Kaweco-Summer Purple clogging

[KKay]

I love Kaweco cartridges that I have tried so far, with the exception of this one. Paradise Blue gave me no issues at all. So then I tried Summer Purple. It did good starting out, and then about 1/3 of the cartridge was left, and I started getting clogging. The pen is a Kaweco-Skyline Sport. I don't let the cartridge go for longer than a month, before flushing the pen with a bulb syringe. So next I was using Kaweco-Palm Green. I love that one so much, I've toyed with the idea of getting a bottle of it in the future. Flushed it, and then I meant to put in a Caramel Brown cartridge, and I got the Summer Purple by mistake. So I thought no big deal, I'll see how this one goes. Two or three days later, it is clogging. So I primed it to see if that helped. It was a very short fix. Finally I had enough of it, and pulled it off the pen. I threw the purple cartridge in the trash. Then I went and got the Summer Purple box, and threw it in the trash. I have not heard of anyone else having this issue. Did I get a bad box of them? Well I flushed the pen, and put in the last Kaweco color I have, the Caramel Brown. So far I am liking this color very much. I hope it is as good at the other two I mentioned.

[Chrissy]

I've not heard of Summer Purple clogging before, but your thread reminded me that Montblanc once had a similar issue with their Lavender Purple ink. It was withdrawn and reissued as a result. I wonder if there is a component of purple ink that can make it susceptible to this? Maybe it just dries out in the feed somehow?

My Kaweco Sport pens are really good pens for not letting cartridges dry out. They have caps that seal really well. I've had cartridges in several of them for long periods of time, and I know they will just write straight away as soon as I uncap them. However, I refill cartridges so I'm not necessarily always using Kaweco ink. Also, purple isn't a colour I use regularly. So I'm not sure exactly where the problem lies. I would guess it's more likely to be the ink than the pen though. Maybe it was an older pack. Did it specifically say Summer Purple on the pack? If it did then they can't be that old as Kaweco only recently started putting ink names on cartridge packs and bottle labels.

I have cleaned out Classic or Skyline Sport nibs and feeds by removing them, as they can just pull straight out, but I don't wish to suggest this if you've never done it before. Especially if you don't have spares.

[KKay]

Chrissy, there was not a name on any of the Kaweco cartridge boxes, if I remember right. I bought 4 different colors of Kaweco. I also used Pelikan ink cartridges previously, and had no problem with any of those. The ink level didn't seem low in the cartridge. I am just wondering if I am the only one that experienced trouble. I am not willing to try another Summer Purple. Just seeing the color now puts me off. I love purple ink too.
I just use a bulb syringe, and put it into the back of the section where the ink cartridge will go in. Then I flush it with that, and distilled water. The Caramel Brown started right up this morning, with no issues.

[KKay]

Well the brown one started acting up after writing with it a while. I pulled the feed, and it is clear. So I got a blunt syringe and added a little distilled water to the cartridge, and shook it. I got this ink from a well known pen shop. It shouldn't be too old. I bought these boxes during early fall, if I remember right. After I use the diluted one, I will put another brown in, this time non-diluted, and see what happens.

[KrazyIvan]

Sometimes the surface tension of the ink just does not allow it to flow into the feed properly. Especially if it does not have some sort of agitator. It's one of the reasons I do not use cartridges often.

[KKay]

Well I have only been using cartridges in the Sport. I haven't been using them in any other pen. You are right about an agitator. This does have a little ball in it.

[KKay]

Well, no luck with the brown Kaweco either. So I have two wasted boxes of cartridges. I noticed the line width was a little more narrow too, than the two that worked well for me. I added distilled water to the first brown cartridge. It ran better. Then right when the level was low, it gave me trouble again. So, I put another brown cartridge in, a fresh one undiluted. It ran horrible. So I threw it in the trash. A little bit later I put in a Pelikan-Violet cartridge, and it wrote like it should've. That is good, because I didn't like the Brilliant Green from Pelikan. (it ran good, but the Palm Green is much better in color to me) I like the Violet better than the purple from Kaweco. I don't know if I should try another brown Caramel Brown in the future. I doubt it. If I do, I will clean my pen, and store it. When and if I buy the brown cartridges, I will use one IMMEDIATELY. After this I am hesitant to try any new colors from Kaweco. Maybe I am just a person that got a couple of bad boxes, I don't know the answer to that.

