Jump to content

Uncial

Recommended Posts

I have a nib I want to polish. It's not rough or scratchy, I would just like to polish it very slightly to take a tiny bit of the 'tooth' out of it. Should I be using lapping film rather than micro-mesh, and what grades should I be looking at?

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 34
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • tryphon

    5

  • Uncial

    3

  • bobje

    3

  • vorpal

    3

Top Posters In This Topic

Use an old copper penny. Seriously. Rub the nib across the columns of Lincoln's memorial. Do it lightly. It removes any small burrs and does NOT damage the nib like micromesh can. It is an old trick of the trade and it really works.

Edited by tryphon

http://s26.postimg.org/fp30mhy6x/signature.jpg

In punta di penna.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have not had much luck with the penny trick, or with a brown bag trick...

 

If you get a 12000 grit micromesh, you can use it fairly safely to polish the tipping if your intent is to keep things fairly round. Because micromesh is mounted on foam it will "wrap around" the object you are sanding, even with fairly little pressure, and will round things somewhat.

 

If your tipping is stubby or italic, I would go with a lapping film of 0.05-0.1 micron grade, mounted on an old credit card (via double-sided tape) or some other such stiff surface. That way you can smooth the tip without rounding it off too much.

 

:-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, you need a US cent with the Lincoln Memorial.

 

Couldn't I use a British penny by rubbing the nib over Her Majesty's crown?

 

Or is that treason?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, maybe not treason. But certainly lese-majeste.

Yours,
Randal

From a person's actions, we may infer attitudes, beliefs, --- and values. We do not know these characteristics outright. The human dichotomies of trust and distrust, honor and duplicity, love and hate --- all depend on internal states we cannot directly experience. Isn't this what adds zest to our life?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Use one of the three-section nail buffing pads, with black (coarse), white (medium) and grey (12,000 extra fine) sections.

Available in many cosmetic sections in pharmacies/department stores for about $10.

 

http://image.dhgate.com/albu_267635610_00-1.0x0/ab015-20pcs-lot-nail-art-3-way-buffer-file.jpg

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tune into a discussion of nib polishing, listen to an Italian lecture an Irish guy about the use of an American penny as a tool, and get a lesson in sovereign law. A rich classroom, this forum on fountain pens.

Reviews and articles on Fountain Pen Network

 

CHINA, JAPAN, AND INDIA

Hua Hong Blue Belter | Penbbs 456 | Stationery | ASA Nauka in Dartmoor and Ebonite | ASA Azaadi | ASA Bheeshma | ASA Halwa | Ranga Model 8 and 8b | Ranga Emperor

ITALY AND THE UK

FILCAO Roxi | FILCAO Atlantica | Italix Churchman's Prescriptor

USA, INK, AND EXPERIMENTS

Bexley Prometheus | Route 54 Motor Oil | Black Swan in Icelandic Minty Bathwater | Robert Oster Aqua | Diamine Emerald Green | Mr. Pen Radiant Blue | Three Oysters Giwa | Flex Nib Modifications | Rollstoppers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Use one of the three-section nail buffing pads, with black (coarse), white (medium) and grey (12,000 extra fine) sections.

Available in many cosmetic sections in pharmacies/department stores for about $10.

 

http://image.dhgate.com/albu_267635610_00-1.0x0/ab015-20pcs-lot-nail-art-3-way-buffer-file.jpg

In my experience, dealing with repairs (I was the distributor for Platinum and I am the distributor for Aurora in Canada and for Signum, Marlen, Columbus, Nettuno, Linea, FILCAO and Magna Carta for North America, I have seen way too many nibs ruined by using these strips, when all they needed was tine alignment and perhaps a penny rub. I have been collecting and repairing pens for almost 40 years, I have seen thousands of nibs. Before trying to change the shape of a nib pellet, please read some basic nib adjusting advice, like the article I wrote (link)

http://www.newpentrace.net/articleGA04.html

http://s26.postimg.org/fp30mhy6x/signature.jpg

In punta di penna.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tune into a discussion of nib polishing, listen to an Italian lecture an Irish guy about the use of an American penny as a tool, and get a lesson in sovereign law. A rich classroom, this forum on fountain pens.

LOL!!! :)

http://s26.postimg.org/fp30mhy6x/signature.jpg

In punta di penna.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In my experience, dealing with repairs (I was the distributor for Platinum and I am the distributor for Aurora in Canada and for Signum, Marlen, Columbus, Nettuno, Linea, FILCAO and Magna Carta for North America, I have seen way too many nibs ruined by using these strips, when all they needed was tine alignment and perhaps a penny rub. I have been collecting and repairing pens for almost 40 years, I have seen thousands of nibs. Before trying to change the shape of a nib pellet, please read some basic nib adjusting advice, like the article I wrote (link)

http://www.newpentrace.net/articleGA04.html

 

The only reason I included it was that I saw in a video that Richard Binder had one on his workbench.

The grey side is the same grit as the finest of the micro-mesh pads.

I have one, and have used it to touch up a couple of less than smooth nibs, like my Platinum 3776 Fine. A few strokes on the grey (finest) side turned it from a pen that annoyed me a little to one that is butter smooth.

 

I agree that the other side, with the coarse and medium grits are usually too aggressive unless you really need to remove enough to cure baby bottom or similar.

fpn_1412827311__pg_d_104def64.gif




“Them as can do has to do for them as can’t.


And someone has to speak up for them as has no voices.”


Granny Aching

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Giovanni, for the penny rub process you describe, is it advisable to use a penny from 1981 or older, which contains high copper content? I read that the nib acquires a bit of copper as a lubricant as a result of the process.

Reviews and articles on Fountain Pen Network

 

CHINA, JAPAN, AND INDIA

Hua Hong Blue Belter | Penbbs 456 | Stationery | ASA Nauka in Dartmoor and Ebonite | ASA Azaadi | ASA Bheeshma | ASA Halwa | Ranga Model 8 and 8b | Ranga Emperor

ITALY AND THE UK

FILCAO Roxi | FILCAO Atlantica | Italix Churchman's Prescriptor

USA, INK, AND EXPERIMENTS

Bexley Prometheus | Route 54 Motor Oil | Black Swan in Icelandic Minty Bathwater | Robert Oster Aqua | Diamine Emerald Green | Mr. Pen Radiant Blue | Three Oysters Giwa | Flex Nib Modifications | Rollstoppers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bob, you are correct in that the older copper pennies are supposed to work better. In truth, I use the post-1981 pennies and they work fine for me. It's worth a try: not a miracle cure, but it has improved many nibs and the risk of damaging them is almost zero.

http://s26.postimg.org/fp30mhy6x/signature.jpg

In punta di penna.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...