New Nib For Old Morrison Pen

[sobalamandra]

Hi there,

 

I have been looking for an end-of-day pen for a long time and I have finally bought one last week. I am happy!

 

But the nib (and you will have to forgive my lack of vocabulary here) is "broken": you know how the tines are usually "rounded", under the tip? Well one of the tines was lacking this small "bulge" under it, and the other one fell soon after I started to write with it, so now the tip is all flat and scratchy.

 

I tried micro-mesh and it's not doing it any good.

 

So now I'm thinking that the only way to enjoy using that cute pen is to put a new nib on it. Mine says: "Morrison Pen 6 Reg U.S. Pat Off". Do I have to buy a Morrison nib or can something else fit on it? I have never put new nibs on pens before, so how can I know which one would fit on my pen?

 

Thanks for your advices!

[balson]

it sounds like the tipping, often referred to as iridium, fell off. you can send the pen to be retipped, you can sand the gold down into a stub, or you can try and find a replacement nib.

 

sanding it down into a stub would be the cheapest solution, it sounds like you tried this though and you are struggling with it. the other downside is that gold wears down fairly quickly without any tipping

 

replacing the nib would cost a bit of money but you would have a new nib for your pen that should last a long time. there are probably a lot of different brands that will have nibs that will fit it but without the pen in hand i cannot tell you what ones might work.

 

re tipping will be the most expensive option. the benefit of re tipping is you are keeping the original nib and bringing it back to life. any old nibs that can be saved are good. the added benefit of this is you get to pick the size and shape of the new tipping. so if you want extra fine you can have that, if you want a 1.5 mm italic stub you can probably have that too. the downside is that the cost of re tipping is often prohibitively expensive.

 

if you do not feel comfortable grinding the nib down to a stub or replacing it yourself your best bet might be to just send it to a qualified repair person.

[sobalamandra]

The tipping! Yes! That's the word for what I was referring to

 

If I am not mistaken, my nib is not gold, but steel. So re tipping it kind of out of the question. But I am curious about your first option, to sand it down to a stub. Can I do that with a steel nib? Is it very hard to do for someone who has no experience? I'm willing to try it, and if it doesn't work, I'll try to find a new nib -- that's the easiest solution. This pen is not an expensive one, I just want it to write well!

[balson]

if it is steel there is really no harm in sanding it down. steel and gold without tipping sand very quickly so you need to check your work often with a loupe. start out making sure that whats left of the tines is in alignment. once its aligned you are ready to shape the nib. start out with something like a 2000 grit sandpaper to get the length of the tines even first. next you want to create a foot where your hand naturally holds the pen to the paper. they talk about how to do that in the article i attached. once everything is roughed into the shape you want it you can move to a finer mylar backed sandpaper. when you're done the nib will likely be butter smooth.

 

there is a ton of information out there on nib grinding and smoothing but this is a good starting point.

http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

richard also sells a smoothing kit on his website that you may find useful.

 

[sobalamandra]

Thank you so much for this article! I have read it quickly -- I will re-read it again, more slowly -- and I think I can at least try to save my nib. Yay!

 

I'll keep you posted for the final results!

[jaxxon]

If you have not resolved the need for a Morrison nib, I have available a 14K gold Morrison, heart shaped breather hole. Fine to medium nib width.

Measures 1" tip to tail, and 1/4" across the shoulders. It can be purchased for 30.00 USD + 5.00 shipping to Canada. If interested email me directly

at jaxxon@lynch2.com

 

Jack

[sobalamandra]

Thank you for your offer, Jack. I think I have succeeded in adjusting the actual nib -- it's not very smooth yet, but it's very acceptable -- but maybe I could buy a new one and have a great pen instead of just a correct one... I'll think about it overnight and let you know!

[dorothynotgale]

I was just in a local consignment shop--Antiques To Go--and saw an entire box of 8 replacement Morrison nibs. (No use to me). Perhaps it's worth a shot to contact them? The proprietor knows they're on the shelf, as he pointed them out the moment I said I was after pens.

 

Antiques To Go

117 Mountain Rd, Pasadena, MD 21122

(410) 360-7744

At worst, they won't ship it--at best, you're set for life.

Edit: These were NOS, and $40 for the whole display.

Edited July 24, 2014 by dorothynotgale