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Which current is adequate of welding nibs (gold and steel), and also retipping? 30A 220v or 80A 220v ? and will the cheap welders do the job ?

Happy New Year and a New Decade too, fellow FPN members. I would like to share an insight to which I would also like to know your opinions. I tune my own pens and even my friends' pens. I have gotten pretty good at it and I can do some amateur grinds like grinding down nib widths though I am yet to master it. Recently I was tuning up a nib and came to observe a fact. Before I tell you what I observed, there is a post that a fellow FPN member shared a few years ago: I was working on a Faber Castell medium nib which is extremely smooth but has NO BABY'S BOTTOM. I had cleaned up the pen thoroughly by disassembling the feed and nib. I was using an Krishna Lyrebird blue which I think is dry(?) or maybe I can say its flow is not good. What I observed: 1) The pen initially with its super smooth tipping gave a very uneven flow of ink, ie parts of the letters were not of consistent width. (this very thing happened with other super smooth nibs too when using this ink) 2) I roughened up the tip just a bit and then I brought it to the paper and voila, it was behaving extremely well. Though it had some feedback it had no uneven flow of ink on paper on any of the letters. 3) I polished it up once again with Mylar and Micromesh papers to a glassy smooth feeling. The problem came back. Uneven flow. 4) This time I gave it a small "foot" on the tipping that is mostly found on Sailor nibs. This time it was even better than before. A perfect 10/10 inkflow. No scratchiness whatsoever, has a mild pleasant feedback. Writes on the least amount of pressure yet reliable. Opinions? Am I missing something?

Hello, everyone. First post - please, be kind. So, I came across a CT Flighter Sonnet (1994 version) at a charity shop I volunteer at. Marked "Sonnet Q.I France". Old Parker logo - arrow through ellipsis(?). Feather engravings on clip are distinct and sharp - good sign. However, the nib seems 'off'. See images - too much tipping, and layered to form a ridge on upper part. Blob of tipping on end if tip (no pic, as couldn't fix pen to microscope in that position). The engravings are nowhere near as sharp as the ones on the clip- not sure if this indicates an issue. It writes fine though... Not as wet as I would have liked, but hey, for a fiver, can I really complain? So, my questions are: Do you, penthusiasts, think it is genuine? If so, is the nib's condition a problem? Should I attempt to sand it down using micro-mesh? Should I return it? As a sixth-form students, I don't think my budget will stretch to a whole new nib unit...

I'm still learning about fountain pens (even two years into the hobby), and I wondered about this picture. The tipping seems to be a bit meager on this Parker 51. From advertising pictures and from most pictures I find online, Parker 51s generally come with nice round ball-shaped tipping. What do you guys think? Does this nib look normal?

I've recently ordered an Italix Parson's Essential ( fine nib, non-italic) and am waiting for it to arrive. One thing that I didn't consider when researching for the purchase is that the Italix nibs, having been reground (although I'm not sure whether the round point ones also have this done), may lack tipping material. Does anyone know if this is the case? How much would this affect the nib's durability? Cheers, Harriet

Over the last year, I have been practicing grinding nibs. I bought Chinese pens and nibs in bulk and have gone through a few dozen of them to practice and I am quite happy with my recent results. However, I have not ground any expensive nibs so far, my logic being that even if I like the grind, it's not worth it to remove the tipping material. Am I right on this? I have two Souverän M400 nibs -- one M and one B -- and I really want to switch out one of them for a stub nib. I am trying to decide if I should take a crack at it or keep looking for a stub nib at a good price or a trade? Thoughts and suggestions?

Prompted by this thread: link I opened up one of my newer Lamy2000s in the full steel finish purchased a few months back from UK. On the newer nibs: The tipping has a peculiar interface shelf betwen tines and the hard tipping material per se.The Nib width is now marked on the nibs in addition to gold content and LAMY, so far I have not seen this on any of the older 18K/14K nib iterations on the Lamy 2000. Pics: http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Lamy2000NewNib/IMG_0100.jpg http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Lamy2000NewNib/IMG_0099.jpg http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af39/hari3171/Lamy2000NewNib/IMG_0098.jpg HTH Hari

My mum's just found a 149 lying around in one of her drawers. It looks like it has never been inked, and is in overall mint condition. Except, I've noticed that the nib tipping on the underside seems almost nonexistent. Compared to other nibs, this seems very strange. Is this normal, or could it possibly be a damage to the nib? Compared to other nibs

I just received my Vacumatic I ordered some time ago. I am really pleased with its condition, except fort he nib, which I initially found a little scratchy. Upon closer inspection, it seems that a good amount of tipping had been worn off. Since I plan to use this more often than not, will I be wearing away at the gold if I use it? I've seen a post saying that the gold nib wouldn't last if there were no iridium tipping. Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone! I have recently gotten into stub nibs with the Pilot 78G in broad as well as some "pseudo-regrinding" of some inexpensive Chinese pens. I love the way the 78G writes, but after constant use for three months, the nib is visibly wearing down. Most of the inexpensive pens that I've looked at come with untipped stubs (Pilot 78G, Lamy Safari/Vista/Al-Star, TWSBI, Monteverde). And the only stubs that I've seen that are tipped are on $150+ gold nibs (for good reason, as gold is even softer). Does anyone here have or can recommend a stub nib pen with some tipping? I'm going to university in the fall and would really enjoy a long-lasting stub nib without breaking the bank (<$80). Thank you all in advance!

I am just servicing a Parker 51 English made Aerometric and found it to have a broken ( as usual ) silver breather tube and a 1950, dated, nib. The unusual thing about it was that the nib was stamped B.P. in the bottom left hand corner. I'm guessing that this is the nib's tipping material code just like RU - PL but does anyone know what it stands for. I can't find any reference anywhere