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Two weeks ago I purchased an M200 Demonstrator. I've been using it daily and have been continually encountering problems getting the ink flow started once the nib touches the paper. It involves me retracing the first stroke of the pen. The nib seems to not like the down-ward stroke as I make the first movement to write my name. Once I go back up, the ink flow is there and I can finish the word. The ink flow will also stop during circular movements, such as for "a" or "o." It is annoying and yesterday I went back to the shop and they replaced the nib. Today the pen is doing the same thing as before. I also switched from green ink to black ink to see if that would make a difference and lightly rinsed with cold water, no soap. When I compare this to my other Pelikan and my Retro51, both of then have immediate ink flow when the pen touches the paper. If you could offer any advice I'd be appreciative. I made a video clip <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_ereTgqxLI> with my iPhone and hope you can see what I am talking about, I also took a still and underlined the letters the pen/nib had difficulty delivering a flow of ink. Any advice would be brilliant! Cheers.

Ok... I'm seriously freaking out. Or not? Sometimes when I use some kinds of cheap copy paper in the office, I get the impression that my pens become more scratchy! I don't mean that they feel more scratchy on some kinds of paper, that's normal. I mean: they write fine on paper 1, then I use cheap copy paper 2 to write a couple of notes, then I go back to paper 1 and they feel scratchy, ink flow is poorer... This always happens with cheap, uncoated papers that have a kinda "chalky", "powdery" feeling. Has anyone ever experienced anything similar?? Is it possible that a paper alters the performance of a nib? I've read somewhere that some reams of cheap copy paper are advertised as having a low "powder content", which supposedly has an impact on the performance in printers and copy machines, but is this something that really exists or is it just a marketing tool? And does this have an effect on FPs? let me know if I should call the local mental hospital, or sell all my pens and retire to meditate on the meaning of life in a Tibetan monastery. cheers, Fabio

My New Metropolitan is a great writer for about 1/2 page and then the ink runs out. This first happened with the bulb converter that was with the pen. I didn't know what was happening so i switched to the included cartridge. It still does this but i found that if i remove the cartridge and put it back on i get another 1/2 or so worth. Any one have suggestions for a remedy?

I inherited from my father a ca. 1920s Parker Duofold Jr. (orange, with black ends). I did some aesthetic damage to the pen trying to clean it and restore it. I quickly realized I'd better not carry on. So Stef at Grandmia Pens did a wonderful job of restoring it for me. It looks good as new, as far as I'm concerned. And it writes like a dream.... ...except that it is exceptionally wet. Ink seems to gush from the nib as I write. It's doesn't leave blots of ink -- the writing remains distinct -- but the ink literally forms a bump or ridge along the line as I write, like it's raised text. It took more than 5 minutes for the pictured text to dry. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7387/10830939466_1af6c4e0f2_z.jpg Not a sharp shot, but if you look at the large version, you can see that the text is raised from the paper. Anyway, when I asked Stef about the ink flow he wisely suggested I leave it alone. But I'm not sure I made it clear to him how much ink actually comes out as I write. It's really quite ridiculous. Or is this normal for vintage fountain pens? I don't want to tamper too much with the pen -- it's fragile and has sentimental value -- but if there's a relatively simple fix I could try (e.g. nib adjustments), I would appreciate hearing suggestions.