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The Nakayas Have Landed!


ethernautrix

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Reprieve,

 

Those are all really pretty Nakayas. Can you tell us more about them?

 

Dillon

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

Will someone with the name of "Jay" who emailed me through the email system provide me an email address? There was no email address provided, so I can't write back.

Dillon

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I got my Nakaya back from the USA about 2-3 weeks ago and I've thought long and hard about what I should post here. I ended up getting a F-M Stub, medium flow. Yes, I know - position sensitive. No problem. I have tons of italic pens and a couple of stubs I love but I didn't want to go full italic with this one.

 

I LOVE the look and feel of the of the pen. To be brutally honest, the nib is... well... meh!

 

I'm really, really trying to like it, but in my view, it's just not as smooth as I thought it would be! This is nib #2, which is still slightly scratchy with tons of feedback, but much less so than the original I sent back to the USA. While I'm trying different inks to see if it improves (and it does, marginally), this Nakaya is probably not, at this stage, going to be my favourite pen, despite the cost and it having been my dream pen for absolutely ages. I have $5 italic pens that are smoother.

 

Can anyone suggest an ink that might make it smoother? The best one I've found so far is Diamine. The worst is the Iroshizuku ink. Go figure!

 

Anyway, some photos are in order...

post-10758-0-67197100-1357611371.jpg

post-10758-0-52915000-1357611379.jpg

_________

Susi

from Sydney, then Byron Bay, now Gold Coast, Qld, Australia

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My unpolished shu Naka-ai is here! It is even better than I expected! I really like the Naka-ai shape; it is lighter and more balanced than the Neo Standard; it fits in my hand perfectly; the nib, a soft medium stub, is delightful. Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

 

 

 

Wooooo! Great family of inked Nakayas!

Happy for you!

...writing only requires focus, and something to write on. —John August

...and a pen that's comfortable in the hand.—moi

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Reprieve,

 

Those are all really pretty Nakayas. Can you tell us more about them?

 

Dillon

 

Thank you, Dillon.

 

The Neo Standard is a Fox with 9 Tails. The photo I posted is so horrible that you can't even see a hint of the tamesukashi artwork. The artwork is subtle and beautiful. It has a rose gold clip and a rose gold BB stub nib which is my favorite nib; right now, it's filled with Montblanc Swift Seaweed. The fox pen has significant sentimental value and it moves me emotionally every time I write with it.

 

The unpolished shu Naka-ai has a rhodium soft medium stub and is currently filled with R&K Blau-Schwarz. It's an excellent writer thus far. The nib is smooth with nice line variation and just a hint of spring. I really, really like the unpolished finish.

 

The housoge shu Piccolo has a rose gold broad stub nib and is filled with Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue. The chinkin engraving looks pretty and delicate and intricate.

 

The sumi-e cherry blossoms Portable Cigar has a ruthenium fine nib. The nib is very fine and very smooth and has a really wonderful feel on paper. This one is inked with Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses. The cherry blossom motif is raised up from the barrel and you can feel the artwork when you hold the pen. With daily use, the raised artwork has become shinier while the background has remained matte. It's a really nice effect.

 

The awai murasaki-iro Portable Writer has a ruthenium clip and a ruthenium medium nib. Right now, it is inked with FPN Van Gogh, but it is almost empty and I will probably refill it with Montblanc Violet tomorrow. The purple Portable Writer is my daily workhorse. It has a few minor scratches, and I had a heart-stopping moment when I dropped it on my hardwood floor a few weeks ago, but I love it more for the knocks that it has taken.

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Byronss, I'm so sorry that you have been disappointed with your pen. While you probably don't want to deal with the hassle and expense of sending it back to Nibs.com again, if you were to contact John, I'm sure he would rework the nib. He really does want you to be happy with his work. If you were to send the pen back again, I would recommend talking to John directly via telephone to explain exactly why you are unhappy with the nib and what your expectations are--that way there would be no miscommunication. But I understand completely the disappointment and reluctance to send it back again. Sometimes the disappointment sours the experience and the only option is to cut your losses. I've been there. It stinks.

