Re-Setting A Nib And Feed, Too Long!

[pen tom]

I recently bought a Waterman 52 from the 1930. I have a lot of Waterman pens from that era, so I have worked on them before

 

I did something that I never do, I tried to make the nib a bit finer. By myself. Needless to say, it ended badly. I cracked off one of the tines.

So I sent it to Greg Minuskin to have new tines welded onto the nib. I got the nib back and it is a thing of beauty.

 

Previously the nib fit into the section very nicely. Nice depth. Not sticking out too far, just perfect. Now I go to reseat the nib and feed and despite trying to reseat it several times, in different positions in the section, it sticks out further than it used to stick out. I tried the feed by itself and it also seems to stick out further that it did previously.

 

I've worked on these pens quite a bit in the past, so its not like this is the first time that I've done this. But I'm stymied. Once before, on another pen, I sanded off the slightest bit of the ebonite material from a feed and that worked. I'm hesitant to do that before exploring all the options.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Ron Z]

NEVER sand a feed. If nib and feed came out of the pen, they will go back in the pen. The inability to do so is not the fault of the pen, nib or feed.

 

Clean the inside of the section well, and dry it off. I like to work with a lamp directly over the bench and a piece of white paper on the bench. Look down the section and you will see the imprint of the nib on the inside wall of the section. Line nib and feed up so that they go in the same spot. If it needs a little force to get it in place, warm the section over a heat gun first.

 

ALWAYS check to see that the nib will clear the inner cap. Use something like two wood coffee stirrers. One hits the edge of the inner cap, the other the bottom. Hold the nib up to it with the edge of the section against the end of the forward stick. If the nib clears the end of the second stick, you're good to go. It doesn't have to clear by much, but it must clear it or you will damage your newly repaired nib when you screw the cap on. As me how I know!

[pen tom]

Thank you for the advice Ron. I guess that leaves me as the problem. Back to the workbench.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Mauricio, spends a lot of time fiddling to get a perfect fit with superflex nibs with fast feeds, so the nib and feed can give it's max.

 

I wouldn't dream of fiddling with either of the 52's he did for me....and nor, fiddle with my even better Soennecken wet noodle. It is as it came, and as it will remain. Should that pen ever need re-corking, afterwards I'd send it to Mauricio, to get the nib and feed fitted perfectly.

 

Not every '52's nib will go the rare 7 X. I have one....the other is more a 5X tine spread. The 5 or 6 X are more common in superflex. If the nib only wants to go 5 X, fine. IMO.

 

Then having read Richard Binder's article on nib metal fatigue, I strive to keep the nib one width under max. I have a Pelikan 100n (Easy Full Flex, the stage under Wet Noodle, that will go 5X; I strive to keep it at max of 4 X.

 

There was a very good article some fine poster linked too.....that in the '30's Waterman was going for tine bend, but only 3 X tine spread.....so it could well be we are all over stressing our Waterman nibs of that era.

 

The good writers who hang out in the writing sub sections are more worried about snapback to a thin line, than tine spread. I don't hang out there; in I'd have to learn how to write.

[pen tom]

Got it back together in a proper manner. I guess that I just needed to know what not to do. The cleaning out of the inside of the section with a fiber brush seemed to help.

The next time that I remove a nib, I will put a piece of tape to mark the way that it should go back into the section.

 

I enjoy learning experiences such as this which slowly adds to my pen knowledge. At this rate I will know what I am doing by the time I'm 100 years old.

[Ron Z]

Well done.