Nib Service Denied Because I Use Noodler's Inks?

[JefferyS]

I just discovered that I had 19 pens in rotation, so I took 14 of them out of rotation today. About half of them had Noodler's inks in them, and none of them appeared at all damaged by the ink.

 

I assume that "chemically melts" means "dissolves". No sign of that in my Bexley, Aurora, Pelikan, Gate City, or Visconti pens.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I am confident I know of the nibmeister in question and one other very well respected Pen Dealer who feels the same way, nearly to the same extent.

 

There isn't a lot that's known for sure here, here's some things I think *I* know.

 

-It isn't likely that either of these two gentlemen would lightly make a decision like this which would so impact, yea, even limit their income potential Without what they thought was due cause. It would be completely nonsensical. You don't stay as successful as these two men being systematically nonsensical.

 

-I doubt the nibmeister was purposely being rude for basically the same reason as above. It's counterproductive and that is not this nibmeisters usual MO. For me, sometimes one of the hardest burning plummeting discussions to punch out of and not appear to be rude is one where the opposition just isn't "getting" my angle of the discussion. I could also see that happening, it HAS happened in this very forum, with discussions on Noodler's ink.

 

-Both of these gentleman have seen and learned far more about pens than I ever will. When in doubt, (Allow me to translate; when it's about your pens, and you Can't be 100% sure) I am usually most apt to take advantage of that knowledge and experience instead of flying blindly against it.

 

-At lastly of what I "know"; as close as I can come without chemical testing, I KNOW I have seen Baystate Blue MELT Esterbrook plastic. And that's some of the toughest plastic ever to go into a fountain pen.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[hari317]

I don't see any problems. If he feels that way then he is only reasonable to avoid working on pens that have been used with Noodler's ink. In fact I applaud the person for being honest with you.

+1

[JefferyS]

I just looked up Esterbrook pens on Wikipedia. It says "acquired by Venus pencils, then dissolved" (!!)

This is such a Lloyd-like post!

[FarmBoy]

I had a well-known nibmeister refuse to work on a couple of nibs I wanted reground because he only works in 1mm increments. We went back and forth in emails as I tried to decide the best width. Finally, I said I wanted one of them ground to a .5 or something (I forgot his 1mm increment rule).. He immediately told me to find a different nibmeister and even after I told him I didn't care if it was 1 or .5 he stopped responding to my emails.

 

Nibadonna?

 

If you meant the nibmeister only works with 0.1mm increment, and you wanted the nib to be grounded to increments of 0.05mm (which is just 50 micrometers, typical length of a human cell), I can understand why the nibmeister backed out as different ink/paper combinations could easily give variance in line width on that scale. But if he did back out for this reason, he should have explained it to you.

So 0.002 inches. That is a tough grind. Left as originally stated the nib person didn't look good. Once we dug in a bit and sorted out some facts did any opinions change OR is our nib guy still unreasonable?

[gep]

Three things:

 

One, hi. :-) This may actually be my first post after lurking for years.

 

Two: I must have missed something in the OP. At what point does the nibmeister decline service?

The selection quoted from the original email exchange doesn't make that very clear to me.

Did they refuse service, or just advise you "don't do that if I work on this", or...?

 

If they guarantee their work, then it sorta *is* within their purview to ask.

 

Three: I know that, if it were me, I'd prefer that a "well-known nibmeister" were to caution me if they thought I was doing anything that-- in their estimation-- might be hazardous to my pen's health. I *write* with my pens, and some of them are fragile creatures in ways unbeknownst to me. It is not at all fun to find out after the fact that "everyone knows" you shouldn't do whatever it was I just did that pays my local friendly nibmeister's bills :embarrassed_smile:

 

That said, if I felt I were treated poorly, or in an unduly rude fashion, I'd probably take my business elsewhere. I've walked out of shops for the same reason.

 

--Gale

Edited January 20, 2013 by gep

[AltecGreen]

Three things:

 

One, hi. :-) This may actually be my first post after lurking for years.

 

Two: I must have missed something in the OP. At what point does the nibmeister decline service?

The selection quoted from the original email exchange doesn't make that very clear to me.

Did they refuse service, or just advise you "don't do that if I work on this", or...?

 

If they guarantee their work, then it sorta *is* within their purview to ask.

 

Three: I know that, if it were me, I'd prefer that a "well-known nibmeister" were to caution me if they thought I was doing anything that-- in their estimation-- might be hazardous to my pen's health. I *write* with my pens, and some of them are fragile creatures in ways unbeknownst to me. It is not at all fun to find out after the fact that "everyone knows" you shouldn't do whatever it was I just did that pays my local friendly nibmeister's bills :embarrassed_smile:

 

That said, if I felt I were treated poorly, or in an unduly rude fashion, I'd probably take my business elsewhere. I've walked out of shops for the same reason.

 

--Gale

Whoa!

[Mickey]

I had a well-known nibmeister refuse to work on a couple of nibs I wanted reground because he only works in 1mm increments. We went back and forth in emails as I tried to decide the best width. Finally, I said I wanted one of them ground to a .5 or something (I forgot his 1mm increment rule).. He immediately told me to find a different nibmeister and even after I told him I didn't care if it was 1 or .5 he stopped responding to my emails.

 

Nibadonna?

 

I know exactly who you mean. Ran the same piece of nonsense with me. Rude, not to mention boarder line nuts.

 

Let's see, I'd like an 8mm cursive italic nib for my Pelikan 1000. I'm thinking about painting my bathroom.

