How do I tell if my nibs are in ok condition?

[Garageboy]

The Italic nibbed Osmiroid 65 I'm writing/ signing yearbooks with is slow, but smooth. It also skips, if I don't wait a second before writing the next word. The tip is plain steel, but is angled upwards, slighty (can't tell if that's damage or if it's supposed to be like that)

 

My Parker Reflex writes with a light scratching noise.

 

Should I get a magnifier? Thanks!

[Keith with a capital K]

It sounds like the Osmiroid might need a good cleaning as they should not be skippy while the Parker soounds like it could use a little smoothing or a minor adjustment to make it a smooth writer.

 

The italic tip on the Osmiroid should not be turned up so it is probable it was bent by the application of too much pressure.

 

Having a good magnifier is pretty much essential for any fountain pen user or anyone who wants to make those minor adjustments on their own.

[KCat]

yup! well, okay, IMO any pen owner should have some sort of magnifier. I have a 9X loupe which is plenty for me for most things. I find anything stronger to be a strain on my ooooold eyes.

 

Osmiroids were notoriously dry writers however. About the only "cure" i've found is to choose a high flow ink or to do the soapy water rinse thing. I don't know what the 65 nib looks like and am basing these statements on Osmiroid calligraphy pens made about the same time.

 

without seeing the nibs I can't judge if they have a problem but it's a good thing for you to get a loupe (they're not terribly expensive) and start learning how to judge alignment and such.

[grasshopper]

Hi Garageboy,

 

Over the weekend I bought myself a magnifying glass on a headpiece that wraps around my forehead, as I was just advised by a penshop owner that I should really own one. It's only a 4X magnifier so I might get a stronger one next. Last night, my wife just caught me with it studying my first parker vacumatic. I couldn't really see her properly, but I think her jaw did touch the floor and I could feel her eyes rolling.

 

What can I say...

[wimg]

Hi Garageboy,

 

I agree with both Keith and KCat here. If anything, the Osmiroid nibs should be bent down slightly. All of the italic Osmiroid callgraphy nibs in my collection are. The upwards bend may contribute to the skipping, btw, caused by the nib being too far away from the feed, and getting pushed even further away when writing with it.

 

Also, rather than the 9X nib KCat prefers, I would personally go for a little stronger one, let's say 15X, or even more if you want to do a fair amount of nib work. But that's just my opinion .

 

HTH, warm regards, Wim

[Garageboy]

It's not bent too far upward and you only see it at certain angles. How do I fix it ? The pen has been cleaned and rinsed

 

I have to write at an unusual angle to get a VERY beautiful line (maybe I'm just not used to real italics)

Edited June 14, 2005 by Garageboy

[KCat]

Also, rather than the 9X nib KCat prefers, I would personally go for a little stronger one, let's say 15X, or even more if you want to do a fair amount of nib work. But that's just my opinion .

i blame my old eyes, wim. It's just a matter of getting headaches when I use anything stronger than 10X. And the 9X was on sale.

[KCat]

there shouldn't be that much difference in angle of attack for an italic nib. The only place where you really alter your approach is rotation of the nib and that is dependent on the hand you are trying to execute. But I've used cursive italics for normal writing with no major difference in the angle I hold the pen at. Does sound like a damaged nib to me.

[wimg]

Also, rather than the 9X nib KCat prefers, I would personally go for a little stronger one, let's say 15X, or even more if you want to do a fair amount of nib work. But that's just my opinion .

i blame my old eyes, wim. It's just a matter of getting headaches when I use anything stronger than 10X. And the 9X was on sale.

Hey KCat,

 

I knew that, I knew that, just messing with ye...

 

Warm regards, WIm

[wimg]

It's not bent too far upward and you only see it at certain angles. How do I fix it ? The pen has been cleaned and rinsed

 

I have to write at an unusual angle to get a VERY beautiful line (maybe I'm just not used to real italics)

Hi G.,

 

Can you maybe post a picture, or a scan?

 

In order to diagnose properly, I would prefer to see a picture of some sort...

 

TIA, Wim

[Garageboy]

I'll try, but the camera doesn't focus that tight

[wimg]

Hi G.

 

Alternatively, try a scan of the pen (on a scanner, yes) with the nib facing the glass plate, and another one with the nib sideways. Do this at high resolution, and just crop the image to contain the nib. Just put some sheets of white paper ove rthe pen, that is what I tend to do.

 

If you do photograph it, just take a pic from a distance where it does focus well, and use the highest resolution possible with your camera. Then just crop the nib.

 

HTH, warm regards, Wim

[Garageboy]

Thanks, I'll give this a shot soon, when I get some free time.