 

If you find yourself unable to love the nib, at least you can take comfort in knowing that you can easily sell your pen in the FPN classifieds. Nakayas tend to sell quickly and retain their value well--so I would be surprised if you end up taking much of a loss financially.

 

I'm surprised that the Iroshizuku inks made the nib feel scratchier. Usually they are very lubricating. Do you have Aurora Black or Blue? Those are two commonly available and well-behaving wet inks. You also might try a Sailor ink like Blue-black or Epinard.

 

Good luck! Keep us updated, whatever the outcome.

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Byronss, I'm so sorry that you have been disappointed with your pen. While you probably don't want to deal with the hassle and expense of sending it back to Nibs.com again, if you were to contact John, I'm sure he would rework the nib. He really does want you to be happy with his work. If you were to send the pen back again, I would recommend talking to John directly via telephone to explain exactly why you are unhappy with the nib and what your expectations are--that way there would be no miscommunication. But I understand completely the disappointment and reluctance to send it back again. Sometimes the disappointment sours the experience and the only option is to cut your losses. I've been there. It stinks.

 

If you find yourself unable to love the nib, at least you can take comfort in knowing that you can easily sell your pen in the FPN classifieds. Nakayas tend to sell quickly and retain their value well--so I would be surprised if you end up taking much of a loss financially.

 

I'm surprised that the Iroshizuku inks made the nib feel scratchier. Usually they are very lubricating. Do you have Aurora Black or Blue? Those are two commonly available and well-behaving wet inks. You also might try a Sailor ink like Blue-black or Epinard.

 

Good luck! Keep us updated, whatever the outcome.

 

I'm not prepared to spend any more money on this Nakaya. I paid over $30 for freight back and was charged $131 for return freight and to change the nib that they'd originally recommended after my sending them numerous handwriting samples and specifying what I wanted, which included a Ruthenium nib (hence the extra charge). So that was on top of the original cost of the pen. Makes it a very expensive pen.

 

I then explained what I thought was wrong with the original nib and asked for what I wanted again. Sure, I'm much happier with what I got, but it's just not as smooth as expected. The more I use it in my rotation, the more annoyed I'm getting, while comparing it to other much cheaper pens. I will probably not recoup my total expense... and to be honest, I don't want to sell it. Maybe I'll just flush it and just consider it a work of art. But I can't help thinking that something could be done to improve the nib. If only I had the skills to fix it myself! I definitely don't. Firstly it feels like the ink needs to flow more, yet I'm getting show-through on Rhodia paper! After that, not sure.

 

During the course of all this, I spoke by phone to two different people and it seems like I communicated with several different people by email. It wasn't consistent. The time difference made that all the more annoying. The service was ok... the end result wasn't what I expected. Maybe my expectations are off? That's why I sat on it for several weeks before I posted here, willing myself to like the nib.

 

I really don't like hearing myself, writing which is what I'm getting! Using Rhodia and Clairefontaine paper! It's clearly scratching the paper and I assume that would contribute to the show-through. And yes, again... am aware of position sensitivity.

 

 

Thanks for the ink recommendations. I have none of these. I don't tend to like traditional black or blue... I'm more browns, greys and purples, although I might try those you've suggested. I love the Noodlers and J. Herbin colours so have plenty of those, plus other random ones like Diamine, Private Reserve and more. After filling it with Diamine Grey yesterday, today it seems quite dry. So maybe that's not the best ink after all.

_________

Susi

from Sydney, then Byron Bay, now Gold Coast, Qld, Australia

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So sorry to hear about your continuing issues, byronss. Reprieve's response was excellent so I don't have much to add to that. It is a bummer that you have to ship internationally to try to resolve the problems. That makes it much more complicated.

 

My experience is that Platinum/Nakaya nibs do have a fair amount of feedback. I personally like it, but I can see where others might not. I am shocked that Iroshizuku gave the worst feel as they are typically some of the best lubricating inks I've tried. Sailor inks are also good.

