Custom jeweler-made nibs?

[RevAaron]

I've been meaning to ask this for a while...

 

A while back I was browsing the site of Thompson Pens, a fellow who makes replica pens- replicas of the Waterman 58 and Big Red Duofolds, among others. For his pens, he advertised that the nib was hand-made by his jeweler- which had me wondering:

 

a) who makes nibs?

how much does it cost to have a jeweler custom make a nib?

c) how does it write?

 

It wasn't clear to me- perhaps these pens were pens for using, perhaps just for show.

 

Poor site design makes it hard to navigate on anything but IE, but here is a page for one of the pens:

 

Waterman 58 Replica

 

"The lever and lever box, nib, and pocket clip are made by my jewler. The section and feed I make in my shop."

 

Needless to say, I am quite curious- perhaps this special jeweler can make untipped nibs that have a nice amount of flex, which would presumably have to be sent to Greg or John to be retipped. An expensive endeavor, but an interesting option nevertheless.

 

Aaron

[wykpenguin]

I don't think I saw anything about the nibs having flex.

 

The Parkers and Sheaffers themselves weren't famous for flex.

[RevAaron]

I didn't mean that these were supposed to have flex- but it may be that such a jeweler would have different alloys to work with. Supposition/hope, that's all.

 

But Parkers and Sheaffer replicas aren't all this fellow makes. Waterman has a flex reputation in modern times, but they made stiff nibs too. *shrug*

[Randal6393]

Jewelers make a variety of items out of gold, silver, and noble metals that one wouldn't think about. Bridges for dentures, antique pen parts, various replacement parts on pocket watches. Just to name a few.

 

A good jeweler (not the salesman that can change watchbands and batteries) is worth his weight in gold (pun intended) because he is an artisan -- often, an artist as well -- in making small objects from a variety of metals. He also understands the interactions between dissimilar metals and how that affects the object he is making. Just think of the study needed to understand the process of welding a noble alloy to gold to make a pen tip. It comes as no surprise to me that the owner of Thompson Pens would farm out his parts manufacture. Bet he pays a pretty penny for the manufacture as well. The finished pen is a custom-made, unique item that is probably worth much more than the price he asks for it.

 

Almost makes me wish I could afford to buy one of his antique replicas. But, Rev, to your original question: Check with a few jewelers and metallurgists. See if one understands what is needed to get a good flex pen nib. From what I have read, the best nibs seem to be made of 14K gold. I have tried one or two Chinese pens with 12K gold nibs and semi-flex qualities. Wasn't overly impressed with their performance as flex nibs. But loved the italic tips that could be made from them.

 

Best of luck,

Edited December 11, 2008 by Randal6393

[JJBlanche]

Jewelers make a variety of items out of gold, silver, and noble metals that one wouldn't think about. Bridges for dentures, antique pen parts, various replacement parts on pocket watches. Just to name a few.

 

A good jeweler (not the salesman that can change watchbands and batteries) is worth his weight in gold (pun intended) because he is an artisan -- often, an artist as well -- in making small objects from a variety of metals. He also understands the interactions between dissimilar metals and how that affects the object he is making. Just think of the study needed to understand the process of welding a noble alloy to gold to make a pen tip. It comes as no surprise to me that the owner of Thompson Pens would farm out his parts manufacture. Bet he pays a pretty penny for the manufacture as well. The finished pen is a custom-made, unique item that is probably worth much more than the price he asks for it.

 

Almost makes me wish I could afford to buy one of his antique replicas. But, Rev, to your original question: Check with a few jewelers and metallurgists. See if one understands what is needed to get a good flex pen nib. From what I have read, the best nibs seem to be made of 14K gold. I have tried one or two Chinese pens with 12K gold nibs and semi-flex qualities. Wasn't overly impressed with their performance as flex nibs. But loved the italic tips that could be made from them.

 

Best of luck,

 

+1

 

I have a jeweler around these parts that can make just about any device out of metal you can think up. A lot of well-established jewelers can do amazing things. It might pay to check out a few local shops and inquire.