My brand new 146 LeGrand is a bit of a skipper!

[TheDiplomat]

Hi there folks!

I searched and searched for a similar topic but couldn’t find one. Please forgive me if my re-heating old chops with this one.

I got a new 146 from a boutique here in Abu Dhabi. It’s lovely, it’s all I ever wanted... but! It sometimes skips on downstrokes, especially on more ink-resistant paper (Rhodia, Mnemosyne).

Now, as experienced fountain pen lovers, would you advise me to run back to the boutique and politely request some solutions, or keep using it and hope it goes away?

it skips considerably less/doesn’t skip on lower grade, more absorbent paper...

Again, sorry if this has been discussed already.

cheers!

[maclink]

Congratulations on your nice pen! 

 

I would continue using it and try a different ink as well.  What ink are you using with it?  What nib grind did your pen come with? Fine, medium, broad..... ?

[omarcenaro]

I would use it a little more and try another ink as suggested but after that I would take it back to the boutique.

[TheDiplomat]

7 hours ago, maclink said:

Congratulations on your nice pen! 

 

I would continue using it and try a different ink as well.  What ink are you using with it?  What nib grind did your pen come with? Fine, medium, broad..... ?

 

Thanks a lot!

It is a lovely pen indeed, I've been drooling at it for months before taking the brave decision to spend the ridicolous 600 Euro on it :))

 

It is a fine nib, as you know they run a bit on the medium side and are pretty wet - actually it's very wet.

The ink is Montblanc Mystery Black - I took MB's instructions to use MB inks only to heart

 

The skipping isn't ruining the writing experience, it'd happen, say, 5 times per page on ink resistant paper, about 2 times on cheaper paper. It's just that all my Lamy, Diplomats and Jinhaos don't ever skip and I'd expect from Montlblanc...

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep writing and observing.

 

Have a good day folks.

[maclink]

My 146 Le Petit Prince, with a F nib, was a skipper when I initially got it.  It would skip on that initial  downstroke especially, and it had a glossy (for want of a better word) feel when writing.  The problem was worse on Rhodia paper.  I kept writing and now the problem is gone and the nib now has a sweet touch of feedback.  It took a couple fills worth of writing for this to happen.  I think this should happen for you as well.  I'm curious how you get on with it though.   

 

Another of my 146's, but with a broad nib also is a bit problematic in that it hardstarts after pausing writing for more than just a few seconds.  It's a very smooth nib, although on inspection, I don't see any sign of baby's bottoming.  The ink flows very well once I'm busy writing and can write without problem quite quickly indeed. Again, the problem seems to be dissipating although it isn't yet gone.  I'll be inking it up again soon and taking it for another spin.

[TheDiplomat]

1 hour ago, maclink said:

My 146 Le Petit Prince, with a F nib, was a skipper when I initially got it.  It would skip on that initial  downstroke especially, and it had a glossy (for want of a better word) feel when writing.  The problem was worse on Rhodia paper.  I kept writing and now the problem is gone and the nib now has a sweet touch of feedback.  It took a couple fills worth of writing for this to happen.  I think this should happen for you as well.  I'm curious how you get on with it though.   

 

Well, this sounds exactly like my case. I have only refilled it once so far, so I'm on my second fill. I too hope to have the problem resolved on its own. In general, that's my favourite kind of problems

 

Quote

Another of my 146's, but with a broad nib also is a bit problematic in that it hardstarts after pausing writing for more than just a few seconds.  It's a very smooth nib, although on inspection, I don't see any sign of baby's bottoming.  The ink flows very well once I'm busy writing and can write without problem quite quickly indeed. Again, the problem seems to be dissipating although it isn't yet gone.  I'll be inking it up again soon and taking it for another spin.

 

Regarding your B-nibbed 146, I can't offer any smart input but can only say I've heard people having that issue too.

 

Thanks, guys!

