Sorry for the quick & dirty shots:









The good news:

• full flex Maxima nib
• factory stub
• the ugly rough spots are not corrosion but shellac (can be removed with ethanol without any problem)

The bad news:

• damage showed only after removal
• nib was glued into place and was damaged because of this prior to my aquisation

So my two questions are:

Do I have to have this repaired? The damage (there are two rather large pieces missing; one on each side) does not show when nib is installed in the pen BUT I'm afraid that this nib cannot take up with the stress a flexible nib has to keep up with because the missing pieces will/might decrease integrity.

Could this be repaired anyways?

I think a nice full flex factory stub Maxima nib would be too nice to loose.

Cheers

Michael

Pictures like that make restorers like me (and I don't doubt the others) want to cry...

I don't see any reason why that nib would not hold up to normal usage.
Why the person made those two cuts in the nib is beyond me.... but the majority of the cuts will be inside the section and supported fully by the feed and section.
The flex is primarily at the front of the nib and the two cut outs should not affect that at all...

However, what shape is the section and feed in... if the nib was shellaced in place, there may be damage to the feed and section... those might need to be replaced.

I have a flex stub on one of my First Generations Vacumatics and it is a joy to write with....

...not only restorers like you :-(



Actually those are not cut into the nib! Those pieces must have broken away.




Maybe I just give it a try; if fully invisible and working this should not be a problem to me. To me feed and section look ok.



I can imagine those being fun to use. I have a couple of Flex Vac nibs and one vintage Duofold which has flex as well. No comparison to any modern flex nib. The old ones really are a joy to use.

Michael

If they're breaks, they're strangely regular. The missing material will be visible when the point and feed are set in the section properly, but won't be TOO distracting to look at and I can't see where the would compromise the function of the pen unduly. If at all, it would come from putting the side-combs on the feed out of contact with the ink, so there it a SMALL chance of it being a little blobby. I'd still suggest cleaning the goop off and giving it a test before any drastic measures are planned.