Poor ink flow in Cross Townsend Anthracite

I'm having trouble getting consistent performance from my Cross pen.
When using Private Reserve black ink the flow is beautiful for a while
and then it gets thin. If I clean everything in warm water and refill
it's ok for a while before degrading in the same way. Help would be
much appreciated.

On 2004-10-06 11:56:51 -0700, Code4u said:

I'm having trouble getting consistent performance from my Cross pen.
When using Private Reserve black ink the flow is beautiful for a while
and then it gets thin. If I clean everything in warm water and refill
it's ok for a while before degrading in the same way. Help would be
much appreciated.

Do you keep the cap on when you're not writing, even for a few minutes?

What model of Cross is it?

Code4u wrote in message . ..
I'm having trouble getting consistent performance from my Cross pen.
When using Private Reserve black ink the flow is beautiful for a while
and then it gets thin. If I clean everything in warm water and refill
it's ok for a while before degrading in the same way. Help would be
much appreciated.

I noticed this a few months ago when I was trying out this ink. I
don't like the new Skrip - too thin and much less lubrication than the
old Skrip - so I have been searching for a new standard black ink. So
far the best I have found is Parker Quink, which although not as
smooth as the old Skrip, is smoother and richer than any of the others
I tried (Pelikan, Lamy, Waterman, Osmiroid, HIggins). The Private
Reserve black is the most intensely black I tried, but seems to clog
up the pen after a week or so. Maybe add a little detergent to it?
Dunno.

On Wed, 06 Oct 2004 23:07:29 GMT, David wrote:

Do you keep the cap on when you're not writing, even for a few minutes?

What model of Cross is it?

Cross Townsend Anthracite. And yes, I keep the cap on. It is stored
nib up. Could the ink be the problem?

On 2004-10-06 18:08:52 -0700, Code4u said:

Cross Townsend Anthracite. And yes, I keep the cap on. It is stored
nib up. Could the ink be the problem?

It's possible, though I personally haven't heard any bad reports about
that ink.

You don't have to store it nib up, or down, or sideways - it doesn't
matter. Maybe long ago it did matter, with the pens of 70 years ago,
but with modern pens like yours you don't need to be careful about the
direction. Just make sure if you're not using it for weeks that you
rinse it out well and store it dry, and that every few fills of ink you
also rinse it out till the water runs fairly clear.

Did it used to work better with other ink? Or do you have some other
ink to try as a comparison?

David

Gregg Gibson said:

Maybe add a little detergent to it?

If you do add detergent, add much less than one drop to a whole bottle
of ink. Otherwise the ink will spread badly when you write.

David

"Gregg Gibson" wrote in message
om...
[snip]

I noticed this a few months ago when I was trying out this ink. I
don't like the new Skrip - too thin and much less lubrication than the
old Skrip - so I have been searching for a new standard black ink. So
far the best I have found is Parker Quink, which although not as
smooth as the old Skrip, is smoother and richer than any of the others
I tried (Pelikan, Lamy, Waterman, Osmiroid, HIggins). The Private
Reserve black is the most intensely black I tried, but seems to clog
up the pen after a week or so. Maybe add a little detergent to it?
Dunno.

You should give Aurora Black a try.
--
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Fountain Pen Network
A pen site run by the Pen Community
http://pagesperso.laposte.net/fpnet

(Gregg Gibson) wrote in message . com...
Code4u wrote in message . ..
I'm having trouble getting consistent performance from my Cross pen.
When using Private Reserve black ink the flow is beautiful for a while
and then it gets thin. If I clean everything in warm water and refill
it's ok for a while before degrading in the same way. Help would be
much appreciated.

I noticed this a few months ago when I was trying out this ink. I
don't like the new Skrip - too thin and much less lubrication than the
old Skrip - so I have been searching for a new standard black ink. So
far the best I have found is Parker Quink, which although not as
smooth as the old Skrip, is smoother and richer than any of the others
I tried (Pelikan, Lamy, Waterman, Osmiroid, HIggins). The Private
Reserve black is the most intensely black I tried, but seems to clog
up the pen after a week or so. Maybe add a little detergent to it?
Dunno.


Well, now, I think through observation here we have an answer: the
Private Reserve black is whatis clogginf up your pen. Of course, some
pens have a more free feed, and some less and tight. I've had some
pens that I couldnt' get to work for years, until I chaged the ink and
found the one that works just right in them. I had another coule of
pens that were like paint brushes layign down ilnes of liquid, until I
swwitched to "thicker" inks in them. It's a matter of tiral and
error.

I now have certain pens dedicated to only certain inks, and vice
versa. I even keep a small notebook listing what inks in which pens
-- but perhaps that's my OCD, or at least an excuse to find a use for
just one more notebook.

"JimL" wrote in message
om...
Well, now, I think through observation here we have an answer: the
Private Reserve black is whatis clogginf up your pen. Of course, some
pens have a more free feed, and some less and tight.

The ink could be a problem but it sounds more like a pen that is "starved"
to me. Either due to clogging or due to a design or manufacturing flaw.
I've had both. A thorough soak and flushing with pressure (using a syringe,
pipet, or bulb syringe) has fixed a pen that was clogged. But a pen that
had a design flaw required more work - taking nib and feed apart, widening
feed channels, etc. More work than I was willing to do. I'm wondering what
is meant by "after a while" - if the line weakens in one writing session
(let's say 2-3 pages) then it sounds like the pen is writing with a full
feed but once that ink is gone, the flow from reservoir or section to feed
is choked off. If after a while means after several days of average writing
time (a couple of pages a day) *then* I would suspect the ink to be the
problem and not the pen.

apologies for typos or other poor communication - kinda uh.. loopy lupie
today.

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On Fri, 08 Oct 2004 17:07:22 GMT, "KCat" wrote:

"JimL" wrote in message
. com...
Well, now, I think through observation here we have an answer: the
Private Reserve black is whatis clogginf up your pen. Of course, some
pens have a more free feed, and some less and tight.

The ink could be a problem but it sounds more like a pen that is "starved"
to me. Either due to clogging or due to a design or manufacturing flaw.
I've had both. A thorough soak and flushing with pressure (using a syringe,
pipet, or bulb syringe) has fixed a pen that was clogged. But a pen that
had a design flaw required more work - taking nib and feed apart, widening
feed channels, etc. More work than I was willing to do. I'm wondering what
is meant by "after a while" - if the line weakens in one writing session
(let's say 2-3 pages) then it sounds like the pen is writing with a full
feed but once that ink is gone, the flow from reservoir or section to feed
is choked off. If after a while means after several days of average writing
time (a couple of pages a day) *then* I would suspect the ink to be the
problem and not the pen.

It dries up after a few pages. I agree with your hypothesis, something
is going on inside the pen, I've tried a third ink without success, I
seriously doubt it's the ink! I will take it apart and let it soak,
hopefully this will dislodge occlusions. While I've got your ear,
could you recommend a dependable pen for under $200? Nothing fancy
just a robust, non-flashy workhorse. And thanks for responding.