[Chrissy]

The newest Kaweco inks all have their names on cartridge boxes and ink bottle labels. So if it didn't have Summer Purple on there it wasn't Summer Purple, it was the older version of their purple ink. Same with Caramel Brown. I forget what they used to be called.

However, they still should have been OK to use. Some of my cartridges and bottles are previous Kaweco inks, and they are fine.

[KKay]

Well thank you Chrissy for your thoughts on this. I am rather disappointed, as you can imagine. It would be hard to buy ink cartridges online if you can't see if it has the name on the box. I guess I could ask. I thought the Kaweco purple looked a little chalky. The Pelikan Violet was quite nice, but I prefer darker purple. I am more bummed about the brown though. I had high hopes for that one. These ink cartridges looked full to me, and when I bought them, it didn't say Kaweco brown, it said Caramel Brown. These didn't have names on the box. I just assumed that none of them did. It is a shame. I would've liked for this to work out. I read on a review about how good the Kaweco cartridges were, so I decided to get 4 different colors, and try them out.

[Chrissy]

There is one Kaweco Brown that I really like. I don't know what they called it but it had a spectacular chroma test that came up red and yellow.

I must admit my Kaweco cartridges have all been OK and work really well even after sitting in Kaweco Sport pens for ages. I wish I could think of something that could be different about yours, other than the fact that they may be an older batch.

If I was you, I would make contact with Kaweco and see what they have to say. I bet they will help.

[KKay]

Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to contact them about it. Thank you Chrissy. I appreciate hearing of your experiences too.

Well I decided to go get that box and double check for the name. I know the Summer Purple didn't have a name, but the Caramel Brown is on the box of the brown one. The Caramel Brown is right above Kaweco. I'm gonna be contacting them shortly.

[KKay]

I went to double check the two good boxes for a name, there is no Paradise Blue, or Palm Green on the boxes. I went and dug in the trash, and there is no Summer Purple on that box either. So the only one with a name was Caramel Brown. I am writing Kaweco now.

[laurielindly]

I had the misfortune of having the sink drain disappear the section to my Kaweco Skyline sport one time when I had completely disassembled it for cleaning. The best part of that experience: 1) I learned to double check the stopper is in the sink drain while cleaning pen parts and 2) Kaweco was wonderful about helping me source a grey section for my Skyline. They gave me the names of a couple of vendors in Germany that had what I needed. They were super helpful and responded quickly. I am always happy when I find a company that has wonderful customer service. Let us know what they suggest.

[KKay]

Thanks for the reply. So far I haven't heard a word back from them.

[KKay]

I still haven't heard anything back from them. I contacted a distributor here. Maybe I should try the main office, but that is in Germany. I can just empty these crappy cartridges with a syringe and fill them with my own ink then. I have plenty to choose from, and it would be much cheaper. (although not as convenient)

[Chrissy]

I would contact the manufacturer in Germany.

[KKay]

I might do that. I still haven't heard a peep from the distributor here at all.

I just emailed them. Hopefully they will be more helpful about this. Thanks Chrissy.

[KKay]

When I got up this morning I was surprised to already have an email from Kaweco's main office in Germany. They wanted pictures. So I just sent them pictures. I will see what they say.

[laurielindly]

That's great. I contacted Kaweco directly and not a vendor or distributor. Sorry I haven't been on here sooner to relay that to you. I had an urgent family situation that took me away for a few days. Please share with us what they say.

[Chrissy]

Fingers crossed that they will help you.