I was going to wait until I could take a picture of the mangled nib, but I just couldn't go all day without scrounging for some sympathy from fellow fountain pen enthusiasts. I have yet to drop a pen, so I guess it was just a matter of time.

I just got in this past weekend a fantastic 0.8mm Binder stub for my VP. I'd been writing with it all weekend, incredibly smooth, a huge improvement over the standard VP nib. Just a real pleasure to write with, and easy to write with as well.

So this morning I'm at work initialing some deposits and counting cash, when the unthinkable happens: I dropped my VP, with the nib exposed, and it drops straight on the nib into the thin carpet. I was aghast when I saw the mess I had made of the tines. Absolutely terrible!

I hate to say it, but the only bright side of this is I'm glad it happened on a VP, as the nib units are much more inexpensive then the typical nib.

So I'm off to go buy a new stub... I've decided I cannot live without one!

EDIT 3/20/07, problem resolved per http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=27174

Ouch! That hurts to read about, and it makes me think of those horrific moments when you just watch, and the universe slows down as the pen soars through the air to land messily.

My extreme sympathies.

So many times I've wished someone would invent a fountain pen that would always land the right way, like a cat--

My sympathies, I've been there.

Man, I know the feeling.

I dropped my new Takumi a few weeks ago and made a real mess of the nib.

I think that's a great idea! Can they add a movable weight or something?

Johnson, I'm sorry...Ive done that, too. Hope you get your replacement nib soon!!

That really is a shame. At least the standard VP nibs can be replaced easily. I'd like to know more about the VP nib modification you made. I have a fine point VP and find it a little scratchy. I might try the medium nib.

I've fired you a PM on this FWIW

R

The nib that he has was modified by Richard Binder
I had one on a VP that I sold. They are fantasic nibs and Richard generally has them in stock for immediate shipping...

Sorry to hear about your nib catastrophe, Jack.

After obtaining a replacement, you need either to:

(1) attach your VP to a piece of buttered toast (butter side away from the nib) or
(2) attach your VP to a cat (feet side away from the nib)

This will ensure that you will no longer drop your VP on its nib in the future.

See: http://www.why-is-the-sky-blue.tv/catfeet-toast.htm for the general principle.

How you accomplish this is up to you.

Don M.

Sorry, sorry...

I haven't even ordered a stub for my Decimo yet (still trying to justify it) and I'm wincing as I write.

Horrible.

OMG I feel for you. A regular nib bad enough but a Binderized nib. That is just heartbreaking practically.

Argh, awful! but luckily you can soothe your pain by ordering a replacement immediately.

Condolences.
It sounds like you work in a bank. Why not attach your VP to one of those metal chains tethered to a desk like all other pens that banks lend out to customers.

I did a Sailor King of Pen and a Pelikan m1000 in the same weekend- and sober!
Both on tile floors-
Best with yours-

Ouch.

Esp. the King of Pen, lacking (so far as I know) a nice easy way to get a new nib and swap it.

Because I don't let customers use my pens!! I am real big on customer service, so it creates an uncomfortable situation when say I'm sitting near a customer, and they go to grab the pen in my pocket to write something down. They open it up and look at the nib quizzically, "Oh, this is one ah them old pens."

Usually some wordless noise escapes my throat, "Aaaahararggglle..." and, as gently as possible, I snatch the pen out of their hands, replacing it with a BP.

I've only ever let one customer sign with one of my pens, it was an elderly gentlemen who came in with his wife. He was not an FP enthusiast, but he was absolutely delighted to see me writing with one. Instead of an old pen, he said, "This is a real pen!" Pretty cool, it was the only time my FP was a real conversation piece.

Thanks all for the kind words! What I think this means in the greater scheme of things is that The Great Magnet is displeased with me for not buying an M200 Blue Demo along with my VP Stub last week. :ph34r: I'll have to try to make sure not to displease him again on my next purchase. 9

Very sound reasoning!

I have been there too when I was younger (8 years old) and when I dropped unintentially my first waterman pen.I wish you all the best.

regards

georges

I feel your pain. My brand-new Parker Sonnet just landed wrong-side up after rolling off a patient's chart. It was only my second day of using it at work, too!

Sorry to hear about your loss, but as you said, at least it was your VP nib, and it's replaceable for a lot smaller fee than most others!

Yeah, but gosh it was already Binderized. That's the part that really hurts.

J,

It's PM time again

Ruaidhrí

Well, I am yet to drop a pen, but I have dropped a straight razor on several occasions. Trying to catch it in mid air is a no-no, you're risking your digits there, so you have nothing to do but watch it meet the floor. They break easily, and no repairs there... So, I feel your pain.

Nenad


p.s. Two razors survived the fall, one died, but it was a junker e-boy blade anyways, so I hope the razor gods are happy

Oh agony, agony...
I feel some of your pain. I just got my first (uh oh, I said first...does that mean I'll be getting another?) VP tonight. No Binderized nib yet. I'm trying to fight off the ink temptation.

My condolences...

I left my VP out one time and my son tried to draw using one of Daddy's pens - he's 5 so the results were predictably bad although it did inspire me to get him a Sheaffer school pen and teach him how to write properly! Anyway - I ended up just getting a replacement nib at the local B&M shop in a pinch but will some day get a stub from Richard. But it is absolutely true that if you have to mangle a nib, a VP is one of the easiest to replace.

As for the straight razor, not only would I be worried about trying to instinctively catch it I'd be jumping out of the way to try to save my toes as well! I use a double edge safety razor but do not have the cajones to try a straight razor...

Well, there are worse things that could happen like........give me a second I'm still thinking.......Nope nothing yet.........

Been there, done that...though it was a Parker, not a VP. Too bad. What we should do is collect all these sad stories in one thread and then vote on the most heartbreaking tale. The winner gets....what? Someone help me think....

Ooooh - so sorry to hear this. Hope it's repairable or you can duplicate with a new nib/customization.

OP edited, the nib has been fixed, thanks all for your condolences.

Whoa! I just saw the pic of the mangled nib! Wow....... Being "just a little girl", I think I would have cried like my 2.92328767 year old son when I rob him of his right to a Happy Meal toy (why that $1 piece of... is worth so much to a child is beyond me).

Ruaidhri: You da man! Great job!!!

This is exactly the kind of thing that brings me back. Ruaidhri really did such a nice gesture for Johnson, bringing his VP nib back to life from a horrific accident. A nice symbiosis--Ruaidhri gets to have a first time experiment on working a VP nib and Johnson reaps the rewards! And of course, another fabulous Richard Binder nib gets to write another day.

Johnson, I noticed that you got a 0.8mm stub italic nib. How smooth does it write compared with other modified nibs you've used? I've been contemplating getting one of those versus a 0.7mm cursive left-foot oblique italic, 15°. Had you considered oblique nibs at all? What ultimately made the 0.8mm stub your nib of choice?

~Gary