 

It is sad that you were able to get your grail pen only to have it fail to measure up to your expectations. I've experienced it a couple of times with some fairly expensive pens - it's frustrating and disappointing, to say the least. I hope everything works out well in the end.

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I'm not prepared to spend any more money on this Nakaya. I paid over $30 for freight back and was charged $131 for return freight and to change the nib that they'd originally recommended after my sending them numerous handwriting samples and specifying what I wanted, which included a Ruthenium nib (hence the extra charge). So that was on top of the original cost of the pen. Makes it a very expensive pen.

 

I then explained what I thought was wrong with the original nib and asked for what I wanted again. Sure, I'm much happier with what I got, but it's just not as smooth as expected. The more I use it in my rotation, the more annoyed I'm getting, while comparing it to other much cheaper pens. I will probably not recoup my total expense... and to be honest, I don't want to sell it. Maybe I'll just flush it and just consider it a work of art. But I can't help thinking that something could be done to improve the nib. If only I had the skills to fix it myself! I definitely don't. Firstly it feels like the ink needs to flow more, yet I'm getting show-through on Rhodia paper! After that, not sure.

 

During the course of all this, I spoke by phone to two different people and it seems like I communicated with several different people by email. It wasn't consistent. The time difference made that all the more annoying. The service was ok... the end result wasn't what I expected. Maybe my expectations are off? That's why I sat on it for several weeks before I posted here, willing myself to like the nib.

 

I really don't like hearing myself, writing which is what I'm getting! Using Rhodia and Clairefontaine paper! It's clearly scratching the paper and I assume that would contribute to the show-through. And yes, again... am aware of position sensitivity.

 

 

Thanks for the ink recommendations. I have none of these. I don't tend to like traditional black or blue... I'm more browns, greys and purples, although I might try those you've suggested. I love the Noodlers and J. Herbin colours so have plenty of those, plus other random ones like Diamine, Private Reserve and more. After filling it with Diamine Grey yesterday, today it seems quite dry. So maybe that's not the best ink after all.

 

If the nib is clearly scratching the paper, then there's a problem beyond a lack of smoothness. Did you check the alignment of the tines with a loupe?

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You could try one of the Noodler's eel inks. They make my pens feel positively slippery on Rhodia type papers and more smooth feeling on copy type papers.

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I got my Nakaya back from the USA about 2-3 weeks ago and I've thought long and hard about what I should post here. I ended up getting a F-M Stub, medium flow. Yes, I know - position sensitive. No problem. I have tons of italic pens and a couple of stubs I love but I didn't want to go full italic with this one.

 

I LOVE the look and feel of the of the pen. To be brutally honest, the nib is... well... meh!

 

 

I suspect there may be some minor misalignment at work here. I'm very fussy about nib finish and alignment, and, as I like EF (and finer) nibs and prefer to run them on the dry side, any roughness or misalignment is going to be felt. It has been my experience, that no matter how well set up, almost every nib will slip out of alignment during the first week or two. Maybe it's residual manufacturing stresses, maybe it's the nib adjusting to my hand, who knows, but nearly every nib I've ever purchased has needed to be gradually tweaked into shape. My advice would be to try a series of very tiny adjustments over the course of a week or two, and, when the nib seems truly stable, do a very mild polish, but only if necessary.

The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free state; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter when published. Every freeman has an undoubted right to lay what sentiments he pleases before the public; to forbid this, is to destroy the freedom of the press; but if he publishes what is improper, mischievous or illegal, he must take the consequence of his own temerity. (4 Bl. Com. 151, 152.) Blackstone's Commentaries

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So sorry to hear about your continuing issues, byronss. Reprieve's response was excellent so I don't have much to add to that. It is a bummer that you have to ship internationally to try to resolve the problems. That makes it much more complicated.

