At some point, it will be your first time trying to write with a pen that does not work as you expected it to, and you will end up frustrated and finding yourself disliking the experience. Before you end up hating the new pen you got, make sure that the problem does not lie between ink and paper.
I thought to write this little article because of a recent experience, a new pen! But to get a better understanding here is a long-story-short back story to the issue:
I discovered an amazing dotted notebook (Rhodia Goalbook) that inks showed their best on its paper. Nicely coated paper, super white, smooth, anything you can ask for really when it comes to showcasing ink colour, shimmer, shades etc.
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But I realised that in order for the pens to write wet and saturated I had to unscrew the back of the pen, twist the converter to draw some ink out etc. and apply some pressure too (Or so I thought).
A few months later I got a TWSBI (M nib) and I fell in love with it because of the external piston which meant that I could push some ink out anytime without having to reassemble the pen every few paragraphs.
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Then, last month during a trip I forgot my TWSBI at home so I went out and got another one with an F nib… This would not write well. It was skipping, gliding on the paper, ink would not flow and I would have to twist the piston every few lines… a nightmare really.
A couple of weeks ago, I got a Leuchtturm 1917 as a spare notebook… and Oh Dear was this a game changer!
See details here: (click link)
I tested the new TWSBI with my good old trusted Diamine – Ancient Copper ink, and I went to heaven bow how buttery smooth the writing was, yet it had a pleasant feedback. The paper is porous enough to draw the ink out of the pen (used an entire reservoir without twisting the piston once), and everything was nice, wet, and saturated, without applying any pressure!
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The experience has been so positive that I do not even care about ghosting or the fact that the paper is cream and colours don’t show their 100% true shade, because I can finally write frustration-free, by barely touching the paper without getting tired by applying pressure, and I found me being so pleased by the experience that I try to find any excuse in order to write down some things at any given chance!
The Verdict:
Do NOT get disappointed or frustrated and do not hate your new pen. Chances are that you might not use the proper paper, or that your ink could be non-compatible with the current nib and feed… too dry and it won’t flow and get scratchy, too wet and it might bleed through and drip etc.
Test a couple of combinations and you will eventually be very happy in the end!
A few more pieces of advice from Reddit members who replied to my original post at r/fountainpens.
RINSE, CLEAN, and DRY
Use your TRUSTED inks to test!
Included Ink Cartridges are usually not that great.
Another VERY IMPORTANT thing is OIL from your hands!
While using the Leuchtturm notebook for the first week I noticed that the bottom right half of the page was skipping some times but not in a Rhodia way, it was almost as if there was a waterproof coating where the ink wouldn’t saturate the paper… and THEN it hit me!
The oil from our hands is hydrophobic, and inks are waterbased, and since this new paper is more porous it absorbs the oil while I write on the top left part of the page, si by the time I reach the bottom is coated in this hydrophobic film.
To make sure this was the issue I wrote a couple of paged by resting my hand on another piece of paper (a habit I picked up from when I was drawing with dry pastels and charcoal at college), and it really worked!
So, I found a nice, convenient, permanent solution for this. A Graphic/Digital drawing tablet glove!
I had this one for years for my digital drawings and it really works wonders! On the up side, it works as a pen sleeve so I can put my pen in the finger pocket, attach it to the notebook strap and throw it in my bag worry-free!
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I hope this little piece of advice was helpful! If you have any additions to make, please send them over via the contact form of my page and I will make sure to add them here.
Thank you!