Sorry about the provocative title to this post, and I certainly don't mean any disrespect, either to Mr Binder or to his colleagues!

It's just that it seems like the vast majority of posters on FPN, if talking about repairing or regrinding nibs or comprehensively restoring vintage pens, mention his name. I realize that there probably aren't THOUSANDS of nibmasters out there, not one in every country town - but are there others who have a comparable reputation for good work? And any with a particular interest in old Pelikans? And, perhaps, with a slightly shorter queue?

I have one vintage Pelikan 140, in good shape, generally, but the nib could probably use some minor adjustment. I'm also getting in a couple of 400NN - I meant to buy one, but the vendor had two: the second one was only $70, it seemed worth it just to have a choice of nibs - but the caps have some hairline cracks. Are hairline cracks in caps the kind of thing that can be repaired on a vintage pen?

Thanks for any ideas and suggestions!

Of course, there are more. Deb Kinney, John Mottishaw, Dillo (here on FPN), Greg Minuskin.

Rick Propas is the Pelikan man... he'll give you advice if you are looking for something specific.


Google those names along with fountain pen and you will get started.

Other names commonly mentioned as being at the top of the field include (in alphabetical order):

Deb Kinney (http://www.penhero.com/KinneyPens.htm)
Greg Minuskin (http://www.gregminuskin.com)
John Mottishaw (http://www.nibs.com)

These are just the US-based nib gurus that come to mind off the top of my head. I'm quite sure there are others that I've forgotten or of whom I'm unaware.

I've used nibs ground or tweaked by all of them, and they've all been fabulous.

Don

[edited to make links clickable]

Well, we have:

Greg Minuskin
John Mottishaw
Rick Horne
Nathan Tardiff also used to do nib alterations and repair work, but I believe that he may have left that area to concentrate on ink.

Any others people would like to add? I've only listed people known for retipping/crack repair or regrinding. There are many others offering adjustment etc.

Regards,

Gerry

Joel Hamilton (inkpen.com) does nib smoothing. He's not a grinder but his smoothing skills are quite good. I have a contemp. Omas celluloid that I got from him and that writes great.

I should also mention Michael Masuyama (www.mikeitwork.com). He is a Japanese guy living in Georgia and he has been with Sailor for many years, I believe. So, this guy knows pens (and nibs) inside out. I've had two incredibly wonderful alterations (one a regrind) done by him. He might not be as well known as other nib people, but he truly knows his stuff. Mike's webpage talks about adjusting pens/nibs, but I have absolutely no doubt that you can get anything from him (any regrind). Since he is not as busy as other nib people, I prefer people like him currently as I don't want to wait months for my pens to return home. I've met him twice at two pen events. You can trust this man blindly.

Never heard of this guy... looks promising. thanks!

Any GOOD pen repair person does nib adjustments. There are many who frequent this board. I know of none on this board that push their services on individual posts. The only one I know whose posts here and hasn't been mentioned is Ron Z.

I can't think of any who have been mentioned who cannot do minor repairs and adjust and/or grind a nib.

Ron

Tried to look up inkpen.com, and it seems to be just an advertising site.

Donnie

http://www.ink-pen.com

Ron Zorn of Main Street Pens:

Main Street Pens - Quality Fountain Pen Restoration

Thanks for all those leads. Again, that fact that I was completely ignorant of those names says a lot about my inexperience and nothing at all about the qualifications of the people mentioned.

You know, anyone can hang out a shingle and say they are a nibmeister.

The reason certain people are mentioned so often is their reputation.
Richard, Ron, Joel, John M, et al are all mentioned so often because we *trust* them with our pens.
I would have no qualms about sending valuable pens to any of the above mentioned folks.

They also are at the pen shows, so many of us have met them face to face.
They are kind, honest, patient people and good businesspeople.
Their busy-ness and long turnaround times (up to 2 months) are often cited as a flaw, but rather it is a testament to their integrity and skill.

Thank you. I met Joel and Sherrel at the Dallas Pen Show in October, and was truly impressed by their personability, professionalism, and knowledge.

Donnie

I will give you a dollar for every group of one thousand nibmeisters you ca find out there...

Is there anyone FPN folks recommend in Canada? Just to make it easier for shipping, etc.

Sean Goss. SMG on the board. I've talked at length with Sean, and would trust him with my pens if I didn't do them myself. A good solid guy.

Interesting that there are some posters here that have used multiple specialists to work on their pens. I know that some nibmeisters have areas of speciality (Greg Minuskin is retipping a Stipula nib for me and John Mottishaw is flexing a Pelikan nib), but I find that working with one person who knows what I like has served me the best way.

I met Deb Kinney at a DC show, and I've been sending her pens for most anything nib-oriented since. Her work is terrific - but I'm not going to say its "better" than anyone elses. its just that when I send her a pen, it comes back precisely the way I want it.

There's a difference in pricing and vast differences in wait times for pen work to be done (typically for me its a cursive italic grind or general smoothing/flow tweaking).

Thanks Ron, I appreciate the kind words. I am taking on nib grinding in small amounts at this time, I do not want to overload myself. I can do nib straightening and realignment as well as most normal pen repairs.

Hope everyone had a Great Holiday, and has a Wonderful New Year.

Cheers,
Sean