How many of your fp nibs are customized? Can you tell who did your nib when you write with it?

[omasfan]

I have now nine different nibs that have been worked on by Richard Binder, Deb Kinney, and John Mottishaw (still got to try Greg Minuskin). I own about 40 fps altogether.

 

They are all outstanding nibs without a fault which shows that each of these nibmeisters lives up to his/her reputation.

If I didn't know which nib was made by whom, I would be unable to tell though as all are similarly on a high level.

 

 

So my questions in a nutshell:

 

1. How many of your nibs are customized (well, smoothed out also counts since this can considerably improve a nib)? (Please also state the absolute number of your fps, so that we can see the relation)

 

2. Can you distinguish between the different nibmeisters when writing with your custom nib? Do they have certain specialisms that tell you that a certain nib can only come from a certain nibmeister? If so, please pass on your recommendations.

 

 

 

This is not to be meant to play one nibmeister off against another one. Just curious.... Please also feel free to mention other nib people that have done extraordinary work on your nibs.

Edited August 27, 2007 by dupontfan

[DrPJM1]

1. 4

 

2. Not in a million years!

 

I seriously doubt anyone can pass a double blind nib test.

[greencobra]

I think this is an interesting question, all the folks you mentioned are talented without question. I'm going to give you a generic answer. I have currently 8 fountain pens modified or smoothed by two of the professionals you mention out of a collection of 29. Two more pens were shipped today.

 

OK, could I tell who did what pen? No, I doubt it, but I expect that to be the case. Both nibmeisters I use have smoothed nibs for me and the work is perfection. If I didn't send the pens out I wouldn't know which one did which pen. That's not a bad thing, it means to me both people I use are consistant. Both have modified nibs for me, custom stubs, curvasive italic, etc. and again, both right on. I see or feel nothing that would tip their hand indicating who did what nib. All customs are returned with the exact specs I requested. So, that didn't answer anything except tell everyone I'm no expert. :embarrassed_smile:

[EventHorizon]

All of the nibs I have a are 100% original. I had one Wearever repaired but no modification. Call me a pureist (spelling?)

[jd50ae]

I wish I could tell who did what to which nib. Want another like one of them and I don't know who to send it to.

[kissing]

I have 4 customised nibs.

 

1 Cursive Italic on a Frontier from Pendemonium. Superb writer with very crisp line variation, but doesn't scratch the paper since it is rounded to the right amount

 

The other 3 are modifications of my own that I did with abrasive paper and brown paper bag. All stubs (I can't get it any sharper than a stub). They were a surprise to me, because I didn't think they would work out so well. They are among my favourite writers - there is a real personal thrill to writing with a nib that you grinded yourself Of course my nibs are never as good as the ones done professionally, but they're good enough to write happily with.

 

I have a Phileas, Vector and an Inoxcrom that have "Kissing" stubs

Edited August 28, 2007 by kissing

[FrankB]

I don't know how many pens I have. I refuse to count them. That is part of my pathology.

 

Your question is very interesting in that I find I tend to lump all my "italic" nibs together (stubs, crisp italic, and cursive italic). Perhaps 40% of my pens have italic nibs. But this thread causes me to remember that the majority of those nibs are factory specialities. For example, I have and love italic nibs by Parker (Duofold), Stipula, Aurora and Danitrio to name a few. But I have several nibs that came from the factory as B or M nibs that I have had reground. I think I have about 20 such nibs. So far I have used the services of only John Mottishaw and Richard Binder. I have bought some pens customized by Pendemonium.

 

Can I tell who customized which nibs when I write? Generally, I cannot. Richard has a peculiar crisp italic that is as sharp as a knife, and I can usually identify that particular nib of his. But that is all.

[sexauerw]

1. Eleven customized nibs. That does not count factory italics or stubs, that would add another half-dozen. Total FP count as of today is 205.

 

2. I'm not sure how to answer this one. I KNOW who did each customized nib and I give mental thanks to that person each and every time I use the pen. I suppose that if I didn't know who customized a pen I couldn't pick it up, write with it and identify the nibmeister. But then, I have some factory nibs that I probably couldn't tell from customized ones either.

 

I think smoothing and customizing are rather different things. Customizing makes the nib write differently than it did originally, and in most cases differently than any nib that the factory offers. Smoothing on the other hand just makes the nib write the way it was supposed to when it first came from the factory. Ideally you shouldn't be able to tell the difference between a good factory nib and a smoothed nib. For example: A nibmeister turned my scratchy P51 nib into a wonderful glider, smooth as glass. But I have a Sheaffer Imperial with a steel nib that is just as smooth, and a Parker 45 that's a close match as well. I don't consider my P51 customized, just repaired.

[Col]

All of the nibs I have a are 100% original. I had one Wearever repaired but no modification. Call me a pureist (spelling?)

I like the idea of being a purist (spelling!), and I wouldn't be inclined to have customised a nib that wrote perfectly well already. On the other hand, I like cursive italics (I have three, plus one EF stub), which are not generally available straight from the factory (unfortunately).

 

[WillAdams]

This is the next direction I want to take in fountain pen collecting, acquiring a number of nibs customized in different, but similar ways by different nibmeisters --- I have a Sheaffer Agio w/ 0.8mm crisp italic customized by Pendemonium, so the next thing I want to get is an ItaliFine from Richard Binder, then I'll look into a cursive italic and a stub, then I hope I'll start experimenting myself.

 

William