When I bought my first fountain pen twelve years ago, I plunged into a completely new world of writing mont blanc pen. Because I'd only used ballpoint pens before, I encountered problems without names. Fountain Pen Basics are posts for new fountain pen users who are learning the ropes. The series will introduce fountain pen terminology by looking at the solutions to common fountain pen problemsIn last month's column cheap mont blanc pen, I examined the problem of feathering (the spread of ink through porous paper)–a vexing issue for any new pen owner. While feathering usually has an easy solution (change the ink or the paper), the next most common fountain pen problem is a more thorny issue. Your new fountain pen has been fitted with its first cartridge, or filled with your favorite ink. You apply the nib to paper…only to have the pen start, stop, and leave gaping blank spots in the middle of words mont blanc boheme. This problem is called skipping, and it is the result of an uneven flow of ink to the tip of the pen. Of all of the issues a fountain pen can have, skipping can be the most difficult problem to diagnose. There are three common causes of skipping. The most common cause in a new pen are leftover oils and grit from the manufacturing process in the nib feed.  The second cause of skipping is the ink itself mont blanc meisterstuck. In pens that are filled with a boutique ink, skipping can be triggered by an ink with poor flow. Poor flow inks may have agents that clog a nib, or that dries too quickly when the pen is uncapped. Levenger inks often dry on the nib and have a finicky flow. The last cause of skipping is often the hardest to fix: the nib itself is defective. Defective nibs are ones with improperly ground tips mont blanc starwalker, or misaligned tines. Improperly ground nibs are nibs whose tips are too round to apply the ink consistently to paper. Nibs that are improperly aligned have their tines out-of-plane with each other; that is to say, the two halves of the nib do not touch and cannot evenly apply ink to the surface of the paper. The best way to deal with fountain pen skipping is to start small. Since a clogged feed is the most common cause of new pen skipping, I recommend flushing all new fountain pens before using them for the first time mont blanc greta garbo. Flushing is a simple cleaning technique. Unscrew the nib from the fountain pen body. If you have already attached a cartridge or converter, remove the ink. Using a very diluted dot of dish soap, gently run water through the collector (the tube that sticks out into the cartridge). Allow the water to flow through the nib tip for a minute or two. Make sure to use a very low flow of water, so as not to damage the internal parts of the ink feed mont blanc etoile. Allow the nib to dry for at least a half-hour. Wipe the nib with a cloth (not a tissue or paper towel, whose cotton fibers could catch in the nib). Attach the cartridge/converter. Work the ink through the nib feed by holding it as though you are going to write. To confirm that the ink is reaching the nib, dab the breather hole against a paper towel (the breather hole is the round circle on the nib). Do not dab the tip against a paper towel mont blanc ingrid bergman. Catching fibers from a paper towel in the tip can worsen your skipping problem. If the first flushing did not work, attempt a second flushing with ink. To flush a pen with ink, fill a converter or cartridge and attach it to the collector. Squeeze the cartridge gently with your fingers. Wait for the ink to work itself through the feed. It should run down the nib. Dab this excess ink on a paper towel (using the breather hole) or on blotting paper if you have any on hand mont blanc john lennon. If the pen is a piston filler or vacuum filler, research the filling system before you start with an ink flushing. Piston fillers are uncommon, and vacuum fillers are rare, but they are still available on the market. The Pelikan M205 is a piston-filler. Piston fillers and vacuum fillers both draw ink into their reservoirs using the pen nib. To flush either of these pens, you may only need to fill and blot the pens rather than do a full fill & flush. Some pen enthusiasts swear by ultrasonic cleaners to keep their nib feeds squeaky clean. Ultrasonic cleaners start in the $80 range mont blanc marlene dietrich. Personally, I have never had cause to purchase one in my years of pen collecting. However, if recurrent clogs are a problem with your nib feed and the thought of flushing nibs wearies you, an ultrasonic cleaner might help ease the pain of weekly, or even daily, nib flushings.