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Hello, I just bought a Visconti Rembrandt I saw at a shop. Didnt feel like dishing out more for a van gogh i've been eyeing. Anyways, Immediately after inking it started to skip, and after awhile it would work again for a few strokes then stops again. I did notice when unscrewing the bottom cap, it was also closing the converter so a blotch of ink would fall out of the feed. I flushed the pen and its still doing the same thing. $3 f.pens are more reliable Im not sure what to do now. This pen is so beautiful, and I want to use it

I had an unfortunate mishap with my Pilot Metropolitan at work, and destroyed the nib. I dropped it (cap off), onto a tile floor, it bounced off the nib and "double-tapped", bending it in two different directions. Needless to say, the nib was mangled. Wanting to try a different type of nib, and not willing to buy another metropolitan, just to cannibalize, I decided to buy a plumix and swap the nibs. I did not try out the Plumix first. I immediately dismantled it, cleaned both pens with plain water, and re-assembled the plumix nib and feed together on the Metro, using the same half-spent black cartridge I was using previously. After the first few strokes I noticed it would randomly skip on the first 1/10 inch or so of a downstroke, and randomly on side strokes, then start flowing. Now, I have never used an italic/stub nib before, so maybe I'm doing something wrong. I was trying to keep the nib flat and straight on the paper, and not roll it to one side. I was also writing very slow. Even so, it was still acting up. I've read reviews where many people have said the plumix nib is one of the smoothest Pilot nibs out there. While actually flowing I would say its very smooth, but the skipping issues ruin the experience. I do not have a loupe, but I do have an SLR camera, and multiple lenses, so I tried the "reverse-lens" trick. It was hard to see, as I probably shouldn't have used a 28-200mm zoom lens (very small opening at infinity focus), but I could not see any misalignment of the tines. I did end up buying another metro to use as-is, and both Mediums are/were buttery smooth. It's a shame I'm having trouble with their stub. Any ideas?

Hello! I'm new on FPN, and mostly new to fountain pens. I've used cheap pens, but nothing more serious until now. I have just bought a new Waterman Hemisphere, but I immediately found it has some flow problems. Specifically, it is a hard starter, the first letter of a word is usually missing. Not exactly every word, but always the first word when I start writing. It can also skip in the middle of a line, though this is more uncommon. I have already googled a bit, and I have read this topic on FPN: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/259353-hemisphere-flow-issue/ I know enough to keep it capped when not using it, so I don't think it is because of ink drying. I have tried washing it, first with water, and then with water and a drop of dishwashing liquid (and then more water afterwards to remove dishwashing liquid), but it hasn't helped. I use a converter filled with Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite ink, could this ink be at fault? Finally, I live in Sweden and bought the pen online. I have absolutely no idea where to find someone to look at or fix my pen in Sweden, fountain pens seems to be unknown here. So I very much hope that this is not "baby's bottom", because if it is I don't know what to do about it. How do I diagnose the problem?

Hi, I've observed when writing with a pen that has a 'glossy' nib (compare it to skating on ice) across parts of the paper that has natural skin/hand oils (from either the writing hand moving top down the page or from the other hand steadying the page) that the nib tends to skip across the 'greasy' areas. Whereas when writing with a 'matte' nib (compare it to writing with a smooth pencil) these 'greasy' areas are not a problem, the nib just writes across it; although you can feel the 'slick'. Given the two nibs do not have 'baby's bottom'; my theory is that the matte surface area of the nib breaks the inks surface tension (because it has microscopic pits and grooves) thus helping the ink to spread and run. Before I take remedial action on my 'glossy' nib using very fine abrasive; what are your experiences with the above ? Would you accept it and just change your ink to a better behaved variety or would you just go ahead and rub the shine off the tip ? Or is there something else going one that I'm not aware of ? Thanks, Fabian

Hello my friends; it is ironic that the one pen I did not ask advice on and do research before purchasing is now skipping. I just purchased it last week and am finding it is skipping after a line or two, which seems to indicate in my unskilled opinion that it is the feed. I've tried my wettest inks in it, flushed the nib several times and it starts, writes fine for a bit, then skips. Very frustrating indeed! Given the choice, I can: 1: Send it back to the very reputable dealer I bought it last week from (Fook Hing) who assures me they can replace both nib and feed and get it quickly back to me 2: Send it to Omas in Italy or their Distributor in Long Island and endure up to eight weeks and a warranty charge This is a fairly expensive pen and I am pretty surprised at this since it is so new and I have heard some great things about Omas pens. This is my first Omas and although it is a gorgeous design, I am very disappointed. What would you do? Thanks in advance for your advice.