r/fountainpens • u/corbaye • Jan 23 '26
Question Noodler's clogs my Parker pen
I only left it at home unused for one day, and it was enough for the nib of my fountain pen to get clogged with Noodler's ink.
Do you have any tips or tricks to prevent this from happening? I was thinking of maybe diluting the ink with a little water, but I'm not sure.
This is the first time I've used this ink, and I should mention that I always make sure my pens are properly sealed.
13
Jan 23 '26
Cap isn’t sealing the pen airtight. Frustrating, but easily solved with a dip in ink or water.
7
u/AndrogynousAndi Jan 23 '26
I've noticed my parker sonnet does this after even just a day with parker's ink. I think these nibs are just dry.
1
u/BitsAndGubbins Jan 24 '26
Parker qink does this for all my pens so I think the problem might be with Parker in general.
1
u/corbaye Jan 23 '26
Yes, the cap might not be completely airtight. Anyway, for now, I managed to submerge the nib in water for a few seconds and then dry it. After that, I was able to write normally. But it would be tedious to do that every day I don't use it.
10
u/LowBurn800 Ink Stained Fingers Jan 23 '26
Parker caps (especially post 90's) have a breather hole that was added to prevent choking in the event of a kid swallowing the cap (yeah, I know) - others have breather holes to prevent suction from removing the cap from pulling ink through the nib. Parkers are notorious now for drying out quicker than other pens. An ink like that is probably more prone to clogging when dried. Just one of those things.
3
u/SubtleInkle Jan 23 '26
Yeah, I second this that it’s the pen. The breather holes. I think they are also supposed to be there to help prevent suction/pressure when capping. I think they are ridiculous. The ones on the urban2.0 are massive!
My sonnet used to dry out all the time until I filled the holes. (Which I only did because a friend broke the clip off one day, offering me a chance at the underside of the holes)
2
u/AndrogynousAndi Jan 23 '26
I didn't even realize this was an option.... I already have epoxy resin...
2
u/SubtleInkle Jan 24 '26
I originally used contact cement. Years later I ripped that out and used uv cure resin. The resin was the better fix.
1
u/corbaye Jan 25 '26
You're absolutely right! I hadn't noticed that opening in the cap under the clip. It makes sense that it dries out with this type of ink. I'll have to use Parker only with inks from the same brand. Thanks for the info!
3
u/BalanceOrganic7735 Jan 23 '26
I thought all my new Parker fountain pens were trash until I started only using Parker ink in them, and now they write really well. Parker fountain pens don’t work well with bulletproof types of inks, in my experience. YMMV.
2
u/corbaye Jan 25 '26
This only happens when I use this type of ink, and of course, because there's an opening in the cap, they dry out. I guess I'll just keep using Parker pens with Parker inks, not bulletproof ones.
2
u/Borago70 Jan 23 '26
Parker IM is notorious for drying out just in a day. That is really sad because otherwise they are nice pens.
4
u/Chloewhiskey Ink Stained Fingers Jan 23 '26
Hi there. These Russian Noodler’s inks are very thick and will clog easily. Their formulas are non-standard. I think they are part bullet and forgery proof. I bought 2 of them a very long time ago and didn’t use them for that reason. Recently I diluted them with distilled water and they are so much better now.
1
u/bigfrondnicky Jan 23 '26
I’ve had zero issue with the Russian Noodler’s inks in TWSBI Ecos, to such a degree that they’re the only inks I regularly use because they are bulletproof.
1
u/Chloewhiskey Ink Stained Fingers Jan 23 '26
That’s interesting. I might need to buy a Twisbi because I also hear they are great with shimmer inks which I have recently fallen in love with.
2
u/bigfrondnicky Jan 23 '26
So many people hate on TWSBIs but they’re now the only brand I use regularly (having started with a LAMY Safari & Pilot Metropolitan), and I have had zero issues for two years with the pens themselves or any of the Noodler’s inks.
