Q&A Slices: Should you twist the piston down as the ink level gets low?

"Should I wind the piston down as the ink gets lower in my Twsbi? I see photos of where this has been done, but not sure if it needs to be done.
you definitely don’t need to do this
sometimes people prefer to in order to either increase the flow or to decrease the chance of burping
the same can be done with any type of piston, like on a converter
it’s a matter of your personal preference, but in order to maintain consistent flow, it’s not required on a properly functioning pen
ink flows by capillary action
as long as ink is making contact with the back of the feed and isn’t impeded, it’ll flow
Full Episode of Goulet Q&A 219:
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[@ironchef8000]

The KZbin algorithm never ceases to amaze me. Today I got my first fountain pen. It’s a TWSBI. I was wondering this exact question.

[@Gouletpens]

Yay! We're glad that you found us! - Drew

[@Nora-jt9zy]

If you are interested in an update… I have the same “problem” with my 580 😊 It gets so dry that it skips. Then I turn the piston a bit, and it writes like charm again. I can choose to let it annoy me, but I love writing with it too much 😊 I started my journey with a Pilot Metropolitan, after debating between “the two big starter pens” Metropolitan and Safari. After a while, my curiosity got to me, and I just had to get the Safari too, just to compare. They are close, but I think I liked the Safari better, and I didn’t mind the triangular grip. After a good while I bought my first TWSBI, and I fell I love. I live several things with it. I love the big ink capacity, as I use it every day. I love that it writes smoothly. So if the tradeoff is that I have to adjust the piston every now and then, so be it. I hope you will enjoy your fountain pen journey 😊 It doesn’t have to be an expensive one with expensive pens 😊 I was happy with my Eco, but since I had two that cracked, I hope my 580 don’t, so it will last a while 😊 I found that I love ink in softer shades, so my everyday writing ink is Sailor Manyo Ayame. On regular paper this is a soft green/grey. Have fun exploring 😊

[@munozrick]

A Fountain Pen is just a "controlled leak". Brilliant! I'll be using that.

[@GregGrideleg]

Somehow you guys seemed to have answered every mundane question I've ever had. Thanks for everything, including the awesome customer service!

[@smasshton]

I usually do this with mine just because i like fiddling with my pens and i think it’s fun; although sometimes i push my luck and drip ink on myself.

[@hughmungus1572]

Always me in college lectures and then I look like an idiot with ink stains lol

[@gamemasterkj]

@@hughmungus1572 me recently in a work meeting with a massive blue burp on my page xD

[@BuckingHorse-Bull]

nerd

[@olliwesselingh9253]

I did this and had ink all over my hands afterwards 😂😂

[@carolyncoppola974]

I recently got an Esterbrook Estie in an EF nib and Robert Oster Honey Bee ink. The ink was beautiful but needed a M nib. So I did this and it worked. Of course I prepared for the ink blob, so I creatively used it as a swatch! 😃 it wrote perfectly until I ran out of ink. 😢. Thanks Brian!

[@Nora-jt9zy]

I know this is an old video, but I leave a comment anyway 😊 I’ve had a couple of TWSBI Eco’s, that unfortunately cracked, probably due to a couple of falls from the desk. So I recently bought a Diamond 580 ALR in a beautiful Sunset Yellow color. I’ve only had it for a couple of days, since I haven’t got enough experience yet, but with the Eco’s, I found that if I just kept writing, without adjusting the piston, the pen got very dry after a while (the time would vary), and felt uncomfortable to write with, so I needed to adjust the piston to make it comfortable to write with again. Some days I didn’t need to do it, and I didn’t take note of how often. I just adjusted whenever the pen became uncomfortable, and went on with my day 😊 I’ll keep an eye on my 580 to see if it behave differently 😊 Thanks for this video.

[@billminckler6550]

Great explanation. It’s about gravity and capillary action-not about pressure. Very insightful. Thank you!

