Jump to content

Replacing Nibs In Vintage Pens


scrivelry

Recommended Posts

I am very new to this, I have a smallish budget, I like to tinker.

 

I have seen numerous vintage pens on ebay that were missing nibs or had nibs that pretty clearly looked like goners.

 

For something like a Mid-century Parker I am sure there is some set way or ways to get these nibs/send them off to be replaced. However, if I wanted to replace a missing nib in a vintage pen, where would I start?

 

This does not strike me as easy, and I am pretty sure it is even less easy than it strikes me, but I figure if I never ask I will never know more than I do now...

 

T

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 10
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • scrivelry

    4

  • Ron Z

    1

  • pen lady

    1

  • pajaro

    1

What you are asking is more involved than you may think. What you need first is a book on pen repair. You'll find lots of answers, and it will save you lots of grief. I read e verything that I could when I first started repairing pens. The PCA library has repair manuals from the manufacturers and copies of magazines with repair articles. The Marshall/Oldfield book is excellent. I do not recommend the book by Frank Dubiel. We've advanced beyond many of his repair techniques in the 10 years or so since he died.

 

Read first, then dive in and have fun!

 

Having said that, at the least you need a knockout block, punch (maybe with a hole in the middle), a small hammer, a new sac, shellac, and of course a nib.

spacer.png
Visit Main Street Pens
A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful vintage pen repair...

Please use email, not a PM for repair and pen purchase inquiries.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for your kind and informative response!

 

I've been reading what I can find but having some direction to go in makes it so much easier!

 

T

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ron is right - read, lots. The learning curve is steep otherwise! As far as I'm concerned, there's a special place in hell for people who wreck a perfectly good old pen just to salvage a few dollars worth of gold from the nib. OK rant over for the day.

 

However, it's probably best to try and replace the missing nib with one from a similar make and model of pen. The curve of the nib over the feed is quite specific, though if anyone like Ron says differently, Pen Lady bows to their superior knowledge - and how!!!!!

 

Good luck learning how to fix pens, but be warned, we can turn you to the dark side soooooo easily!

Edited by pen lady
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The old nibs are worth more as nibs, but the scrappers don't necessarily know this. Or anything at all.

 

 

There is a lot of literature, but not all the literature is in agreement. So, there are pitfalls in the reading approach.

 

Not wanting to know much about fixing pens, but liking a little improvisation hedonism, I occasionally fit odd nibs to pens as long as the process can be reversed and no more damage is done. Learned a lot this way. Not an orthodox approach, though.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as I'm concerned, there's a special place in hell for people who wreck a perfectly good old pen just to salvage a few dollars worth of gold from the nib. OK rant over for the day.

 

+1!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ron is right - read, lots. The learning curve is steep otherwise!

This is a bit of a bugbear of mine, a steep learning curve doesn't mean something is hard to learn. It means the skills are acquired in a short space of time - which is often a good thing!

Instagram @inkysloth

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did win an auction for two pens with missing nibs. They were cheap enough not to cry too hard over if I am not successful, but if I am, I will have one for me and one for one of my favorite people on earth, so I decided it's worth the risk/effort/possible humiliation to see what i can do with them... thank you all for your comments and advice!

 

T

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By far the best pens for this kind of thing that I have found are platignum vintage pens. people sell them for very cheap, they have varying types of makes and models, and they can accept quite a wide variety of other vintage or modern nibs. Because the model vary, learning to repair them is on the cheaper side, and if you do break them, it is not a huge loss.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By far the best pens for this kind of thing that I have found are platignum vintage pens. people sell them for very cheap, they have varying types of makes and models, and they can accept quite a wide variety of other vintage or modern nibs. Because the model vary, learning to repair them is on the cheaper side, and if you do break them, it is not a huge loss.

I'm very glad to hear this. I've actually already got one winging it's way towards me now. Well, walking, more likely. And probably only 80's vintage, or 90's. Mine is a calligraphy set, but I am not sure if that's what you mean. Still, I'm happy to hear it wasn't an insane thing to do...

 

T

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
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    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...