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My Fountain Pen History. Its Really Bad. Sorry


Lugworm

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I should probably give a little of my fountain pen history. Much of it will make you either cry, tut or make your hair curl. Its not good. Sorry.

I had some dead cheap rubbish as a kid but the first pen but I'm not going to include those here as I can't remember what they were other than messy.

 

Some years ago I got hold of my Fathers old Platignum (I think it was a Platignum). It was plastic with a lever on the side. The nib tines were pointing all directions so, I took a pair of nail clippers to them and a nail file and by some miracle created an absolutely brilliant italic nib. I don't recommend you try this. It worked fine (except for occasionally letting go of all its ink) for many years but eventually snapped in half in the middle of the barrel. Gutted.

My other pen was a nice Sheaffer which I received as a work leaving gift. I used it everyday for years. I didn't use fountain pen ink. Instead I ran it on an ancient bottle of stamp pad ink that I found in a cupboard in work. Must have been fifty years old. Yes I know, blasphemy,but I have learned the error of my ways. Come on, it was better than making ink from soot. Anyway I didn't like that pen. Didn't like the section grip being left handed. Didn't like the cap which was too loose and always fell off leading to its early demise. One day it flew across the office, landing in its nib with me still holding the cap. The nail clipper repair didn't seem to work for some reason.

Since those dark days (three months ago) I have purchased the Kaweco Skyline Sport as a sort of stop gap pen whilst I decided on a decent pen. The nib skipped etc but I managed to fix it by washing it and sanding it with sandpaper from a puncture repair kit (everything on the cheap here). Anyway works really good now but the tiny scratches on the plastic really annoy me especially as I try to take good care of it. Well the barrel anyway.

I'm using Diamine ink.

I've never paid more than £17.99 on a pen which is why I'm spending so much time researching and asking questions here. Probably driving some of you up the wall with my indecisiveness.
So that's my pen history. Please don't ban me from this site for fountain pen abuse.

My debt he paid, my death he died, that I might live.

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The first one is KIA (killed in action), you should be honored.

 

The second one, well, you deserve all the blames.

 

The third one, well, this carry the usage mark as a emblem. So nothing wrong here.

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Sandpaper from a puncture repair kit? Wasn't that a bit coarse?

 

If you want to try out a bunch of pens for very little money, take a look at the Chinese pens from Hero, Jinhao, Hero etc.

I've had really good luck with them, and if your 'tinkering' destroys them, you're only out a couple of bucks.

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Sandpaper from a puncture repair kit? Wasn't that a bit coarse?

 

If you want to try out a bunch of pens for very little money, take a look at the Chinese pens from Hero, Jinhao, Hero etc.

I've had really good luck with them, and if your 'tinkering' destroys them, you're only out a couple of bucks.

+10

 

Now that you "know better" you can invest your few coins more wisely so they will give you more pleasure. Check out thrift and antique stores and estate sales.

 

Welcome home.

Edited by zaddick

If you want less blah, blah, blah and more pictures, follow me on Instagram!

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Whatever gets you through the night - is alright, alright!

 

Don't feel so bad - back in the day the cavemen had to grind the nib on a big ol rock when they had a pen with babys bottom - so sandpaper is a giant step up when you look at it that way.

 

 

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Sandpaper from a puncture repair kit? Wasn't that a bit coarse?

 

It was a bit coarse so I only very lightly and briefly sanded it. Please don't copy my approach. My success was more luck than judgement.

 

I will fully understand if nobody wants to lend me their pens. :D

My debt he paid, my death he died, that I might live.

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An update. I have had another go at fixing the Sheaffers. Armed with a penknife, pliers and the aforementioned sandpaper I managed to get the ink to flow once again. It was really wet and the nib (what was left of it) was really scratchy. With much fiddling and sanding I think I have produced something usable. Just need to see if it still works tomorrow.

Please don't copy me with your pens.

My debt he paid, my death he died, that I might live.

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You would be much better off buying a manicurist's nail buffer. They are very cheap and are basically several different grades of micromesh on a stick.

Available at drug stores, walmart etc.

 

Fill the pen with ink or water to provide some lubrication, and rinse thoroughly between each grade of abrasive.

 

Use an EXTREMELY light touch, let the weight of the pen do most of the work.

 

Make sure the tines are aligned properly first or you will never get the nib smooth.

Edited by Jamesbeat
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Take a look at some of the videos about smoothing your nib. The first step is to not take any of the tipping off. You can get most scratchiness out by aligning in the tines of the nib. You may be able to spread the shoulders of the nib to increase the ink flow (much harder to close them back up). Get a magnifying glass and go to Richard Binder's website (richardspens.com) and read about nib alignment.

 

After you've done everything possible without destructively altering your nib, then you go through the finest grades of sandpaper with the right touch. You need ink in the pen, and you need patience. It's always better to go to little than too much.

 

Welcome to FPN.

 

Buzz

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Thanks for that. Though I've already failed stage 1. I'll bear it in mind should there be a next time.

My debt he paid, my death he died, that I might live.

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I'm sure I saw this same story in a Laurel and Hardy short. Or was it the Three Stooges - Larry, Moe, and Curly ??

 

 

.

...

"Bad spelling, like bad grammar, is an offense against society."

- - Good Form Letter Writing, by Arthur Wentworth Eaton, B.A. (Harvard);  © 1890

.

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I'm sure I saw this same story in a Laurel and Hardy short. Or was it the Three Stooges - Larry, Moe, and Curly ??

 

 

.

Mr Bean often gets suggested in my family.

My debt he paid, my death he died, that I might live.

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I have many experiences with wrecking my pens, so I wouldn't feel alone if I were you. :rolleyes:

 

I killed 2 Lamy pens

 

I also killed 3 Jotters (2 of which I have fixed)

 

In total, I lost more than 100$ on pens. Yet, today, I don't feel so guilty.

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