[@tychevenz1077]

Thank you so much! I am a beginner fountain pen user and I thought my TWSBI is broken because the twisty thing keeps on moving. And i remembered i wound my piston down because my nib is EF and i want to put more ink into paper. Thank you!!🎉🎉🎉

[@good_youtube_handle]

I have some converters in which the ink likes to hang at the top occasionally. As the ink gets lower, I twist the piston down to reduce how much this happens.

[@raigne86]

This is the primary reason I do it. Converters that don't have some kind of agitator to break the surface tension of the ink clinging at the top of the mechanism.

[@bernesepuppy]

I do with when the nib occasionally dries or stops working, on most of my pens...it works. A good shake would probably work as well

[@Gouletpens]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Sometimes a shake too. Love to have the feed really saturated when writing. - Colin

[@HumblyDumbly]

Gotta be careful with that shake, some pens will spray droplets of ink when you shake it

[@Shibzzeg]

Another option is to close the cap and drop the pen cap down onto the table from 3-4 cm high to avoid splashing the ink everywhere and agitate the ink

[@Alsry1]

Javid Bunyadzade that’s kinda yikes, might damage the pen. Maybe keep the cap on and just tap your hand on the table without the pen touching the table

[@hannahplumleymycarnivaladd6365]

I do I use my fountain pens for art work and use the pen for hours at a time and I feel it needs me to twist it down sometimes

[@owenwswain]

Point of interest: on the TWSBI Eco pens the piston cap when retched down is still post-able without wiggle because of the O ring at the 'top' of the barrel. The cap grabs that ring and stays in place; no wiggle. At least, that's been my experience. My nit with this though is that when the pen is closed that piston cap being not locked down will jiggle. The noise can be a bother but more significantly the piston cap can be undesirable moved (turn) a bit when sliding in and out of a leather pen holder/loop. At worst this can mean some ink discharge into the main pen cap. P.S. @Gouletpens, over the years your excellent instructional videos have been a massive help.

[@chrislj2890]

I've never had to do this with any of my TWSBI pens, but it's not uncommon with some converter and ink combinations. That's why I like converters with agitators.

[@Abi.Cadaver]

Thank you for this video, it has really helped me to understand my new Twsbi better. In fact, thank you for all of your videos, they are all so informative and fun too.

[@jimc9608]

When you start with the piston in the correct position (about 1/4 inch from the top stop), you can fill the pen (obviously you fully extend the piston before drawing ink) and then tighten down the cap. If you can't seem to get this right, TWSBI has a video on their site. There is no need to evacuate the air in the reservoir or completely fill the pen unless you are Adrian Monk. In this case there is medication that will help. As a side note, what makes this pen spectacular is that it doesn't dry out when you set the pen down for 30 seconds, 30 mins or 3 hours.

[@KevinJDildonik]

I had one in a pencil case for 6+ months and it worked like new.

[@natana1]

Good question and something I've been wondering about myself. Thanks for the detailed discussion.

[@geckonia]

Thank you I was wondering about this too... especially with the TWSBI 👍🏼

[@davecharvella4854]

Excellent! Just inked up my ECO today for the first time ... so, perfect timing!

[@garybeckner2991]

Thanks, I am just getting interested in fountain pens and find your videos very interesting and helpful.

[@traditionallarry5378]

Thanks for the advice I bought a TWSBI 580 and was having hard starts when I didn’t use it for a while this really solves my problem Thanks Brian

[@bryanfletcher-nz8229]

I have done this when the pen is slow to start, but maybe it's really just due for flush out. Thanks.

[@paulgosu2773]

Love the vids, just got my first fountain pen yesterday and it’s awesome.

[@kingpolaris]

im so glad you mentioned the unstable twisting piston knob mechanism . i thought my pen was malfunctioning

[@jimc9608]

See my comment above. When you start with the piston in the correct position, it tightens properly after filling.

[@TheTopMostDog]

I just got my first piston fountain pen, a Twsbi Eco, and wondered exactly this! Having a play with it while empty, I figured I'd be most comfortable with the piston wound all the way back until the knob friction seats, so as to not have it accidentally wind while in transit. Found your video helped my confidence in doing this; it makes perfect sense that the pen 'breathes' to equalize the pressure in the chamber. Upon further investigation, the knob is not only loose, but the cap will also not seat (post?) properly/easily if the piston is more than half way down, confirming for me that these were probably designed to be left at the highest position in most scenarios. Thanks for the vid!!