I also have one loaded with Super5’s Atlantic Blue - which the bottle says to flush your pen after use - but I’ve cleaned the whole pen once in a year and, again, zero issues. The Super5 fountain pen, ironically, didn’t work well/dried out easily. Just my experience.
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u/Chloewhiskey Ink Stained Fingers Jan 23 '26
Good to know. Thanks for sharing. And yes I hear people talking about the cracking issue and it scared me off a bit. But sounds like trying one maybe a good idea. Thanks again.
1
u/corbaye Jan 23 '26
Yes, I noticed its thickness. For now, dipping the tip in water for a few seconds worked for me, and once it dried, I was able to write normally. I'm going to try diluting a small amount in distilled water.
0
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u/kniveshu Jan 23 '26
I feel so certain that Noodler's has a bunch of pigment inks he doesn't call pigment inks for some reason. You can tell a dye vs pigment ink by how it looks. Is it a colored water, or is it the color of the pigment? Look at that glass bottle, it's not a dark murky water that would dye the paper blue. It's the color of the pigments that would go onto the paper.
1
u/Chloewhiskey Ink Stained Fingers Jan 23 '26
Yes I think you are right. I’m no expert but I do think these are pigment inks perhaps. They are definitely not your standard formula.
1
u/TalentlessSavant87 Jan 23 '26
I have a small plastic bottle with distilled water and a dropper on my table for such occasions. I have a few inks that tend to dry out, so I just use a drop or two on nib slit/breather hole. No need to dry the nib, plus no risk spilling the water.
1
u/pynxem Jan 24 '26
Interesting responses that I wasn't expecting. I've only got 2 fountain pens, and both exhibit the same behaviour. One I can accept that it's a bad seal, but the other one is a Monteverde Invincia Deluxe, and surely the cap is good? I always assumed drying out in a day was just the cost of using these pens.
2
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u/Ancient-Macaroon1 Jan 23 '26
Noodler's formulations are a bit odd I believe. If you read about them on their site, they all contain various properties to make them freeze, forge, water resistant, etc. This would imply they use pigments or other particulate matter in the formulas to achieve this. Personally, I have found they work better with glass dip pens. They gunk up my Sailors and I can't have that
1
Jan 23 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ancient-Macaroon1 Jan 23 '26
I would only advise against shaking vigorously before using though. The ink will form bubbles and when you refill the converter, bubbles will likely remain and break the capillary action needed to keep the ink moving into the feed.
But yes, thank you for clarifying in more detail. I wasn't certain if they used pigment or other various particulates to achieve their bulletproof, freeze proof properties.
2
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u/Sinister_Nibs Jan 23 '26
Noodlers inks tend to run on the dry side. Easier to just use a more wet ink than to mess with making the pen work with the ink. I only use Noodlers in pens that like it.
1
u/Bleepblorp44 Jan 24 '26
Noodler’s run the gamut - some of their inks are deliberately wet, some seem overly wet by accident. Baystate Blue, for example, can bleed on paper that works with any other FP ink.
It’s hard to make blanket statements about their inks because they have widely variable qualities.
2
u/Sinister_Nibs Jan 24 '26
But I CAN make a statement based on my personal experience with the inks. If I ever make a statement based on experiences that are not my own, I will say “I have heard”, or “people have claimed”.
1
u/Bleepblorp44 Jan 24 '26
Except your opening line reads very much like a statement of fact rather than your personal experience.
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u/jcdoe Ink Stained Fingers Jan 23 '26
You couldn’t pay me to put Noodler’s in one of my nice pens. Ignoring the social issues people have with the company, they just have a bad reputation for playing nice with feeds.
Maybe they’re great for dip pens, couldn’t say.
13
u/iAmSpAKkaHearMeROAR Jan 23 '26
It’s not the ink it’s the poor cap seal…. It allows for ink to evaporate… and causes hard starting or the nib to completely dry out in between uses.
Lots of my pens don’t get used for this reason. The ones I tend to keep in my daily rotation are the ones that don’t need toggling with if I don’t write with them go a few days or weeks. I tend to have a dozen or so inked at once as I like to switch colors, etc.