Jump to content

Dropped My Pen - Can This Be Fixed?


knarflj

Recommended Posts

My M400 slipped out of my hand last night and sustained some nib damage.  I think the tines are a wee bit misaligned, but the main thing obvious to me is that the nib is now badly misaligned with the rest of the nib section:

Posted Image

 

I am hoping that this is something that can be fixed, and if so, would like advice about where to send it.  If it were a cheap pen, I might be willing to experiment on it myself, but this is my only gold nib, and the pen was given me by my husband, so I really don't want to mess it up more than I have already!  I know there are a lot of reputable nibmeisters around; do any of them specialize in this kind of repair, or in Pelikan nibs? 

 

Jenny

"To read without also writing is to sleep." - St. Jerome

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 10
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • knarflj

    3

  • FarmBoy

    2

  • Intellidepth

    2

  • Skyppere

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

there are a number of experts around who can repair your pen for you. Two that come to mind are Sherrell Tyree and Joel Hamilton of http://www.ink-pen.com/

 

typically, though, I should warn you that the turn around time in ALL of the various repair places is long... But I can tell you that I've used these two individuals and have been 100% satisfied every single time.

cheers

skip williams

aka skyppere

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

 

I think you can probably fix that yourself. Firstly, you can easily slide the nib back into alignment on the feed, then you can carefully manipulate the tines back together. Try watching This You Tube video to see how it's done. SBRE Brown also has some helpful videos that will assist you if you need more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can probably send it back to Pelikan for repair. I had nib smoothness problems with a Pelikan I had owned for years and years... I just sent it back to Pelikan, asking them to make the nib smooth for me again. They sent the pen back to me quickly with a new nib (two-toned, instead of just gold) at no charge at all. Very good customer service!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A picture from the top would confirm... Looks like the nib is only pushed to the side and the tipping in intact and not bent. If correct you can nudge the nib back yourself.

 

Best

 

T

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to those of you who've responded so far. I have tried a couple of times to move the nib back into alignment with the feed, but it's not going anywhere. Perhaps I'm just too timid, but it feels to me as though if I "nudge" any harder, I will break something.

 

Here are shots from a couple other angles.

 

fpn_1426295327__img_0411.jpg

 

fpn_1426295395__img_0413.jpg

 

I didn't think to focus in on the tip, and the light is not good enough to try for a better shot before tomorrow, but maybe these show what they need to. I don't see anything else wrong myself, but I don't trust myself to be sure what to look for.

 

 

Jenny

"To read without also writing is to sleep." - St. Jerome

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not familiar with your pen - how would the nib and feed normally be removed if there were no issue? Ie screw out from the section, friction (with no special ridges keeping the feed in alignment with the section), or friction needing a straight pull out (due to a ridge in the feed that fits into the section a certain way)?

 

From the pics, it does look as though all that has happened is the nib has been pushed around a little off centre, and if both the nib and feed were able to be removed together it may be very easy to adjust. The tine alignment may also sort itself, as when my nibs are off-centre like this, the tines look slightly out of alignment but when placed back on centre they are fine. This is due to the shape of the feed pressing on one side of the nib more firmly than the other because of it being off-centre. This appears to be the case in one of your pics.

 

I can't always adjust my nibs with the feed left in place (depends on how tightly they are fitted), but removal of them as a pair always works for me.

 

If you do remove the nib and feed successfully, you may need to adjust how close to the tip of the nib the feed is a few times until you find your sweet spot for ink flow once more. None of this is difficult, just will take 10 minutes or so and some inky fingers ;).

 

Edit: looks like it might be a screw fitting - what year is your pen? My screw pen (Not pelikan) needs the nib and plastic feed to be held firmly together between my fingers close to the section to safely unscrew it.

Edited by Intellidepth

Noodler's Konrad Acrylics (normal+Da Luz custom flex) ~ Lamy AL-Stars/Vista F/M/1.1 ~ Handmade Barry Roberts Dayacom M ~ Waterman 32 1/2, F semi-flex nib ~ Conklin crescent, EF super-flex ~ Aikin Lambert dip pen EEF super-flex ~ Aikin Lambert dip pen semi-flex M ~ Jinhao X450s ~ Pilot Custom Heritage 912 Posting Nib ~ Sailor 1911 Profit 21k Rhodium F. Favourite inks: Iroshizuku blends, Noodler's CMYK blends.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is an M400, the nib and feed are a unit held together by a threaded collar that screws into the section..