[@manuelsalazar3938]

I'm not sure if it's really about pressure, the basic principle is that ink "leaks" because of capillary action and air replaces it, even on a commercial plane it's not about pressure because the cabin is pressurized, otherwise the passengers would not survive the flight.

[@chrism1190]

I just saw this after purchasing my TWSBI and having some feed issues. I saw that the cap was loose after I did and that's how I found this video. I thought something was wrong. Glad to know it's normal for it to rattle after doing so.

[@andra2377]

This was one of my main questions. I like the ink to move back and forth as I use it, so I'm glad I don't have to force it down. I got my 1.1 stub from Goulet and I can't stop using it lol.

[@jwdyss]

Thank you! 😊👍🏻Something I wondered about and now know. 😊

[@robertcochran7103]

Thank you for posting this excellent video. It answers a question I have.

[@clemlank9069]

Thanks for this video, I purchased a Twsbi, which I love, a few months ago and as the ink level dropped I wondered about ink possibly drying out in the barrel. I did as you showed, held the pen with the nib up and expelled the air from the chamber, however I noticed that the cap didn’t post properly (as you showed), so I topped off the ink reservoir and won’t try that again.

[@HandmadebyLorelei]

Very helpful, I have been thinking about this very question myself concerning my TWSBIs. I think the bottom line is , I'm a broad/double broad loving girl and a nib can never be broad enough. I feel like a few of mine, when they were new out of the box, wrote perfectly and then for some reason over time, seem to not flow as well. I thought maybe it was me, or maybe it was the ink, and possibly the pen. Anyway, thanks for clearing this up.

[@pjposullivan]

The ink must flow.

[@lw771230]

I do this with my Noodlers Ahabs with flex nibs. It helps to limit the railroading when flexing the nib.

[@markknoblauch2128]

The only time I'll do this is when I'm getting the last couple of lines out of the very last of the ink left in a pen before refilling or needing to flush and store away. More often than not, though, I never get to the point --I either know I'll be on the go with the pen later o. and will re-ink before leaving my desk, or I'll just flush it clean.

[@apontutul]

Thanks I was thinking about it

[@moox100]

I do it with converters because as the ink level goes down the pens tend to perform worser over time

[@DaniCal1forn1a]

I guess I'm one of the 3 people who want double broad nibs on my twsbi pens 🤣. If they started doing one I'd be buying some immediately! I have to write with quite large letters now because of hand/thumb issues and the broad is great for keeping up with that compared to finer nibs... BUT a double broad would be even better 😍. The more flow the fountain pen has the better for me too (well, as long as it doesn't leak), so I don't have to put much pressure on the pen to get the line size and ink saturation I want. I end up pushing the piston down in my ecos for this reason, but generally not until the ink gets low, and at that point I'm not far off refilling anyway! I am finding my pens don't write as well as they used to so I may need to tune them and sort that out!

[@gutfinski]

In fountain pens, surface tension of the ink has as much effect as the density of water versus air. If having a problem, use a very small amount, one drop at the most, of Jet-Dry or other dishwasher anti-streaking additive in 10 mL of water, and, in turn, one drop of that mixture in your converter or re-filled cartridge along with the fill of ink.

[@rztour]

Brian….my Conklin (converter) broad writes beautifully but then stops writing all together after a few sentences. I tap it gently (no luck), then turn the converter knob to get it to begin writing again until another few sentences. I even tried using a brass shim to gently open the tines, but it continues to do this. I’m using Monteverde Caribbean Blue which I’ve never had an issue with. Any thoughts? All my pens tend to be obsessively cleaned so I’m stumped.

[@cranderson2a]

I finds this helps to avoid burping, I live in a warm area.

