Mead Notebooks

[13KnifeThrower13]

Hello guys, I'm back after an extended absence. (Don't hurt me :roflmho: ) Anyways, i have recently been looking around for cheap paper/notebooks to jot things down in, and i thought " Hey, Mead Notebooks are cheap, and have decent paper!" So i decided to purchase a medium sized black notebook for use with my Lamy Safari Extra Fine, loaded with Noodler's Borealis Black. As we all know, these nibs from Lamy are sometimes scratchy, but i have done my best to smooth it out; and i only have a small bit of scratchy-ness(Is that a word? ). Back to the point; I have found that when i use my Safari with my Mead notebook, it almost seems like i get pieces of fine paper stuck in the end of the nib, then i get slight flow problems. Does anyone know how to fix this, or maybe even another easily findable and cheap notebook that handles well with the Lamy Safari Extra Fine? Any replies are GREATLY appreciated! This problem is getting quite annoying! :bonk:

[wallylynn]

That doesn't sound right. Does that happen on other papers? (copy paper, newspaper, whatever you have)

 

Check that your nib tines are in alignment. Unless you're using some odd very fibrous paper like paper bags, or handmade paper,you shouldn't be scratching up fibers.

 

Richard Binder has some info:

http://richardspens.com/ref/nibs/primer.htm

[watch_art]

yeap. that's a nib issue. my mead paper (i've used lots) never gives me fits except for inconsistency of smoothness from page to page.

 

point your nib at your face (as if a spear had been chucked at you) and look to see if one tine is up or down more. then just use your thumbnails and push where it helps to make them even.

 

by the way, what did you do to smooth your nib?

[Vincent1278]

I do loads and loads of writing with Mead notebooks. They work great with FP's.

 

There are some cheap notebooks for sale in a lot of places like Target and Walmart that say COMPOSITION but not "Mead"...these have thinner pages with some sort of fuzzy, dusty lint on the surface. IF that's what you got then that could be the problem or at least part of the problem.

[13KnifeThrower13]

yeap. that's a nib issue. my mead paper (i've used lots) never gives me fits except for inconsistency of smoothness from page to page.

 

point your nib at your face (as if a spear had been chucked at you) and look to see if one tine is up or down more. then just use your thumbnails and push where it helps to make them even.

 

by the way, what did you do to smooth your nib?

It was somewhat of an alignment issue, just tried your suggestion and it helped! Thanks! Also, to answer your question, i used an extra fine arkansas stone.

[13KnifeThrower13]

That doesn't sound right. Does that happen on other papers? (copy paper, newspaper, whatever you have)

 

Check that your nib tines are in alignment. Unless you're using some odd very fibrous paper like paper bags, or handmade paper,you shouldn't be scratching up fibers.

 

Richard Binder has some info:

http://richardspens.com/ref/nibs/primer.htm

Nope, only on the Mead stuff.

[watch_art]

yay!

[kushbaby]

yeap. that's a nib issue. my mead paper (i've used lots) never gives me fits except for inconsistency of smoothness from page to page.

 

point your nib at your face (as if a spear had been chucked at you) and look to see if one tine is up or down more. then just use your thumbnails and push where it helps to make them even.

 

by the way, what did you do to smooth your nib?

It was somewhat of an alignment issue, just tried your suggestion and it helped! Thanks! Also, to answer your question, i used an extra fine arkansas stone.

 

A happy ending!

 

[13KnifeThrower13]

yeap. that's a nib issue. my mead paper (i've used lots) never gives me fits except for inconsistency of smoothness from page to page.

 

point your nib at your face (as if a spear had been chucked at you) and look to see if one tine is up or down more. then just use your thumbnails and push where it helps to make them even.

 

by the way, what did you do to smooth your nib?

It was somewhat of an alignment issue, just tried your suggestion and it helped! Thanks! Also, to answer your question, i used an extra fine arkansas stone.

 

A happy ending!

 

:clap1: Yep!

[Jon R.]

I use a 20-power triplet pocket loupe (cheap) to examine nibs. Then adjust nibs to correct alignment with padded forceps (small forceps such as in college dissection kits, with padding made from snug-fitting plastic tubing, in my case BTE hearing-aid tubing -- perfect).

 

When smoothing, as opposed to or in addition to alignment, is necessary, I rely on graded wet/dry sandpaper (I found a range from fairly fine to superfine on eBay) and, finally, a couple of seashore pebbles from Japan, smoothed by erosion over the years and sold at Pier 1 stores (long ago, but various stores still sell these) for putting in the bottoms of -- I don't know what; whatever people line with seashore pebbles. (Interior decoration is not my forte.) These little black stones, no doubt volcanic rock, are glassy smooth and properly used can work miracles, if a nib is as well adjusted as you can get it before smoothing.

 

A Safari nib, in my experience, should write with absolutely no scratchiness and without any pressure other than the weight of the pen. i. e. as well as any really good nib, properly aligned. You're probably aware that almost never is a nib well aligned when you purchase it. Out of hundreds I've used over the years there have been only two or three that didn't need work, sometimes extensive work, before they wrote as they should.

Edited November 7, 2010 by Jon R.