Jump to content

Does anyone make their own nibs?


beginnersmind

Recommended Posts

I love Titanium nibs and have swapped a few from one pen to another. I really needed a better source for Ti nibs, so I decided, that being trained as a metalsmith I should try and make my own. I have made a couple and am generally very happy with them, but using the finest jewelers saw blade that I can find still makes a rather wide slit. They work but I would love to make a narrower slit. Does anyone know where to get a even finer blade than a jeweler's supply house? Does anyone know how nib slits are cut in the real world? Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 61
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • beginnersmind

    20

  • Mickey

    5

  • richardandtracy

    4

  • watch_art

    3

a very thin round saw blade, like on a circular saw. wouldn't know where to find one though.

Thanks, the blade i am using is a jeweler's 8/0 which measures as best i can tell, about 1/128th of an inch thick. I would like to find something thinner than that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love Titanium nibs and have swapped a few from one pen to another. I really needed a better source for Ti nibs, so I decided, that being trained as a metalsmith I should try and make my own. I have made a couple and am generally very happy with them, but using the finest jewelers saw blade that I can find still makes a rather wide slit. They work but I would love to make a narrower slit. Does anyone know where to get a even finer blade than a jeweler's supply house? Does anyone know how nib slits are cut in the real world? Thanks

 

Flattening the end of the nib, as when one flexes a flex nib, opens the tines. Wouldn't adding curve to the end of the nib (if the basic geometry is similar) move the tines closer together? In other words, wouldn't it be possible to cut the slit as thin as you can with your present tools, and do the final contouring of the nib so as to bring the tines closer together? (Then do the final annealing or tempering?)

 

Just a thought. When in doubt, ask St. Clem.

The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free state; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter when published. Every freeman has an undoubted right to lay what sentiments he pleases before the public; to forbid this, is to destroy the freedom of the press; but if he publishes what is improper, mischievous or illegal, he must take the consequence of his own temerity. (4 Bl. Com. 151, 152.) Blackstone's Commentaries

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think if you could make your own nibs you would become a VERY popular person here.

Thanks, well they are a bit crude. no decoration at all, and no iridium tip but they still write and are super springy flexi. Kind of a pain in the neck actually. Definitely an experimental thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love Titanium nibs and have swapped a few from one pen to another. I really needed a better source for Ti nibs, so I decided, that being trained as a metalsmith I should try and make my own. I have made a couple and am generally very happy with them, but using the finest jewelers saw blade that I can find still makes a rather wide slit. They work but I would love to make a narrower slit. Does anyone know where to get a even finer blade than a jeweler's supply house? Does anyone know how nib slits are cut in the real world? Thanks

 

Flattening the end of the nib, as when one flexes a flex nib, opens the tines. Wouldn't adding curve to the end of the nib (if the basic geometry is similar) move the tines closer together? In other words, wouldn't it be possible to cut the slit as thin as you can with your present tools, and do the final contouring of the nib so as to bring the tines closer together? (Then do the final annealing or tempering?)

 

Just a thought. When in doubt, ask St. Clem.

yes, I do that so the spacing at the tip is good but the slit ends up being a triangle (a very thin triangle mind you, but still a triangle)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

pictures!! :clap1:

 

and writing samples!

You ask so sweetly! lets see if i can manage this technology...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The one nib (the less polished one) is set up for a Visconti voyager (that I don't own any more :bonk: The other one is in a Laban pen that I think is called a President (super fat and stubby) The Pelikan blue-black is one of my favorite inks because even though a boring color it writes very dry and showcases what a nib can really do. It especially accentuates whatever fineness a nib has. i like the wispyest hairline I can get.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

whoa! how much for you to make me one of those babies?

 

How long do you think a point will last without the tipping? how sturdy is titanium?

 

also, about the slit, it looks perfect! these look amazing! and the fact that there's nothing on them makes them even more attractive in my opinion. I REALLY like these. Dang. You could make a living on FPN selling these nibs, you know. No kidding. I'd guess $50-100 a piece.

Edited by watch_art
Link to comment
Share on other sites

whoa! how much for you to make me one of those babies?

 

How long do you think a point will last without the tipping? how sturdy is titanium?

 

It has been a while since I made these. I forget how long it took. So i wouldn't know what to ask for them. I tend to write embarasingly little, rotate pens a lot, and have a very light touch, so for me they would last forever. I seem to remember that one of the nibmeisters was offering retipping service at one time but i never followed through to see if that would work for Ti. These nibs are comparable in writing feel though to a really nice oversize vintage 14kt Waterman's nib that I bought about Five years ago at the Philly Pen show. I think I must have paid only $100-$200 for that nib. For fun writing, I highly recommend vintage nibs in modern pens. Most of my favorite writers are Franken-pens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

whoa! how much for you to make me one of those babies?

 

How long do you think a point will last without the tipping? how sturdy is titanium?

 

I think I must have paid only $100-$200 for that nib.

"ONLY" -just listen to me! :embarrassed_smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

whoa! how much for you to make me one of those babies?

 

Dang. You could make a living on FPN selling these nibs, you know. No kidding. I'd guess $50-100 a piece.

Thanks, Well I am an out of work mom, maybe I will think about it. I am also proud of my personal design for an italic nib. I start with a broad nib and grind it down and thin it to add a little flex. It is italic but does sort of a copperplate effect with minimal effort.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...