Scratchy Downstroke On Modified Nib

[telemenar]

Since I got my micro mesh and Mylar sheets from the Goulet tuning kit, I've been playing around with a stub nib, trying to make it a little more cursive italic. I've actually got it behaving mostly the way that I want now. However, I'm getting a lot of feedback/scratching on the down strokes.

 

Is this just something I should just expect with a relatively crisp chisel shape? Or could it be something else?

 

It isn't a knife edge, I did round it a little. I also rounded the corners at the edges a little. So I'm just not quite sure what is causing this level of feedback on a downstroke. Something about the slit maybe?

 

Any advice on things to look for? Or changes to try?

[BookCat]

Have you checked for tine misalignment? There are other threads with great pics of these, unfortunately I've forgotten who posted, but you'll find the same pic on Richard Binder's site.

 

You'll need a loupe and long thumb nails, though there are ways to get round the latter as I've discovered - I bite my nails!

 

Otherwise try the smoothest micromesh and mylar, but be careful. I've actually eliminated all the tipping on a pen when doing this!

[telemenar]

This is the best shot I could get of what he nib looks like at the moment.

 

 

It was taken with my highly scientific apparatus:

[mhosea]

I always enter these discussions as a learner, and I hope that more experienced people will help me out if I am wrong, but...

 

You will get more feedback from a sharper edge, which you should polish to the right degree and put a continuous (rather than stepped) curve on by polishing it with a smooth motion leading through the different angles it might be in when it is on the paper. You might be able to improve this, but you could be getting scratchiness from the corners leading into the gap between the tines. Theoretically, you could be getting it from the outside edges, too, but I don't think so based on looking at your photo.

[TimGirdler]

It looks to me as if you're working on one of the un-tipped JoWo stubs.

 

I think what you're trying to do--make this nib more of a cursive italic--isn't do-able. The steel simply flies off of the the nib with the use of any abrasive. When I tune these nibs, I don't use normal tuning techniques, because I can't...the nib loses too much material too quickly and baby's bottom becomes a real-big issue, really quick.

 

If it is possible to accomplish what you're trying to do (and I've never tried it with the un-tipped JoWo), it's likely that the shape of the tip is not conducive to proper capillary action around the tip of the nib. The tips of the cursive italic nibs are chisel shaped, much more narrow than what you're showing here. According to Richard, the chisel shape allows more ink to be pulled around the tip of the nib, making the nib respond better.

 

The chisel shape we use is something like this: /______, not like this: (________ or this: [_________. The chisel shape is not steep enough (a limitation of the keyboard).

 

Also, if you are able to accomplish the chisel shape, the abrasiveness of the paper will likely un-do the work rather quickly, depending on how much pressure you use.

 

So, to help with your situation...

 

Make sure you've got sufficient ink flow through the nib. You should be able to see a very slight window of daylight between the nib tips under magnification.

 

Double check the tine alignment (read Richard's article on the proper way to check). When you're absolutely certain you've gotten the alignment right, using the 12,000 grit part of the buff stick (that I think comes with the Goulet kit???????) make some long lines from top to bottom with the nib parallel to the buff stick--while raising the angle of the pen from about 45-degrees relative to the stick to over 90-degrees. Don't do too much (and two full swipes might be too much, depending on your pressure) or you'll have to go back to the heavier sandpaper and start all over again (ask me how I know). The above procedure is to break the inner corner of the tines.

 

Next, hold the tip of the nib at a 45-degree angle on the 12,000 grit. Do VERY minor and light movements (perhaps a circle or two); do the right side, then the other side--to break the outside corners.

 

Because of the nib being un-tipped, almost anything you do with an abrasive will be too much, so be VERY cautious.

 

Regardless of what you're able to do, it is doubtful that this will produce a true cursive italic. You might be able to sharpen a stub, and it seems this is what you are trying to do. So, don't be disappointed if it isn't more like what you're going for and don't chase an unattainable "ghost."

 

Go very slowly and good luck.

 

Blessings,

 

Tim

[telemenar]

Mike and Tim thanks for the advice.

 

A couple notes first:

- the nib was a JoWo 1.1mm untipped Stub

- Goulet's kit comes with 2"x6" 12000 grit micro-sheet, and then 2 4"x5" Mylar sheets one with 1 micron abrasive the other with 0.3 micron.

- right after I did the post, I was cleaning the pen I'd been using to work the nib, and the section came unglued such that I can't work on that pen any more.

 

So instead I started working on a Lamy I'd wanted to be crisper for a while. It is a lot closer to what I was hoping to get from such a project. Much more sensitive to pen position than it was as a stub but nice and smooth when I keep it I the right position. Here are some pictures of the second attempt (the loupe attached to the iPhone is surprisingly good, without a teleconverter I have trouble getting pictures this close with a macro lens on my dslr):

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FarmBoy]

Bring it to Peters Cafe in Millbrae next week.

[BookCat]

Farmboy: is this a case of being over-enthusiastic and removing too much tipping? (Sorry, telemenar, I think I've done this myself, more than once!)

[telemenar]

This particular nib wasn't tipped to begin with...