Custom Nib Grinds On Your Pelikans

[denbuh]

I recently purchased my very first Pelikan - a M400 white tortoise with a medium nib, and although I love the pen, the nib is just not doing it for me. It is smooth, but when I look down at what I write, it just seems like it is missing something. So, I have been considering getting a custom nib grind. Have any of you had any custom nib work done on any of your Pelikans, and if so, who did you use, what grind did you get, and are you enjoying it? I am considering getting it ground to a stub (Pendleton Brown perhaps), but am not completely decided yet.

[SujiCorp12345]

I've had Pendleton Brown stub my M1000, and 2 of my M800s. I've been very pleased with his work.

[sargetalon]

I don't endorse alteration of the vintage Pelikan nibs but these modern Pelikan nibs are lifeless. No variation and no character for the most part. The nibs lend themselves nicely to a grind because of the generous tipping. I had Mr. Mottishaw of Classic Pens stub a factory bold nib on an M605 marine blue. It writes wonderfully and I'm very happy with it. Much more expressive than factory. Good luck getting a grind that you are happy with.

[zaddick]

I had an M1000 BB stubbed by Mike Masuyama. He made it a bit crisper than a typical stub or a BLS from Pendleton. I like the nib, but the 1000 has too much blow for me. I would get a grind on a smaller M800 in a heartbeat. The standard nibs are booooooring, at least to me.

[Ursus]

I had an M800 B turned into a stuband really like it.

[Occipital Lobe]

I can only agree.

I have an M800 Medium which was the most boring nib I´ve tred so far. I had it stubbed by John Sorowka, and it completely changed the pen. It added the character I had somewhat expected of a pen in that pricerange.

I really like the M800, and I would probably buy a Fine nib next time - and have it reground immediately if the experience turns out to be the same.

[dms525]

I have had some two dozen Pelikan nibs ground to cursive italics. These were M600 and M800 nibs, mostly. One was a M1000. They have been customized by Richard Binder or John Mottishaw, when purchased from either of these gentlemen. Otherwise, they were done by Michael Masuyama.

 

I have not had any vintage Pelikan nibs worked on. They are sufficiently interesting as they come. Modern nibs, the M1000 excepted, are nails. IMO, they make excellent nibs for formal and cursive italic. I do have one nib for an M800 that had been custom ground to a narrow cursive italic before I bought it. It was too narrow for my italic script and just not that interesting for American cursive compared to a nib with a bit of flexibility.

 

So, make of all this what you will. I love my custom-ground cursive italic Pelikan nibs, when used for italic script. Otherwise, not so much.

 

David

[prf5]

My new m400 EF was delightful until I tried to write with it. I posted here and followed advice of sending the pen to an expert. Ron Zorn worked on the nib and the feed. I couldn't be happier with the result.

[DrCodfish]

I cant say I have spent as much getting nibs customized as I have on pens, but I've spent money getting many the nibs where I want them, and I consider it money well spent. I have used the services of:

Pendleton Brown

Mike Masuyama

Richard Binder

John Mottishaw

Danny Fudge

Greg Minuskin

 

Hmmm I think that covers it. I started with stubs and then cursive italics. I find that for me, as a lefty overwriter my sweet spot nib is a Right Oblique (about 7.5 degree) cursive Italic grind. I like a nib width of about 0.6-0.8,mm. I know this probably sounds 'fussy' or maybe 'snobby', or maybe just plain funny, but when I pick up one of the pens with my preferred nib and start writing, it makes me smile, ... every time.

 

Send me a note and I'll give you my recommendation.

[penultress]

My M400 white tortoiseshell was given some "Pendleton Panache" and now I love it. The nib was also an M and I wrote to Pendleton that I felt it was too wet. It was adjusted perfectly. Now, when I let someone use my pen, I keep a close eye on it or it will disappear!

