Nib Feels Smooth But "sticky" Or "draggy"

[Helder22]

I received a Montblanc 146 and have been writing with it for the past few days using Waterman Serenity Blue. For some reason, I'm not really enjoying the way it feels on Rhodia paper. Its very smooth, it makes no noise and does not scratch, but it feels weird. Its hard to explain but it feels like writing with your finger on glass, or writing with the bottom of a spoon with honey, there is a certain drag to it. It does not seems to want to glide over the paper. On copy paper it feels better but on Rhodia it feels kind of, I don't know, nauseating nib sized level lol.

Anyone else experience this?

 

Edited October 1, 2013 by Helder22

[Azura]

I have the same experience on my certain pen+ink combos, maybe it is just a hint that u should look for another ink, good luck.

[Sandy1]

~

Edited October 1, 2013 by Sandy1

[Bo Bo Olson]

You have to hold the pen behind the big knuckle of the index finger like a fountain pen, at 45 degrees, 40 degrees at the start of the web or 35 degrees in the pit of the web of your thumb. Some times a grind is a bit lower than expected.

 

Holding the pen before the big knuckle like a ball point or a roller ball is wrong for a fountain pen; and nothing but problems.

[Helder22]

LOL I must have expressed myself incorrectly. I've been writing with FP's for over a decade now.

I am holding the pen at the correct angle. I checked the grind at 20x and the angle seems fine. In fact it appears to be ground more lovingly than most my other pens. However it does have a VERY SMALL amount of "baby bottom" to it. Not enough to make it a hard starter though, it writes with absolutely no pressure and with a relatively wet line. I'm wondering if that slight "baby bottom" is the cause for the odd writing sensation.

I guess I should just stay away from Rodia with this one for now. When the ink runs out Ill try some other ink in it as Azura suggested. Probably some Aurora black, my personal favorite.

Edited October 1, 2013 by Helder22

[seacritasianman]

I agree, it seems like you should use an ink with higher lubrication. That might be able to solve your problem.

[novarider]

I understand what you are saying. My TWSBI vac700 had the same feeling. It's hard to describe. The nib is smooth but it felt like it was hard to move. I recently smoothed it on some 12000 micro mesh and it no longer does this.

[akustyk]

Absolutely! I've come across nibs that feel smooth but "draggy." The best/worst example is my Franklin-Christoph Broad Cursive Italic (Collegia 27). It's very demanding in terms of angle and rotation, otherwise it drags and skips. Almost all of the Jowo nibs (Edison, FC, TWSBI) feel that way to some degree. Yes, with lubricated ink, they do perform better, but, generally, especially compared to Japanese nibs, these Jowo nibs drag.

 

This brings up an interesting point about smoothness as a property of nibs. So many FP users claim that smoothness is the most important property of a nib. Not for me. For me, it is the softness and ease of writing that makes all the difference. Sailor nibs are my favorite. They're smooth, yes, but they're also soft-feeling, very pleasant, easy to write with. They do have a small sweet spot, but once you hit it, the nib performs admirably. Flow is another important property for me and my style of writing. Again, those Jowo nib/feed units often, in my experience, have had inconsistent flow. Yes, they can be adjusted, but still do not perform as well as Japanese nibs.

 

Finally, I want to make clear that it's not just steel vs. gold. My steel nibs on the cheap Pilot pens, like the Varsity or Metropolitan, are also very soft and do not drag, ever. They might have some tooth, but that's not a big deal for me.

[Sblakers]

Personally I love that feeling and search for pens that have it. Sounds like you got yourself a lovely extreme case of feedback ?

[Helder22]

Hmmmm, dunno about lovely. Feels like I'm writing on wet paper lol.

[proton007]

How about the ink flow? Low flow can make the nib a bit 'sticky'.

[spotted and speckled]

Switch inks. I'm not a fan of the new Waterman ink series, so I could just be biased.

[MrInkwell]

I know exactly what you mean. Some modern nibs seem to have this quality. My thinking is that it feels like the nib has not been adequately finished, and it's something I feel whenever I try a new or almost new MB. If you're into DIY solutions you could try taking off a very small fraction of tipping material with polishing tools and techniques. There is plenty of advice on how to do this on the internet, but of course it is up to how comfortable you feel doing this.

