Pelikan M400 Skipping

[Lady P]

Dear fountain pen experts and amateurs alike,

I was hoping someone might be able to help me figure out why my new pen skips and perhaps even find a cure for it.

A few days ago, my brand new Pelikan M400 White Tortoise arrived in the mail. It looked gorgeous, and I was excited to fill it up with some Waterman Intense Black. I did so, and unfortunately, the pen skipped quite a bit. I thought the problem might be that the ink that I used came from a bottle that I opened a long time ago (about a year and a half ago), and so I emptied out the pen and inked it up again with the the same type of ink (Waterman Intense Black), but from a newer bottle (opened only about three months ago). The pen skipped less, but still enough to bother me. So yesterday evening, I emptied the pen again, meticulously flushed it three times (first with clean water, then with soapy water, then again with clean water), and inked it up again (still with Waterman Intense Black). Performance drastically improved, there was hardly any skipping. It still worked beautifully this morning, and then again this afternoon. But then an hour ago, it started skipping again!

There's plenty of ink left (it's more than half-full, as can be seen through the translucent barrel), so it's not that. I also know that skipping can sometimes be due to a baby bottom. Unfortunately, I don't have a loupe (I ordered one, but it hasn't arrived yet), so I can't check. However, I used the pen fairly extensively for 24 hours with no trouble, which makes me think it's unlikely that the problem is caused by a baby bottom. Essentially, I have no idea why my pen might perform beautifully for 24 hours, and then suddenly go back to its old ways. Is it bothered by the full moon or something??

Any and all ideas are welcome.

[Lady P]

I wonder if I ought to try a different ink. The thing is, I really wanted to use black ink in this pen, and Waterman Intense Black is the only black ink that I own (I'd be willing to buy a black ink by another brand though, if need be). For diagnostic purposes though, I'd be willing to try ink of just about any color and see if that fixes the issue. I own the following inks:

Waterman: Absolute Brown, Harmonious Green, Audacious Red, Intense Black

Pelikan: Edelstein Tanzanite

Diamine: Indigo, Twilight, Eclipse, Damson, Marine, Umber, Sheerwood Green, Green/Black, Syrah, Merlot, Rustic Brown, Oxblood

Are any of the above inks exceptionally well behaved (to be used for diagnostic purposes)? So far, I've only used the Waterman Intense Black in this pen.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Waterman: Absolute Brown, Harmonious Green, either of them should be wet enough.

Pelikan: Edelstein Tanzanite..I have it and it could be a bit dry....not that I was looking for that.

I don't know the Diamine inks you have. I think they would have been wet enough. I have a few and some samples. They seemed wet enough.

You do not have to fill up the pen, just enough to be seen in the window.

[Runnin_Ute]

Diamine's Sherwood Green might end up being your favorite in it. I love the way it performs in my True Writer Silver Anniversary with a fine. But it also performs very well in my M205 with a medium.

[sargetalon]

There may be something impeding the ink flow through the channel in the feed. This has happened to me from time to time. I would take a brass shim and run it through the slit on the nib to clear out any debris. Has worked very well for me in the past in this very situation. Aside from that, a loupe will be needed to make a better diagnosis.

[Lady P]

Thanks, guys!

I'll try inking my pen up with some Diamine Sherwood Green, as Runnin_Ute suggested. If that doesn't work, I'll try one of the Waterman Inks that Bo Bo Olson suggested. And if that fails... Well then, I'll need to find a way to buy some brass shim, and do as sargetalon suggested. I currently live in France, and I have no idea where to buy the thing. It can be found on amazon.co.uk (it doesn't seem to be available on amazon.fr), but they'll only ship the item to UK addresses, which is not terribly helpful in my case, as I think that a new pen would be a whole lot cheaper than a trip to the UK to pick up some brass shim!

[Tangster]

 

Thanks, guys!

I'll try inking my pen up with some Diamine Sherwood Green, as Runnin_Ute suggested. If that doesn't work, I'll try one of the Waterman Inks that Bo Bo Olson suggested. And if that fails... Well then, I'll need to find a way to buy some brass shim, and do as sargetalon suggested. I currently live in France, and I have no idea where to buy the thing. It can be found on amazon.co.uk (it doesn't seem to be available on amazon.fr), but they'll only ship the item to UK addresses, which is not terribly helpful in my case, as I think that a new pen would be a whole lot cheaper than a trip to the UK to pick up some brass shim!

