# Do Fountain Pen nibs have a "break-in" period?



## ronsabbagh

After some careful deliberation, and with the help of this forum, I have decided to purchase a fountain pen. I am very happy with my Montblanc Starwalker ballpen (steel/rubber)..so I decided to purchase the matching fountain pen with medium nib.

I am not yet accustomed to using a fountain pen, so I would appreciate any input...but I was told that the nib needs "breaking-in"...so that some slight skipping is expected...and variations in stroke. What can I expect and for how long? I have been using the pen for 3 days now and I already notice an improvement...

Thanks for your help...

Ron


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## jhowton

The feel of them definitely changes the more you use them, they seem to become "smoother". To be honest though none of my Montblanc FPs have had any problems, they have all been excellent writers right out of the box and the only time I have had a problem with "skipping" has been when I tried some boutique type ink. Use a good quality ink and you should have a trouble free experience.


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## Shangas

The pen may require some cleaning before use. Flush repeatedly with water & try again.


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## Guillermo_P

Ron, good to hear you are joining the "writing instruments" legions...
I followed Shangas advice with all my (just 4 four) FP flushing them with water before use and never noticed a problem... always using proved inks (in my case Parker Quink both washable and "permanent").
Good luck, and enjoy your FP...

Guillermo


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## Shangas

I should mention that fountain pen nibs do *not* have a break-in period. It either works, or it doesn't. Every fountain pen nib has what is known as a 'sweet spot'. The 'sweet spot' is the point (angle and orientation) in the nib where the pen will write the smoothest or the best for the writer, according to his or her needs. Every nib has a sweet-spot and once you find it, you're set. The pen works, forget the break-in period. Fuel it up and take it for a swirl. 

If, however, the sweet-spot is not present, this means the nib is no good. It's highly unlikely that any amount of writing will fix this. In fact it might even make it worse. The solution is to send the pen to a nibmeister (that's a little play on words, 'meister' is German for 'master', so literally 'nibmaster') for a gentle sanding. This will smooth out the bumps in the nib and make it nice to write with.


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## Johnny J

I also have the MB steel and rubber fountain pen. I tried them out in a MB store and found that the width of the line was about the same for M or F points but felt the F point was not as smooth.


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## twblalock

...


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## djringjr

Johnny J said:


> I also have the MB steel and rubber fountain pen. I tried them out in a MB store and found that the width of the line was about the same for M or F points but felt the F point was not as smooth.


Hello Johnny, what often happens is that on poorer quality paper, the medium nib and the fine nib often look about the same size as far as lines on paper. With better paper, the ink doesn't spread as much or "feather". Finer nibs have a smaller "sweet spot" because they are smaller! Extra fine nibs, even less. A good XF or XXF nib with have a tiny bit of a lack of smoothness or "tooth" - but you will get a very fine line - like the old accountants used on green bookkeeping sheets.

The nib tip is super hard metal - usually a alloy of ruthenium, rhenium, and/or rhodium. With a lot of use they eventually become polished and that's about it. These metals from the platinum family of elements are HARD HARD HARD.

If a nib skips or isn't smooth after you buy a new pen - send it back immediately to the seller. The nib isn't adjusted correctly. The nib might be off center, the tines might be too close, or the space between the nib and the feed might be too little. Also there might be a defect in the feed - like the channel is not cut correctly.

One thing that you should do often is rinse the pen between inking. Also DO NOT let the ink dry in the pen - it will clog the feed and nib. If this does happen (and it hapens to all of us) the thing to do is soak the pen overnight (or more) in cool water (not hot as it will damage the pen). I also add some ammonia which is a good degreaser - often the feed will pick up machine oil or finger oils during manufacture. Shouldn't happen but often does.

The ball of the nib should "skate" on the paper - it should be effortless - that is why people love fountain pens. They write with almost no effort. if You have to coax the pen, bring it back - especially when new.

Usually large cities have a good pen shop - NYC, Boston, Chicago, Phiila, all have some old shops with pen repair people in them who can perform adjustmens on older pens - but for the new pen - have the maker make it right!!!

Best

David


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## Shangas

> There is no way that paper can wear down the tip of a nib. The break-in period is actually the writer getting used to the pen. If the paper could actually wear down the nib, the pen would have a very short lifespan indeed.


Wanna bet? I used the same fountain pen every day for five years. I can assure you in five years of literally daily use, a nib will definitely show some wear. Don't forget, please, that fountain pens can last decades. Fifty, seventy-five or even 100 years of writing will definitely wear down a nib. I've seen it happen myself.

Like I said earlier, I don't believe a nib has a break-in period. It either works or it doesn't. Once you find the sweet-spot, off you go. If, after extensive testing, you can't find the sweet-spot, then the nib requires some adjustments, but yes, they do wear down.


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## Johnny J

I was surprised by the experience. I have been using fountain pens since I was in college thirty years ago. In this case, I was in the Mont Blanc store and writing in my Moleskine notebook. Maybe a problem with their pen?


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## Shangas

I think I know what you mean. You have to understand that Montblanc shops keep test-pens for people to use. And there are HUNDREDS of people who use these pens. They get worn down and as such, may not function as well as they might have done when they were new. If you want a real representation of how good a certain nib/pen is, get one out of a box and test it. When I went to buy my (so far, only one) Montblanc, I tested pens that were stored in boxes (the manager let me) and they were smooth and unblemished. 

With regards to skipping, that may be because the pen needs a clean. But NO new fountain pen should ever be scratchy.


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## brian brant

Oh, this is very cool. I'm on this forum for watches and I discover my first passion, fountain pens, is also nicely attended.

My current Parker Maxima (made in England) with 35 years of use seems to have made its home in my hand at a certain angle, and my grip conforms to its shape perfectly. I've been under the impression the gold nib probably wore a bit, but maybe it's just my relationship that has mellowed.

I have a 20-year old Sheaffer, larger but not Mont Blanc large, and it gets little use. Beautiful pen, but not quaint. The Parker is quaint. And a very fine equivalent of my old Parker went for close to $500 on ebay a few months ago. Needless to say, I was stunned.

I've owned Eisenstadts, several Watermans, a Parker 51 (first edition), a 21 and some I can't remember. As a lifelong journal-keeper, the idea of using a ballpoint pen felt corrupt and synthetic. But to chronicle my mortal existence with a fine fountain pen? That decision turned my humble life into a slight art.

....

My edit: I misspelled Eisenstadt! And I thought it was a German pen. Nope! U-S-A!


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## Shangas

Hey Brian, welcome.

If you haven't found it already, please head to www.fountainpennetwork.com - where you will recieve a very warm welcome.


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## Chupacabras

What some people consider scratchy, others call "feedback".

Personally, if a nib performs with anything other then zero drag for me it gets reworked. If I can't soften the scratch at home, no biggie as I prefer stubs and cursive italics so "standard" nibs just have an excuse to go out to the nibmeister.

Definitely check out FPN, the ink reviews alone are well worth your time.


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## brian brant

I took your advice and visited the site. The recent 'bay sales were eye-openers. My first Parker, a 51 with a little "First Edition" emblem in gold just below the clip, cost me exactly $27.50. I think I was about 15 years old. That was a giant pile of money for me; I probably had to mug a few dozen geezers to get it!

Being close to geezerdom myself now, I remember what got me involved with fountain pens. My 4th-grade teacher, Mrs. Crehan, used a burgundy 21 and wrote in perfect 'Palmer Method' script. She'd sign my report card: "Anne M. Crehan." There was an aristocratic character to that signature, unlike any other teachers' logos. She was kind of a hard-a**, too. So it seemed like a good fit. 

When I spotted a turquoise Parker 51 ad in a magazine the year it was introduced as "the world's first capillary pen," I fell hard. Decades later, I also bought a new (old stock) 21 in burgundy, just like Mrs. Crehan's. I even became a college prof, but not because of any inspiration from my former 'guides'... just a big ego, I think.

As a life-long painter, there is a physical need to relate to the instrument - pen or brush - that I had not appreciated until recently. I've always felt it, but never quite grasped it as an actual need. 

I'm an endless writer - usually of just stuff - but this fountain pen forum has nudged an emotional 'something' that's been dormant for decades. In fact, last night I watched early episodes of "The Howdy Doody Show."

Hey. 

So who knows what is going to trigger what. I won't go into the saga of why I'm into watches on a fountain pen site! (Grandpa Benny, if you're up there somewhere keeping track of everyone, Mom's doing OK. And thanks for those broken watches!)


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## Kafka-Cloud

I've never seen any break in period for any pens I owned.

Some older pen do wear but this is because they were not all iridium tipped. Esterbrooks nib will wear down with time.

However, if you use very coarse paper to write it may wear down the nib. Some use brown bag to finish off there work to smoothen a nib.

This being said, ''break-in'' will be insubstantial. It may take years to have a significant effect on metal. Normally break in is the adaptation of the user to the pen, as mentionned previously.

But skiping in new pens normally occurs due to oily residue found on nib and mechanism from machining or to preserve the pen. Flushing the pen with water can help remove these residues.

There are some brands like newer aurora which will have some drag by design, but this doesn't feel scratchy when writing with it.


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## scuttle

ronsabbagh said:


> After some careful deliberation, and with the help of this forum, I have decided to purchase a fountain pen. I am very happy with my Montblanc Starwalker ballpen (steel/rubber)..so I decided to purchase the matching fountain pen with medium nib.
> 
> I am not yet accustomed to using a fountain pen, so I would appreciate any input...but I was told that the nib needs "breaking-in"...so that some slight skipping is expected...and variations in stroke. What can I expect and for how long? I have been using the pen for 3 days now and I already notice an improvement...
> 
> Thanks for your help...
> 
> Ron


Skipping is usually just the result of the presence of machine oil from anufacturing being left in the pen. Cleaning - a rinse in luke warm water with a drop of detergent, followed by rinsing, and drying by "flicking" with a wad of paper towel over the nib and then leaving overnight with more towel, would fix the problem. Or you can just go on writing the ink out; it won't hurt.

If the problem doesn't go away after a few days normal use, then you most likely have a mis-adjusted feed, which won't get any better. This happens surprisingly often, because most modern FP companies don't write-test pens - Sailor are the only mainstream-ish exception.


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## scuttle

Johnny J said:


> I was surprised by the experience. I have been using fountain pens since I was in college thirty years ago. In this case, I was in the Mont Blanc store and writing in my Moleskine notebook. Maybe a problem with their pen?


I'm not a fan of modern MBs, but in the case the culprit was the paper you were using. Moleskine paper is notoriously poor for FP use. The only pens that write really well on it have true XF nibs and tend to be slightly. A Chinese Hero 100, or most Pilots, would be ideal. MB don't make a true XF - their nibs run fat - and they aren't particularly dry.


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## JQTian

Very interesting topic.

I agree with Team-No-Breaking-in. If some one experience significant improvement of ink flow within few day, that's most likely because the feed got cleaned during this breaking-in period.

However, if you nib suffers from skipping problem constantly, especially with a specific stroke direction, but perfectly fine with other direction, then it's not likely the feed. It might be the alignment between nib and feed. Or it can be the nib itself. None of these two problems can be solved by simply writing with the pen. Writhing intensively for few days can only have a minimal impact to the metal nib. Send it back if the pen is still under warranty.

Down stroke skipping is rather a common problem with that fancy White Show. It's always down stroke. I had the very same problem with my very first MB. Huge disappointment. 1600 USD for a pen that can't write. Made me feel stupid.

To be frank, Montblanc is not really the best writer you can find. Maybe they are during 1980s, 1990s, but not now. The nib is claimed to be hand-crafted. We now are living in an era that machines beat human all the time. So, those hand-crafted massive production (even montblanc is not that massive, it's not made to order either) might be outperformed by machine made nibs. The best nib I have ever used in Visconti, Dream Touch nib, used on **** Sapiens, 23k Pd, smooth, springy, great variation of stroke.

I only buy Montblanc because I need to have one with me. I dont like to say it, but, it's only the name that I need. For maximal value with lowest price, I would recommend you to look somewhere else.


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## whineboy

JQTian said:


> Very interesting topic.
> 
> I agree with Team-No-Breaking-in. If some one experience significant improvement of ink flow within few day, that's most likely because the feed got cleaned during this breaking-in period.
> 
> However, if you nib suffers from skipping problem constantly, especially with a specific stroke direction, but perfectly fine with other direction, then it's not likely the feed. It might be the alignment between nib and feed. Or it can be the nib itself. None of these two problems can be solved by simply writing with the pen. Writhing intensively for few days can only have a minimal impact to the metal nib. Send it back if the pen is still under warranty.
> 
> Down stroke skipping is rather a common problem with that fancy White Show. It's always down stroke. I had the very same problem with my very first MB. Huge disappointment. 1600 USD for a pen that can't write. Made me feel stupid.
> 
> To be frank, Montblanc is not really the best writer you can find. Maybe they are during 1980s, 1990s, but not now. The nib is claimed to be hand-crafted. We now are living in an era that machines beat human all the time. So, those hand-crafted massive production (even montblanc is not that massive, it's not made to order either) might be outperformed by machine made nibs. The best nib I have ever used in Visconti, Dream Touch nib, used on **** Sapiens, 23k Pd, smooth, springy, great variation of stroke.
> 
> I only buy Montblanc because I need to have one with me. I dont like to say it, but, it's only the name that I need. For maximal value with lowest price, I would recommend you to look somewhere else.


Congrats for reviving a thread that has been dead for 10 years. That's a WUS record!
Montblanc is the Rolex of pens, eh?


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## jar

whineboy said:


> Congrats for reviving a thread that has been dead for 10 years. That's a WUS record!
> Montblanc is the Rolex of pens, eh?


Even Zombie threads deserve a new life.


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## bokaba

In my experience, some do. Flex nibs tend to take longer than stiff nibs.


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## trustmeiamanengineer

Depends.

My Duofold and sailor required some break ins.

Watermans tend to work right out of the box, same with montblancs.

Lamy Safaris have been hit or miss. some work straight out of the box, some are just downright miserable, despite adjustments =(


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## GrouchoM

No 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Moerdn

Depends - as the writing behavior changes after some time, I would say there is a break in period.


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## bounder

"No".


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## GrouchoM

New users have a break in period but not the pens. 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## heb

I agree with a lot of the above: NO. What you get out of the box is what you will get for a LONG time. I guess if you use it daily for say, 20 years, you may think you notice a slight difference in "feel". But you won't in ink flow. Eventually you will probably see ink in the cap which will transfer to the grip and your fingers; indicates a leak and time for a new pen.

heb


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