 

My experience is that Platinum/Nakaya nibs do have a fair amount of feedback. I personally like it, but I can see where others might not. I am shocked that Iroshizuku gave the worst feel as they are typically some of the best lubricating inks I've tried. Sailor inks are also good.

 

It is sad that you were able to get your grail pen only to have it fail to measure up to your expectations. I've experienced it a couple of times with some fairly expensive pens - it's frustrating and disappointing, to say the least. I hope everything works out well in the end.

 

Thank you for... well... I suppose I can call it sympathy. I guess I need to ask why these pens have so much feedback. I've read lots of reviews and this was unknown to me. Maybe I could keep telling the pen: "well, you're supposed to be that way", and I could like the way it writes better. It sure is an impressive looking pen! I just want the nib to grow on me!

_________

Susi

from Sydney, then Byron Bay, now Gold Coast, Qld, Australia

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I suspect there may be some minor misalignment at work here. I'm very fussy about nib finish and alignment, and, as I like EF (and finer) nibs and prefer to run them on the dry side, any roughness or misalignment is going to be felt. It has been my experience, that no matter how well set up, almost every nib will slip out of alignment during the first week or two. Maybe it's residual manufacturing stresses, maybe it's the nib adjusting to my hand, who knows, but nearly every nib I've ever purchased has needed to be gradually tweaked into shape. My advice would be to try a series of very tiny adjustments over the course of a week or two, and, when the nib seems truly stable, do a very mild polish, but only if necessary.

 

If only I knew how to do "adjustments". I'm one of those people who like to tinker but put things back together with pieces left over. After my first few disasters with fountain pens many years ago, I promised myself I would never 'tinker' with them again. I really don't now how.

 

I have a loupe... somewhere... ok I've found it. The tines are aligned, but I can see that It's a very flat nib, which I didn't realise it would be. It doesn't have a "ball" thingy on the end. (See how much technical knowledge I have? - haha) And I think that may be contributing to the excessive feedback. Even my el cheapo Sheaffer italic pens have a much more raised underside nib edge.

 

What exactly would I do a mild polish with? How do I get more ink to flow without killing the pen?

 

Cheers...

Sue

Edited by byronss

_________

Susi

from Sydney, then Byron Bay, now Gold Coast, Qld, Australia

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byronss,

 

Considering the nature of your 'discovery' the problem may well be a technical one, but with your writing, not with your pen. An italic pen (all edged pens, for that matter) generally* need to have the entire width of the nib stay on the page to write smoothly, and for the pressure on the contact surface to be fairly uniform from side to side; otherwise the nib will be scratchy and even tear up the paper. Rounding the corners off the nib (as with mild cursive nibs and most stubs) will make the pen less position sensitive, but won't remove this requirement entirely.

 

Pretty obviously, your other 'italic' nibs are fairly rounded. My italic nibs, on the other hand, are fairly sharp, which is my preference. The trades off is, while my pens are more position sensitive (tougher to use than yours), they yield sharper lines and more dramatic line variation.

 

As I see it, you have 3 choices. Declare the pen an objet d'arte, have the nib made much less crisp by a nibmeister, or learn how to use italic nibs. I would suggest number 3, which is not that difficult to do and will generally improve your handwriting. If that suggestion appeals to you, there are instruction materials to be found in the penmanship forum or I or someone else can point you at a good instruction manual.

 

Good luck

 

* There are advanced techniques which require tipping the nib up onto a corner. Don't worry about them for now. Most users of italic nibs never learn them.

Edited by Mickey

The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free state; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter when published. Every freeman has an undoubted right to lay what sentiments he pleases before the public; to forbid this, is to destroy the freedom of the press; but if he publishes what is improper, mischievous or illegal, he must take the consequence of his own temerity. (4 Bl. Com. 151, 152.) Blackstone's Commentaries

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ARGH!

 

Sue, that is SO FRUSTRATING!