Edited February 25, 2021 by TheDiplomat

[meiers]

Give it some time. This happens occasionally with new nibs. Using then pen and refilling it daily helps flush out the ink channel. 

[TheDiplomat]

39 minutes ago, meiers said:

Give it some time. This happens occasionally with new nibs. Using then pen and refilling it daily helps flush out the ink channel. 

Thanks! Another reassuring voice

[meiers]

A couple of years ago I purchased a heritage 1912 fine nib that skipped and misbehaved very badly right out of the box. For three weeks I made it my daily and only writer. Every day I refilled the pen two or three times with Montblanc midnight blue. And just kept using it patiently. Suddenly — without any fanfare — the nib turned into a stellar writer. 

[KAC]

I agree with the comments already posted (different ink, different paper) with one proviso: I had that problem with my 149 and had no success. The problem continued with a "hard start" in the morning and intermittent skipping on the down stroke later in the day but, since I mostly use vintage MB pens, I was too lazy to do anything about it.

 

About two months ago, I sent the pen to MB service for other reasons and noted this problem existed on the service statement. When I received the pen in the return mail about a week ago, the nib worked perfectly and it has continued to do so subsequently. Some "tuning" was obviously needed and that was done as part of this servicing.

 

Moral of the story: try the easiest solution first and - if those don't work and before it's too late - have it attended to by MB. It may need adjustment and it's cheaper and easier to deal with soon after purchase.

[TheDiplomat]

KAC, thanks!

[agentdaffy007]

My MB 149 flex was skipping on the downstroke. Sent to to MBSC which sent it to Germany. Came back after 6 weeks. No more skipping on downstrokes. Nib was scratchy because it is an EF nib after all, no problem, I fixed that myself. Now the pen is flawless.

 

Moral of the story, send it in. I feel that MB Germany is better at handling these flow issues.

[TheDiplomat]

1 hour ago, agentdaffy007 said:

 

Moral of the story, send it in. I feel that MB Germany is better at handling these flow issues.

Thanks for yet another input! I’ll bear that in mind. I’ll give it a go for 2-3 weeks and if does not improve, I’ll take to the boutique for them to send it to service (most likely in Dubai, not Germany I suppose).

Here comes another question: I only use MB ink as they had pretty serious faces about not using any other inks. What do you guys think? Iroshizuku, Lamy and all the nice inks we love: safe for a Meisterstück?

[CS388]

2 hours ago, TheDiplomat said:

 Iroshizuku, Lamy and all the nice inks we love: safe for a Meisterstück?

 

Absolutely.

[TheDiplomat]

14 minutes ago, CS388 said:

 

Absolutely.

😍

[TheDiplomat]

So that’s a “test page”. Please ignore the random text as it was just a stream of thoughts to fill the page. 
The skips are highlighted, there’s ten of them. 
What do you think?

Edited February 26, 2021 by TheDiplomat

[meiers]

I would keep using the pen for a few weeks. This is what my brand new Heritage 1912 did for two weeks. It drove me crazy until suddenly...
If the problem doesn’t clear up, send your pen to MB service along with this writing sample. 

[JCC123]

You may want to break in the pen faster by doing figure 8s on some rougher paper. Just keep doing it until the nib starts to feel smoother. Then check to see if that clears up the skips. If not, send it in for service.

[Tasmith]

8 hours ago, TheDiplomat said:

Thanks for yet another input! I’ll bear that in mind. I’ll give it a go for 2-3 weeks and if does not improve, I’ll take to the boutique for them to send it to service (most likely in Dubai, not Germany I suppose).

Here comes another question: I only use MB ink as they had pretty serious faces about not using any other inks. What do you guys think? Iroshizuku, Lamy and all the nice inks we love: safe for a Meisterstück?

I've neen using Platinum Pigmented Blue in my 146 since last June and it is by far my favorite ink to use in it.

[TheDiplomat]

Guys, thank you so much! I’ve been in a couple of forums in my life before and never have I met such a caring community! Good karma all around. Really, thank you! 🙏