Pen skipping only in one notebook

[gfrank]

Hello, this is my first time posting here so I hope I've done this right and posted in the right place. 

 

I have a Kaweco Sport that I love with a fine nib. I recently purchased a 52 GSM Tomoe River Paper notebook from Good Inkpressions. I noticed that I was having major problems with my pen skipping whenever I tried to write in this notebook. At first I thought it was my pen and I actually totally replaced the nib with a new one. I also switched to a different ink. The pen still skips like crazy. But it's only in this notebook. When I write in other notebooks with Tomoe River Paper the writing is smooth and wonderful. I don't know if there is some kind of weird residue or something in the Good Inkpressions notebook. It's a very popular shop and I haven't seen any negative reviews. Has anyone else had this happen before?

[Beechwood]

Must admit that I am prejudiced for a couple of reasons, I have had 3 Kawecos and had problems with them all and I have never had the wonderful experience that others have had with Tomoe River, at one time I likened it to the Emperors New Clothes, that may have been harsh, it just didn't work for me. Tomoe River is non absorbent and this can exacerbate any out of alignmentness of a nib, Jetpens have a good Youtube vid on nib problems including alignment. 

 

However.

 

I once had a notebook where the pen performed differently on individual pages.

 

Be absolutely certain that it is one notebook out of all  other forms of paper, especially Rhodia or a premium writing paper and use an easy no fuss ink such as Parker or Waterman.

 

When you are ready, wash your hands in hot water. take a sheet of paper and put it behind a new untouched sheet of the notebook, then take another sheet of paper 3/4 way down the face of the page. Rest your hand on the piece of paper and try writing again. If you still have problems with skipping then keep your notebook for pencil or ballpoint, unless you have another FP than you can borrow or own.

 

 

[Mechanical]

 

3 hours ago, gfrank said:

Hello, this is my first time posting here so I hope I've done this right and posted in the right place. 

Hey @gfrank, welcome!

 

May I ask what inks are you using? I’m wondering if they are particularly “dry” inks, for example?  Are you using cartridge or converter?  Or eyedropper?

 

And, just checking, can you write in this notebook just fine with a ballpoint or gel pen?  

 

@Beechwood had some good suggestions.  I think I would also completely flush the pen if you haven’t already.  

 

It’s conceivable that there is something wrong with this particular notebook… though I do have a bunch of their TR notebooks and haven’t run into this.

 

 

[gfrank]

@Mechanical I use J Herbin bottled ink with a converter. I tried testing a few other pens. My Sarasa gel pen skipped in one spot. Otherwise, no problems. My Uni Ball One pen skips too. Neither are nearly as bad as my Kaweco. I have another Kaweco and it seemed to do fine. It's weird. Lastly, I tried using my Kaweco in another notebook (also Tomoe River paper) and it skipped ever so slightly on the upstroke of my letter T. I still have to try Beechwood's test. Will probably do that tomorrow. Thanks for your feedback!

[Mechanical]

Weird, indeed.  That you get skipping with the Sarasa and Uni Ball makes me think it is the paper.  That it works with a different Kawecos makes me think it is the pen.  So perhaps it is some of both?

 

As a data point:  I use J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune in my Kaweco Sport <F> in a Good Inkpressions TR A5 notebook and no problems.  Just to rule out one possible problem, are you using one of the Herbin inks shimmer particles?  Also, what ink are you using in the Kaweco that works well with this paper?  Same ink?

 

Did you try a complete flushing and soaking?

 

That you get, in some cases, skipping in one direction (upstroke of the t) could  mean there is a slight misalignment of the tines.  One can unconsciously rotate the pen, and that can cause skipping, but I don’t think that’s the case here since you don’t have problems with the other Kaweco.

[gfrank]

@Mechanical I'm so sorry for my late response. It's been a crazy week. It's definitely the pen. While I do think the paper in the Good Inkpressions notebook is not quite as smooth as some of my other Tomoe River paper notebooks, I think I can confirm that my pen just sucks. I'm so bummed. It was performing beautifully until recently. Here's a quick summary of everything that's happened:

 

- Purchased my Kaweco Sport about six months ago from a local stationary store with an Extra Fine nib. I used the included cartridge and everything was fantastic.

- About a month ago I switched to Diamine ink cartridges I purchased from JetPens. I don't know if the ink was old but they just didn't work. The ink was so dry it was like barely anything was getting through. I tried some troubleshooting (flushing the pen, widening the channel using an X-acto knife, trying to separate the tines by applying a little pressure using my fingernail). Nothing seemed to work and I was worried with all the fussing I did maybe I messed up the nib.

-Ordered a brand new nib from Gold Spot pens (this time I bought a Fine nib). Replaced the nib and also switched to the bottled J Herbin ink. No shimmer particles. I am using the color Lie de The. 

 

Anyway, that's so you can get the full picture. I did a flush as you recommended. I also tried @Beechwood's test and it's still skipping. The other day it just quit on me altogether. I don't know what to do next. Also, in case it's not obvious, I am a novice when it comes to fountain pens, so I really don't know what I'm doing. Thanks so much for your input!

[Mechanical]

@gfrank, I wonder if you have a pen club nearby?  If so, they might be able to help.  This would be the best path forward, I think.

 

It seems that you’ve already done all the usual things, and then some.  In terms of soaking and flushing, have you already tried adding a drop of dish detergent?  Also, for some pens, I’ve soaked for days, flushed, soaked, and then flushed again.  And then dried, of course.

 

Something more along the lines of an experiment: you could try adding the most minute bit of dish detergent to an ink sample.  I would think this would make your pen simply gush.  If not, do you feel like you got the new nib all the way in?  And is the slit in the nib lined up with the channel in the underlying feed?  Really, I’m just grasping at straws at this point… 🙁