Do you modify your own nibs?

[inkyfingr]

There are some nibs that I simply won't modify on my own (Sailor Naginata Togi nib for example) -- but some lesser nibs just beg to be tinkered with.

 

I want to know how many of you take these modifications into your own hands as well.

 

 

Do you take on your own nib modifications?

 

Is there are limit to how expensive of a pen you will work on?

 

Do you have a favorite pen to modify?

 

How do you modify the nib? Italic, oblique, smaller size, etc.

 

What tools or materials do you use?

 

What tips or advice do you have for others?

 

 

[savarez]

There are some nibs that I simply won't modify on my own (Sailor Naginata Togi nib for example) -- but some lesser nibs just beg to be tinkered with.

 

I want to know how many of you take these modifications into your own hands as well.

 

Do you take on your own nib modifications?

Is there are limit to how expensive of a pen you will work on?

Do you have a favorite pen to modify?

How do you modify the nib? Italic, oblique, smaller size, etc.

What tools or materials do you use?

What tips or advice do you have for others?

 

 

For me, I typically attempt nothing more than smoothing or minor alignment adjustment and "flossing".

 

Tools are a couple of Micromesh 8000/12000 pads and a sheet of .001" brass shim stock.

 

Advice, if you're going to tinker with your nibs?

 

- Read all of the stickys in the "Repair" forums.

- Get yourself both a good 10x and 20x loupe.

- Examine very carefully the nib that you are trying to emulate.

- Start with throw-away pens and expect you're going to ruin at least one.

- Go slow.

- Test-write often.

 

Once the tipping material is gone, the pen is off to Minushkin or Mottishaw if it's one you want to save.

 

[ethernautrix]

I've modified only one nib, a scratchy Visconti Metropolis that had been reground from a fat F to a true F (but more of an Occidental XF). I used an old nail file, one of those diamond-dust ones. It worked.

 

I will be purchasing the micromesh, though. To have on-hand.

[bgray]

Here's the tools that I use...(some may use others)

 

Silicon carbide sandpaper, 400-1000 grit and an aluminum block, or any other flat surface to put the sandpaper on. Some people will use waterstones or oil stones instead.

 

Mylar paper - grits 9 micron thru .3 micron

 

Micromesh 8000, 10000, and 12000.

 

Brass shim stock for flossing tines.

 

Loupes - 10x and 30x

 

Nylon jawed plyers.

 

I think that's about it.

 

 

[inkyfingr]

My favorite pen to modify is the Parker Inflection. I have picked up a few of these on eBay pretty cheap. The great thing about this pen is that the factory nib really stinks -- that way it can only get better!

 

The Inflection has a steel nib, so I actually have to work a bit to grind it down. I use some 600 grit sanding paper and an Arkansas stone to do the basic shaping, followed by 4000, 8000, and 12000 grit paper for the smoothing and polishing. I am lucky in that I happen to have a very nice stereo microscope and fiber optic light source for seeing my progress.

 

I just finished convering my factory medium nib to what I think is an italic fine. I have attached a writing sample with a factory fine (Parker Inflection) and my modified nib. The modification seems a little extreme, but now I actually enjoy writing with the pen.

 

 

 

 

[barny]

nice modification inkyfingr

[JulioPB]

There are some nibs that I simply won't modify on my own (Sailor Naginata Togi nib for example) -- but some lesser nibs just beg to be tinkered with.

 

I want to know how many of you take these modifications into your own hands as well.

 

 

Do you take on your own nib modifications?

 

Is there are limit to how expensive of a pen you will work on?

 

Do you have a favorite pen to modify?

 

How do you modify the nib? Italic, oblique, smaller size, etc.

 

What tools or materials do you use?

 

What tips or advice do you have for others?

 

 

Only once to increase ink flow,

 

Julio´

 

[ArPharazon]

Do you take on your own nib modifications?

Yes, I do. After reading up on stub and cursive italic nibs, I broke down and sent my first FP (a Pelikan M600) to Pendemonium to have it ground into a CI. I liked it when it came back, so I read up on all the info I could find here and decided to try it myself. I could see under a loupe what had been done to the nib, so it was just a matter of using the right tools and the right touch (hopefully). I've since modified 16 of my own pens, along with a few others that I've subsequently sold or traded. I believe they've all turned out pretty well.

 

 

Is there are limit to how expensive of a pen you will work on?

The most expensive one I modified was a Pelikan M1000. I've also modified a Pelikan M800 and a Bexley Americana, which together are probably my three most expensive pens. If it's not too expensive to buy, then it's not too expensive to modify.

 

 

Do you have a favorite pen to modify?

Nothing really to do with the act of modifying, but my favorite result was my Bexley Americana. It started off with a nice Bold nib, and it may be the smoothest pen I now own. It writes like a dream.

 

 

How do you modify the nib? Italic, oblique, smaller size, etc.

I turn all my pens (with a few exceptions) into Cursive Italic/Stubs . . . I'm not really sure where the line falls between those two, but I think my pens are in there somewhere. While some of my earlier pens started out as Mediums, I've since gravitated towards starting with Bolds, so my end products are probably all in the 0.7 to 1.0mm range. The only pens I don't modify are those that start out too Fine to begin with . . . I have an EF Parker 51 that I would not touch, and also a Sailor 1911 with a 'Japanese' Medium that's really too fine to mess with also. If I could swap the nib on the Sailor I would, and give it the treatment. The 51, however, I would probably always keep as my sold EF pen.

 

Here are a couple of pics of the Pelikan M1000 I modified (and subsequently sold) . . . shows the general shape I go for.

 

http://www.geocities.com/tar_calion_journals/Pen_Pics/Pel_M1000_040.JPG

 

http://www.geocities.com/tar_calion_journals/Pen_Pics/Pel_M1000_042.JPG

 

 

What tools or materials do you use?

