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Vacumatic nib

Hbanger

By Hbanger
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Hbanger Mint

Hbanger

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I have a Parker debutante size vacumatic that one tine of the nib is broken off at the very tip. The piece that is broken off is about 1/64” and the whole silver tip is gone from that side, the other side is like it’s supposed to be. I have never worked on a nib before, should I shorten the long side to make both sides even then smooth and round it until it looks close in shape to an undamaged nib, then play with it until I like the way it writes?

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bunnspecial Collectors Item

bunnspecial

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If the tipping is completely gone on one tine and you remove it from the other to make the nib even, chances are very good that you will get basically no service life out of the nib.

 

All the Vac nibs I've seen/handled have been 14K gold, which would not wear well without tipping.

 

There are folks out there who can re-tip, but honestly a deb sized nib should be easy to find and not terribly expensive. I probably have one...

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Hbanger Mint

Hbanger

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1 hour ago, bunnspecial said:

If the tipping is completely gone on one tine and you remove it from the other to make the nib even, chances are very good that you will get basically no service life out of the nib.

 

All the Vac nibs I've seen/handled have been 14K gold, which would not wear well without tipping.

 

There are folks out there who can re-tip, but honestly a deb sized nib should be easy to find and not terribly expensive. I probably have one...

That’s what I was thinking, if I removed the other side it probably wouldn’t work very well, as for getting it re tipped cost would be higher than value.

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Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

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Sometimes I don't go repair must be less than value..

If the pen is pretty enough, or if the nib should dance. I have a club and my wallet don't move fast on crutches.

 

I'm going to have a '50-60 medium-large MB 146 repaired.....it has much better balance than the large '70-now 146. Cap and body are 1/2 a cm smaller than the newer pen, a tad less wide also.

 

If stubborn, I could or should get more than repair price .....old day's price.**...with today's prices....yes, I could sell it and more than break even.

** I'm still stuck in yesterday.

 

It has a maxi-semi-flex nib.............and on a better balanced pen, makes lots more sense re-corking and repairing the pen than putting that nib on a lesser balanced Large 146.

 

Of course one has those pens that are real far down the repair list.

 

 

I have a '36 Canadian factory BB stub; it is a nail in a '38/9 blue diamond Vac.

Even if one don't want a nail, one needs a pretty Vac and a classic P-51.

So I'm glad for the OP, that Vac nibs are still cheap enough.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Ron Z Museum Piece

Ron Z

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As has been pointed out, even if you get the nib to write nicely now, it won't last long.  Gold is soft, paper is abrasive, which is the reason why pen manufacturers put tipping material on in the first place - and started doing it very early on.

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bunnspecial Collectors Item

bunnspecial

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On 10/10/2021 at 1:01 PM, Bo Bo Olson said:

Even if one don't want a nail, one needs a pretty Vac

 

Flexible vac nibs certainly exist.

 

One of my Oversize vacs has a lovely amount of flex. I have a few others with varying degrees of flex, and even a Duofold with a flexible arrow nib.

 

Sitting here taunting me is a fairly flexible NOS oblique stub that hopefully will soon have a home.

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Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

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9 hours ago, bunnspecial said:

Flexible vac nibs certainly exist.

I didn't know that, but living in Germany with the ever so high US mail costs never chased Parker. And some said they were nails and mine was. So made an Assumption. :rolleyes:

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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bunnspecial Collectors Item

bunnspecial

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8 minutes ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

I didn't know that, but living in Germany with the ever so high US mail costs never chased Parker. And some said they were nails and mine was. So made an Assumption. :rolleyes:

Generally speaking, I'd say the blue diamond pens I've handled tend to be nails, but flex isn't all that uncommon on first generation Vacs. My small sample size suggests maybe 10-20% with at least some degree of flex, although I could be very low or very high with that number. I don't know any way to predict it. I have two Oversize Vacs with virtually identical looking nibs, and one is a nail while the other I think you would call semi-flex. A lot of my others would meet your regular flex criteria.

 

Before Vacumatics, a lot of Duofolds are nails also but I have a Jack Knife that's quite flexible. I don't know if it would get classed as a wet noodle, but it's definitely a nib that requires a light touch.

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Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

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Superflex would be a more general term.

The way I do it which is more a help for noobies in the more superflex pens one has the more the borders blure, is then divide it into, Easy Full Flex, then Wet Noodle.

................which works in my system of halves.

 

:yikes:I ended with a Weak Kneed Wet Noodle a week or so ago.............which is tine spread and ease in the middle level of dip pens. Dip pens do make Wet Nooldes look uncooked.

 

I keep promising to learn to write because of that pre'24 MB Safety Pen....and three days have gone by....and I've not drawn a single letter. :gaah:Laziness is a sin.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

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My '36 Canadian nib is a factory BB stub...nail. But then again, it is my only one.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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