How Tough Is It To Grind My Own Nib?

[Douglas Johnson]

I pretty much only like italic cursive nibs. I just got a brand new Pelikan M200 with a broad nib (not italic). Am I doomed to failure if I try and do this myself, or is there a good youtube video or something to easily walk me through it? Are first time attempts without proper training certain to fail, or do I have at least a 50-50 shot?

[SujiCorp12345]

You could succeed, but I'd probably practice on something cheaper like a Jinhao first.

[PabloAU]

50/50 would be optimistic. Don't do your first grind on a pen you like. A Jinhao (or three) would be ideal for practice.

 

See this tutorial for the grinding process: http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/aboutpens/ludwig-tan.html

 

Smoothing/polishing the finished product will be key to success. See here for a very helpful guide: http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

 

Best of luck.

[Biber]

Leave it to people who know what they are doing and have the experience.

[cellmatrix]

Leave it to people who know what they are doing and have the experience.

I don't know if I agree with stifling someone who earnestly wants to learn. I'd rather encourage people to follow their passion. Who knows, maybe the OP might become one of our next generation of nibmeisters. What if Pendleton Brown or Richard Binder had decided long ago to leave it to more experienced people? To the OP, I say go for it!

 

.......but first practice with cheap pens like jinhaos or preppies until you get good at it

Edited December 14, 2014 by cellmatrix

[lcoldfield]

If you use tool sharpening stones rather than a wheel it is easier to take it in easy stages and monitor your progress. With a wheel you can do a lot of damage in a very short time unless you are very experienced. I have ground many nibs and still do it with sharpening stones, finishing off with an arkansas stone and polishing rouge when you have already established that the nib has the desired characteristics.

Laurence

[blINK]

I don't fix my plumbing, my car, or the electrical work in my house. I paid a lot of money for an education that allows me to specialize in certain areas. None of the above are included.

 

I let the professionals grind my nibs, fix things in my house and my car.

 

I realize grinding a nib isn't quite as critical, but one time I needed a new circuit breaker installed. While he was doing it, the electrician found the doorbell was not wired properly and the insulation had frayed off the wires. There could have been a fire. I would never have known to look for that. So I let the people who have experience handle those things.

Edited December 14, 2014 by blINK

[FarmBoy]

Everyone starts somewhere. School is open and class starts when you are ready to start. There is only the tuition to worry about, there are no scholarships.

 

I would avoid small diameter high-speed rotary tools. Before I'm told there are professionals that do it this way I'll just say I know and they paid tuition.

 

Starting on an expensive nib with a Dremel tool isn't where I'd begin the process. If it goes bad...most nibs can be retipped.

[AZBennett]

I started on a bunch of steel nails nibs from CHEAP vintage pens that had too much barrel damage to be worth repairing. I also didn't start with a dremel but use a softish arkansas stone and different grits of micromesh and sand paper. Following the above linked tutorial is where i got my initial schooling as well. I am still learning, its tough, you WILL ruin some nibs if you aren't carefilul, I did. Its also very time consuming to learn by hand but I wouldn't invest in a dremel and other tools until I have decided I really want to pursue it.

[Douglas Johnson]

Thank you very much for all the responses. I have 5 Jinhao pens on the way!

[gweimer1]

After reading this, I decided to try and understand the process with an old Carter dip pen I just got. The nib was pretty much toast, so I thought I'd try to revive it as a sort of italic. Using an old sharpening stone, the 2000 grit sandpaper, and the nib smoothing stuff, I've got a functional nib with one sweet spot, but still have a lot of adjusting to do. As usual, the more I read here, the more I want to try.

[I like mango cheesecake]

I have ground about a half dozen nibs so far and I agree that you should practice on cheaper pens like Jinhao pens. I did my 144 already and I think I might give my 146 a shot soon.

 

If you use a Dremel use the blue rubber wheel to grind and go on the slowest speed. The five grit papers, polishing stones and micro mesh are all part of the process

[s60m23]

I also think you should try it - I bought a Jinhao to pratice on, and have done a stub nib, and quite pleased with the result, although it is still a bit scratchy. Also waiting for 5 more Jinhao nibs to arrive.

Have fun and let us know how you get on!

 

Marc

[Algester]

we always say if your not confident refer to an expert but if your confident start cheap... don't go full guns blazing and say start with an M1000 or a Namiki maki-e or a Danitrio

because as someone would say "(bleep) happens sometimes"

Edited December 16, 2014 by Algester

[Ernst Bitterman]

It's easy to grind a nib. It's rather less easy to do a good job. I totally agree with those who urge practicing on less expensive pens (Pelikan Twists look a good bet). As far as theory goes, this article is pretty good and doesn't call for any motorized assistance.

[grahamtillotson]

I totally support grinding with all the caveats of starting on cheap pens/nibs or on nibs that are pretty much shot otherwise. One side benefit I've found is that my nib tuning skills are really good now, even if my grinding skills are so-so. By going through the grinding process you get really good at tine alignment, polishing, slit spacing, etc.

 

Instead of an Arkansas stone I use wet/dry sandpaper (400 and 600 grit) glued to sections of 1" PVC pipe. This lets me take longer strokes and the curve of the pipe matches the curve of the nibs.

 

Good luck!

 

Graham

[kirchh]

Instead of an Arkansas stone I use wet/dry sandpaper (400 and 600 grit) glued to sections of 1" PVC pipe. This lets me take longer strokes and the curve of the pipe matches the curve of the nibs.

I'm not sure I understand this. Can you elaborate and/or provide a picture?

 

--Daniel

[grahamtillotson]

I'm not sure I understand this. Can you elaborate and/or provide a picture?

 

--Daniel

Sure -- I'm away from home so no photo but I basically cut the sandpaper to width so that it wraps around the outside of the 1" PVC without overlapping. Then I use spray mount to attach the sandpaper to the PVC. That lets me match the outer curve of the PVC to the inner curve on the sides of a nib.

 

Graham

[kirchh]

Sure -- I'm away from home so no photo but I basically cut the sandpaper to width so that it wraps around the outside of the 1" PVC without overlapping. Then I use spray mount to attach the sandpaper to the PVC. That lets me match the outer curve of the PVC to the inner curve on the sides of a nib.

 

Graham

Ah -- now I see where the curve comes in. I was thinking you were radiusing the underside of the tipping...

 

--Daniel

[balson]

nib grinding is fairly easy. for the rough shaping you want something between 1200-2000 grit, 2000 is better if you can find it because it will take away the material slower, it will still wear away pretty quickly though so check your work often with a good loupe. after the rough grinding is done you want to fine tune the shape with a higher grit sandpaper and get it just the way you like it. the final step is to use an 8000 grit paper to give it a final smoothing/polish

 

as others have mentioned you should start with a much cheeper nib to practice with. jinhao's are good because they run broad and they usually need some work anyway, but i personally recommend practicing on the fpr flex nibs. their tipping is a really soft perfectly round sphere that is really easy to work with.

 

its also worthwhile to spend a fair amount of time looking at the nibs you like with the loupe so you have a really good idea of exactly what you want to achieve.

 

just go slow, have plenty of light, and check your work often, and use the right tools and you will likely succeed.