Probably the most common question that we get here in the shop is what to do about skippy nibs. This can be such an annoying problem that an otherwise perfectly good pen is put in the back of a drawer, left for dead. While purchasing from a retailer who tunes nibs prior to shipping is a good preventative measure, the question of what to do with pens you already own will often arise. In many cases, some minor adjustments can cure the problem, a few of which can be DIY. I will try to break down the cures here into categories and make recommendations for the fix either here or at home.  

The first question is: when does the pen skip?  Is it right away and constantly when the pen is in regular use? If so, the problem is probably with the nib or its relationship to the feed, that black thing with the fins on the underside of the nib. Or does it come on after a paragraph or a page of writing? Then it is more than likely a feed problem.  Of course a pen can also suffer both at the same time, which can be a double challenge. But lets look at the nib itself first.

A. Is there space at the tip of the feed between the feed and the underside of the nib?  They should be intimate, touching or so nearly touching that they seem to be. Flush out the ink and dry the nib and feed to see this lack of space. If there is excessive space here, the nib will not perform well, refusing to write at all or only intermittently. Re-shaping the feed is not a job for everyone and requires heat, a lot of it in the case of hard rubber feeds, and steam heat in the case of plastic feeds. But the principle is the same; heat the feed until it can be pushed up against the underside of the nib, where it has to stay for good flow. You should not be able to get a thin piece of paper between the nib and the feed. 

B. Are the tines lined up with each other?  When looking at the nib, head-on, are both tips at the same height with each other?  If they are not, can they be put there by gently touching nib to paper and looking again? If not, some brave souls will attempt bending one of the tines until the tips match, either up or down. Care has to be taken - unskilled work here can result in a worse situation than when you started out.

C. Is there excessive rounding of the tipping? This requires close observation, preferably with a 10X microscope or a 10X loupe. We started calling this the "baby-bottom" condition, as the tips are not only rounded to the outside, but also on the inside where the slit comes close to the paper.  And the problem is just that, the slit, where ink is delivered, can be held back from the paper by the shape of the tipping. This issue shows up most frequently on large size tips such as on broad, double broad, and other big tips. Manufacturers like making tips like this because they are really smooth and rarely a problem at the sales counter, where the nib is flooded with dipped ink. These hyper-rounded tips are more common on Pelikan and other European nibs, and can be remedied by a very light re-grind and polishing. We use wheels to speed up this process, but it can also be accomplished using Micromesh 10,000, an extremely fine but aggressive polishing fabric. You can wreck your nib if you go too far. We recommend just a few strokes at a time while the nib is inked so you can see what you are doing.  

This issue is rarely seen on Japanese nibs, as they are usually not broad enough to be a problem, and/or are polished with this skipping problem in mind. Sailor, Platinum, Nakaya, Namiki, and Pilot nibs usually do not need any of this kind of work.

In my next post, Fountain Pen Skipping? Causes and Cures - Part 2, we'll take a more detailed look at feed issues.