Fountain pen troubleshooting

[forty-two]

I ordered two Pelikano Junior pens, one for dd5 and one for me. Mine works just fine, but I cannot for the life of me get the ink to flow with dd's. It's a lefty pen, so I know I'm writing way more awkwardly with it, but I'm pretty sure I should have hit the correct angle at some point :glare:. If you look at the nib, you can see ink about 2/3s of the way down the center line (whereas mine has ink all the way down). I switched the ink cartridges at one point, and both cartridges work in my pen and don't in hers.

 

So what gives? Is dd's just flawed :glare:? Or is there something I can/should be doing to fix it?

[forty-two]

Well, turns out I just hadn't hit the right angle enough :glare:. It's working now :), and dd has already tried it out. The grip is helping a lot - I didn't realize how off hers was until I was showing her how to place her fingers - and I do find it to be very natural. We're working now on relaxing her grip and not pressing so hard on the paper - the pen has so far survived her less-than-gentle first attempts, so that's good (a year ago she managed to kill a pilot varsity on first use :glare:).

[skueppers]

Before you do anything else, try dipping the nib in water and see if that fixes it. If it works for a while and then stops working, send it back -- Pelikanos are known for their reliable ink flow, so while it's occasionally necessary to have to do something to get it going initially, it should just keep working after that. My daughter's Pelikano Junior writes perfectly even if it hasn't been used in a couple of weeks.

[Jen500]

Do you think a lefty can write ok with the regular pen? Or would a lefty NEED a lefty pen?

[skueppers]

Glad you got it working! I'm not left-handed, but I would think that in the Pelikano Junior, a left-handed person would need a left-handed pen. The grip on the pen is specific to the needed finger positions.

 

I don't think it matters for other fountain pens, like the regular Pelikano. I have never seen a specific left-handed fountain pen after the beginner level.

[forty-two]

Do you think a lefty can write ok with the regular pen? Or would a lefty NEED a lefty pen?

In reading threads about fountain pens, that seems to be a debatable issue. Some lefties apparently do just fine with a regular pen, and others do need a lefty pen. Since dd is just learning, I figured I'd go with a lefty pen. Having played with both a righty and lefty Pelikano Junior, I'd say it would be pretty near impossible for a lefty to use a righty Junior and vice versa. I tried holding dd's pen in my right hand, and it was beyond awkward - I had to use it in my left hand. I think it's b/c both the grip and the nib are designed for a specific hand. Experimenting with a regular pilot varsity, I can tell a difference b/w it and the lefty Junior - you do hold it at a different angle and in a different way. As a righty writing left-handed, the pilot was easier to use, actually. But dd has no trouble using her lefty pen - her natural angle matches up well with it. I don't know if she could use a righty - don't want to sacrifice my pilot if she presses too hard ;).