 

I've been using these guys to buy repair parts recently. Very nice people and I just checked, they do ship to France.

http://www.vintagepensacsandparts.com/section.php/3/1/repair_tools/0222e54f96326b48b2c924e8583d06c1

 

If you know of any metalwork stores near you I'm sure they could also point you to a french supplier of very thin brass sheet too.

Edited January 11, 2014 by Tangster

[Jerome Tarshis]

Where I live, in the United States, perfectly ordinary hardware stores (= UK English ironmongers' shops) sell brass shim in a wide range of thicknesses. That may also be true of France. Quite inexpensive product.

 

If the local ironmonger, and I'm sorry I've lost the useful everyday French I knew as a child, doesn't stock brass shim, you might also try a shop that sells modelmakers' or toymakers' supplies. All manner of small objects fitted together by craftsmen call for inserting a narrow bit of metal. Not just fountain-pen nibs.

 

Good luck. I have a sense that one of FPN's French members would know where to buy a tiny amount of thin brass for flossing FP nibs. We can but hope that such a person jumps in. Living in San Francisco, a francophile city, I tend to imagine that half the population of France has settled here, but it can't be statistically true.

[Lady P]

I've been using these guys to buy repair parts recently. Very nice people and I just checked, they do ship to France.

http://www.vintagepensacsandparts.com/section.php/3/1/repair_tools/0222e54f96326b48b2c924e8583d06c1

 

If you know of any metalwork stores near you I'm sure they could also point you to a french supplier of very thin brass sheet too.

 

Success! I just ordered from them. I also ordered some micro mesh pads because they're rather likely to be useful in the future, and I figured I might as well get everything I need at once in order to minimize shipping costs...

[Lady P]

Okay, I inked it up with Diamine Sherwood Green (as Runnin_Ute suggested). It writes beautifully now. However, it also wrote beautifully yesterday morning while inked up with Waterman Intense Black, and then it started skipping like crazy last night. So... I'll keep writing with this ink for a day or two, and I'll report if the good behavior persists. (Fingers crossed!!)

[Lady P]

Knock on wood, the pen is still writing well with Diamine Sherwood Green. I really, really want black ink for this pen, though, so I decided to try something other than Waterman. In another thread, Bo Bo Olson suggested Aurora Black to me, and this ink does seem to be very highly regarded by black ink fans, so I bit the bullet and ordered a couple of bottles from La Couronne du Comte (exorbitant shipping costs not withstanding). Now I just hope my bird likes that ink!

Edited January 11, 2014 by Lady P

[warblerick]

 

I wonder if I ought to try a different ink. The thing is, I really wanted to use black ink in this pen, and Waterman Intense Black is the only black ink that I own (I'd be willing to buy a black ink by another brand though, if need be). For diagnostic purposes though, I'd be willing to try ink of just about any color and see if that fixes the issue. I own the following inks:

Waterman: Absolute Brown, Harmonious Green, Audacious Red, Intense Black

Pelikan: Edelstein Tanzanite

Diamine: Indigo, Twilight, Eclipse, Damson, Marine, Umber, Sheerwood Green, Green/Black, Syrah, Merlot, Rustic Brown, Oxblood

Are any of the above inks exceptionally well behaved (to be used for diagnostic purposes)? So far, I've only used the Waterman Intense Black in this pen.

 

Of the inks on your list that you have, I only have Diamine Marine and Umber. I find Umber to be rather a dry ink (by Diamine standards) but I think Marine is nearly perfect. It has great flow, saturation and is a great shading ink as well. Maybe give that a try!

[Lady P]

I hereby declare my Pelikan well and truly cured. Flushing several times and changing the ink did the trick. I'm so relieved! I was so worried that my bird had a birth (or hatching?) defect, and it turns out it only had a food allergy. But now that I eliminated Waterman Intense Black from its diet, and introduced it to Aurora Black, it's become one happy, smooth writing bird.

Thanks everyone who offered ideas for curing my pen (both in this thread, and in other threads).

[PDW]

I inked my new Tortoise M400 for the first time after a simple water flush with R+K Altgoldgrun and it worked flawlessly. The ink/pen colour match with this combination is also, as been noted on other threads, wondrous.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I'm very glad your 400 is writing well. I have some 4 (3 from the '50s, one a '90's) of them...counting a 500 as a fancied up 400.

Sooner or later you will get an older brother for your young 400. It will be fun.

 

 

I'm going to have to buy some Aurora black...just to have it....I actually inked up a pen with Pelikan 4001 black the other day. The Government insisted on black ink.

I do have Aurora blue.

 

Edited January 16, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson