If we have one criticism of Pelikan nibs it has to do with the grind of the tipping on the broader points. Because they cut their nibs to such a flat broad face and because often the tip is rolled inward to some extent, these nibs can be skippers for those with light hands or without the control to keep the alignment absolutely true. We regularly recut these nibs to a rounder configuration. This makes a smoother feel as well as pen that will not skip.

Notice that the writing surface on this BB nib is concave. The writing surface is the bottom edge, or profile of the tipping in this photograph. This concavity can prevent the ink from coming into immediate contact with the paper when the nib first touches. The problem is exacerbated on smoother paper. Rougher paper tends to pull the ink out of the tip. So, what we do here at the nib works, when we run into this, is re-contour the writing surface so that it is not concave. And, voila, no more skipping problems. We do this at no charge for the pens which we sell, before shipping.