 

I, too, was unhappy with my first Nakaya's nib, and the pen pretty much sat in its box for nearly two years before I swapped out the nib for the standard M that's in it now. But it was easy for me, cos all I had to do was see John Mottishaw at the LA Pen Show, pay him $40 for the nib swap. (And if I hadn't gone to the pen show, I would have been able to send the pen to him and have it back fairly quickly, fairly inexpensively.)

 

What is even more frustrating is that if you had been able to attend our Pen Posse Sunday, you would have seen Todd (FarmBoy) file some nibs and maybe felt encouraged to tweak your Nakaya's nib. Which is what *I* did. (Todd was reluctant to file the nib.)

 

While I like the standard M nib on my Naka-ai, I wanted just a hint of line variation. I asked Todd what he would do if he wanted to do that -- how would he file the nib -- and he showed me, so that's what I did. And I'm very pleased with the result. I know... crazy. I know. Todd and Ricky kept saying, "The LA Pen Show is next month! Just wait until then and get John to swap out the nib!" I'd planned to get a ruthenium-plated F nib. Ha ha ha. But... the thought of having a hint of line variation with THIS nib was more temptation than I could resist.

 

Another pen that I loved the look of but not the nib was my Montblanc 100-Year Historical. The EF nib simply wrote too widely. It was frustrating to want to use the pen and not like how the nib wrote.

 

Every once in a while, I would try to "adjust" the nib on a nail buffer. Carefully rubbing the nib against the finest grade of nail buffer. Gingerly trying a rougher grade. Back and forth. Sometimes I thought, perfect! But it wasn't perfect. The nib was still too wide. I'd store the pen away.

 

But I wanted to use it! So I'd bring it out again, ink it up. One night, I lost my patience and rubbed the heck out of the nib on the nail buffer, not caring if I wrecked it, since I couldn't use it anyway. I suppose I figured I'd just buy a replacement nib IF I HAD TO. I was just... ARGH!

 

And that, counter to my expectations, gave me the nib I thoroughly enjoy using today. I know it's a wrecked nib, but it's wrecked in a way that I like it; it gives me wonderful line variation and thin lines, ha ha ha.

 

I am not recommending this method to you. I'm letting you know that you're not alone. Somehow, you will resolve your nib dissatisfaction, I'm sure of it. For me, it took time (and a little crazy).

 

I WILL recommend practicing nib grinding on cheap nibs. (Advice I should take myself, I know.) Maybe you'll learn how to round the corners of your Nakaya's nib so that it'll write smoother.

 

Don't give up!

 

 

Edited: Holy moley I cannot write while distracted! Sheesh.

Edited by ethernautrix

_________________

etherX in To Miasto

Fleekair <--French accent.

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ARGH!

 

Sue, that is SO FRUSTRATING!

 

I, too, was unhappy with my first Nakaya's nib, and the pen pretty much sat in its box for nearly two years before I swapped out the nib for the standard M that's in it now. But it was easy for me, cos all I had to do was see John Mottishaw at the LA Pen Show, pay him $40 for the nib swap. (And if I hadn't gone to the pen show, I would have been able to send the pen to him and have it back fairly quickly, fairly inexpensively.)

 

What is even more frustrating is that if you had been able to attend our Pen Posse Sunday, you would have seen Todd (FarmBoy) files some nibs and maybe felt encouraged to tweak your Nakaya's nib. Which is what *I* did. (Todd was reluctant to file the nib.)

 

While I like the standard M nib on my Naka-ai, I wanted just a hint of nib variation. I ask Todd what he would do if he wanted to do that -- how would he file the nib. And so that's what I did. And I'm very pleased with the result. I know... crazy. I know. Todd and Ricky kept saying, "The LA Pen Show is next month! Just wait until then and get John to swap out the nib!" I'd planned to get a ruthenium-plated F nib. Ha ha ha. But... the thought of having a hint of line variation with THIS nib was more temptation than I could resist.

 

Another pen that I loved the look of but not the nib was my Montblanc 100-Year Historical. The EF nib simply wrote too widely. It was frustrating to want to use the pen and not like how the nib wrote.

