The 60-Second Fix For 90% Of Skipping Pens
Fountain Pen Revolution
23,972 views
A skipping fountain pen starts and stops intermittently as you write. Almost always it means the pen is running low on ink, or a little dried ink is clogging the feed. The quick fix takes about 60 seconds and works roughly 90% of the time: refill the pen. Bottled ink rehydrates the dried ink sitting in the feed and gets it flowing again. When you refill, fill it twice (fill, empty, fill again) so the ink flushes back and forth through the nib and feed for a little extra cleaning. No bottled ink handy, or you are out with a cartridge pen? Run the nib under a faucet, or swish the nib and feed briefly in a glass of water, then dry it off well.
If a refill does not do it, take a closer look at the nib tines. Paper fibers get lodged in the nib slit more easily than people expect, and brass flossing sheets run through the tines will clear them out. Check that the tines are not misaligned (one higher than the other) or spread too far apart, which means pulling the nib and working them back into position. Also look for baby's bottom, where the tip of the nib looks like the top of a heart. That keeps the nib slit from staying in contact with the paper, and it needs smoothing or grinding, sometimes by a professional. Still nothing wrong with the nib? Give the pen a thorough cleaning: flush pen flush back and forth with the converter, or better, a bulb syringe in the back of the grip section, then rinse with clean water. Piston and vacuum fillers work the same way, and warm soapy water works if you have no pen flush. Best of all, disassemble the pen, pull the nib and feed, and scrub both with a toothbrush.
Then there is user error. The ink flows through the slit down the middle of the nib, and the moment that slit stops touching the paper, the pen skips. On the Lamy 2000 in this video you can watch it quit as the pen rotates. Hold the pen so the slit stays in constant contact. Last suspect is the ink itself: old dried out ink, or calligraphy and dip pen ink, which should never go in a fountain pen because it clogs and skips. Waterproof and naturally dry inks can also cause it, so switch to a more free-flowing ink or add a very small amount of our Railroad X to lubricate what you have.
[Why My Pen Won't Write: LINK TBD]
Fountain Pen Basics series:
What Is A Fountain Pen: Fountain Pens Explained In 8 Minutes — Sta...
Fountain Pen Anatomy: Fountain Pen Anatomy: Every Part Explained
How To Fill A Fountain Pen: How To Fill A Fountain Pen Without The Mess
How To Write With A Fountain Pen: How To Write With A Fountain Pen: Basics F...
Feathering and Bleed-Through: Feathering and Bleed-Through? Here’s How t...
Shop: https://fountainpenrevolution.com
CHAPTERS
0:00 What skipping is
0:33 The 60-second refill fix
1:26 The water swish alternative
1:45 Inspect the nib tines
2:46 Baby's bottom
3:24 A thorough cleaning
4:30 Full disassembly
5:25 User error: rotating the pen
6:24 Ink problems and Railroad X
17 Comments
The 60-Second Fix For 90% Of Skipping Pens
Fountain Pen Revolution
23,972 views
A skipping fountain pen starts and stops intermittently as you write. Almost always it means the pen is running low on ink, or a little dried ink is clogging the feed. The quick fix takes about 60 seconds and works roughly 90% of the time: refill the pen. Bottled ink rehydrates the dried ink sitting in the feed and gets it flowing again. When you refill, fill it twice (fill, empty, fill again) so the ink flushes back and forth through the nib and feed for a little extra cleaning. No bottled ink handy, or you are out with a cartridge pen? Run the nib under a faucet, or swish the nib and feed briefly in a glass of water, then dry it off well.
If a refill does not do it, take a closer look at the nib tines. Paper fibers get lodged in the nib slit more easily than people expect, and brass flossing sheets run through the tines will clear them out. Check that the tines are not misaligned (one higher than the other) or spread too far apart, which means pulling the nib and working them back into position. Also look for baby's bottom, where the tip of the nib looks like the top of a heart. That keeps the nib slit from staying in contact with the paper, and it needs smoothing or grinding, sometimes by a professional. Still nothing wrong with the nib? Give the pen a thorough cleaning: flush pen flush back and forth with the converter, or better, a bulb syringe in the back of the grip section, then rinse with clean water. Piston and vacuum fillers work the same way, and warm soapy water works if you have no pen flush. Best of all, disassemble the pen, pull the nib and feed, and scrub both with a toothbrush.
Then there is user error. The ink flows through the slit down the middle of the nib, and the moment that slit stops touching the paper, the pen skips. On the Lamy 2000 in this video you can watch it quit as the pen rotates. Hold the pen so the slit stays in constant contact. Last suspect is the ink itself: old dried out ink, or calligraphy and dip pen ink, which should never go in a fountain pen because it clogs and skips. Waterproof and naturally dry inks can also cause it, so switch to a more free-flowing ink or add a very small amount of our Railroad X to lubricate what you have.
[Why My Pen Won't Write: LINK TBD]
Fountain Pen Basics series:
What Is A Fountain Pen: Fountain Pens Explained In 8 Minutes — Sta...
Fountain Pen Anatomy: Fountain Pen Anatomy: Every Part Explained
How To Fill A Fountain Pen: How To Fill A Fountain Pen Without The Mess
How To Write With A Fountain Pen: How To Write With A Fountain Pen: Basics F...
Feathering and Bleed-Through: Feathering and Bleed-Through? Here’s How t...
Shop: https://fountainpenrevolution.com
CHAPTERS
0:00 What skipping is
0:33 The 60-second refill fix
1:26 The water swish alternative
1:45 Inspect the nib tines
2:46 Baby's bottom
3:24 A thorough cleaning
4:30 Full disassembly
5:25 User error: rotating the pen
6:24 Ink problems and Railroad X