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Nib Shine


Tseg

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Good news / Bad news. When I get a pen I use it, a lot. Recently I added a (2 chick) Broad nib to join my (1 chick) Medium nib M1000 collection. I was shocked how shiny my NOS 2 chick nib (on right) was versus a matte finished 1 chick nib on left. Is that matte finish caused by a year of wiping down an 18K nib with a paper towel? I've tried to baby my new nib but with a macro shot I see I'm already on my way to roughing the new one up as well. Its painful to break out a loupe on a used pen.

 

46331669574_1df7694f0e_b.jpg[

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Paper towel is not a gentle object. If you insist on obsessively wiping the face of a nib, I would suggest a soft cotton cloth. As to the nib on the left, do you have confidence it looked like the one on the right originally, or does it just seem dull by comparison? (I don't know the answer, I'm just wondering aloud). If the surface is actually not abraded, then I would clean the nib (flush it), dry it completely, and then maybe try a light buffing with either a Sunshine cloth or - at most - jewelers (rouge) cloth.

But, yeah, try to avoid paper towels (at least that is the advice I've been given and mostly followed)

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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What Jon said ^ That said, if you want to use paper go with soft tissues and even then gently (dabbing should usually do). Paper towels are, for the most part, way, way too rough especially for plated/bi-color nibs.

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I've now gone to dropping a few drops of water on the nib after inking and soaking up the excess from the feed underneath with a towel. Take a 1/2 page of writing to work through the watered down color.

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What Jon said ^ That said, if you want to use paper go with soft tissues and even then gently (dabbing should usually do). Paper towels are, for the most part, way, way too rough especially for plated/bi-color nibs.

What Jon & Mana said! :eureka:

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A gold polish cloth should help bring it back.

 

I personally don't even think about taking ink from the combs/rills...............just wipe lightly with a kleenex....one could use a flannel cloth.

Humm, now to find a bit of flannel rag for my top drawer. ...and train my self to look in the drawer instead of grabbing from the desk top kleenex box.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Ink on top of the nib from bottle filling.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Ink on top of the nib from bottle filling.

 

Best way to cure that would be not to fill it.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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The plot thickens… I was now checking out my 21K Sailor K of P nib which I have had about as long as my M1000 and have used it equally hard. You can see it has a few lengthwise scratches like my NOS 2-chick nib but nothing like the one-chick nib used for the past year. Are new Pelikan M1000 nibs using different metallurgy?

 

 

 

46152098645_5bdb47ae8a_z.jpg

 

46331669574_1df7694f0e_b.jpg

 

BTW... I went into my archives and found this nib shot when it was a week old. It looks like it was never "chrome shiny"

 

47013565272_851d3b37a9_b.jpg

 

Now I just found this shot... the day I opened the box, compared to a Pilot Custom 823. It looks like it came with a stone washed finish:

 

47013650992_caa6743bdb_b.jpg

Edited by Tseg
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Could just be a differing finish. If you're worried about the tissues use a shammy; it will work for years before you have to get a new one. I've had one on the go for 3 years now.

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Could just be a differing finish. If you're worried about the tissues use a shammy; it will work for years before you have to get a new one. I've had one on the go for 3 years now.

 

I guess my new point is the tissues/paper towels did not cause the matte/stone washed finish. That is what came from the factory. In my opinion, that is disappointing. I suspect no new Pelikan M1000 nibs come from the factory chrome-shiny any more.

Edited by Tseg
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I guess my new point is the tissues/paper towels did not cause the matte/stone washed finish. That is what came from the factory. In my opinion, that is disappointing. I suspect no new Pelikan M1000 nibs come from the factory chrome-shiny any more.

 

On the other hand, the photo that shows the Sailor 1911 and then the new Pel nib indicate scratches running the length of the nib. They don't appear to be anomalies of the photo but actual scratches. I find that as distracting as the dull finish, so I would still urge caution with whatever you wipe the nib with. You might also consider contemplating underlying OCD issues and that sort fo thing, so that while cleaning the nib immediately after filling the pen, you shouldn't really have to wipe the nib down after that except for *very* occasional times.

 

Tip: when you are simply trying to clean off ambient ink, from filling or nib creap, dampening the wiping cloth will cause less ink to be pulled up through the slit or breather hole.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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I guess my new point is the tissues/paper towels did not cause the matte/stone washed finish. That is what came from the factory. In my opinion, that is disappointing. I suspect no new Pelikan M1000 nibs come from the factory chrome-shiny any more.

Pelikan nibs arent mirror polished (unlike say Custom 823 or MB). How have you not noticed that before? :P

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Pelikan nibs arent mirror polished (unlike say Custom 823 or MB). How have you not noticed that before? :P

To clarify: 1 chick Pelikan nibs are not mirror polished. Their predecessors are. I’m with you scratches on a mirror polished nib are not good... but luckily I only see them with macro photography. I see a matte finished 1 chick nib with my naked eye, now that I know what I’m looking for... and now that I know, I can’t unsee it.

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what do you do with your old, good shirts when they get too worn?

 

I cut them up and make pen wiping cloths...

I have some of the finest cotton wiping cloths you can find... :)

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To clarify: 1 chick Pelikan nibs are not mirror polished. Their predecessors are. Im with you scratches on a mirror polished nib are not good... but luckily I only see them with macro photography. I see a matte finished 1 chick nib with my naked eye, now that I know what Im looking for... and now that I know, I cant unsee it.

I prefer the newer ones.

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I have a Renaissance Brown and a modern blue striped M805 with the full rhodium plated nib. Both have a single chick on them, but look to me like the shiny nib on the right in the OP's first post. This is interesting to me, but I've never seen a 2 chick nib side by side and looked for differences. I don't know...they are shiny enough for me either way.

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