Fountain Pen Skipping? How to Fix Ink Flow & Hard Starts

There is nothing quite as frustrating as sitting down to write, opening your favorite notebook, touching your fountain pen to the page, and... nothing happens. Or worse, the pen starts writing, but the line constantly breaks and skips across the paper like a marker running out of juice.

In the stationery world, these issues are known as "hard starts" (when a pen refuses to write initially) and "skipping" (when the ink flow interrupts mid-sentence).

While it might feel like your pen is broken, the good news is that 95% of the time, skipping is caused by a very simple, easily fixable issue. As a pen maker, I see these common culprits all the time. Here is a step-by-step troubleshooting guide to get your ink flowing flawlessly again.

1. The Most Common Culprit: Dried Ink

If your pen has been sitting unused on your desk for a couple of weeks, the water inside the ink at the very tip of the nib has likely evaporated. This leaves behind a tiny, microscopic plug of dried dye or pigment that blocks the ink path.

• The Quick Fix: Don't press down hard on the page (this can bend the nib!). Instead, dip the very tip of the nib into a small cup of clean, room-temperature water for just a second, then scribble gently on a paper towel. The water will dissolve the dried plug and draw the fresh ink down.

• The Long-Term Prevention: Always ensure your pen cap is securely clicked or screwed on when you aren't actively writing.

2. Microscopic Paper Fibers in the Nib

Look closely at the tip of your pen. A fountain pen nib relies on a tiny, microscopic slit to feed ink down to the paper using capillary action. If you regularly write on cheap, fibrous paper (like standard copy paper or cheap notepad refills), the sharp tines of the nib can act like a tiny plow, catching loose paper fibers.

Over time, these fibers get wedged inside the nib slit, acting like a tiny dam that blocks the ink from touching the page.

• The Fix: Take a piece of lint-free paper towel or a dedicated brass shim (a paper-thin piece of brass used by pen enthusiasts) and gently draw it through the slit from the breather hole down to the tip to clear out any trapped debris.

3. Oil Residue from Manufacturing (Or Your Hands)

If your pen is brand new out of the box and it's skipping, the issue is often microscopic oils. During the manufacturing process, cutting oils can stick to the metal nib and plastic feed. Furthermore, if you ever accidentally touch the flat face of the nib with your bare fingers, the natural oils from your skin can coat the metal.

Because ink is water-based, it will literally repel off the oil, breaking the capillary action.

• The Fix: Give the pen a quick flush. Disassemble the ink converter, and flush a mixture of room-temperature water with a single drop of mild dish soap through the section, followed by a rinse of clean water. The soap breaks down the oils instantly.

4. "Baby's Bottom" (A Tuning Alignment Issue)

If you have tried cleaning your pen, changing the ink, and using premium paper, but it still consistently refuses to start writing on smooth paper, you might be dealing with a geometric issue known as "Baby's Bottom."

This happens when the tipping material on the end of the nib has been polished a little too aggressively, causing the inner edges of the tines to become overly rounded. Instead of forming a crisp point where the ink can meet the page, the rounded edges create a tiny gap. The ink stays trapped in the gap and never actually touches the paper.

• The Fix: This is an instance where a professional touch helps. A pen artisan can easily tune or slightly grind the nib on micro-mesh smoothing sticks to flatten the profile and bring the ink back into perfect contact with the page.

Frequently Asked Questions (People Also Ask)

Why does my fountain pen write fine at first and then dry up?

This is usually a sign of a "poor feed." The ink is flowing out of the nib faster than air can get back up into the cartridge or converter to replace it, creating a vacuum. Flushing the pen thoroughly or switching to a wetter, more free-flowing ink usually solves this.

Can left-handed writing cause skipping?

Yes, it can. Because lefties often push the pen across the page rather than pulling it, they can accidentally alter the angle of the nib, causing one side of the tip to lift off the paper. Finding the "sweet spot" and keeping the nib flat to the page is key.

Does the type of ink cause skipping?

Absolutely. Some inks are "dry" (containing less lubricants), while others are "wet." Shimmering inks containing tiny glitter particles can also physically clog the narrow channels of a pen's feed if left sitting too long.

Flawless Performance from Springfield Pens

A beautiful pen body is nothing without a perfectly tuned engine. At Springfield Pens in New Westminster, we don't just turn gorgeous exotic woods and custom resins—we individually test and hand-tune every single writing instrument before it leaves our studio.

We ensure the ink channels are clear, the tines are perfectly aligned, and the flow is balanced so you can experience the pure, uninterrupted joy of writing from the very first stroke.