt's paintings in person, I am amazed at how well this pen captures the atmosphere of Rembrandt. I know it sounds trite, but it looks like the kind of pen he would have used, had there been such a thing. However, I have also seen the blue Visconti Rembrandt in person and did not find that to be true with that pen. The blue version did not communicate the bold chiaroscuro that Rembrandt is known for, nor did it have that old-but-new appearance.
Dimensions. [9/10] Classic cigar-shaped pen with many interesting nuances.
Capped: 5 1/2” or 14.1mm
Posted: 6 7/16” or 16mm
Uncapped: 4 15/16” or 12.5mm
Diameter: 1/2” or 13cm
Quality. [10/10] The quality of this pen is impressive in every detail. The resin is lustrous and not easily scratched. The threads between the body and nib section are metal to metal. (Leaving you without the concern that metal on resin may eventually wear out or cross-thread.) The button and end caps are metal and well fitted. The band on the cap is beautifully detailed and deep. (It is nothing like the shallow laser engraving that one occasionally sees.) It is very comfortable to use and pleasing to the eye.

Cap. [10/10] Usually, the cap of a pen is the part I am the least interested in. So long as it looks good and does what it is supposed to do, I am pleased. However, the Rembrandt's cap is simply amazing at a number of levels. The engraved band is strikingly handsome, with an antiqued look to the silver. The magnetic closure is fun and functional. I'd remembered that being the only feature of the blue Rembrandt that I had seen in a local store that I liked, but it wasn't enough to get me to buy it. But now that I've had the black Rembrandt for a couple of months, I think it is tremendous. I use my fountain pens at work throughout the day, but get weary of constantly unscrewing the cap. The magnetic cap seats firmly over the nib, so there's no concern about it coming loose in your pocket, and pulling the cap on and off throughout the day is a joy rather than a chore. Putting the cap back on the pen is actually distractingly fun (I'm easily amused) because you just get the cap close to being closed and the magnet pulls the cap on the rest of the way by itself. Also, the cap seats well enough that the nib doesn't dry out quickly: another plus. As if that weren't enough, the cap has a magnet built into its top button also. When I purchased this, I didn't care the least bit about the Visconti "My Pen System” - I knew I'd never use it. However, the dealer threw in my initials for free – I guess because I'm a regular customer, or because he is such a nice guy, or both! The Visconti My Pen System allows you to customize the top button of your pen. Using a magnet you can pull out the standard Visconti logo and replace it with your initials, symbol, or stone. As much as I liked having my initials in the pen, they left the top of the pen very flat, which opposes the symmetry of the pen – in my mind. The end cap at the bottom of the pen is a simple chrome nipple, which looks great on a classic cigar-shaped pen. The fact that the top of the cap didn't match the bottom of the barrel got on my nerves – I needed symmetry! So, I ordered a hematite stone to fit into the top of the cap. It came today. The pen is finally symmetrical. It looks great. I couldn't be more pleased.
Clip. [9/10] The clip is great, too! I'd seen photos of Visconti clips and didn't really care for them: they appeared to stick out too far. In reality, they do not. The bow of the clip is not as dramatic in person as at first appearance. And, the fact that it is spring-hinged is another classy and functional touch. Even the printing of “Visconti” on the side is accomplished artfully.

Fill. [5/10] This is the one and only feature where the pen does not excel. It uses a cartridge or converter. The converter is of sufficient quality and fits snugly into the feed. Nothing to complain about, but nothing to get excited about either. That being said, having a converter that fits securely is valuable.
Nib. [8/10] I have read critiques about Visconti steel nibs being too firm. And this nib (a fine) is fairly rigid, but not as rigid as a Cross or Waterman nib. It is extremely smooth and medium wet (6/10), and writes well with very little feed back. I am using Diamine Twilight ink and getting a very consistent medium-fine line without skipping.
Conclusions.  I enjoy this pen the more that I use it.  And now I'm thinking that I will order more stones for the pen system in different colors to indicate the color of ink in the pen.  Well, maybe I'm getting carried away.

Addendum [May 1, 2013] - I recently purchased the Rembrandt calligraphy set with two italics nibs  (0.5 and 1.5).  It also comes with two converters, so that you can switch back and forth between the two nib sizes. I enjoy the 0.5 nib so much, that I am using it for my daily writing pen.  This set is currently on sale and is well worth the $150 price tag.  The calligraphy pen is lighter than the regular Rembrandt because the nib section is plastic rather than steel. Other than that they are identical.

Anatomy of a Fountain Pen

Once you find a pen you are happy with, it is easy to collect more of the same. For me, that has meant that I have collected several Levenger Truewriters – they are good writers, well designed at a reasonable price. Similarly, I have come to enjoy the variety, quality and style of Laban pens. 

 I appreciate those high quality pens in the $200.00 plus range, but frankly I can't afford many of those. Most of my collection comes out of the $40 - $100 range pens. And, I especially enjoy finding pens on sale. So, about a year ago I snagged a couple of Laban Celebration pens from Ebay. One was an Oyster Pearl Yellow Celebration with a custom ground needlepoint nib, and the other was a black Celebration with a standard medium point nib.

Fountain pens are like people, you have to spend some quality time with them before you know their true character. In the case of these two Celebrations, I discovered that I hated the needlepoint nib and loved the medium nib. However, I preferred the oyster pearl resin over the black resin. I wanted to swap the two nibs, but didn't know how to do it. So, I posted a query on the Fountain Pen Network and one officianado who was much more experienced than me told me how to do it. I gently wrestled the nibs out of the sections of the two pens, cleaned them, and then swapped the nibs and re-assembled them. Now one of the pens that I rarely used is one of my favorite pens.

It is funny how something can seem such a mystery until you dive in, and then once you have done so, you enjoy a confidence in that discovery. Hence, the "Anatomy of a Fountain Pen".

Once I pulled the pen apart, I examined all of the components, so that I might understand better how it works. I thoroughly enjoy writing with fountain pens, but I also like to know how they function. The feed was the part that I realized I knew the least about. It is the conduit between the cartridge/converter and the nib. This is rather obvious once you see the feed outside of its housing. The feed includes the nipple at the top that receives the ink, which flows betwixt the feed and the nib to provide ink to the nib tip. This strikes me as that which is so typical in life: that here is an unseen or forgotten element in our lives that acts as the conduit for that which we most value. One rarely sees mention of the feed in reviews on fountain pens, and yet the pen would be useless without one. The great surprise for me once I disassembled my fountain pens was the complexity and utility of the feed. It supplies both ink and vent: blood and oxygen.  The feed is the conduit between the ink supply and the practical action of the nib. Not something that I give much thought to, but essential to the function of the pen.

Man with Bowler

In my last post I promised - or at least implied - that I'd be writing soon about my latest graphics tablet digital artwork trials. Well, I must confess to yielding to the temptation of drawing with fountain pens and paper.

I have been listening to the audio book version of "The Invisible Wall" by Harry Bernstein, and his description of men wearing bowlers inspired me to draw this sketch. And, rather than turn on the computer, I just uncapped a few fountain pens and sat back in my comfy wing-backed chair and sketched the guy you see here above. He's mostly drawn after Bernstein's descriptions of his father.

I used a Pelikan M215 fine point and Namiki Falcon soft fine point for this sketch, with Noodler's Feather-X black ink. I really like the graphics tablet but it is not a sufficient substitute for a pen nib on quality paper.