Having taken delivery of my first Duke Fountain Pen, and realising that this cheap and cheerful Chinese flash was every bit as smooth a writer as my beloved Pelikan 800 costing 30 times more, I quickly ordered 2 other Duke models.

When they arrived I gave them my usual flush out with water and, being overly keen to get them inked up and tested, I dropped one onto a hard tiled floor, nib down. The nib was pushed into the barrel so that the point was flush with the tip of the feed. The nib appeared undamaged otherwise, but was now firmly jammed into the barrel. No amount of coaxing could get it out. Realising that drastic measures were called for, and not running the risk of being greatly out of pocket if I made a mess of things, I took a pair of long-nosed pliers from the tool box, wrapped the points in tissue and “eased” the nib and feed out with as much brute force as was necessary. The nib and feed appeared undamaged so I reset them in the barrel, comforted to find that they rested in their proper place with a reassuring click.

Although the nib and feed appeared superficially undamaged, I had obviously deformed the nib as I was unable to get the ink to flow and the tines were slightly out of line. I got them back into line using methods described on the various sites referred to on this network but still the ink wouldn’t flow. Realising that the nib wasn’t sitting properly on the feed so there was no capillary attraction, I gently worked the nib between my thumbs and fingers to alter its shape and force it to sit properly on the feed. Finally the ink flowed and I had the “wet” nib that I liked. But it was oh so scratchy and hardly fit to write with.

I know everyone here refers to mylar and the like, but I have no real idea what that is. So I took one of my wife’s nail glossers – bought here in the UK from Boots for about £2. It is a flexible, flat board about 6 inches long by half an inch wide. One side is half blue with a slightly abrasive material, and the other half is white with a lesser abrasive material. The other side is all grey and appears to be non-abrasive. It’s intended use is for smoothing and glossing finger nails.
I worked the nib for about 10 minutes altogether, first on the blue, then on the white then finally for about 5 minutes on the grey, all the while testing the nib on paper in between.

The nib is now as smooth as the Pelikan 800 and is probably better than it would have been if I hadn’t dropped it in the first place.

I have rescued this pen from a disaster, but I am sure it was more by good luck than good management. I don’t think I would dare to try “improving” any of my Parker or Pelikan nibs with the nail glosser – not yet anyway – but I might have a go at some more cheapies. But then, I am one for “leaving well alone” – so maybe not.

Just thought I’d relay my experience here.

Many thanks for taking the time to read. Sorry for the long post.

Well done! I've always steered clear of nib smoothing, although I'm happy to replace sacs and have even restored snorkels. Perhaps I should go and give it a try.

Ray

Still waiting for my other Duke pens to arrive - will make a concerted effort NOT to drop mine

Good to hear that your ministrations worked on it, hope its as enjoyable as the Ruby.

Congrats on a great recovery!

Phew!!! Nicely done.

Good show.

By the way, the emery boards I bought for working on nibs are not all that different from your wife's nail glossers.

You have recovered nicely without doing so, but I recommend getting a strong magnifier (10x or better) and inspecting the nib next time this happens. Getting the tines straight, the correct distance apart, and the tips lined up correctly is vastly easier that way.

Usually getting the tips in alignment cures the scratchyness without smoothing, although a dropped nib may refuse to smooth out without some abrasives.

Good job!

I like my Chinese pens, especially the very fine nibs.

Peter

Good effort! It's always scary doing something new and you can't always be guaranteed success but it's worth the trial if the alternative is unuseable.

Regards

Rabbi z6