Vanishing Point F nib very scratchy?

[Jerkeejoe]

I was looking at a VP the other day at Paradise Pens and the associate dipped a F nib for me. I (and the associate) found it very scratchy, so she grabbed a different Fine VP nib and raplaced the scratchy on in the same pen body. It was just as scratchy as the first one. I quit looking at thins point. After looking around here though, It seems that they aren't typically that scratchy. Anyone got any insights or suggestions. Is there a way to remove the scratchyness without sending the nib away? Thanks.

 

Joe

[JFT]

I was looking at a VP the other day at Paradise Pens and the associate dipped a F nib for me. I (and the associate) found it very scratchy, so she grabbed a different Fine VP nib and raplaced the scratchy on in the same pen body. It was just as scratchy as the first one. I quit looking at thins point. After looking around here though, It seems that they aren't typically that scratchy. Anyone got any insights or suggestions. Is there a way to remove the scratchyness without sending the nib away? Thanks.

 

Joe

 

Hi Joe,

 

One of my coworker (which I lured to FP ) recently bought one and I have been borrowing his pen a few times lately to try it He got a F nib as well.

 

Here's my finding, altough marked F, it is a japanese F which mean XF for the rest of the world. As with any XF if you exert pressure it would tend to catch and be scratchy. The VP as you saw has some heft to it, as soon as I relieved the pressure and found its sweet spot I found it very smooth and very enjoyable. Actually, smoother than my XF which was cut by a reputed nibmeister.

 

I haven't tried the same nibs as you, but if you tried 2 and had the same result it might be just pressure (or angle related).

Edited April 26, 2009 by JFT

[ZeissIkon]

I was looking at a VP the other day at Paradise Pens and the associate dipped a F nib for me. I (and the associate) found it very scratchy, so she grabbed a different Fine VP nib and raplaced the scratchy on in the same pen body. It was just as scratchy as the first one. I quit looking at thins point. After looking around here though, It seems that they aren't typically that scratchy. Anyone got any insights or suggestions. Is there a way to remove the scratchyness without sending the nib away? Thanks.

 

Joe

 

There are a couple very basic treatments for scratchiness -- though if you're not an experienced F nib user (and Japanese F nibs are more like American or European XF) any F is likely to feel scratchy compared to a western M. The first is to check the nib alignment -- with magnification (8x to 10x loupe) you can tell whether the two halves of the tip are aligned, and use gentle upward or downward pressure (with the edge of a thumbnail, lacking any sophisticated tools) to make them line up. If the nib looks well aligned, and is still scratchy, then you can write large circles on the Kraft paper of a brown grocery bag; this paper is very, very slightly abrasive, and will soften the inner edges of the cut in the tipping -- which will reduce the scratchiness of a nib -- without wearing off enough material (at least, not quickly) to do harm.

 

These two treatments will virtually always improve a nib that's actually scratchy; sometimes a change of ink will also help some (some inks write wetter, which will typically cause the pen to glide more because even inks that don't claim to be lubricant still have some lubricity). None of this will make a Fine or Extra-Fine write like a Medium -- but they can still make a Fine, X-Fine, or even XX-Fine smooth enough to write easily and pleasurably.

Edited April 26, 2009 by ZeissIkon

[asimplemaestro]

deleted...misplaced

Edited April 26, 2009 by asimplemaestro

[Jerkeejoe]

Hmm, I guess it could have been too much pressure, but I write with a pretty light hand. Additionally, the sales associate experienced the same thing I did. If the weight of the pen alone is enough to make it scratchy, I guess it's not for me.

 

Zeiss, thanks for the tip. I do write regularly with finer nibs including my everyday pen (which is a Pelikan M800 with an EF nib) which is a little toothy, but pretty smooth overall.

[tt32003]

I have 2 VP fine nib and I don't find them scrathy.

The VP nib writes with a slightly wetter line than most Pilot nibs.

[hexyr]

I have a several VPs I have never found them scratchy. I find the VP nibs run close to western nibs infact 2 med. nibs I have run wider than any other m nib I have

[Jerkeejoe]

Well, maybe I'll go back tomorrow and check them out again. I'm not sure what the deal was, but but both of us who tried the two that we tried found them scratchy. Perhaps I'll try a Med just for comparison.

[holgalee]

Well, maybe I'll go back tomorrow and check them out again. I'm not sure what the deal was, but but both of us who tried the two that we tried found them scratchy. Perhaps I'll try a Med just for comparison.

 

Yes, good thinking! And bring along your M800 as well as your usual writing paper for comparison. Perhaps the paper in the store is 'toothy'?

[Zeroblade]

Actually, I have a VP in F and I find that it writes somewhat similar to my M405's F (Binderized). Just as wet, and the line widths are comparable. Not quite sure as to why, but the VP's seem to be more manufactured with a Western standard in mind. Possibly.

[hari317]

Hi, I have a 18K F nib on my Fermo and it is very smooth. Ink flow lubricates the tip, the problem may have been because the nib was only dipped not filled. I daresay Pilot makes one of the best stock fine nibs.

 

Regards,

Hari

 

 

 

[andyk]

Hi,

 

I have an F nib as well, it is very fine has a little bit of feedback but is never scratchy (never been a huge fan of 'butter' smooth nibs). I think the problem is that the nibs are more an EF than an F, so feels a bit different from other makers Fs.

 

Andy

[mikerph]

I have a VP with a medium nib, it writes like a fine point nib from Waterman or Pelikan. I agree that the Japanese fine acts like an extra-fine nib here. The medium seems to compare to a fine here.

[waterobey]

I was looking at a VP the other day at Paradise Pens and the associate dipped a F nib for me. I (and the associate) found it very scratchy, so she grabbed a different Fine VP nib and raplaced the scratchy on in the same pen body. It was just as scratchy as the first one. I quit looking at thins point. After looking around here though, It seems that they aren't typically that scratchy. Anyone got any insights or suggestions. Is there a way to remove the scratchyness without sending the nib away? Thanks.

 

Joe

[waterobey]

I wrote this for a similar post on this same board. I couldnt find your post - I had to go out and search through google to find it again.

 

I have a vp fine tip that was scratchy as well. It 'became" scratchy over time - probably when someone picked it up off my desk and used it and pressed too hard. I was reading another post on this forum about a similar issue (i cant find the other post) and decided to see if i could figure out the issue. So i found that when i held the pen up in front of my eyes, the tip of the nib very clearly seemed bent upwards, meaning that if you were looking at it from the top down, it bent to the left as if too much pressure had caused it to bend. So i took it and pushed down on paper in the exact opposite direction and re-bent it back to normal. It took my 3 tries to get it right. After that, the scratchiness was gone. Its probably viewed as crazy to be so reckless with a fountain pen nib but they are only 25.00 and - it worked, and did not appear to do any harm to the pen other than make it write way better. Use at your own risk.

[bwidjaja]

I can relate to the OP on my experience with Pilot VP with Fine nib. However, since the ink flow was increased by John at nibs.com, it has been smooth. I am even able to use the reverse side of the nib and have an XF nib...sweet.

[danthemann5]

My VP with F nib was unusable out of the box. After a little work by Mr. Pendelton Brown, it's become one of my favorite pens.

[Dave P]

Another VP fine nib user here; same experience as the two above me in that the nib needs to be adjusted for flow (mine by Mr. Binder). After-which, it is a great nib. Can also reverse mine for drawing spiderwebs (understand that not all nibs do this).

 

The nib/converter setup for the VPs is so affordable, I'd recommend buying the medium (give your local store the biz) and then get a flow-adjusted fine nib from Nibs or Binder. Takes just a sec to swap nibs.