Pen Skipping On The Downstroke

[ClassicHippie]

When writing, I occasionally have issues with no ink coming out when making a line going from top to bottom. Ex.-capital letters that start with one down stroke (B,D,E,F, etc). It's not with every pen and it's not every time. It seems to occur most with the Online Vision pen. Is this an ink, nib, or handwriting issue? It's very annoying and I need to figure out how to fix it before I start taking tons of notes when school starts on Monday. Thanks!

[Guest Subvet642]

How much pressure are you using? It could be that the feed isn't set against the nib snugly enough, breaking the capillary action and interupting the flow of ink.

[mholve]

You say, "it's not with every pen." Which leads me to believe that it Is with multiple pens, and possibly a handwriting issue. Pay attention to how hard you're pressing when you start those strokes that typically skip. Try a slightly lighter touch and see how that works for you.

 

Is it the converter pens that do this? You might benefit from "burping" them.

 

Failing that, try giving the troublesome pens a good flush (with dishsoap) and try a different ink in those pens. If these steps don't take care of it, it's probably a nib issue.

[ClassicHippie]

How much pressure are you using? It could be that the feed isn't set against the nib snugly enough, breaking the capillary action and interupting the flow of ink.

Not much when it's skipping, but a decent amount when I repeat the stroke to get ink out. How would I set the nib in an Online Vision? The whole thing screws in and out.

 

You say, "it's not with every pen." Which leads me to believe that it Is with multiple pens, and possibly a handwriting issue. Pay attention to how hard you're pressing when you start those strokes that typically skip. Try a slightly lighter touch and see how that works for you.

 

Is it the converter pens that do this? You might benefit from "burping" them.

 

Failing that, try giving the troublesome pens a good flush (with dishsoap) and try a different ink in those pens. If these steps don't take care of it, it's probably a nib issue.

 

Yes, it is converter pens only. I have tried flushing with soap. The only ink that hasn't skipped at all in them is J. Herbin 1670. It is a very wet, lubricating ink so maybe that has something to do with it. Right now I have Waterman Havana in the Online Vision converter and it's still skipping. That ink works amazingly well in every other pen though.

 

The converters I got at Paradise Pen are kind of weird though. They don't turn- you just push/pull. I have a hard time doing it slowly and then when I try to get any excess air out, there's hardly any ink left. Should I look for a better converter?

[wordherder62]

 

The converters I got at Paradise Pen are kind of weird though. They don't turn- you just push/pull. I have a hard time doing it slowly and then when I try to get any excess air out, there's hardly any ink left. Should I look for a better converter?

 

In a word, yes. I've found that cheap converters turn out to be their own reward. I've had great success with the ones from Schmidt, Rotring, Waterman and Pelikan. Some fit some pens better than others--how the space around the nipple is makes a different. I've "fixed" several pens by simply swapping converters and, in this case, it's worth a try. Converters really don't cost all that much and buying good ones certainly is worth the extra money to avoid the frustration that cheap/poorly made ones can cause. The ones that are made out of the softer looking plastic are almost always troublesome--in my experience. You may have a different experience with them and some pens just don't care.

 

You might try using a cartridge in the pen to see if it works better. That could lead to the converter being an issue. And, in some cases, it's just that the nib is out of adjustment in some way. I've even had pens that would only write well with cartridges and no amount of converter swapping could make them better!

 

Richard Jarvis

[Guest Subvet642]

How much pressure are you using? It could be that the feed isn't set against the nib snugly enough, breaking the capillary action and interupting the flow of ink.

Not much when it's skipping, but a decent amount when I repeat the stroke to get ink out. How would I set the nib in an Online Vision? The whole thing screws in and out.

 

 

It's really quite easy: Boil about a half an inch of water in a frying pan. When it starts to boil, turn off the heat and immerse the nib and feed in the water for about 10 to 15 seconds, remove it from the water and quickly, before it cools, press the feed on a hard surface (like the countertop) against the nib so that the nib tines flex slightly. Hold it like that for 30 seconds to set. If anyone else knows an easier way, please chime in, as I'm NO expert.

 

P.S. keep the nib/feed unit in the pen when you do this so you have something to hold on to.

Edited January 26, 2011 by Subvet642

[ClassicHippie]

How much pressure are you using? It could be that the feed isn't set against the nib snugly enough, breaking the capillary action and interupting the flow of ink.

Not much when it's skipping, but a decent amount when I repeat the stroke to get ink out. How would I set the nib in an Online Vision? The whole thing screws in and out.

 

 

It's really quite easy: Boil about a half an inch of water in a frying pan. When it starts to boil, turn off the heat and immerse the nib and feed in the water for about 10 to 15 seconds, remove it from the water and quickly, before it cools, press the feed on a hard surface (like the countertop) against the nib so that the nib tines flex slightly. Hold it like that for 30 seconds to set. If anyone else knows an easier way, please chime in, as I'm NO expert.

 

P.S. keep the nib/feed unit in the pen when you do this so you have something to hold on to.

Very interesting. I'll try a cartridge first and see is the converter is causing the problem. If not, I'll try your method. Thanks so much.

[Guest Subvet642]

My pleasure! Let me know how it all goes.

[greencobra]

This is the great mystery of life, skipping on the down stroke, and I've had a bunch over the years. I've wasted more time on this than any one issue. I've rinsed, soaked, flossed, changed ink, pen angle and probably a dozen other remedies. The only thing that cured it....sending them out to be adjusted. Almost all of mine happened to converter fed pens but a couple were piston. One day I got tired of looking at them, I never really used them, and just sent the lot out to a professional. They came back working the way they should.

[Strang]

This is the great mystery of life, skipping on the down stroke, and I've had a bunch over the years. I've wasted more time on this than any one issue. I've rinsed, soaked, flossed, changed ink, pen angle and probably a dozen other remedies. The only thing that cured it....sending them out to be adjusted. Almost all of mine happened to converter fed pens but a couple were piston. One day I got tired of looking at them, I never really used them, and just sent the lot out to a professional. They came back working the way they should.

 

+1 - This is absolutely identical to my situation.

[ClassicHippie]

I put a Private Reserve Velvet Black cartridge in and there's no more skipping! I'll just stick with cartridges until I get a better converter. Thanks for all the suggestions!