Hard-Starting On The Down Stroke

[Portia_of_Belmont]

Hi all! I'm fairly new to fps and was hoping I could tap into the immense knowledge and expertise that exists among the members of FPN to help troubleshoot an issue.

 

I've got a new Levenger True Writer M nib that is hard-starting and skips on the down stroke. Even after I write with it for awhile, it continues to skip on the down stroke after I lift the nib off the page (i.e., to start a new word). In every other direction it writes beautifully -- smooth and wet. I've been writing with it consistently for about a week and haven't noticed improvement. I've tried numerous different kinds of paper (CF, Rhodia, copy paper, etc.) and have the same experience on all of them. It's currently inked with DeA Alexander Hamilton, and I haven't tried any other inks yet. There's a picture below showing what's going on.

 

Any ideas?

[CAG_1787]

First off, I'd take a look to the nib to see if there's any misaligning or uneven nib contact with the paper. That being said, I have two Levengers, and one of them has an inexplicable problem with this sort of hard-start and I've been unable to figure out why, even under magnification.

[Obyekt]

Try a J. Herbin ink. They are always very wet.

[Pentulant]

I love that ink. I didn't have any trouble writing with it in a Lamy Al-Star (broad nib) and would even say that it was a bit wet.

 

Did you clean the pen before you used it the first time? It's always suggested (but I never do) to prevent problems.

 

In any case, if it was me, I would clean the pen out, try another ink on a variety of papers, and see how that goes. If it still won't go, I'd return or exchange it for another. Levenger pens haven't been my favorite, but I know that's a matter of taste.

[Beckwith]

If you're feeling particularly daring, and cleaning didn't work, you can also try loosening the tines. Hold the pen with the top of the nib beneath your thumbs and your index fingers underneath the bottom of the nib (probably touching the feed). Then apply a light pressure so that the nib bends up and the tines separate a bit. If you go too far you can reverse what you did by applying light pressure down on the nib which will close the tines a bit.

 

Of course by the time you are playing with the nib you may just want to go back to Levenger and have them replace the pen. I've never purchased a pen from them, but I know firsthand that their customer service is very good for other products (circa notebooks).

[Portia_of_Belmont]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I'll definitely try a few of these in the next few days and hopefully will resolve the issue. If not, back to Levenger it goes!

[proton007]

Along with the suggestions above, also consider checking the gap between the nib and the feed. Sometimes the feed isn't in contact with the nib, so the ink flow only starts when the nib 'opens up' due to pressure.

[Runnin_Ute]

I have never had a problem with my True Writer (Silver Anniversary) fine nib. Even after it rolled off a table about a week ago - capless. First scare I have had with it.

[Drone]

If all else fails (or perhaps sooner) replace the converter with a good quality cartridge. Sometimes a poor quality converter will restrict ink flow. If the converter is the problem replace it with a good quality converter. Google "Schmidt Converter". The German Schmidt glass converters are pretty good in my experience.

 

Or just send it back to Levenger.

[Portia_of_Belmont]

I flushed it last night and re-inked it with Iro Kon Peki -- the wettest ink I had on hand. It seems to be working a lot better now. I've been on such a binge the last several months (new addict, here!) that I completely forgot having an issue with another pen I inked with DeA Alexander Hamilton. I assumed it was the pen, but it now seems that ink is just very finicky. It's a shame, too, because it's such a lovely deep, dark purple.

 

Thanks for all your suggestions!

[Magicker71]

I had recent problems with an Edison Premiere Nouveau and could not figure it out. Goulet Pens sent me a replacement nib unit and it had the same problems... skipping, hard starting and particular problems on the downstroke. Both nibs arrived misaligned, I straightened them out but they were still terrible. I think both were suffering from baby's bottom possibly.

 

I ended up returning the pen and extra nib to Goulet for a full refund and excellent service the whole way through. It pays to deal with a company as great as Goulet.

[Precise]

After a fairly active period, I've not posted for a long spell.

 

I had a brand new Montegrappa Fortuna which was too dry, even with Kon Peki, my wettest ink.

I loosened the gap by pressing the wings out. I made a tool to do this a few years ago. That made it wetter, but it skipped the start some times.

 

Next I inserted a razor blade in the gap and pried it open a bit. BAD idea. It spread the tip to a vee and the meniscus of ink drew back away from the paper. I restored the gap at the tip.

 

I wrote in my log, "I have many pens that write better than this". But as I've written in this forum, I enjoy fixing things. So I continued.

 

Next I noted that the pad was pretty square laterally. I like a bit of flat where it glides on the paper, but this was too much. If the pen was twisted slightly, the gap did not contact the paper. I rounded it laterally. Now it's a first rate pen.

 

As I've often written on this forum. You should all learn to tune your nibs. It's great fun and most satisfying and rewarding. Learn it. You'll be very glad you did. If you're worried about spoiling a good pen, practice on $5 Chinese pens.

 

Good optics are important. You need to see the tip in detail. I use a binocular microscope. But there are plenty of people who succeed with a 10x magnifier.

 

Happy Halloween,

 

Alan

Edited November 1, 2017 by Precise

[SoulSamurai]

Precise, I would be very interested in seeing a photo of this tool you mentioned.

[Precise]

Here are two tools.

 

First two views of the slit spreader:

The white plastic block has a variety of slots. I choose one that just spans the feed.

In the micrometer, I push on the top of the nib with the black disc. When it closes and I feel resistance, I first close another .020 inches. This spreads the ears outward. If more is needed, I try .025 inches next, increasing gradually until I'm satisfied with the result. You can do this in a vise instead of a micrometer, paying attention to the angle of closure that you apply to the vise screw. Of course gold nibs need less squeeze than steel.

 

Next, one view of the slit closer:

This is the opposite. I push the ears together. You can also do this in a vise, simply by putting some tape on the vise jaws to protect the nib.

 

Alan

 

 

 

 

 

[SoulSamurai]

Interesting, that looks very a precise and controlled process! Thanks for the photos.

[jar]

Also make sure you are not wrist writing, and instead are using your whole arm.