How Not To Adjust A Nib

[Paul80]

Hi guys

 

Back to the OP, I have seen exactly the same damage to an 18k gold nib when the owner read about using shims to widen the tine gap to improve ink flow. The trouble was in the article it said it was ok to use feeler gauges used in automotive repair, which are very hard unlike the brass shims he should have used, and every time the gauge slipped whilst he was trying to force one that was too thick it gouged a nice deep grove into the nib.

 

So anyone tempted to try this technique brass shims only, no scalpels or feeler gauges, unless you can afford the luxury of scrapping your gold nib.

 

Paul

[mhosea]

I think the issue here is not as much the hardness of the tool as it is the crudeness of its use. The tines should be spread apart to insert the tool, even if it is soft. If you are using a tool harder than the nib, you should know what you're doing.

[newlife]

Feeler gauges used in automotive repair can be used safely from my experience if you have the nib off the feed and insert the gauge near the breather hole from below, starting off with the finest gauge. No damages with me, and if you should slip, you only hit the underside of the nib.

 

Klaus

[LWJ2]

My Craftsman No. 40811 feeler gauge set works nicely, I've use the steel ones up to 0.004 on both gold and steel nibs. The 0.0025 is usually as thick as I need to go for my purposes. "Softly, softly catchee monkey" is the key to it.

[SteveE]

I'm jumping into this thread long after its beginning, but another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the "information" found by new folks on the net is really old stuff. Even 8 or 10 years ago, there were a lot of articles and notes from some of the long-time members of the various sites, that were aimed at getting "user" pens working, with no worry about the cosmetics of a pristine near-mint antique. The name of the individual who most often comes to mind is a gentleman who was always a favorite of mine, both in person and on the boards -- the late Frank Dubiel. Frank had published many techniques back then that today's hobbyists would cringe at. These methods were valid then because there were more pens "in the wild" and if one didn't survive, another could be found. The sought-after pens have become more rare and hobbyists have become more finicky about having perfect examples of whichever pens they have. Some technicians, like Frank, were helping "users" while the typical hobbyist today is closer to a "collector" who is trying to maintain high-grand examples of pens. I think there is room in the hobby for both.

 

I do agree that it is a travesty to use a heavy-handed repair method on a rare or expensive pen, but come on, folks, should we arrest people who use X-acto knives on trashed Wearevers? By doing so, the newbies may learn the effect of adjustments and how easy or difficult they are, and will be able to discern which repairs to tackle themselves and which to send to someone more expert than themselves.

[mhosea]

The owner has a perfect right to attempt any repair they like by any means they like. However, the vast majority of them only want the pen to be fixed without the inconvenience and expense of sending it off. You can learn about pitfalls without actually falling into pits. The spirit of it is, I think, "This is what will probably happen if you start hacking away at your nib slit to 'adjust' the pen, so maybe research other means to the ends you seek."

[LWJ2]

SteveE --

 

I'm one of those weirdos that uses what he collects. Pens. Tools. Pipes. I'd use antique cars too, but somehow the price of a 1950s Vanden Plas Princess seems to elude me.

 

What repairs I attempt are to restore functionality, with cosmetics a second goal. That said, no, I won't be using a No. 11 blade on a pen, if for no better reason than I'd wind up bleeding all over it. As well swat a mosquito with a forging hammer, eh?

 

LWJ2

[csfontenot]

I would like to add my two cents to this thread. I think one thing that people haven't been bringing up is 'cleanliness' and the underfeed. Sometimes a good soaking of the nib and feed (in cold water with NO soap or other chemicals) and a light brushing with a toothbrush may be enough. If that doesn't solve anything head to the under feed next. On vintage pens, where the feed is made of hard rubber, you can heat the feed and 'stretch' the capillary grooves. These widened grooves will now allow for more flow. If stretched too far just heat the feed again and the grooves will 'shrink' to their original size and you can try the process again. (That is the joy of hard rubber. It can always be re-heated and it will return to its original size.) If these 'tricks' don't work THEN you can begin on nib alteration, but I think it is best to try and exhaust all other possibilities before 'messing' with the nib. Hope this helps....

[2brothers]

The guy who worked on that pen must know my car mechanic...

[BookCat]

Just lightening up this serious thread.

 

I suppose most people here have watched this video:

 

 

It's entitled "How not to work on a nib".

[kenhsv]

That's hard to figure out how one could make such mess...

[kenhsv]

That's hard to figure out how one could make such mess...

[GTOZack]

ive heard about someone closing tines with their teeth, literally putting in their mouth and gently biting into tips and then he proceeded to chip his tooth

 

heard about this story at a local pen shop i was at.

 

what a goofus

[David V]

It almost looks like someone vanadlized the guy's pen, or like the earlier example, a loved one was fiddling with it that didn't know what they were doing. Then again, maybe the owner saw someone's comments somewhere about the bennefit of flossing your nib and they decided to give it a whack (or fifteen) and the only thing they could find was a razor blade. Glad it could be made to work anyway. Richard is "Da' Man"!

[Guest Ray Cornett]

This makes me feel so much better about my mistake. I was using a .003 or.002 feeler guage to work on my 1949 Sheaffer Touchdown Statesman nib slit. In the end it worked but at one time the feeler, which was flimsy metal, slipped across the gold part of the nib and left a nice scratch. I buffed most of it out which means there is still hope. I just think it would be best left to someone more experienced with fixing such cosmetic issues.

[Phototoxin]

Reminds me of this:

 

http://bloggingdoesntgettougherthanthis.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/marathon_man.gif

[vikramguliya]

Can we use alternate nip in Mont Blac?

[JeanManuel]

Can we use alternate nib in Mont Blanc?

I don't know. => Check or ask in the MB section of this forum?

 

Old thread. I've used a thin blade on several steel nibs. Skipping and scratching the surface happened to me once, on a cheap (15€) pen. I would not do it on a gold nib.

Edited May 15, 2014 by JeanManuel

[jackieblue]

This post contains images that may be disturbing to some viewers.

[iuoma]

looks terrible. I am new here, but I like fountain pens too much to attack anything with a knife.....