Is your fountain pen scratchy, inconsistent, or just not writing the way you’d like?
In this video, we’ll go over some of the most common fountain pen problems and show you how to solve them.
First, let’s look at the anatomy of a nib.
The tip is the part of the nib that touches the writing surface.
The slit divides the nib into two halves, and each side is a tine.
Most nibs have a circular breather hole in the center of the nib. The piece of plastic that the nib rests
on is called the feed. A channel on the top of the feed brings ink to the tip of the nib.
Nibs are carefully engineered, and even the slightest adjustment can have significant and
permanent results. When fixing your nibs, be sure to work slowly and test often.
Note that using these techniques may void any manufacturer’s warranty the pen has.
We recommend using the following tools
to make troubleshooting your nibs easier:
Many nib issues are not visible to the naked eye. Use a loupe or magnifying glass with at least 10x
magnification to carefully examine a nib. A grip or thin, smooth towel. A grip or thin
towel makes it easier and more comfortable to hold a nib.
Rubber jar grips and cleaning cloths for glasses are both suitable.
A scratchy nib will dig into the paper as you write.
Scratchiness is usually caused by misaligned tines or other imperfections at the tip of the nib.
Improperly aligned tines can cause scratchiness.
The most common form of misaligned tines is when one tine is higher or lower than the other.
To correct this issue, follow these steps: With a fingertip placed on the top of the nib,
press the tip of the nib down gently but firmly against a hard surface.
Rock the nib from side to side for five to ten seconds.
Check the nib to see if the tines are still misaligned. If so, repeat this step as necessary.
Once the tines are aligned, you may notice that the tips have been bent up slightly. Turn the nib over
and with a fingertip on the underside of the feed, press down briefly several times in a row. If the
tips are still bent, repeat this step.
If the tines are properly aligned but the nib is still scratchy,
use a magnifier to examine the tip of the nib for these two uncommon but serious issues:
asymmetrical tines and damaged tips. Asymmetrical tines have one side that is longer
or shorter than the other. Damaged tips have surface irregularities like pits or scratches.
These issues are harder to fix at home on your own.
Scratchiness can also occur if the surface of the tip is too rough, or if the inside
edges of the tip are too sharp. You can try to make the nib smoother by lightly polishing it.
This is the last step you should take after checking the tines, as it can
make misaligned tines or damaged tips worse. One polishing technique that is relatively safe
is to use a paper bag, like one you would receive from a grocery store.
With ink installed in the pen, draw ten to twenty figure eights on the paper using your
normal writing angle and pressure. Test the pen for smoothness on regular paper.
If the nib is still scratchy, repeat this step.
This method can take a little time to produce noticeable results
and might not work with all nibs. If you find that the nib is cutting into the paper bag,
stop immediately. The nib is likely too scratchy to fix and the paper fibers may clog the nib.
“Flow” is how quickly a pen puts ink onto the paper.
Dry or inconsistent flow can cause the ink to skip or appear washed out.
It can also cause hard starts, or small skips at the beginning of pen strokes.
Before you try to diagnose the issue, give your pen a good cleaning.
Paper fibers and dried ink can clog a pen, causing poor ink flow. Click the card above to watch
our video on cleaning fountain pens.
If your nib still does not flow well, follow these steps:
First, check to make sure that the nib and feed are installed properly in the pen.
The nib slit should line up with the ink channel on the top, which is visible through the nib’s breather hole.
If the slit and ink channel do not line up, manually adjust the nib and feed so that they do.
Next, see if the nib is sitting firmly against the entire top surface of the feed.
If there is a gap between the nib and feed, you can correct it with the following steps:
Place a fingertip on the underside of the feed. Press the top of the nib gently but
firmly against the edge of a hard surface. Then slowly roll the nib from base to tip against
the surface. Check the nib to see if the gap is still present. If so, repeat this step.
When the nib and feed are aligned, you may notice that the tips have bent down slightly. Turn the
nib over and with a fingertip on the top of the nib, press down briefly several times in a row.
If the tips are still bent, repeat this step.
With a clean, dry pen, hold the nib up to a light so that it shines through the slit. Use
a magnifier to examine the nib. The slit should narrow slightly towards the tip, but the tines
should not be touching. Touching or splayed tines can cause poor or inconsistent flow.
If the tines are touching, slowly press the tip of the nib down on a hard surface
so that the tines of the nib spread no more than one or two millimeters apart.
Hold down for a few seconds and release. Check the nib to see if the tines are still touching. If so,
repeat this step. This process can take some time, but most tines should loosen eventually.
Do not try to speed up the process by pressing harder or for longer periods,
as this can result in splayed tines or even permanent damage.
If the tines are splayed, roll the top of the nib on the edge of a hard surface.
Next, with a fingertip on the underside of the feed, press the top side of the
tip against a hard surface and rock the nib from side to side for five to ten seconds.
Repeat this step as necessary. With a fingertip on the side of one tine,
press the tip of the other tine down on a hard surface and hold for several seconds.
Alternate sides and repeat as necessary.
Grip the sides of the tines between two fingertips and squeeze them firmly for five to ten seconds,
repeating as necessary. This can be uncomfortable, so we recommend using a jar grip or thin towel to
cushion your fingertips.
If your fountain pen skips on the first pen stroke after a brief pause but writes well otherwise,
the problem could be “baby’s bottom.” The following workarounds won’t solve the problem,
but they will alleviate the symptoms: Press a little harder while you’re writing.
Use paper that is less smooth and more absorbent.
Or use a wetter ink. Some of our favorites are Diamine, Pilot Iroshizuku, or Waterman.
A pen with wet flow will create wide, wet lines that can make your nib seem broader and take a
long time to dry. It might even cause ink to drip or leak from your nib. Here are steps you can take
to address a nib with excessive ink flow:
Heat like warm weather or your body temperature can cause the air inside a pen to expand
and force ink out the feed. Eyedropper-filled pens are the most prone to this issue,
but it can affect any fountain pen regardless of filling system.
One way to alleviate the problem, particularly with eyedroppered fountain pens,
is to keep the reservoir at least a third full of ink at all times. More ink in the
barrel means there is less air that can expand.
If you're writing during hot weather, maybe take a break
or go somewhere with air conditioning.
An air leak might occur when the opening of an ink cartridge or converter does not form
an airtight seal with the nib section.
Make sure the cartridge or converter is installed firmly.
Then if that doesn't work, try installing a different cartridge or converter in the pen.
You can try to reduce ink flow by tightening the gap between the nib’s tines.
Grip the sides of the tines with your fingertips and squeeze them for five to ten seconds,
repeating as needed. Use a rubber grip or soft cloth to cushion your fingers.
With a little work and some inky fingers, you can fix or tune a fountain pen
to write the way you want. Did this video help you solve your fountain pen problem?
Let us know in the comments below.
Hopefully we've talked about any issues that you might run into.
But the most important tip we can give is not to fix a pen that isn't broken.
If your pen has a nib slit that isn't perfectly aligned,
or the tines aren't perfectly cut, but it still writes well
then it doesn't need to be adjusted.
Thanks for watching!