Primitive Nib Surgery

[kissing]

I love cheap pens that cost the same price as your standard disposable rollerball/ballpoint you can find in some stores. Here in Australia, such a pen is the "Smiggle" Mini fountain pen. (i think its discontinued now ) Pilot V-pens (Varsity) rarely have a faulty nib, though I did run into one today that was toothy.

 

As everyone would know, scratchy, faulty nibs that really really get on your nerves if you wrote with it for over a minute. However, I actually prefer having a scratchy nib with cheap pens. Sometimes I even hope a cheap fountain pen does come with a faulty nib! It gives me an excuse to undergo a bit of nip and tuck with some hardware tools I found in the garage

 

I was just wondering how everyone else reacts to a cheap $2ish pen with a bad nib.

 

 

My trusty wirecutter, coarse sand paper and brown paper bag:

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0703_194427.jpg

 

 

My first reaction with a scratchy nib would be just using the brown paper bag method to smooth it...but if that doesnt work, I make a Stub nib

 

Standard procedure is:

 

1. Clip off the ball part off the nib using wire cutter (you have a choice of either making an oblique stub or a normal stub)

2. Sand Paper it into shape so it writes when you put it onto paper

3. Sand it against brown paper bag to smooth it

 

It takes a lot of fussy adjustments and experimenting, but it is a lot of fun. Getting a satisfactory result is also a great great feeling of achievement...The thought that I have made the most of my dollar's worth

 

I was very surprised when the resulting stub nibs wrote wet and buttery smooth.

 

Of course these would not come anywhere near the kind of quality that the real nibmeisters provide, but for pens that are too cheap to send for nib service, this can really be worthwhile (if you have some spare time).

 

Some stub nibs I made out of bad nibs:

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0703_193442.jpg

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0703_193608.jpg

 

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/pactio_kiss/P0703_193830.jpg

 

Are there any tips and techniques you can offer on this thread on "Do it yourself" nib surgery?

[JimStrutton]

Fairly radical surgery Kissing, but I admire your style!

 

Jim

 

[mike1]

Wow, a first for me. I'm first to vote on this one. I've fixed a couple of simple problems in the past and I've been thinking about a resac job on an old lever filler I bought before I knew the pitfalls of ebay bidding. It sounds like fun and I could do it in my fly tying area here at the house.

[kissing]

dang, i should have added this option in the poll:

 

"Post it in the Repairs Q&A section of FPN"

 

Great advice given there

[happy_time]

if i am not satisfied with the pen... i would not use it and wait until i have some other reason to go back to the retail shop.. then when i actually go back to the shop la8er on i would go and refund.

[kissing]

if i am not satisfied with the pen... i would not use it and wait until i have some other reason to go back to the retail shop.. then when i actually go back to the shop la8er on i would go and refund.

Well, i guess you're someone who likes to keep your hands clean (Though a lot of people in pendom would say that it is impossible to keep your hands 'clean' with fountain pens )

 

I wouldnt get a refund. For me, a dodgey pen nib is worth its money since I get to do surgery on it and make it into a much better writer than it was before. Heck, these $2 (AU dollars) pens write even better than some of the more expensive pens And the customised nibs help me write neater and adds more style

[OldGriz]

I refilled a Varsity (from the back) months ago, just to see if it could be done. It can, just not a clean handed job and you need to be quick on the fill.

Anywho.... it has been sitting in a cup since then and this thread reminded me it was there...

Danged, if that sucker did not write wet and smooth after not being touched for over 3 months. Amazing pens for the price...

[kissing]

Filled from the back? Could you please explain how you did so? (or on the other thread: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...opic=7263&st=15 )

 

Did you simply open the back and put ink there? From reading other peoples' posts, i thought you couldnt access the ink reservoir from the back

[Leigh R]

I buy Schneider Zippis and mutilate them as well. They're 89 Philippine pesos apiece (that comes out to less than 2 USD), they can be converted into eyedroppers and there's no iridium to worry about (they come with rolled tips). I snip off the tips with cutting pliers (I make jewelry and have at least 5 of the durned things). Then I do a first sanding with 800 grit sandpaper (for the corners, to round them out, and the actual edge, because the pliers make them like a ">" which will cut the paper). Second sanding is 2000 grit, to get rid of the roughness that remains. I try to remember to do all my strokes in one direction first - because that's what I do with silver and I figure it might work for steel. LOL. I save the figure 8's for last.

