Tines Touching Too Much?

[GCS93]

Hey guys

 

I was finally trying to adjust my pen, after I got mildly frustrated with pends a few months back because I failed to open one up to re-sac it. It makes a nice dip pen though..

 

I'm using an old pen style 40-60x microscope to inspect the nib properly and found that one tine gives the impression of being ever so slightly longer than the other.

I knew from trying earlier that you hardly can adjust the tines and upon inspecting the slit I noticed that the tines are touching.

 

This is an old semi flex nib (Conway Stewart no3) though and as far as I've read it's common for flex nibs to have touching tines.

 

How hard should they be touching though?

Pushing one tine upwards it stays resting on the other one. (no, this is not something I usually do but it has happened when writing in the past, I only didn't take much notice..)

 

http://img14.deviantart.net/0866/i/2016/189/8/f/img_20160707_192821_by_topsy93-da99vfn.jpg

 

http://img02.deviantart.net/3d9d/i/2016/189/3/0/img_20160707_192829_by_topsy93-da99vdk.jpg

Very sorry for the 'graphic' images, they actually make me cringe slightly looking at them, also sorry for the sub par images, I wasn't home and my macro lens was.

 

With slight pressure it snaps back into place.

 

I'd like to stress that the slit does not narrow towards the top or bottom, though ultimately it's a bit hard to tell since it's touching. It's just not very clear to me into which direction they should be moved, if in any.

 

 

Edit, yes, I'm pretty sure the last 2mm of the nib have been tampered with in the past and bent down maybe? I haven't seen a side profile of another #3 nib to be able to judge.

Edited July 7, 2016 by GCS93

[jar]

They should not touch.

[GCS93]

I was under the impression that flex nib tines can in fact touch. Various sources state so and it's in Richard Binders Workshop notes too.

But I guess touching ≠ pressure against each other?

[Chrissy]

From Picture 2 these tines look like they are actually lying one on top of the other. That is completely wrong as that nib can never write. It would only be writing on the lower tine. The tines should be lying side by side, and barely touching together in the centre. They must be perfectly aligned next to each other though

[GCS93]

Obviously. I'm not sure how well I got my point across but the photo above is 'staged'.

They "clicked" over each other when aligning the tines, so there's obviously pressure pushing them towards each other though, otherwise that would not happen.

 

Is that a 'normal' kind of pressure for flex nibs or not though?

And if not, how do I alleviate the pressure?

[Chrissy]

It's not too difficult to alleviate the pressure yourself. I suggest you have a look at nib tuning videos and see how the use of a brass shim can be used effectively in this type of situation

[GCS93]

Yes.. I've been trying with a brass shim for the past hour and got absolutely zero results.

 

Theoretically the tines would spring back into position perfectly fine but everytime I lift of from writing they are misaligned again (not as much as in the above photos )

Stroking over them with light pressure from a finger gives an audible 'click' and they're aligned again.

 

Adjusting it with pressure to the shoulders isn't something I want to do since there already had been small traces of an inverted grand canyon..

[drop_m]

sorry if i resume a month old post: does the nib give you problems while writing?

I've several vintage flex nibs where the tines touch themselves but i never had a problem with that, since flexing it you actually spread the tines to get line variation. they are supposed to return touching in order to give you a tiny line on the upper strokes.

Edited August 3, 2016 by drop_m