14K Parker 51 Nib Repair

[ALeonardoA]

Hello members,

 

I already made a similar post about this in the Parker forum and realized I should have put it here. I hope I'm not breaking protocol by making another post but this time I'm asking for help specifically about the nib. As you can see from the pictures the tip of the nib is bent to the right and needs straightening and probably some work on the ball(?) of the tip. I've asked two people about repairing it and it seems that it would cost more than to just buy a new one, so I figure I might as well see if I could very carefully try to fix it myself (I can hear the groans of disapproval from here) : ) Is this a bad idea on my part? Any recommendations or tips (heh) on how I could attempt to fix this? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

 

ALA

 

Edited January 20, 2016 by ALeonardoA

[FarmBoy]

This is always a tough one. A replacement 51 nib is ~35. Some of the usual 51 suspects would take your damaged nib in trade for nib-retipping projects which amounts to about scrap value but better than nothing. Another some of the usual 51 suspects like the challenge of fixing the nib just because and if that fails could provide a replacement nib instead.

 

To fix the bend you must apply a restoring force equal but opposite in magnitude as the force that distorted the nib. While I will acknowledge that said force may be quite complex and we really have no way of knowing what said distorting force was, we do know what the end result should be.

 

This looks to be bent up and to the right as if through heavy use. The bend is not at the tipping weld but close to it. (Left hand over-writer?) Making it more difficult is 51 nibs are small and stiff. This one gets more exciting because the slit doesn't extend to the breather hole so the tines almost must move as one.

 

I would start by moving the left tine down and left until the slit is again straight then move the right tine to the left then down OR I would attempt to move them both at the same time down then to the left.

Edited January 20, 2016 by FarmBoy

[ALeonardoA]

Hi Farmboy, thanks again for your help. I've only found one person so far who has these 14K Made in USA nibs and he will charge me $50 plus shipping for a new one. I'm not sure if that's a fair price or not but the person I asked about repairing it asked $65 and a two week turnaround. The other person I tried asking for repair sent an automated response saying there's an 11 week turnaround to begin with, which doesn't sound appealing to me. These little buggers sure are expensive, but they are gold after all? I guess I'll do some more looking around to see if I can either find one for less or someone who is willing to repair it for less. If not I'll just bite the golden bullet and shell out $50 and have some fun trying to repair the damaged one myself. Cheers.

 

ALA

[tmenyc]

I guess I would ask how it writes now, appearance notwithstanding. If all it really needs to write well is some tweaking of the writing surface, and the tines are askew together, I'd try using it that way. Then again, I'm one of those indicted overwriters, so I've written well with some pretty weird nibs and not at all with anything you'd call italic...

 

Tim

[ALeonardoA]

Hi Tim,

 

I'm not sure how the nib got that way and I didn't try writing with it though I don't think I could get comfortable. It was my grandfather's pen but I never met him. My guess is maybe it was dropped? I can't imagine something like that happening from normal use, but I might be wrong. To be honest the cost to have it repaired was more than the cost to buy a new one, not to mention long turnaround times so I went ahead and ordered one. I guess I'll do some research and learn about how to fix them and give it a go for the fun of it. Cheers.

[Larry Barrieau]

I'd be interested in any information you find on how to fix nibs. Please post when you do.