Scratchy Writing

[GMT]

Hi, I'm new to the obsession. So far, I have a Lamy 2000, a Pilot Vanishing Point, two M200s, an M600, and the pen I like the best, an M400 tortoise shell. Why is that list relevant? Well, I have not yet found the beautiful, creamy, rolling writing experience that so many talk about on these forums.

 

Take my M400. It currently is filled with Noodler's Blue Black. Writing with it is, well, I'm not sure of the correct term, scratchy. The nib does not flow, obstruction free and smoothly, across the paper. It sort of "scratches" along the paper. I have tried it with both a Rhodia pad and a Quo Vadis notebook. Same thing. I would have a better writing experience with a $2 ball point from the grocery store.

 

I purchased the M400 from my local pen store, one of the M200s and the M600 came from Richard Binder, so I assume the nib on those is not the issue. Is it the ink? I ordered a dozen bottles of different types of ink from Goulet Pens and I'm going to experiment this weekend, with all of the inks and all of the pens.

 

But: what's the "smoothest" ink for an M400? Am I doing something wrong? I just see these posts from others talking about the nirvana of writing with these pens, and I haven't seen that yet.

 

I appreciate any suggestions/feedback.

 

Steve

 

PS: so you might be asking "so why did you buy so many pens if you haven't found nirvana yet." Good question. I have been on a quest for 3 years to find a pen I like. After going through, and discarding, pretty much every non-fountain pen sold by office supply stores and Amazon, I have now moved onto fountain pens.

[nickapos]

Check out the nib alignment with a magnifying glass. Maybe they need a little bit of tuning.

[Draless]

Hi, I'm new to the obsession. So far, I have a Lamy 2000, a Pilot Vanishing Point, two M200s, an M600, and the pen I like the best, an M400 tortoise shell. Why is that list relevant? Well, I have not yet found the beautiful, creamy, rolling writing experience that so many talk about on these forums.

 

Take my M400. It currently is filled with Noodler's Blue Black. Writing with it is, well, I'm not sure of the correct term, scratchy. The nib does not flow, obstruction free and smoothly, across the paper. It sort of "scratches" along the paper. I have tried it with both a Rhodia pad and a Quo Vadis notebook. Same thing. I would have a better writing experience with a $2 ball point from the grocery store.

 

I purchased the M400 from my local pen store, one of the M200s and the M600 came from Richard Binder, so I assume the nib on those is not the issue. Is it the ink? I ordered a dozen bottles of different types of ink from Goulet Pens and I'm going to experiment this weekend, with all of the inks and all of the pens.

 

But: what's the "smoothest" ink for an M400? Am I doing something wrong? I just see these posts from others talking about the nirvana of writing with these pens, and I haven't seen that yet.

 

I appreciate any suggestions/feedback.

 

Steve

 

PS: so you might be asking "so why did you buy so many pens if you haven't found nirvana yet." Good question. I have been on a quest for 3 years to find a pen I like. After going through, and discarding, pretty much every non-fountain pen sold by office supply stores and Amazon, I have now moved onto fountain pens.

 

Have you checked the nib on the M400 for alignment? it seems that the nib is grossly out of alignment if it is that scratchy. I have heard that there are some quality control issues with some Pelikan nibs coming straight from the factory.

 

if you do not have a loup i would highly suggest you purchase yourself one so you can check the alignment on the tines. Also let your thumb nails grow out 2-3 mm (it will help when you actually adjust the tines).

 

Richard Binder checks and adjusts his pens before they are sold, how do those pens feel in comparision?

 

It does not sound like it is a question of ink Noodlers is pretty free flowing ink although ive never tried Noodlers BB

[JMichael]

Don't know how you hold a pen, but if it is too vertical, that could be a contributor to your problem.

[marie9999]

Hi GMT -

 

Welcome to the obsession - lol.

 

My first fountain pen was an M600 and after trying to write with it for a couple of weeks it was rotated to the back of the pen box while I continued to collect rollerballs.

 

A couple of years later one of my Pelikan rollerbacks broke (long story) and I sent to John Mottishaw for repair... on a whim I included the M600 for nib adjustment.

 

Wow-o-wow... it was an absolutely amazing transformation. John has some info and videoes on the website where he demonstrates the standard pre-check before selling/shipping any Pelikan... apparently there are frequent alignment issues... www.nibs.com.

 

Customization to stub, left oblique, etc. is an additional expense but I've found that the extra $55 to $100 on customization to give the "perfect" writing experience is a small increase if the alternative is to spend $500 on a pen that sits in the back of my pen box. My current favorite pen is a Pelikan M805 Triple Broad that John customized to a left oblique. It effortlessly brings so much expression to my handwriting!!!

 

Additionally, while I love to handle a pen before buying, I have found that sometimes a nib may be accidentally damaged during handling/dipping by prior potential customers... you should be able to ask the local pen store about this and see if they can look at the nib if you don't have a loop, etc.

 

Best of luck to you - Marie

Edited January 5, 2013 by marie9999

[jttoft]

Forgive me, but it sounds to me a little like you are misusing the pens. If a Vanishing Point and a Pelikan Souverän nib is scratchy for you, perhaps you are doing something wrong - or you have just been very very unlucky.

 

As the poster before me suggested, perhaps the pen's angle to the paper is wrong. Try experimenting with that a bit. Also, are you using pressure when writing? If you use excessive pressure, that can make the nib seem scratchy.

As for ink differences: In my experience, my Pelikan M215 steel nib feels significantly smoother with Pilot Iroshizuku ink than with Pelikan 4001 ink. I have yet to use anything else than Iroshizuku in my M600 - it's just wonderful ink - so I can't speak about the performance of that nib with different inks, but with Iroshizuku it's great.