[@vanbluedragon1]

i did this before with my eco filled with Noodlers HoD and it started burping like crazy! I guess it works depending on what situation you're in. personally i had luck with just using the pen till no more ink came out without twisting the piston (i always feel like a burp or a cascade of ink is gonna gush out every time i do either option with the eco tho)

[@Shub99]

What can be done if between a converter and the feed there is problematic ink transfer to the feed? How can one solve this problem? I have a few pens that write when the feed is charged, once the ink in the feed is used up, the pens stop writing, I've been advised that there is some kind of mismatch between the converter and the feed.

[@max_ishere]

On my eco ef nib I just dont bother. Let it write until it runs dry. Btw it will write around 45 pages in a5 paper(that is half a a4 size) if you need a page count.

[@hitendrashah8800]

Hi, good video .I have been using a kaweco classic m nib adjusted the slit for wet writing .which works well but still have to push the piston after a while otherwise the writing gets drier. I don't like pushing the piston ,every now and then any suggestions.

[@clarewhite3004]

I do this when the level gets very low, but only if the ink is viscous and clings to the sides. I do it to squeegie the ink off so I can get through the last fifteen minutes of class without switching pens.

[@13noman1]

thanks for addressing this question. I find on a few (not all) of my piston fills, sometimes I get a stoppage so a twist or two on the piston gets it going again. The worst offenders in my collection are a TWSBI Vac 700R, oddly, a Pelikan M600 and WingSung 698.

[@ameliabuns4058]

wait but the vac700r doesn't have a twisty piston!

[@13noman1]

@@ameliabuns4058 True enough! My goof

[@ameliabuns4058]

@@13noman1 heh :P can you push a bit of ink with it to make it wetter? I want one but that'd be a bummer, then again I rarely do that, I only sometimes do it for titles with sheening/shimmer inks. and I stopped using sheening inks because of their smearing problems anyways

[@13noman1]

@@ameliabuns4058 As is so often the case, I find it a bit ink dependent; with Iroshizuku Yama buda (looks great in the "Iris" 700R I have no problems at all; Noodlers are a bit more finicky. If I just fiddle with the valve (close/open; just a twist back and forth), ink flows again but not really a push like with a true piston or converter

[@ameliabuns4058]

@@13noman1 oh. I always also wondered if having just say 0.5ml of ink left in such a huge pen would dry the pen since there's more room for air! Also I'm so jealous! I want the 700r iris so so so so bad. But I can't afford one! I wanna try iroshizuku one day too. I'm 3dprintinf my own vacuum feel pen at least I should be somewhat happy

[@ravenshadowz2343]

With my fountain pen it stops flowing after writing for a while, I tried as you suggested in the video of turning the pen upside down and turning the plunger to get the air out of it, but the air will not come out of it, and ink shoots out of it.

[@josemiddelhuis6902]

Txs for this video. What is the other Brand pen you showed? Sincerely José

[@RaviSreenivasanOrthopod]

I do this for a consistent wet flow.

[@ShaddySoldier]

I have an old soviet fountain pen that has such a large ink capacity that you have to lower the piston or else it starts to burp. But for modern pens ive never had an issue.

[@quoting_mungo]

I was doing this as I don't like the ink clinging to the sides of the reservoir, until I realized that somewhere about halfway through, it makes the TWSBI Eco no longer able to post. Took me a bit to figure out why my pen was suddenly not posting.

[@MarcellHobbs]

I have placed tons of orders and have not received one thank you note.🤷🏼‍♀️

[@dhawal8261]

If I don't do this, my ECO starts giving inconsistent ink flow.Is there an issue with the nib??

[@greamespens1460]

I find that I require to wind down my Lamy when I'm using red other colours seem to be ok and it's not necessary.

[@jdot7114]

The ironic part is I am new to fountain pens and just bought by first one from Goulet Pens and I was wondering the same thing. Side note, such quick shipping to Roanoke Va from Richmond...I am looking for my next pen soon and definitely getting it from Goulet.

[@Gouletpens]

I have relatives in Roanoke that all enjoy the fast shipping! Thanks for the support. :) - Colin

[@user-nc8uy3rg8p]

I have this problem with my Lamy Joy - it's able to go a few lines (with the ink getting fainter) and needs another twist to manually flood the feed and get it going

[@ultimatewitcherfan6677]

🤔 Hmm, sounds like there may be something wrong with the nib & feed or the pen in general because it shouldn’t be doing what you’re describing. You said it’s a Lamy Joy, right? You might want to contact Lamy’s customer service department and tell them what’s going on with your pen. The number for the customer service department should be on their website.

