Thanks in advance to any help or advice. I have just purchased my first two new fountain pens, in the past I have only used older pens and have always been very pleased with how smoothly they have written. The two new pens are not a smooth on any type of paper and I was wondering, since I have not...

It's got no instructions in the pack, nothing online, I see no obvious mechanism, I don't know where to pull... I can't find... ohh... nevermind... apparently a twist of the handle does it. Wooooooooooooo... this is one nice pen! Thick rubbergel handle, very comfortable, and very, very smooth...

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=montblanc.ips

Dry times and the American Eel series of inks... I have not had problems with dry times at all, but then again - I am not looking for instantaneous dry times in a lubricating ink. It is the only lubricating ink in many decades - and could not have even been possible more than two years ago even...

Could those here who know please advise me if there is anything special to removing a Pelikan nib from its feed? Early as well as recent nibs. Thanks

Hi all, I sure hope I have not messed up my Mont Blanc fountain pen. I took it up to the mountains this past weekend and it was cold out there however I spent a good part of my trip writing using the new pen. It wrote perfectly fine up there, however when I returned home, I pulled the cap off...

I was given a Mont Blanc fountain pen for Christmas about six years ago. I've never really used it, mainly because I can never get the ink to look right when I'm writing. I bought an expensive vial of black Mont Blanc ink from Office Depot, however when I fill the pen and write with it, the ink on...

There is a certain seller on ebay selling pens for very low prices (usadealers). Pens are listed as "Gothic Snake Silver Fountain Pen by M.D," "Medieval Platinum Gladiator Fountain Pen by M.D," and other names, and come with German iridium nibs with lifetime warranty. Grammar is very poor in the...

I just purchased an ultra sonic cleaner for keeping my Pelikan nibs free of dried ink. Does anyone have any recommendations on the proper amount of time to leave nibs and other pen parts in the cleaner? My cleaner does not have a heater. However, the water does get warm while the cleaner is...

Hi all, Lately I've seen references to the fact that fountain pens might leak on airplanes. Regardless of the FP or the amount of ink in it, I have never had this happen to me. The Waterman Edson and Rotring Initial are advertized as not leaking on airplanes, but other pens (Waterman, Pelikan,...

I just tried flushing out a Pelikan 600 that i hadn't used for a while, along with a Parker 51 (aerometric). I wonder if there is a better way to flush out the Pelikan than just repeatedly screwing and unscrewing the plunger. This is a lot of work when compared to the equivalent action with an...

I've noticed a disturbing development - sandwiched between the juvenile rantings of a guy named Sheldon and the latest pictures of some young man's underage sister getting it on with a same sex partner from a different species while showering on the beach, there have been a few posts that actually...

Mike's Rollerball and Fountain Pen Review Note: the version of this article with hyperlinks can be found at: http://mikeshea.net/articles/001271.html Mike Shea, 12 March 2005 Over the past year my pen obsession grew from the Pilot G2s at the grocery store to the finer fountain pens found only...

Question. Is it a good idea or not to put the cap up on the barrel when writing with a Parker 51 (or any other fountain pen for that matter)? I don't want to damage or scratch the barrel. Thanks. PK

I was advised to be carefull using my favourite Parker ink in Pelikan pens as Paker ink is said to gum ink ways. Any reccomendation for an ink that has the flow and glow of Parker blue. I find Pelikan blue too watery. Jon

I'm looking for an inexpensive, easily-available, 24-28 lb. unlined paper to use with Noodler's American Eel ink. On Staples 20 lb. copy paper it works nicely, with only a bit more feathering than regular Noodler's ink. On Staples 24 lb. "printing" paper it writes well but takes over 4 minutes to...

Just received an inkwell with an included dip pen whose nib reads: SUB'Y CO'S UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION No 8 Does anyone have any idea who made this? Jeff

I'm in two minds as to whether to buy a Montblanc 146 or a Pelikan 800. I prefer fine nibs in general, because I have quite small writing. Smoothness of writing is definitely the most important consideration for me, as well as general reliability. I'm attracted by the prestige of Montblanc but...

I recently had a strange experience with Pentel, USA. I have been looking for a replacement for my Pentel P203 mechanical pencil for a couple of years. It's 0.3 mm and it fits my hand just right. I bought it when I was in college, over 12 years ago. Well, a couple of years ago, the gripping...

If someone does know of this person (he repairs & restores pens)....and could at least help me to find a way of contacting him (or even for him to just let me know that he's alive and kicking and still fixing pens.....mine hopefully, which I Fedex'd to him recently!!)....please let me know. I'm...