[denbuh]

A huge THANK YOU to you all who replied. I have been feeling a bit odd about the whole experience of not loving my pen (well, just not in love with the nib and writing experience...I absolutely LOVE the pen body!), and I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one who has felt this way. I think I have been feeling odd about it because this pen has been on my wishlist for such a long time, and so once I was finally able to acquire it and realizing it was not what I was expecting, I was disappointed (something I had never felt towards any of my other pens before). A few of you hit the nail right on the head in that the nib's writing performance is just plain boring. Anyway, I am happy to say that I am definitely going to try a custom grind...I just need to decide on which one...

[fly_us]

The more important question is what kind of nib you wan to grind to, not who will grind it . For the first stop, i would recommend to grind it to stub like the old one.

 

I grind the nib myself, and for the M400 white tortoise, i grind it to a stub, similar to the old style stub.

[tacitus]

I grind nibs by myself regardless of whether they are modern or vintage.

I am quite enjoying both its process and results. I have practiced on some dozen nibs (and ruined half a dozen). So, I recommend you do so initially at least under the guidance of (or demos by) nibmeisters. Fortunately, we have many opportunities in Japan.

 

Please see a customization by a Japanese nibmeister (not me).

http://blog.livedoor.jp/nekopen23/archives/45784120.html

It is too unique to imitate

Edited September 3, 2015 by tacitus

[inkstainedruth]

I haven't had a custom grind done (although I have considered it for the green marble binde M200. It's got a medium nib and it is really boring (and a tad scratchy at times) -- my first Pel was a 1990s era M400 Brown Tortoise with a really juicy and expressive F nib, and I was expecting the M200 to be the equivalent, since it's from roughly the same timeframe.

I *did* have Deb McKinney work on the B nib on the M200 Café Crème I bought last spring, when I was at DCSS last month. It had a bad problem with skipping at times, no matter what ink I put in it: Pelikan, Diamine, and Montblanc all had skipping issues. She said she tuned it to be much wetter. Right now I have that custom-blend Monteverde ink that was given out as swag at the show this year, and it's marginally better (the ink seems too wet for the pen but I'm still occasionally having skipping issues -- although not nearly as badly as before). So we'll see....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ernst Bitterman]

I got an M150 point in B to run into a stub for my M600, and I swap it in at least as much as the original medium point; it's good fun. The reason I got the M150 point is that at the time I was in the final stages of training myself up to the task, and didn't want a disastrous mistake to also be an expensive one; it's not hard to do, but I wouldn't suggest attacking anything that costs over $50 until you're confident in the skill. If you're not, there's a lot of people who will do it for not too much money.

 

I include an image not as a suggestion of who to use, but to show the difference you might expect (the pen is a Waterman Phileas; at the time inexpensive enough to practice on).

[Calabria]

I have all my new Pelikans reground now and factor that into the price which affects my willingness to buy a new pen. I prefer starting with EF and then going to a Sailor F, with more of a pencil-like feel. I think that comes close to old nibs

[shedberg]

This is an interesting thread. One of my favourite things about my M600 (M) is the "stubbish" characteristics of the stock nib. Now I'm wondering if I should have it officially "stubbed", maybe I'd like it even more.

[gordonhooker]

My M400 white tortoiseshell was given some "Pendleton Panache" and now I love it. The nib was also an M and I wrote to Pendleton that I felt it was too wet. It was adjusted perfectly. Now, when I let someone use my pen, I keep a close eye on it or it will disappear!

You let other people use your pens

[gordonhooker]

I am planning on getting some work done on my flock of pelikans over the next few months. I drop Jack from Aussie Pen Repairs a line and start the process next month. Starting with the M600 with the fine nib as I don't really like the way it feels.

[JGT]

Once you get your nib properly ground by a "master" you'll never be satisfied with a standard factory nib again. I've had all my Pelikans, in fact every pen I own reground. i like wide flat nibs. To me a fine nib is my .6mm cursive italic on my M800 Pelikan demonstrator. I have one full flex XX Fine to BBB on a M600 done by Richard Binder and a B M1000 ground by Pendleton Brown. With proper use these nibs will add a flair to your writing that will make it really stand out, and you'll enjoy using your pens more. That's my story! I hope your nib grind will give you great writing enjoyment! God Bless!