 

Every once in a while, I would try to "adjust" the nib on a nail buffer. Carefully rubbing the nib against the finest grade of nail buffer. Gingerly trying a rougher grade. Back and forth. Sometimes I thought, perfect! But it wasn't perfect. The nib was still too wide. I'd store the pen away.

 

But I wanted to use it! One night, I lost my patience and rubbed the heck out of the nib on the nail buffer, not caring if I wrecked it, since I couldn't use it anyway. I suppose I figured I'd just buy a replacement nib IF I HAD TO. I was just... ARGH!

 

And that, counter to my expectations, gave me the nib I thoroughly enjoy using today. I know it's a wrecked nib, but it's wrecked in a way that I like it; it gives me wonderful line variation and thin lines, ha ha ha.

 

I am not recommending this method to you. I'm letting you know that you're not alone. Somehow, you will resolve your nib dissatisfaction, I'm sure of it. For me, it took time (and a little crazy).

 

I WILL recommend practicing nib grinding on cheap nibs. (Advice I should take myself, I know.) Maybe you'll learn how to round the corners of your Nakaya's nib so that it'll write smoother.

 

Don't give up!

 

I have an entire, very large, pencil case full of buffers! I was thinking I had to go out and buy some special kind of sanding stuff. First I have to find a pen in my collection I don't like. Then I will practice!

 

It really is too bad I don't live in the USA, for many reasons. I do, however, have a USA passport (very long story), but am not a good traveller. Besides, that would be an awfully expensive nib-fix! We are very isolated here in Australia and with a small population, nibmeisters are rare. I do know of one at the other end of the country.

 

Yes, that's exactly what I think this pen needs - slightly more rounded corners! But then maybe the 'stub' part of it will be lost. Also some better ink flow, but not to wet noodle stage. I did ask for a medium flow, but maybe I should have asked for more than medium. The same inks in different FPs look different. Besides... what's 'writing pressure' and 'ink flow' when I probably have no standard to compare to? I've never known a single other person in my life who likes FPs.

 

At least you've encouraged me to have a try at fixing this. Thank you!

_________

Susi

from Sydney, then Byron Bay, now Gold Coast, Qld, Australia

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I have an entire, very large, pencil case full of buffers! I was thinking I had to go out and buy some special kind of sanding stuff. First I have to find a pen in my collection I don't like. Then I will practice!

 

It really is too bad I don't live in the USA, for many reasons. I do, however, have a USA passport (very long story), but am not a good traveller. Besides, that would be an awfully expensive nib-fix! We are very isolated here in Australia and with a small population, nibmeisters are rare. I do know of one at the other end of the country.

 

Yes, that's exactly what I think this pen needs - slightly more rounded corners! But then maybe the 'stub' part of it will be lost. Also some better ink flow, but not to wet noodle stage. I did ask for a medium flow, but maybe I should have asked for more than medium. The same inks in different FPs look different. Besides... what's 'writing pressure' and 'ink flow' when I probably have no standard to compare to? I've never known a single other person in my life who likes FPs.

 

At least you've encouraged me to have a try at fixing this. Thank you!

 

Gentle smoothing might help quite a lot. You mentioned ink flow... it sounds like it might be a dry writer even though you asked for medium flow. Is the ink in the Nakaya coming out a lot lighter than in your other pens? If so, you might try popping in a cartridge or washing the converter with some water and dish soap. I have a few of the Platinum converters that are kind of sticky--the ink clings to the walls of the converter. That's probably a futile suggestion, I know, but I thought I'd throw it out there. I'm so sorry you're having issues!

 

PS: This article by John Mottishaw about how to make minor nib adjustments might help. It has some good photos.

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Someone (who may want to remain anonymous) has PM'd me and is helping me diagnose the problem more accurately. I'm now pretty sure I've found it. Here's what I wrote:

Right to left stroke is passable.

Left to right scratches the hell out of the paper.

