How Successful Have You Been Working On Your Nibs?

[lurcho]

How far do you go, how long do you spend?

 

I've adjusted several JoWo #6s, usually overdoing it, and out of about ten, I reckon I've got about four perfect ones. by which I mean, four that are wonderfully smooth and flowing according to my own tastes.

 

I was wondering what others' experiences are. For example, do you always get a perfect smoothness and flow, or do you sometimes quit while you're ahead? I'm certainly made an okay nib worse.

 

And I still can't work out how to avoid the inverted Grand Canyon.

[ac12]

I work on a nib as long as it takes to get it "right."

However, there is a point at which I will punt it to a more experienced pen tech. Either a) when the task is beyond my skill/experience level or b - I just cannot get it right.

 

For b, I worked on a Pelikan nib for 2 hours, then I gave up. I took it to Mike Masuyama, and he fixed it in less than 10 minutes, including the time to remove the nib and reinstall the nib. He immediately knew what the problem was and the appropriate fix. It was clearly apparent that I did not.

 

For the GC, you will have to bend the nib to straighten out the slit between the tip. Sometimes you can do it by working the shoulders of the nib. Get a junkie nib and practice.

Edited May 2, 2017 by ac12

[Randal6393]

Four out of the isn't bad for a learning curve. As you learn, you will get better. Keep your less than perfect nibs, there will come a time when you will want to rework them. And will have the knowledge and experience to make them perfect as well.

 

Best of luck,

[sodul]

It does depend on the nib and the pen. I started working on nibs with #6 friction fit nibs and found that for more important tine adjustments getting the nib out and working on it directly is a big help. When the nib is on the feed and misaligned you have a much more limited range of 'movement' to bend the nib down to the right shape. IT is also easier to adjust the nib tightness to adjust the flow when the nib is out.

I have a vintage hooded pen that has a misaligned nib. I have spent at least 1h on and off trying to get the tines to align. Luckily I can get the section/hood off but I have not been able to get the nib out yet. I did get the alignment to improve but it is still bad enough that I can see the defect without the loupe. The nib is flexible, or at least semi-flex, which means it is less willing to be realigned.

 

I would recommend that you train yourself on cheaper pens such as the Jinhao X450 that you can get for $0.99 shipped and fiddle with it. Replacement nibs can be had for very cheap as well so it does not even matter if you completely ruin a nib on them.

 

Good luck

[sciumbasci]

Tried to fix the flow on a Dollar 717i. I dunked it.

 

Since then I promised myself I'd never tinker with nibs anymore.

[siamackz]

I work on a nib till I feel like it's reasonably better. I will often 'quit while ahead' and come back to a pen after some time because in the meantime I would have worked on different pens, read more, etc. and so I would return more experienced for a second shot

[WirsPlm]

I work on a nib till I feel like it's reasonably better. I will often 'quit while ahead' and come back to a pen after some time because in the meantime I would have worked on different pens, read more, etc. and so I would return more experienced for a second shot

 

This is also what I do and while I've had some pens that I messed up badly enough to just toss I don't work on expensive pens myself so there's no real damage done, I can replace the pen or nib without worrying about it.

[Bill Wood]

Yup. Keep the failures. It's educational. And sometimes you can make those nibs sing in the future as Randall mentioned.

[lurcho]

True. Some nibs I considered ruined (through overworking), I've returned to much later and made good or at least better.

 

It's still luck over judgment, though!

[mitto]

I work on all my nibs until I get them right for me. I especially buy vintage pens with bent/twisted nibs for cheap and then work on them straighening, doing the tines alignment, adjusting the ink flow etc. It is fun bringing back to life a dead nib.

[siamackz]

I work on all my nibs until I get them right for me. I especially buy vintage pens with bent/twisted nibs for cheap and then work on them straighening, doing the tines alignment, adjusting the ink flow etc. It is fun bringing back to life a dead nib.

Me too! I finally ordered some decent tools - a convex nib repair tool from Dr. Laurence!

[SteveE]

I think the longest I worked on any single pen was a year and a half. Seriously. Not all the time, mind you, but it took me a solid 18 months before I could get it through the manufacturer/seller's head that there was a problem. I finally bought several other same-brand pens and did a major mix-and-match. Got them all working, finally.

 

I've been accumulating (not really collecting) pens for 35 years or so, and I've never totally given up on a nib. I do have one, a 1990's Conklin Crescent LE, that had a broad 14K nib that the feed just couldn't keep up with. I finally got tired of messing around and swapped a Knox nib into it, and now the pen writes fine. Looks pretty good, too. (This pen, although being a "limited" or premium edition with sterling silver trim, was purchased inexpensively at a show, it having some badly damaged furniture - so authenticity means little.)

 

I probably have several nibs that a more experienced technician would deem as "ruined" but they write fine for me, so they're still good users. I have maybe two pens that required feed "hacking" to get enough ink to flow to write smoothly. All of the others (100 or so pens) needed either nothing, or else just some minor tine alignment and maybe a bit of smoothing, using 0.3 and 1-micron mylar sheets.

Edited May 10, 2017 by SteveE

[Andrea_R]

successfully managed to make a 149 nib wetter, couldn't be more happy

[pacyhdermprincess]

I've used mylar paper and micro mesh to smooth scratchy nibs. I've had a problem where I've made a nib wetter. I have only Pilot Metropolitans, Lamy Vista and AL, and TWSBI. None of my pens are horrifically expensive so I was willing to tinker with them.

[siamackz]

The most complicated work I've done is on steel vintage MB nibs that have lost their iridium tipping. Tryicky but not so hard actually. Nibs without iridium write surprisingly well if polished nice. Since they always turn out to be a fat line I like to make them oblique and cursive. Very interesting line variation and writing! These nibs are my best achievement!