Q&A Slices: Why is my fountain pen hard-starting?

Over time it appears that all my pens developed a hard starting issue. I’m not sure why. Could it have anything to do be being a left handed person who underwrites?
if this is something that’s developed over time, a thorough cleaning almost always is in order
depends on how long you’re talking about here, if it’s been 1-2+ months, yeah clean it
if you’re not cleaning in between ink changing, that’d be an explanation
sometimes paper fibers/dirt/junk gets clogged up in the feed over time
lefties may see more of this as the push motion is encouraging paper fibers to jam up into the pen
brass sheet for flossing wouldn’t hurt, may not be necessary but might be worth investing in if it’s happening consistently on all your pens
could be the ink you have is drying up, check that it’s sealed well, don’t leave it uncapped for long periods of time (so the water evaporates)
ink with water evaporated can be reconstituted with distilled water
ink could be evaporating in your pens as they sit there, depending on your environment, refill them
if could be your writing style has opened up or misaligned the tines causing flow to break, which would be a little tougher to fix (especially if it’s a habit of pressing really hard or whatever)
nib can usually be adjusted, but might require a pro, do this as a last resort, try to get pro troubleshooting help before sending it away anywhere
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[@stargazer1359]

Brian, we will miss your awesome sweaters in the summer.

[@herrkeks8509]

I haven’t cleaned my TWSBI Diamond 580 AL R Nickel Grey in EF at all :) I got it 8 months ago and inked it up with Diamine Imperial Blue and just refilled it a lot of times. I‘m happy that I wasn’t in the need to clean it (so far). But if I do it I will have to disassemble it, because some ink dried up (stained) between the first piston seal and the wall. Damn it! Same is true for: My TWSBI Mini AL Blue 2 of my Jinhao 992 My Lamy CP1 That’s because I don’t clean them when I use the same ink... as long as they write fine :) But I think that I should really clean out my 580 :) Maybe in mid june (in 3 months). I guess I‘ll will have some time then.

[@davidamaro1499]

As a Lefty I think that I need to clear it every other week.

[@wendybowman5871]

Lefty here and not had issues due to writing left handed. It’s bad pen/ink issues. I clean the pen and it’s good to go again.

[@kjellkanin]

I'm right handed and I have the same issue, but I will try getting a brass sheet and see if that can solve the problem. I write on a lot of different papers and sometimes on watercolor and other mediums so maybe it's a build up of particles. It's quite annoying and I keep buying new pens because I fear the pen is the problem. Cleaning etc. doesn't help much.

[@spellmaster8099]

Did the paper help?

[@kevinmonceaux2101]

Hummm, the more I learn about the fountain pen world, the more I need to learn. I always thought underwriters were related to banks and insurance companies. :-)

[@tapio_m6861]

Maybe it's the same person?

[@ToxicSentinelTTV]

So, brand new pen, why would it already be hard starting?

[@leandro6255]

It happens to me with a pair of very low cost pens now that winter is coming here in Argentina. But never with the Metropolitan! Its like a Platinum or some (I wish I had one) 😅 Cheers!

[@kina7128]

Monteverde Monza, most definitely my dud pen in my collection! It's been giving me false starts from Day One. I've Never had any problems with any of my TWSBI, Pilot or Lamy pens - those are the brands I'd rather stick with from now on.

[@kina7128]

@@hatch113 My pen went flying!

[@freetobe3]

I am left handed over writer and similar happens to me, my WS601 started hard starting after a couple weeks of owning it, not a bad hard start, usually a swipe at the edge of the paper is enough to engage the ink flow again for the rest of the writing session even with breaks. I think it's because the nib digs up fibers more easily from the paper, I think good quality paper would ease this issue. OOps, as I finished writing this you said it. We do have to clean our pens more often.

[@ajoydas-Watch-It]

Awesome Lego Saturn V Rocket you got there Brian, took me by surprise seeing it on your desk. I didn't think you were a Lego guy, but if one collects pens than one is heighly likely to collect legos aswell.

[@Suiseisexy]

As I've come into the hobby I've noticed it's intersection with other small, complex handheld devices where quality matters like tools, knives and guns. Toys is an unsurprising addition really; it fits in your hands, it's at least somewhat complicated and is somehow soothing.

[@jimmybeauxarts]

First you have to use good ink like Waterman ink , secondly medium nib is easier to start more easily than fine nib, restore fountain pens nib down vertically and clean pens before filing it with ink.

[@reveme]

Brand new Pelikan M200. Hard starting and skipping like crazy. Really disappointing…

[@jessicagomez1760]

great answer!

[@arctic3032]

🇧🇻 loves your sweater

[@ashisheady8841]

actually I bought two same pens(f) one was smooth but other was scratchy. At that time didn't knew any solution. But after some time it got smooooooth by itself!