 

If not, you could always write a few hundred thousand pages on low quality paper and see how it improves

 

Good luck,

Julian

[JessR45]

Yup, I know what you mean -- after using up Iroshizuko Tsuyo-Kusa ink on my Achim Velte (lovely color, velvety smooth writing) I refilled with Private Reserve Sonic Blue, and the smooth but draggy feel surfaced. Sometimes I like this, appreciating the feedback, but mostly I prefer my nib gliding smoothly on the paper. Try other inks and see if it makes a difference for you.

[NHsueh]

I just got 2 new Montblanc 146s and a 147 yesterday. The 2 146s are filled with Waterman Serenity Blue and Waterman Tender purple, and the 147 has Montblanc Royal Blue ink cartridge. I think I understand what you mean. All 3 of these pens showed what you experienced. I think the best word to describe the sensation is feedback.

 

Anyway, after writing for a bit with all of them, the 146 with Waterman Tender Purple suddenly stopped showing this feedback and wrote exactly how it should. I have no explanation why. I think it might be the feed acclimatizing to the ink, or any manufacturing oils finally flushing out. (Note that I did flush all the pens with water thoroughly, so I guess the oils must be really sticky!) Under a loupe, the tipping of the nibs look extremely polished and I could see my own reflection, so I don't think its the nib. The other 146 and 147 haven't shown this breakthrough yet though.

 

A final thought: If the situation improves and then suddenly goes back, it would probably be the oils, which might flush out in stages.

Edited October 2, 2013 by NHsueh

[NHsueh]

I know exactly what you mean. Some modern nibs seem to have this quality. My thinking is that it feels like the nib has not been adequately finished, and it's something I feel whenever I try a new or almost new MB. If you're into DIY solutions you could try taking off a very small fraction of tipping material with polishing tools and techniques. There is plenty of advice on how to do this on the internet, but of course it is up to how comfortable you feel doing this.

 

If not, you could always write a few hundred thousand pages on low quality paper and see how it improves

 

Good luck,

Julian

 

Writing a lot on low quality paper would be similar to polishing the tip! Just have to be sure the paper's low quality is just from it being consistently not smoothly finished, and not low quality because it is recycled with junk in it.

Edited October 2, 2013 by NHsueh

[bizhe]

I also have had this experience with visconti blue on Double A paper, which is quite smooth. Call it "tack"? It was irritating when it made the pen a hard starter (happened with pilot and pelikan nibs).

 

Interesting suggestion that it is related to nib break-in, as I am still using that ink/paper combo but the tack is very low these days (several months later).

 

I have always wondered if the 14k coating of gold in the nib was worse or better for writing than the underlying tipping material.

[Ytland]

I've definitely experienced exactly this phenomenon, and found that with the same pen and ink the issue would go away once I'd finished and moved on to the next pad. I think it's an issue with some batches of Rhodia paper where the coating adheres to the tip and causes this strange sticky feeling. It happens far more often when the inside of the tipping is sharp (ie within the slit), acting to scrape the coating off the paper. I find Japanese papers (which are smooth without having a coating) best avoid this issue.

[NHsueh]

I also have had this experience with visconti blue on Double A paper, which is quite smooth. Call it "tack"? It was irritating when it made the pen a hard starter (happened with pilot and pelikan nibs).

 

Interesting suggestion that it is related to nib break-in, as I am still using that ink/paper combo but the tack is very low these days (several months later).

 

I have always wondered if the 14k coating of gold in the nib was worse or better for writing than the underlying tipping material.

 

Were the pilot and pelikan new pens?

 

Interesting because Waterman Serenity Blue (Florida Blue) and Visconti Blue are supposed to be 2 of the best flowing and most lubricating inks around, and Rhodia and your Double A paper are supposed to be very smooth too.

 

The material of the nib (14K gold) shouldn't affect the writing performance.

Edited October 2, 2013 by NHsueh

[Jackson]

Hmmmm, dunno about lovely. Feels like I'm writing on wet paper lol.

Ah, now I know exactly what you mean--I experienced this 'wet paper drag' phenomenon recently with a Pelikan M400, medium nib and a Kaweco Sport Classic, broad nib. In each case, a couple of weeks of regular, daily writing solved the problem entirely. It felt almost like a blob of wax on the nib-tip gradually gave up the ghost and decided gradually to melt away.