Spoiled brat alert: my new M1000, medium nib provides all these delightments...thick, nicely balanced solid heft for my big, thick-fingered hand...a soft yet responsive slightly springy nib...that lays down a precise, silken, wet line. Bliss. BUT, 5% of the time, it skips for just a stroke or two, both up and down. This happens mostly on the slickest paper surfaces (Clarefontaine, Rhodia Premium, Maruman Mnemosyne) but also on Black 'n Red, Exacompta FAF, and even TWSBI notebooks. Pelikan Blue-Black ink is most prone to cause this skippage, then Noodler's BP Black, then Diamine Green-Black. I've flushed, I've flossed, and I've fussed over every nook and Souverän cranny...any insights from the wise heads on FPN...? It's like meeting a new lover who is SO close to your ideal that you spend all your time and energy obsessing about how to 'get there'... (That's the spoiled brat part...)