Crooked Targa Nib Slits?

[Watermonkey314]

For background, these are the same pens I mentioned here (2 Targas for $15 each at a local vintage market). I've flushed both successfully thanks to your help, and I've inked the matte black 1002 with Waterman Inspired / South Sea Blue. It writes very nicely and is in contention for being one of my favorites - what's holding it back is some occasional skipping (mainly on cheap paper, which I regrettably have to deal with). Because of this skipping, I started looking at the nib more closely, and I noticed that the slits on the two Targas seem a bit... off-center.

 

 

You can see it (hopefully) here - the slit doesn't neatly bisect the breather hole.

 

Likewise, the Targa 1000 has a similar issue (apologies about the lack of focus, but it's hard to convince my iPad to focus on a pen and not the background - any tips? I have no real cameras and no budget for them after pen expenses...

 

 

I haven't inked the 1000 yet (I don't have a spare Sheaffer cartridge or converter), so I don't know how it writes. The 1002 normally writes well but sometimes skips badly in certain directions. I'm still working on when exactly it happens, since it's either fine or quite bad.

 

1) Is the angle in the slit normal?
2) If not, what is its relationship to the skipping?

[Charles Rice]

I looked at all my Targas, and none are off center. That being said, a little off center is not a problem. I have several pens that are a little off center, and they write just fine.

[Ernst Bitterman]

It's not normal, but it's certainly known. One assumes it was considered to be within parameters by Sheaffer QC at the time (or it was the first day back after a party weekend). If you were having problems with scratching, I'd say the offset is behind it (one tine resists deformation better), but skipping is usually down more to feed flow problems, and that usually means more cleaning. There MAY be some slight deformity/misalignment, since you say the skipping in one is specific to direction, and that in turn may come back to the offset, but the solution will be either working the tines for better alignment or very light reshaping of the tipping.