Dropped Pen. Planning To Grind To Italic. Advice?

[cattar]

Have used fountain pens for decades. Have cleaned and put new ink in pens regularly.

And have now dropped one on its nib.
<Gasp>

It's the Waterman Kultur F nib that's been my EDC for years.
The nib tines are bent/broken before the tipping. So that's gonna go, and the nib will become an italic.
My plan is to drag it on a sharpening stone as though I'm pulling the pen toward me. Then finish it on finer & finer sides of an emery block.
Thoughts? Advice?

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Make sure you hold it in the position you write with it while grinding. You'll do just fine; it's not rocket science.

[cattar]

But rocket science was easy.

It was packing the parachute that was a bit of a challenge.

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Glad I've learned not to roll my hand when I write.

[grainweevil]

Grinding Your Own Nibs - Ludwig Tan and you might find you need Richard Binder's Notes from his nib smoothing workshop too.

[View from the Loft]

I'm probably stating the obvious here, but I would suggest that the nib is straightened and aligned before you start on this.

[cattar]

Thanks for links. I go back to Richard Binder every time I have a new-to-me pen. Like the detail in the link on grinding.

The nib tines are fairly straight and aligned.
A month ago I let a newbie try the pen, the nib tip became bent back like a shaeffer triumph, and I carefully pressed it back in line. The pen still wrote nicely, but not the same.
So the nib was already stressed when it dropped. The tip bent back cleanly and evenly. The tines about 1/8 inch behind the tip show the subtle ripple stress of being overflexed, but otherwise they are straight and aligned, as much as they're going to be unless I heat them.

[Ernst Bitterman]

My go-to for finishing work like this is one of the "four stage" nail buffers; they're easily available in drug stores, and the final two stages get you to the sort of polish that does away with any sense of tooth.

 

I would also suggest getting something like a Pilot Plumix to gaze at through a loupe to offer a model of what you want as the final product.

[cattar]

Yes on the nail buffer. I'll probably skip the last two stages, since I like to feel the nib on the page.

And I do have a plumix nib handy. Good idea to check as I go.

 

 

 

grammar.

Edited August 21, 2015 by cattar

[mcgeechan]

Nail buffer pads are brilliant for final stages of a regrind.

 

Might I also suggest watching this video - it helped me a lot.

 

[cattar]

Oh, quick and easy. Nice.