I start off with a small grinding stone . . . not sure of the grit, but it seems about equivalent to maybe 500 sandpaper (I found it in my dad's old toolbox, he was a skilled metalworker and used them to sharpen his tools). I use this to take it down to the basic shape I want. Next, I do the final shaping and a bit of smoothing with some 1500 sandpaper. Finally, I put the final rounding, smoothing, and polishing on with some 3M films used to polish the ends of fiber optic cable. I have three grades . . . I believe that they are 3um, 0.3um, and finally a ridiculously smooth 0.05um. While using all of these, I lubricate the nib with either some water or plain old spit. I generally do the work wearing a pair of dollar store 5x reading glasses, then check my work closely using a jeweller's loupe.

 

 

What tips or advice do you have for others?

Give it a try! It was not as intimidating as I thought it would be based on a lot of what I'd read. The nibs are rather robust and require quite a bit of rubbing to significantly change their shape, even using the stone or the 1500 grit paper. Just be sure to check your progress frequently with a high-powered magnifier, and also by test writing as you go!

[Ray-Vigo]

Once in awhile yes- but I only modify if something is sub par with the nib. I limit myself to basic smoothing, small tine adjustments, flossing, and minor flow adjustments. I don't do anything more than those little things.

 

However, on many pens that are not performing well, these little tweaks will often fix whatever is wrong. If it requires something more major than those things, I'll send it out.

[RevAaron]

I'm looking forward to trying some nib modification myself- I found a few cheapies at an antique store that I'm looking forward to fixing up- two Sheaffer Cartridge Pens and one Wearever cartridge pen (see below), possibly smoothing out a Hero 616 or two.

 

How hard is it to expand the "sweet spot" of a given nib?

 

Where do you all buy your materials? Doesn't look like the hardware store has most of what I need, unfortunately. Any other specialty stores that might have the needed supplies?

 

Regards,

Aaron

 

P.S. Anyone know what this Wearever might be? I can make a thread with photos if it doesn't come to mind, but just since I mentioned it. Blue plastic body, aluminium/brushed chrome cap, semi-hooded nib, looks like a Wearever Parker 45 wanna-be- Takes carts with a non-standard hole size. I'm pretty this is a photo of the same pen.

[Brian]

There are some nibs that I simply won't modify on my own (Sailor Naginata Togi nib for example) -- but some lesser nibs just beg to be tinkered with.

I want to know how many of you take these modifications into your own hands as well.

Do you take on your own nib modifications?

Is there are limit to how expensive of a pen you will work on?

Do you have a favorite pen to modify?

How do you modify the nib? Italic, oblique, smaller size, etc.

What tools or materials do you use?

What tips or advice do you have for others?

 

Have modified nibs only modestly, changing the profile on a Duofold Centennial with a medium nib to a stub. That took a long time and resulted in a not bad point. In general, the only things done will be adjusting inkflow, sometime working on the feed, and working and smoothing out rough points. For radical surgery would rather go to the professionals like Mottishaw or while I haven't used him yet, Mr. Binder.

 

 

[bluenotegrl]

Believe it or not, but I've used a cheap manicurist's buffing block (Target $.99 in the travel section) to hone a pesky Waterman Phileas into submission. The buffing block is great because it has several different grits and has just enough give so that I don't bend the heck out of the tines.

 

Happy grinding...

[Paddler]

Most of the modifications that I do just involve tweaking tines into alignment. If the pen still writes rough after the tines are aligned, I use one of Tryphon's nib smoothing kits, followed by a small leather strop with a bit of red jeweler's rouge.

 

I have tried grinding italic nibs starting with dip pen nibs, but that wasn't very successful. The more you grind off of a dip pen nib, the juicier it writes. It is difficult to close up the slit on a tempered steel nib.

 

I made a few italic pens out of Sheaffer school pens. I made a couple of small jigs out of wood and set screws to hold the nibs at the correct angles while grinding. For the rough work, I used a fine India aluminum oxide "stone". For finer work, I used a black, surgical Arkansas stone. Then came the nib smoothing kit and the strop. They work well, but they are a little too fine; I didn't grind all the tipping away to get to a broad place, fearing they would get too juicy.

 

I wouldn't try all this with an expensive pen. But then, I don't own any of those, so it's no problem. I go by the adage: "If you can't afford to sink it, you can't afford to own it." It's why I buy canoes.

 

Paddler

 

[JDFlood]

More and more I am. I started with adjusting ink flow, then got some 5000 grit paper and some hand lenses, did a little regrinding. I have been careful, I am starting to understand the nib. I only screwed up one pen, a Parker 100 that although new wrote terribly. I spread the tines, and well, the tine broke off, they were not a tradional nib, they were two separate pieces embedded in plastic... not wonder... I don't recommend the pen. Anyway, Parker estimated the repair to be the price of a new pen... I can live without a Parker 100. JD

[wvbeetlebug]

Great thread.

 

Do you take on your own nib modifications?

Yes.

 

Is there are limit to how expensive of a pen you will work on?

Yes. Those pens get sent to a nib meister.

 

Do you have a favorite pen to modify?

I have a few Esterbrooks. I like to modify those because the nibs are so inexpensive to replace. I did modify a nib on a 51. It is the only one I have where the hood comes off easily. My other 51s I will leave up to someone else to play with. I don't want to damage the hoods.

 

How do you modify the nib? Italic, oblique, smaller size, etc.

Smooth them out a bit, minor tine adjustment. I don't have a loupe, but I want one. I go by feel. I've made some nibs italic.

 

What tools or materials do you use?

All I have is a buffing block and a nail file (the kind with different sides).

 

What tips or advice do you have for others?

Be patient and when in doubt hire it out!