 

There is some great guides and information you might want to take a look at if you feel the need on Richard Binder's site: http://www.richardspens.com

Edited January 5, 2013 by jttoft

[Bo Bo Olson]

Hold the pen after the big knuckle not before it like a ball point or roller ball.

 

In you have that problem with all pens it's your grip.

 

Look up in advanced search for 'Tripod'. &

Look up 'death grip'.

 

Do not press the pen hard, like a ball point. It is not a jack hammer.

 

Grip the pen like it is a featherless baby bird, not like you are trying to make bird paste.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Bo Bo Olson

[Nibwitz]

One thing you did not mention is the nib width. An EF or an M makes a big difference. In my experience, a M200 with a M nib is already very smooth, and not in the least scratchy.

So to sum things up the following can be wrong:

1. Narrow nib width

2. to steep an angle in holding the pen

3. nibs not well aligned (doubt that considering the amount of pens with which you're experiencing the same problem)

4. holding the pens upside down...

Edited January 6, 2013 by Nibwitz

[hairy_paperclip]

try a pilot varsity

[smcneely]

Hello, this is Sandy, and like Steve, I am new to fountain pens. I have also had a near identical experience as Steve with my two new Pelikans. I already had the nib replaced on my duo highlighter; the tines were clearly misaligned, even to my inexperienced eye. Abi at Chartpak was very nice to work with. I just inked my new Eternal Ice this week and am puzzled, too wondering if my difficulties are "just me." The ink doesn't flow immediately, and the pen sometimes skips. It scratches on the downstroke and when I stroke from right to left, for example when I write a capital T in cursive. I cannot see misalignment with the loop but was thinking about sending it Chartpak for a nib replacement. I came to FPN to see about troubleshooting and found this thread. I think I may be holding the pen incorrectly, because there is definitely a "sweet spot" such as described on Richard Binder's web site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/ttp/sweetspot.htm

 

I am using a Quo Vadis notebook and Noodler's Bernanke Blue. I'll keep working with it and watch the location to my knuckle and relax the hand as suggested earlier. I didn't realize that writing with FPs would take getting used to. I wonder if I need an oblique, but I don't know how to tell. I am enjoying the hobby and reading everyone's posts. Thanks to all for any additional suggestions for us "newbies."

 

UPDATE: I've been practicing for the past couple of hours with a more relaxed hand and angle, and although better, it still seems like something is wrong. The pen skips a lot, and the "sweet spot" seems to be so small that the slightest turn or angle causes skipping or scratchiness. I found the "sweet spot" but I can't hang onto it for long. Does this make sense?

Edited January 9, 2013 by smcneely

[nickapos]

Hello, this is Sandy, and like Steve, I am new to fountain pens. I have also had a near identical experience as Steve with my two new Pelikans. I already had the nib replaced on my duo highlighter; the tines were clearly misaligned, even to my inexperienced eye. Abi at Chartpak was very nice to work with. I just inked my new Eternal Ice this week and am puzzled, too wondering if my difficulties are "just me." The ink doesn't flow immediately, and the pen sometimes skips. It scratches on the downstroke and when I stroke from right to left, for example when I write a capital T in cursive. I cannot see misalignment with the loop but was thinking about sending it Chartpak for a nib replacement. I came to FPN to see about troubleshooting and found this thread. I think I may be holding the pen incorrectly, because there is definitely a "sweet spot" such as described on Richard Binder's web site: http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/ttp/sweetspot.htm

 

I am using a Quo Vadis notebook and Noodler's Bernanke Blue. I'll keep working with it and watch the location to my knuckle and relax the hand as suggested earlier. I didn't realize that writing with FPs would take getting used to. I wonder if I need an oblique, but I don't know how to tell. I am enjoying the hobby and reading everyone's posts. Thanks to all for any additional suggestions for us "newbies."

 

UPDATE: I've been practicing for the past couple of hours with a more relaxed hand and angle, and although better, it still seems like something is wrong. The pen skips a lot, and the "sweet spot" seems to be so small that the slightest turn or angle causes skipping or scratchiness. I found the "sweet spot" but I can't hang onto it for long. Does this make sense?

That is not a normal behaviour for a new pen. Flush the pen, check the alignment of the tines, the alignment of nib/feed and at last check out if the nib slit is too tight for the ink to flow.

Writing with a FP should be smooth. There are pens that normally have some feedback but nothing like your description.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Forefinger up method of grasping a fountain pen. An automatic very light grip.

The pen rests 1/3 of an inch down from the nail junction, so it can't cause any pain, from too much pressure.

The little ink mark.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0415.jpg

 

The thumb is flat to the pen held at 09:30.

The forefinger rests at 12 or 12:30 or 13:00.

 

All you are doing is letting the pen rest in your grasp. I don't like the word grip, in it insinuates more pressure.

 

Normally if the pen is not posted or if I want to hold the pen at the stat of the web of my thumb, I have the thumb lower, so it is even with the last 1/3 of the first finger joint.

 

If I want the pen to rest in the depth of the web of my thumb, I have the end of the nail of the thumb even with the crease of the forefinger.

 

Weight of the pen, which will rest naturally can make it a bit higher or lower.

 

Hold the pen like it's a featherless baby bird. You don't got to grab hold like you are hanging from a tree branch.

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0417.jpg

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0418.jpg

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0419.jpg

Edited January 9, 2013 by Bo Bo Olson

[PeterPenPencil]

And, very important to notice is the paper he is using, don't forget that there are some brands (or no brands at all) that are not manufactured for fountain pens.