Questions About Retipping

[cunim]

As my collection of vintage flex grows, I come across nibs that are in great condition but have poor tipping. For all I know the tipping was always poor but, more likely, it has degraded over time. The most common problem is a scratchy feel accompanied by catching on hairlines. Another issue for me is the tip that seems to be broader than it should be. I like my vintage nibs F or XF when not flexed, but many of them are M or broader. So, I am considering corrective options.

 

1. Send to a nibmeister for smoothing and reshape. I have had good experiences with custom grinds on modern nibs, but I don't think nibmeisters are happy when given a cranky (and valuable) vintage item with fragile tipping that is likely to fall off when ground. Question: Do any of the usual nibmeisters work with vintage restoration?

 

2. Send to a vintage pen specialist for smoothing. Some vintage pen specialists will try to minimize scratchiness, though at the owner's risk and with no guarantee of outcome. Question: Has anyone had good success with this approach?

 

3. Retip. Pablo Carasco and Greg Minuskin offer retip service. I have been impressed with Pablo's work and his prices are reasonable, but he has a waiting list that is more than a year long. I have only had one pen from Greg and that is good. Price is higher but I think Greg's turnaround is reasonably quick. Questions:

- Does the heat of the tip welding process affect temper of the tines? I really value snap back and would hate to do anything that reduced it. So many vintage nibs feel mushy, as opposed to flexy.

- Does retipping broaden the nib, or can I expect to specify an XF grind and get exactly that?

- How do collectors react to a retipped nib? Is it devalued? For my part, I can't see a problem in replacing damaged tipping with good stuff - sort of like replacing the tires on a vintage car. However, I am a user not a collector. Perhaps I would be killing the value of some fairly expensive nibs.

[AL01]

I'd recommend that if you want to reduce the size of your nibs, send them to be ground down. I have had the BEST experience with a Nibmeister....

 

I have been quite happy with the work of Mr. Marc Bacas, (NOT AFFILIATED - JUS' A HAPPY CUSTOMER), and if you have any concerns with the nib work, you can let him know the specifics.

 

I wish you the best of luck with your nib work!

 

Vintage pens are fun, aren't they?

Edited August 30, 2018 by AL01

[mitto]

I would rather live with my vintage pen nibs the way they are until I find good replacements. And, I have been lucky enough finding period and model correct nibs for almost all my vintage pens though it took great amount of search and even greater amount of patience.

[cunim]

I would rather live with my vintage pen nibs the way they are until I find good replacements. And, I have been lucky enough finding period and model correct nibs for almost all my vintage pens though it took great amount of search and even greater amount of patience.

Why? I have some nibs that are really interesting for one reason or another. They are also rare. However, they are rough enough to detract from the pleasure of writing with them. That is usually because the right tine has worn more than the left so there is a bit of overhang on that left tine. There is litle chance that replacements would have both the interesting features of the present nibs and smooth tipping. So, the reasonable solution would be to retip and grind to taste. This is not detracting from originality. These nibs are already not behaving as they did originally - unless they were poorly tipped originally and I don't think Waterman, for example, did that.

 

The reason to avoid retipping would be if the process damages the nib. I can't seem to find a discussion of that anywhere, so here's hoping this starts one.

[AL01]

There are VERY few people who re-tip on this Earth....

 

Those who do it are professionals.

 

Your nib will not be damaged at all in the process.

 

But again, if you want to make your nibs finer, I'd rather get them smoothed and ground to the appropriate size.

 

The tipping does wear out over the years....

 

.... But it depends on the former users of the pen.

 

Some pens were treated pretty harshly by their former owners, and the shape of the tipping on an old nib reflects that.

[FarmBoy]

There are VERY few people who re-tip on this Earth....

 

Those who do it are professionals.

 

Your nib will not be damaged at all in the process.

 

But again, if you want to make your nibs finer, I'd rather get them smoothed and ground to the appropriate size.

 

The tipping does wear out over the years....

 

.... But it depends on the former users of the pen.

 

Some pens were treated pretty harshly by their former owners, and the shape of the tipping on an old nib reflects that.

Any professional worth his or her salt will openly tell you that some nibs may not survive the retipping process. To say all nibs will not be damaged is false, some do die in the process.

[AL01]

Hmmm....

 

Thanks for letting me know.

 

Then the best thing to do is leave it all to the professionals, I guess...

 

I happily stand corrected!

[sidthecat]

I’ve had Mr. Minuskin retip a very flexy Waterman nib for me, if memory serves. Not cheap, but quality work and his turnaround is fantastic.

[Vintagepens]

As Farmboy notes, there is always an element of risk in metalworking. The heat of adding gold to a nib's tip and attaching new tipping can easily draw the temper of the tines, even if the nib technician is careful and experienced.

[cunim]

As Farmboy notes, there is always an element of risk in metalworking. The heat of adding gold to a nib's tip and attaching new tipping can easily draw the temper of the tines, even if the nib technician is careful and experienc

Temper is my worry. Many flex nibs are mushy, so when you get one that still has its original temper it's a revelation (and a true rarity). If the tipping weld is likely to kill the clean snap in these little treasures, I will live with some roughness. If the success rate is about 90%, however, I would accept the risk so as to get the nib back to what it was in the day.

 

To respond to those recommending a modern nib grinder, that is unlikely to work. There is only a thin layer of tipping material on most of these nibs so if that is ground you are into the gold pretty much right away. You would have to add tipping before shaping, and there's the rub. I suppose the most cautious approach is to see if one of the vintage specialists like MauricioA can smooth a test subject or two.