Grinding Down Nib Width

[Perdification]

Hey guys,

 

I have tried searching google and this forum for information to grind down the width of a nib (e.g.: from B to F), and what I've gathered is to sand down the two sides of the tipping material. I have been following step 4 of this guide: http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/aboutpens/ludwig-tan.html

 

I tried it with my Noodler's Konrad, and the more I grind, the more questions I have that were not previously answered from my reading. I am NOT trying to change the shape of the nib, I still want it round.

 

 

As shown in Image B, this is how I do it, pushing forward on the downstroke. Then the question comes:

 

1) Do I angulate the pen as shown in Image C? And if so, how much?

 

2) Also, how much do I rotate the pen as shown in Image D and E?

 

3) Do I have to also grind the nib in the way as shown in A to reduce the height of the nib?

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[Randal6393]

Hi, Perdification, Welcome to FPN! Hope you enjoy your stay and learn a lot.

 

There is a reason Mr. Tan's article focuses on grinding down a ball nib into an italic nib. By using straight angles, possibly jigs to keep the area flat and straight, a series of small steps can be converted into a process. With check marks and goals. I don't know of a similar process published for turning a ball nib from a B to an F.

 

Seems to me a good attempt at a process would be to create a flat spot, top and bottom, thin the nib from side to side, and then round the nib. As far as how much you take off and how long you work on each area, well, ... your judgement, your fun, best of luck to you.

 

Are you sure it wouldn't be better to check with Pendemonium (or another nib meister) and have it done? Or buy an F pen on eBay or Amazon?

 

Enjoy,

[Perdification]

Hi, Perdification, Welcome to FPN! Hope you enjoy your stay and learn a lot.

 

There is a reason Mr. Tan's article focuses on grinding down a ball nib into an italic nib. By using straight angles, possibly jigs to keep the area flat and straight, a series of small steps can be converted into a process. With check marks and goals. I don't know of a similar process published for turning a ball nib from a B to an F.

 

Seems to me a good attempt at a process would be to create a flat spot, top and bottom, thin the nib from side to side, and then round the nib. As far as how much you take off and how long you work on each area, well, ... your judgement, your fun, best of luck to you.

 

Are you sure it wouldn't be better to check with Pendemonium (or another nib meister) and have it done? Or buy an F pen on eBay or Amazon?

 

Enjoy,

 

Thanks for the tip, what I've done is to just reduce the size of the iridium tipping in general as a ball by sanding down in all directions taking into account its 3 dimensional shape and I've been able to get a slightly thinner line. I wouldn't want to go too far though, I'm afraid of taking off too much tipping material...

[Perdification]

Just to share with everyone after hours of trial and error, I finally managed to grind down the nib width and also smooth the tip to the kind of smoothness I've never felt in my life before. It really came as a pleasant surprise! I guess my method only works with pens with large amounts of tipping material, because it is quite aggressive…

 

Take note:

 

1. I test my pens at every stage after sanding, and my pens are always inked throughout.
2. I have a 10x loupe that I always use to check the shape and shininess of the nib after every stage
3. ONLY do this on cheap pens, because it is almost guaranteed to break your pen on the first try
4. Do not rush, just take your time and sand it down slowly, checking with the loupe at frequent intervals

 

 

For this particular pen, it was a broad (with huge amounts of tipping material), and I ground it down to a medium. With regards to nib shape, it was initially round (broad), I ground it to a stub as an intermediate step, then back to round (medium) again.

 

I started by using coarse sandpaper, I went for 320 grit (the tipping material was really hefty and I needed to remove material fast) and gave it a few passes (around 10) on each side, and aimed for a stub nib configuration.

 

Before rounding the nib off, I smoothed the inner tines quite aggressively. Many people would be abhorred at this, but I have my reasons for doing so (which I will explain later further down). I use 1000 grit sandpaper, push down on one tine, exposing the inner surface, and gave it about 3-4 passes until I was pretty sure I had baby's bottom, then stopped. (Baby's bottom at this point is perfectly fine, we're not writing with it yet…)

 

Next, I used a 1000 grit sandpaper to turn it into a round shape, which was quite easy, as I just needed to round off the square edges. (this sanding will remove some of the baby’s bottom, which was why I created it purposely in the previous step, and you will end up with it being just nice.

 

Once round, I next created the area for the writing spot, which is just a flatter spot on the round nib where it touches the paper (which will again remove more baby’s bottom that I created just now). I hold the pen in the way and angle that I would normally write with, and give it a few light passes (1000 grit) in the exact position that I write with, such that the tipping would have a flattened spot on the round tip that suits my hand.

 

After this, the pen should write finer lines. Follow up with some figure 8s on progressively higher grits of micro mesh, and end off with lapping film. I found the pen getting pretty smooth even after the 4000 grit micro mesh, and the 12000 grit and above just brings it to hot butter on glass levels.

 

Enjoy!

[pajaro]

I think it's marvelous that people work with their own pens to adapt them for their needs rather than relying on outside sources.

[Randal6393]

Congratulations on your success! And don't you feel your confidence level is much higher now?

 

Enjoy,

[Perdification]

Congratulations on your success! And don't you feel your confidence level is much higher now?

 

Enjoy,

 

 

 

I think it's marvelous that people work with their own pens to adapt them for their needs rather than relying on outside sources.

 

 

 

Thanks for all the compliments guys, and yes we all learn through the process and get better over time. After learning to smooth my own pens, I take it out to a shop and compare the ones I worked on with the $1000++ pens out there and I can't believe how poorly those out of the box but insanely expensive pens write...

 

I hope my guide was useful, and will inspire more people to try smoothing or grinding down your own nibs!

 

 

Edited December 10, 2015 by Perdification

[miwishi63]

Thank you for sharing this. It gave me the courage to experiment with some inexpensive pens I've been wanted to modify to get a finer line.

 

Mike

[Perdification]

Thank you for sharing this. It gave me the courage to experiment with some inexpensive pens I've been wanted to modify to get a finer line.

 

Mike

 

That's great! I recently had the guts to smooth (though not grind down) my more expensive pens worth $50 or more, and I'm glad to say that it worked well, and turned out better than those out of the box $500 Pelikans. I'm no nibmeister and if I can do it, I'm sure anyone can do it. I believe that the difference between me and the nibmeister is that:

 

1) They probably can get it smoother and create a larger sweet spot for writing, but as it is, my pens already have very little feedback on junk mail paper (let alone scratchiness) and much smoother than those pens many times its price, which I'm happy enough...

 

2) I still lack the confidence to touch up pens that are $500 or more...

 

3) I take about 3 hours (albeit leisurely) per nib to get it almost perfect the way I like it (buttery smooth fine line), and experienced nibmeisters take maybe 30 minutes. But well, 3 hours of work = 3 hours of learning for me. 30 minutes of work for them = money lost from our pockets.

 

So yes, with practice, one can touch up their nibs to be a reasonably high standard. I'm still a long long way from being an expert, but I hope that from this post, people can be more confident that nib work is not as daunting as it seems, and with some practice, a very smooth and satisfying nib is a very realistic goal!

[Randal6393]

The difference between us average guys and a nibmeister is experience and training. Experience can be come by in time. One error will teach you a lot. The training is what you dig out of books, talk to (or read from) nibmeisters and other pen repair persons.

 

No reason anyone can not get the skill necessary to maintain their fountain pens. Mark Twain reserved his Tuesday nights for working on his fountain pens and corn-cob pipes. Or so he said. But he used both his pens and his pipes daily.

 

Enjoy,