 

They behave more like calligraphy pens, not like stubs or italics with iridium tips. Those do feel smoother to me, and a bit more forgiving.

 

I'll post pictures and writing samples tomorrow. Don't worry, you are not alone in this strange behavior.

[Nimrud]

What do you do to prevent the ink from flowing out as you are smoothing? (I'm assuming these pens are disposables and you can't remove the ink supply.)

[Johnny Appleseed]

What do you do to prevent the ink from flowing out as you are smoothing? (I'm assuming these pens are disposables and you can't remove the ink supply.)

 

Well, you generally want to smooth wet, so the ink lubricates the nib. Actually, there are a number of folks here, and I think some professional nib-meisters among them, who smooth pens inked so as to test it more easily. Others prefer to use water, so as to see the nib more clearly. I prefer inked.

 

Second sanding is 2000 grit, to get rid of the roughness that remains.

 

You might try some smoothing mylar from Richard Binders Website or from VintagePens.com. They are in the 9000 - 12000 grit range and I am sure they can ship to the Phillipeans

 

John

[KCat]

i'm definitely an experimenter when it comes to this situation. I turned a broken WM Phileas into a decent italic (tipless) which was fun.

 

haven't had time of late to do any of this stuff but have a stash of cheapies I plan to dink with.

[Dawn]

Im an experimenter too. I just found a half empty Pilot Vpen in my desk drawer at work am going to chop it about a bit into an italic nib later

[kissing]

They behave more like calligraphy pens, not like stubs or italics with iridium tips. Those do feel smoother to me, and a bit more forgiving.

 

I'll post pictures and writing samples tomorrow. Don't worry, you are not alone in this strange behavior. 

Im looking forward to it ~

 

I really enjoy looking at your writing (with envy )

 

I thought Calligraphy pens were the same as Italics stubs (ie, you write calligraphy writing with an italic stub nib?)

 

And yes...it feels VERY good to know that im not alone in this bizarre behaviour. I sometimes feel very silly doing it (a kid with a wirecutter and sandpaper doing surgery in his bedroom. Parents concerned at their child's weird hobby )

Edited July 4, 2006 by kissing

[kissing]

What do you do to prevent the ink from flowing out as you are smoothing? (I'm assuming these pens are disposables and you can't remove the ink supply.)

I let the ink flow while smoothing. The Smiggle $2 pens are refillable with short international cartridges (which i fill up with a pipette) and the Varsity's can be refilled if you really want to https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...15entry117468

 

[Leigh R]

I thought Calligraphy pens were the same as Italics stubs (ie, you write calligraphy writing with an italic stub nib?)

Sorry, I meant pens that aren't iridium-tipped, that are marketed as "calligraphy" pens. Like the Lamy Joy, for example.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I would fix it myself since I am a nibmeister.

 

Anyway, please allow me to give you some advise.

 

If you are cutting the tip like that, it can help if you polish it with Micromesh. (If you want, Tryphon Enterprises sells it) Just polish the tip and the edges smooth with a coarser grit and go all the way down to 12000 for final polish. Since steel is soft, you can smoothen it first with a 6000 then 8000 then 12000 for final mirror smooth polishing.

 

I normally just adjust the tines and smoothen the nib a bit if it does not write well. But this can't be easily accomplished by a normal person.

 

Dillon

[Lloyd]

But this can't be easily accomplished by a normal person.

Would it be any easier for an abnormal person? I think I know a few...

[kissing]

I normally just adjust the tines and smoothen the nib a bit if it does not write well. But this can't be easily accomplished by a normal person.

 

Dillon

I agree with this (obviously, I am someone who has attempted this without getting anywhere <_<)

 

The tines dont seem to bend...i 'bend' them, and then they just bend back when i let go

 

Thank you for the MicroMesh suggestion, but I have read that Brown paper bags are an equivalent. Nevertheless, I dont think i'll go thru the trouble of getting them shipped in to save a few $2 pens (Would they have "micromesh" at hardware stores?)

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

The brown paper bags are nowhere near as good. With Micromesh (By 3M), you are talking about buttery smoothness.

 

Dillon