[@stevestolarczyk8972]

When I tried it with my Eco, it caused two problems: 1) I stupidly held it with the nib pointed down, pushing ink out and all over myself and 2) the cap wouldn't post any longer because the knob on the end moves back away from the body of the pen as it unscrews. Just didn't work for me.

[@kamael1125]

My Twisbi flow is...poor. its medium but after a while it writes very dry unless I push the piston.

[@sn0wflake]

For some reason I find that my TWSBI Diamond Mini w/stub needs this, or else it writes too thin. Or sometimes hardly at all. I have a feeling that this is abnormal though, and that there's something wrong with the nib, the feed, or the pen...

[@mirageinthedesert5448]

I find myself having to use this technique on my lamy Safari with heart of darkness

[@lizdelisle1912]

I can’t help myself! I twist my converters and my pistons!

[@nicolecunningham9350]

Thank you! It was a pain and a half trying to find out how to write with a piston pen and whether or not I needed to turn the piston as I wrote.

[@max_ishere]

Also also the air pressure thing you are talking about is probably incorrect bcz eco t is airtight.

[@iRabb]

All my TWSBI 580s reach a point where I’ll need to do this or refill.

[@a474dm6]

Rabbi Benjamin Sendrow I’ve had a 580 for about a year now and I’ve never had problems with anything of that sort the only time it dries up it is because there’s no more ink in

[@kunalgill2511]

Might just be the ink you're using. I had the same thing happen to me the first time I inked up my 580. Kept having to prime the feed. Then I switched inks from a bottle of Pelikan black that had been open for a while to a brand new blue ink from a brand called Lapis Bard. Works a treat now.

[@ritvikvaishnav3472]

is the eco better or the safari? dont tell me its about my personal preference, give me your opinion.

[@Gouletpens]

For me, I prefer the Eco over the Safari. I think it has a better writing experience, higher ink capacity, and a demonstrator body. - Colin

[@ritvikvaishnav3472]

@@Gouletpens thanks for replying!! I feel famous

[@clarewhite3004]

I use both regulary for school. I prefer the ECO. It holds more ink and I like demonstrators. I also love being able to COMPLETELY disassemble the pen for a really thorough cleaning, which is especially important for demonstrators. But I like my All-Black Safari too. It looks as cool as a demonstrator, if not as eye-catching. If you like lighter, smaller pens and simpler maintenance, or if you want the option to use cartridges, get the Safari.

[@anhhuynhkimnguyen6793]

I prefer the Safari, mostly just because I don’t like transparent pens all that much, I just think they don’t look all that great, just a personal preference though. Also, no one asked but my favorite pens are the Lamy 2000, Lamy studio, Pilot metropolitan and Pilot vanishing point, so you can kind of tell the look that I like for a pen.

[@Indusxstan]

Ritvik Vaishnav फ़िरंगी ने जवाब क्या दे दिया, हिन्दूस्तानी निहाल हो गया! Oye, Teri self-respect nahi बनी आज तक?

[@grahamparr3933]

How is the pen business during this challenging time😟

[@ShahriarFarkhan]

You wouldn’t want to do this with a Pelikan as the piston knob pushes out slightly as you push the piston down.

[@HumblyDumbly]

The TWSBI Eco and 580 do too!

[@She-wolf3636]

I only do this when I'm flying

[@davem8836]

8 minutes and 3 seconds to answer, "No."

[@Overonator]

Actually gravity is not necessary for capillary action. In fact capillary action can easily resist earth's gravity.

[@ostensibly531]

Well gravity is mutual, so "gravity from the pen" is technically not wrong.

[@OfficialEFEN]

"You can't compress water" said the man who had seen no ice in his life

[@benflicker2293]

Ice is less dense than water.

[@PUNISHERMHS_2021]

I realize this is 1 yr old but, is ice really compressed water?