Polishing And Grinding Gold Nibs For Needlepoint And Added Flex?

[Silvire]

Hi guys,

I need to ask a question about nib profile reshaping and grinding to increase flex.

I know there are people who have ground their Noodler’s stainless steel flex nibs to make it thinner, and remove the nib shoulders, to increase flex. Also, of course, nibmeisters like Mr Mottishaw and Mr Binder grind and thin their nibs to increase flex and obtain a needlepoint.

I’m just getting started in this area, I have been able to use a dremel to remove the shoulders of a nib.

However, what I’m having problems with is thinning the nib on the whole, for 14kt gold nibs, mostly vintage nibs.

I know I need to thin the nib, especially the top half, to increase flexibility.

However, the question is what do I use?

I’ve used rough abrasive polishing wheels mounted on my dremel - They DO thin the nib, but leave a lot of tiny ugly gouges. I’ve searched the web, there are no gold polishing/buffing compounds that I can find.

Does anyone know of an abrasive polishing compound that I can apply to a felt polishing wheel mounted on a dremel, to polish and thin out a gold nib?

[newlife]

In your case I'd rather use sanding paper glued around a small round rod and do the procedure by hand. You'll never be precise with a dremel, and a gold nib is a sensitive material.

[Sinistral1]

There are micro abrasive papers and sheets available, as well as buffing sticks, on various pen web sites. You have to do the finishing work by hand because the gold is too soft and easily shaped by anything other than the touch of a fairy's eyelash.

[Silvire]

Thanks!

Do you guys mean stuff like this?

 

http://richardspens.com/?page=accessories/smoothing_kits.htm

 

http://richardspens.com/?page=accessories/buffsticks.htm

[Sinistral1]

Yes. I got mine from Goulet Pens and Indy Pen Dance, but obviously the different items are sold by other companies.

[watch_art]

you can get coarse, medium, and fine abrasive polishing wheels from rio grande jeweler's supply.

 

[newlife]

Since you'll have to sand the nib from the side resting on the feed bigger buffing wheels don't make much sense to me. A DIY stick with sanding paper matching the feed's diameter seems more useful to me. But those polishing wheels look great if you want to take care of iridium tips.