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

My PM box is usually full. Just email me: my last name at the google mail address.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is an M400, the nib and feed are a unit held together by a threaded collar that screws into the section..

Are they permanently joined in that unit? I'm not familiar with them at all. Will be good to know as I was looking at purchasing one...

Edit: FPN searches reveal it looks as though they are not permanently joined but need some care with removal with the probable use of a knock block (though not always). Hmm. Food for thought.

Edited by Intellidepth

Noodler's Konrad Acrylics (normal+Da Luz custom flex) ~ Lamy AL-Stars/Vista F/M/1.1 ~ Handmade Barry Roberts Dayacom M ~ Waterman 32 1/2, F semi-flex nib ~ Conklin crescent, EF super-flex ~ Aikin Lambert dip pen EEF super-flex ~ Aikin Lambert dip pen semi-flex M ~ Jinhao X450s ~ Pilot Custom Heritage 912 Posting Nib ~ Sailor 1911 Profit 21k Rhodium F. Favourite inks: Iroshizuku blends, Noodler's CMYK blends.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are some companies who differentiate between something which is a product of the condition of the nib originally and what they call something done due to owner negligence, or by accident. Perhaps the person would be well to either try to do it own their own, or if nervous, find a nib meister. It is really a simple process to realign the nib with the feed. A nib meister will gladly take money and pen to do something so simple. I am not a nib meister by any stretch of the imagination, and I have managed to learn how to adjust tines, realign feed/nib, adjust ink flow, tune my nib, adjust a piston filler pen and so much more, all using Youtube videos. I have replaced nibs on several of my pens. If I want my nib tuned to a better quality XF, of course I use a nib meister. A warranty should only be used if you know for sure it will be honored, regardless of whether the pen arrived to you in a less than satisfactory condition, or you in fact did something to perhaps void the warranty; Depending on the worth of the pen to you, you can decide whether you are willing to pay for them to fix it anyway. Having sent my pens historically for repair when necessary, including a Montblanc Medici to Germany for adjustment, I am sure by way of my experiences.

 

P.S. there is a forum called "Of Nibs and Tines" they would be well to consult in order to read what they suggest. They might be able to give definitive instructions, or suggestions regarding whether it warrants anything particular, such as paying someone or sending it back to Pelikan for repair.

Edited by fountainpenlady

Ea Alis Volat Propiis, per/Repletus Fontis Calamus!
She Flies by Her Own Wings, with filled Fountain Pen

 

Delta DolceVita, F-C Intrinsic 02, Pelikan M800 red/black striation, Bexley ATB Strawberry Swirl, Red Jinhao 159, Platinum 3776 Bourgogne. :wub:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply! The pen is looking good again, and writing almost as well as before. I'm not sure whether the tines are a wee bit out of alignment or whether (as Intellidepth suggested), I just need to work a little longer to get the nib/feed relationship exactly right, or maybe a little of both. I had to work all day today, and there's no place in the house with good artificial light, so that final tweaking will have to wait until tomorrow or Monday, but I am so happy to have my pen back. I would never have dreamed I could do that myself if you all had not encouraged me to think it might not be such a disaster after all.

 

Once you gave me the courage to consider trying to do it myself, I dug around the forums a bit, and found these two posts (and the threads they're from) particularly helpful:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/159220-how-does-a-m8xx-nib-attach-to-the-feed/?p=1586399

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/240640-nibfeed-askew/?p=2614709

 

I didn't take the feed all the way out - just a little bit of pressure holding it as described in the second post loosened it up just enough that the nib and feed got back together almost without any more help from me. I can hardly tell you how much I appreciate you all taking the time to advise and encourage me. Thanks!

 

Jenny

"To read without also writing is to sleep." - St. Jerome

 

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...