[@Gouletpens]

That's great! - Drew

[@IntersexGamer]

Hopefully helping here but being lefty and I write with the absolute cheapest jinhao pens I havent really had any issues. I have noticed when it doesn't write well I just need to turn it nib pointed up and rotate the dial part of the converter so any air can escape and I can push ink toward the nib in a similar way to how a doctor or nurse preps a syringe. Just doing this and things have been fine and I havent needed to clean my pen for 6 months. That said after every refill of the converter I do take a bit of tissue and wipe the excess ink off the nib so that may be helping as well.

[@ctsealteam6]

hmm...Am I the abnormal one who clean the pen almost every time before refill ?

[@Gouletpens]

No, that's good practice! Especially if you're switching inks. - Colin

[@x-changex-outx-oner8224]

Do it all the time.

[@anhhuynhkimnguyen6793]

I like cleaning the pen honestly, just kinda fun to do.

[@x-changex-outx-oner8224]

@@anhhuynhkimnguyen6793 That makes 2 of us......sort of therapeutic.

[@hal4192]

Great video, hopefully this will help me. I've literally never had a fountain pen that has written properly. Would be great to use one but they're just too unreliable for me.

[@terrimccormick1324]

Thank you. I have this problem with quite a few of my pens after I have cleaned them and changed the color ink in them. I will try cleaning them again. How often do you clean your pens? I tend to clean them when I am changing the ink color.

[@Gouletpens]

I usually clean them out every 3 weeks or so. More frequently if I'm using a permanent ink! - Colin

[@larissat6653]

My Conklin Duragraph has developed the same problem...it hard starts and writes drier than it used to, the only way to get past the hard start is priming the feed but then it starts drying up again. I've tried swapping out the nib because I thought that might have been the issue, but that didnt solve the problem. I've also tried different inks from different brands and nada, and I also clean it at least once a month and I completely disassemble to do so. Is there any other thing that might be causing this change?

[@Gouletpens]

I would say the feed might be an issue. Sounds like it's not allowing enough ink to flow when writing. Sometimes it struggles to keep up with broader/stub nibs but if you've swapped those out then it might be an issue. Either a clipped fin or maybe some debris in the ink channel. I'd definitely recommend taking a closer look with that! - Colin

[@devotionish]

Does anyone have the opposite problem? My current pen leaks from the feed hole (on the top of front face of the nib, coming from the grip) while resting on the table (cap on). Every time I pick it up and open, there's ink on the grip, nib and inside the cap. I can wipe it off but it's a little annoying and goes through ink 10x faster. I've been using this pen (Sonnet) since Christmas with the same ink, cleaning it monthly and it has just developed this problem. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[@flex209]

I had a similar problem that was caused by a bad converter si try a cartridge first. Otherwise, you could be a problem with the feed.

[@devotionish]

@@flex209 Thank you, sir. The problem was indeed a faulty converter. If anyone is using Parker pens, I strongly recommend the regular converter, not the Deluxe. Or buy both and use the regular one for cleaning, it is basically a syringe so it's much faster than twisting the deluxe for 20 minutes. Also as noted, the deluxe one has just made my pen leak, which never happened with the regular cheap one, though I will concede that my sample size is insignificant.

[@Nat-qb6ft]

Interesting video! What was the blue pen Brian was holding at 7:02 ? I feel like I recognize it.

[@sachakahn2052]

It attracted my attention too...

[@Gouletpens]

That is an Esterbrook Phaeton 300R (www.gouletpens.com/collections/esterbrook-phaeton-300r-fountain-pens ) Very vintage design so that's probably why! - Colin

[@carlosXromano]

Indeed kind of a revision of the design of the old parker 51 I think.

[@managingmarlys]

I have had hard starts from day one with a monteverde I think it dries out super fast anything you can do about that?

[@willwetherington]

Can cheaper ink cause this too?

[@mydailystitches]

Brian, I’m having issues where my pen starts off writ g well and by the fourth or fifth word, the ink stops flowing. I’ve cleaned it and tried a different nib but the same issue. Any thoughts?

[@Gouletpens]

What ink have you been using? Have you tried using other inks as well with the same flow issues? - Colin

[@mydailystitches]

The Goulet Pen Company I’ve only used the Lyme pen cartridges that were made for the pen.

[@Gouletpens]

If you have any other ink cartridges that would fit, that may be worth a shot. I was just seeing if there was maybe a special properties or shimmering aspect that could clog up the feed. Making sure that cartridge is fully punctured is one thing I'd check. Sometimes it take a good amount of force to do so and would have flow issues until that point. - Colin

[@mydailystitches]

The Goulet Pen Company thanks but I already tried three different cartridges that I purchased from you guys.