Skipping Mont Blancs

[View from the Loft]

If you find the skipping persists and MB cannot sort it out for you, there is no need to send your pen overseas. We are fortunate to have people in this country who repair pens and straighten/custom grind/tweak nibs to your specification.

 

I have always found the breaking in period to be a myth. If a pen skips and is not sorted out by flushing or changing inks, then the pen skips. Go back to MB, with a sample showing where it skips. Don't be too surprised if they try to tell you that you have caused the problem by using non MB ink, so flush the pen again and load it with their own. Give them a chance to put the situation right, but if they can't, come back and we will point you in the direction of trusted people who will be able to turn your current writing instrument into a treasured pen.

[LargeSofa]

strong +1... even if the pen is new... forget about sending back to the store, send it to a nib meister and for $30 or so it will be perfect. I have sent many pens over the years... both new (bought 2nd hand) and used... all come back better than perfect. Ill buy used pens and sometimes dont even care if the pen does not write well b/c I know I will send it out. As long at it is not damaged or broken. Right now I have 2 pens waiting to go off to Mike Masuyama. considering to get a cursive italic once again and resolve the skipping.

[I like mango cheesecake]

That's odd. I had a 146 that skipped badly and the MB service centre fixed the problem for me and for free too

[LargeSofa]

I guess I have too many pens and also never buy new from the boutique 1/50 (and that was a gift). I buy 2nd hand, new or used in mint condition is my preference. Most people don't use the higher end pens. Also, I am enamored by the fine work of Mike Masuyama. His services are priceless to me and I have sent him single pens worth several thousands of dollars (rather than having to send back to Germany)... if it is just flow or nib adjustment I prefer to deal with Mike. For repair issues dealing with loss of plating etc, I have sent back to Germany.

[jar]

Most people don't use the higher end pens.

 

 

I'm curious why you think that might be the case?

[LargeSofa]

I guess what I should have said was - most of the higher end pens I have seen for SALE (at high end auctions like bonhams or drouot, and typically on ebay) are typically uninked, unused. I guess I can't speak for the others owned in private collection, maybe they are using them.

 

when was the last time you saw a used John Harrison 333?

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

There is absolutely nothing you can do about, it will only get worse with time. Just save yourselves, save your self right know buy just packing those two beautiful, sorry, hideous pen in a box and ship them to me. You will live a full and happy life knowing these skipping pens are no longer causing you any pain.

I will PM you my shipping address so you can star on the road to recovery.

 

:) :) :)

[jar]

I guess what I should have said was - most of the higher end pens I have seen for SALE (at high end auctions like bonhams or drouot, and typically on ebay) are typically uninked, unused. I guess I can't speak for the others owned in private collection, maybe they are using them.

 

when was the last time you saw a used John Harrison 333?

 

I wouldn't know a John Harrison if I did see it but when you are talking about "high end auctions" you are also preselecting those items that would appeal to collectors. I don't look to "high end auctions" for things I want mainly because I cannot conceive of not using an item.

[dneal]

I'm sure John Mottishaw will have your nib sorted and writing wonderfully.

 

Skipping can be caused by a number of issues, and the term alone doesn't clearly define the symptoms. Does it skip in certain directions? Does it skip only when beginning to write? Does it begin skipping after a page or so? Does it skip if you get out of a relatively limited "sweet spot"?

 

What is common on new nibs (aside from slight misalignment) are: nibs that are spaced to closely (severely limiting ink flow) and "baby's bottom". Baby's bottom refers to nib shape, not smoothness (although the shape is usually a result of a manufacturer's effort to get a smooth nib). The inside edges of the tines, if too sharp, will create a feeling of toothiness/scratchiness. They should be ground a very slight bit to eliminate that. Many manufacturers (Bock comes to mind) go too far, and create a nib shaped like a "baby's bottom". The ink can't touch the paper and begin the capillary action. Rough or cheap paper does get into this small crevasse and the flow begins, but not so with very smooth "premium" paper.

 

Richard Binder's nib smoothing .pdf is a great resource for common problems and (if you're so inclined) solutions. See pages 6 and 7 for "baby's bottom" description and illustration.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

Edited December 31, 2014 by dneal

[NHsueh]

Hi, I just wanted to say a thank you to you guys for posting...

 

I don't think breaking in is a myth; I have had pens stop skipping after a few weeks of writing, perhaps due to the feed saturating, or my getting used to how to hold the pen.

 

When the ink level in the converter is no longer full, the surface tension of the ink sometimes does cause the pen to start skipping. This is why Montblanc put a coil in the converter, but the ink tension can still cause problems.

 

If the pen writes very smoothly, and only skips when the ink level drops below a certain amount, I would personally persist with using the pen, because when you send it to someone to service, it can cause worse problems. What makes it write so smoothly can sometimes cause the skipping, but if it writes properly without skipping when full, I would rather it skip below a certain ink level, rather than writing without skipping all the time, but not so smooth.

[TLMG]

My mb nibs have a tendency to do that before getting tuned as well. Regardless of what MB marketing says, mass producing pens by hand leads to a huge loss of quality and repeatability.