Edited January 20, 2013 by Mickey

[Mickey]

I had a well-known nibmeister refuse to work on a couple of nibs I wanted reground because he only works in 1mm increments. We went back and forth in emails as I tried to decide the best width. Finally, I said I wanted one of them ground to a .5 or something (I forgot his 1mm increment rule).. He immediately told me to find a different nibmeister and even after I told him I didn't care if it was 1 or .5 he stopped responding to my emails.

 

Nibadonna?

 

If you meant the nibmeister only works with 0.1mm increment, and you wanted the nib to be grounded to increments of 0.05mm (which is just 50 micrometers, typical length of a human cell), I can understand why the nibmeister backed out as different ink/paper combinations could easily give variance in line width on that scale. But if he did back out for this reason, he should have explained it to you.

So 0.002 inches. That is a tough grind. Left as originally stated the nib person didn't look good. Once we dug in a bit and sorted out some facts did any opinions change OR is our nib guy still unreasonable?

 

If it's who I think it is, I've been down this road, and he couldn't seem to appreciate that a nib specification like ".6mm x .15mm l-oblique" represents a target, not an absolute, even when this was explained to him.

[Brian C]

Hogwash. I'll put whatever ink I want in my pens. If guys like Greg Minuskin don't like it I'll go elsewhere.

[hari317]

Hogwash. I'll put whatever ink I want in my pens. If guys like Greg Minuskin don't like it I'll go elsewhere.

and this is what the nib tech seems to have suggested to the OP as well.

[MusinkMan]

Hogwash. I'll put whatever ink I want in my pens. If guys like Greg Minuskin don't like it I'll go elsewhere.

 

LOL!!!! Why don't you tell us how you really feel??? LOL!!!!

[AltecGreen]

Hogwash. I'll put whatever ink I want in my pens. If guys like Greg Minuskin don't like it I'll go elsewhere.

 

 

I think we have reached the conclusion.

 

 

One is free to use whatever ink and the said person is free to refuse work on a nib. This I believe is the bottom line. So simple.

 

 

 

 

Edit: On second thoughts, is this thread really about the refusal of work or is it about loyalty to a specific ink brand?

Edited January 20, 2013 by AltecGreen

[hari317]

 

If it's who I think it is, I've been down this road, and he couldn't seem to appreciate that a nib specification like ".6mm x .15mm l-oblique" represents a target, not an absolute, even when this was explained to him.

 

Actually, i think an experienced professional technician will know right away what they can achieve and what not. If at work, I ask my machinist to make a part specifying the dimensions and the tolerance, he will right away tell me if it is within his or his machine's capabilities, no trial and error. IMO, It is better to be clear at the outset than do irreversible damage to the job.

[brunico]

Edit: On second thoughts, is this thread really about the refusal of work or is it about loyalty to a specific ink brand?

 

Loyalty to a specific ink brand? With PR, Herbin and Diamine in rotation, notebookeresq is playing the field!

 

He had two questions, one about refusal of work and the other about what an entire brand of several hundred different inks had to do with whether a gold nib would work.

[mhosea]

If you meant the nibmeister only works with 0.1mm increment, and you wanted the nib to be grounded to increments of 0.05mm (which is just 50 micrometers, typical length of a human cell), I can understand why the nibmeister backed out as different ink/paper combinations could easily give variance in line width on that scale. But if he did back out for this reason, he should have explained it to you.

So 0.002 inches. That is a tough grind. Left as originally stated the nib person didn't look good. Once we dug in a bit and sorted out some facts did any opinions change OR is our nib guy still unreasonable?

 

It is specifically not my intention to comment on who has been reasonable or unreasonable, but I don't agree that anything was sorted out there. I think I know who that nibmeister was (no guarantee they are the same as the one who inspired the thread), and he requires a precise width. He doesn't want an interval or a vague reference to a width. He asks for a number, so if you want him to do the work you (eventually) give him a number, regardless of how vague your actual desires might be. He requires that number to be a multiple of 0.1mm.

[AltecGreen]

Edit: On second thoughts, is this thread really about the refusal of work or is it about loyalty to a specific ink brand?

 

Loyalty to a specific ink brand? With PR, Herbin and Diamine in rotation, notebookeresq is playing the field!

 

He had two questions, one about refusal of work and the other about what an entire brand of several hundred different inks had to do with whether a gold nib would work.

 

 

I was asking a deeper and older question and one not aimed at the OP. I have a pretty good memory of things that have passed on FPN even if the records no longer exists.

 

 

 

As for the point about gold nibs, the issue if there is one is not specifically with the nib but the other bits. But we really can't discuss that here.

[brunico]

I was asking a deeper and older question and one not aimed at the OP. I have a pretty good memory of things that have passed on FPN even if the records no longer exists.

 

 

 

As for the point about gold nibs, the issue if there is one is not specifically with the nib but the other bits. But we really can't discuss that here.

 

This?

[AltecGreen]

This?

 

That was one of the two. The other I do not believe still exists. They both created a firestorm and I believe that today's thread is one of the results.

Edited January 20, 2013 by AltecGreen

[kernando]

So the lesson here is that if you want a nib worked on, you may have to lie about what ink you used, and just say you only used Waterman/Quink/Skrip/Pelikan/favorite-pen-brand ink?

 

I once looked at a nib worker's blog, to check out all the cracks that were repaired. Then I asked him whether he did crack repairs, and he said no. For competition, I need to find a jeweler who does LASER welding on gold. There's soldering, but that's not as much fun to think about.

 

I dislike the term "nibmeister" all around. There's no good reason to throw in a German and Montblan-y word where English does fine.