If I twist the pen anti-clockwise a degree or two, it's better, but that's the wrong position for a stub. So it has to be the leading right edge on the left to right stroke that is the problem.

Pull strokes/downstroke (straight up and down) are fine. Upstroke, not so much. Also logical because of what's wrong with the nib.

Downstroke - darker ink than upstroke (and darker than any cross-stroke, which it would be because it's a stub).

Right to left stoke - darker ink than left to right. (That shouldn't be so, should it?)

So, getting to the bottom of what the problem is, is one thing. Fixing it is another. Strangely enough, it's exactly what the problem was with the first nib. It can't be my writing position if 100% of my other FPs are OK, including 1.1s up to very broad italic pens - and I have about 15-20 FPs of all sorts that I've been using lately (and more that are clean and stored away).

I will need quite some courage to run my Nakaya across anything "smoothing"! Eeeeek!

_________

Susi

from Sydney, then Byron Bay, now Gold Coast, Qld, Australia

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Someone (who may want to remain anonymous) has PM'd me and is helping me diagnose the problem more accurately. I'm now pretty sure I've found it. Here's what I wrote:

Right to left stroke is passable.

Left to right scratches the hell out of the paper.

If I twist the pen anti-clockwise a degree or two, it's better, but that's the wrong position for a stub. So it has to be the leading right edge on the left to right stroke that is the problem.

Pull strokes/downstroke (straight up and down) are fine. Upstroke, not so much. Also logical because of what's wrong with the nib.

Downstroke - darker ink than upstroke (and darker than any cross-stroke, which it would be because it's a stub).

Right to left stoke - darker ink than left to right. (That shouldn't be so, should it?)

So, getting to the bottom of what the problem is, is one thing. Fixing it is another. Strangely enough, it's exactly what the problem was with the first nib. It can't be my writing position if 100% of my other FPs are OK, including 1.1s up to very broad italic pens - and I have about 15-20 FPs of all sorts that I've been using lately (and more that are clean and stored away).

I will need quite some courage to run my Nakaya across anything "smoothing"! Eeeeek!

 

It sounds like you've analyzed the problem well. I've had the same sort of problem on more than one italic I've owned, even one created by a top nibmeister. Looking at the picture there seems to plenty of tipping material on the nib so personally I wouldn't hesitate to try a little smoothing yourself. You can buy a sheet of 12000 micomesh online for very little expense - I managed to buy a thing like a nail file with 12000 grade polishing abrasive on one side and 6000 on the other which I've found very useful. For a nib which seems to have a sharp corner/edge, I've even used it like you would a nail file. Just working gently on the offending edge with barely any pressure at all. A strong magnifying glass can help you to see exactly where you need to work. The tiny amount of nib material you'll remove will be un-noticeable but you'll end up with a nib you'll enjoy much more. The trick is to be cautious and to keep checking your progress. Just don't overdo it and you'll most likely be fine. I can't imagine life without my little strip of micromesh.

D A N i T R i O f e l l o w s h i p

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I will need quite some courage to run my Nakaya across anything "smoothing"! Eeeeek!

 

I have discovered that my frustration tends to override my common sense. I prefer to think of it as a sense of adventure. I will say that I won't commit to wrecking a nib until I have accepted the potential great cost either to replace the nib or put the pen away for a while (however long that will be -- my first Nakaya, it was nearly two years). (I had other pens to distract me from the frustration of that.)

 

I will offer two words of advice: Rehearse. Caution.

 

Rehearse -- practice on cheap nibs. See what happens when you do this and when you do that. Pay attention to what the experts say; study their diagrams.

 

Caution -- One or two strokes or rubs at a time. You're not in a hurry. I tend to get impatient, but I try hard to slow way down when "fixing" my nibs. I did lose it over my Mb nib, but I lucked out in making it one of my favorites. I wouldn't try that on a Nakaya.

 

Unless I were willing to pay for a replacement nib. Which, I am not.

 

Good luck, Sue!

Edited by ethernautrix

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etherX in To Miasto

Fleekair <--French accent.

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