Or do you have to just up and replace the nib because the iridium has worn off...assuming I'm right that iridium is just a coating?

With apologies to people who have been at this for a long time...

Probably three major causes in my limited experience:

Mis-aligned tips, so that one is dragging a sharp edge across the paper

Physical damage or roughness of the actual tipping material -- I have new nibs that have a void in them, and some of the older ones are worn flat, so that the pen is only smooth at a particular angle

Square edges on the tipping at the slit, so that the edge grabs the paper. Usually pulls up fibers.

The other cause of "scratchy" nibs is pressing down on them instead of allowing the capillary action of the nib to deposit ink. Much more of a problem with fine and XF nibs than larger ones as there is less contact area and small nibs dig in more easily.

Alignment can usually be fixed by very carefully bending the tines so that the tips are matched up at the writing point. This requires at least 10x magnification using a loupe or dissecting scope, I don't believe it's really possible to get more than close without.

Roughness can be fixed by "writing" on a very fine abrasive (see the notes in the repair forum). Do not do this until you have verified that the tips are in perfect alignment and you know exactly what you want to accomplish, else you end up with a nib with a flat spot AND problem 3.

Square edges on the slit will cause the pen to 'catch' on certain movments. This requires a very delicate touch of abrasive film on the inside lower edge of the tipping slit to very slightly round it off, again you cannot do this safely without magnification.

The "iridium" is usually the entire silvery "blob" on the ends of the tines, only really cheapo nibs will be plated these days. It is quite hard, and will usually last a lifetime of use. the actual composition varies with date of manufacture and maker.

Peter

Thanks very much, psfred.

This is a Parker 51 I'm talking about. I'll check all of the above - before getting frustrated and sending it to someone who knows what they're doing.

If you can find a good magnifier, take a good look at the nib. Worst case it's bent upwards and to the left from excessive writing pressure. It can be straightened, but you may not want to tackle it as there is a chance you will really bugger it up on the first nib -- I learned on Wearevers that had been dropped, not a "51"!

Parkers seem to show more wear than the "other" major vintage american pen maker (Sheaffer). I don't know why this is so, but most of my Parkers have flats, some rather extreme, while all but a couple of my Sheaffers are still silky smooth. May very well be lack of use of the Sheaffers, but I don't know that for sure.

Anyway, the tipping on Parkers gets flat spots. Two of my "51"s are quite hard to use (I actually bought a new nib for one, a Special). My '46 Cedar Blue is quite particular about angle, and I think I'm going to have to round off the nib slit a bit, and the Special had a sideways flat that I think was a result of leftie overhand writing (and was a medium nib anyway). If you hold the pen differently that the previous owner, it will be scratchy as you are dragging the edge across the paper.

If you have a serious flat spot, you can try to grind it rounder with a 4000 grit waterstone or some of the abrasive micromesh sheets available, or a fingernail buffer (finest nail board you can find and then the buffer type). You want to remove ONLY the sharp edge of the actual writing surface -- about 50 degrees from vertical. I roll the pen from side to side, avoiding the actual normal writing angle while doing this, I don't want to change that flat too much, but I do want the sides of it rounder. This will likely make the line smaller, too.

Most likely it's out of alignment, and that's hard to fix on a "51" with the nib in the pen.

I do have a Sheaffer and a Parker nib (a NOS 21 nib) that have a void in the tipping that I've had to grind a bit -- quite rough, probably a bit of slag or something silicaceous. Smooth now, though.

A replacement nib isn't that expensive in fine, so that's always an option too.

Peter

Hi,

It's in essence sharp edges on the tipping catching on the paper. Parkers seem to have softer tipping than other brands.

Dillon

I suspect a replacement nib is the answer, but who knows.

This one pen I have isn't horribly scratchy, but it's not buttery smooth like my others.

You could try the "brown paper bag" trick of OldGriz's. This was successful on a scratchy Parker "51" that I had.

...cause it itchy......

I've got a 61 that the tines are perhaps a tad too far apart causing it to be scratchy......it will probably develop the cursed baby-bottom effect after a while because of this.

-Bruce

I've had great results using 12000 grit Micro-Mesh. Writing on paper to find what strokes cause problems, then very very lightly making that same stroke on the Micro-Mesh. 2 Parker-Eversharp's are now buttery as a result, not to mention a almost every dip nib I use with any regularity Always checked the tine alignment first though, the only downside to Micro-Mesh is what you take off, you can't put back on (without sending to a nib repairperson!). Still, it can be a pretty easy way of sorting out a slightly troublesome nib.

I'm not a nibmeister, but I've done a little research on scratchy nibs because I have had my share of them. Misaligned tines can create a scratchy nib and is a very common problem. This is where one tine is above or below the other and the edge of the tine catches on the paper making the nib very scratchy. The iridium is not actually just a coating, it is a drop of hard metal (not always iridium) that is welded on to the tines. The iridium, however, can wear off over time and create a scratchy writer. The easiest way to fix a scratchy nib (considering the tines are misaligned) is just to remove the nib and flex the tine that is misaligned until it becomes aligned with the other. Also, getting some very fine sand paper (I believe 12,000 grit is the kind to use) and writing on the sandpaper turning the nib (if the pen is still scratchy even after you've aligned the tines) or doing figure 8's with the pen can smooth the nib. Make sure you don't write on the sandpaper too much as it will sand off all of the iridium and you will have a worse nib than you started with. Hope that helps.

Evan

Look here first:

http://richardspens.com/ref_info/pendoctor/20030606.htm

Especially the part about misaligned nibs.

Okay, I looked at it with my wife's reading glasses - I don't have anything stronger at the moment...other than a soldering station, it occurs to me. Duh.

Anyway, the tip isn't shiny, and it may or may not have a flat spot. I'll keep working on that.

But it looks like the main problem is that while the nib is aligned with the hood, it's not 100% centered around the...is it the back of the feed? (This is a vacuumatic.)

Thanks for all the replies yet again.