Where in Rome can I get a Parker 51 nib ground from Medium to Fine?

[dysmedia]

Does anyone here know a shop or private nibmeister (nibmaestro?) in Rome who I can trust to grind a vintage Parker nib?

 

I'm not even sure whether this is a good idea.  It's a vintage Parker 51 Special with an absolutely perfect Medium nib (Octanium), but what I really need is a Fine.  Is it sacrilege to have it ground down?  Will it be as good as it is now?  Am I better to simply swap it out?

 

Semi-serious metaphysical question:  It has sentimental value; does grinding a nib diminish the sentimental value of a pen?

[dysmedia]

(Okay, that metaphysical question isn't really serious.  But there is a matter of authenticity:  is a vintage pen somehow less authentic once you've done this?)

[A Smug Dill]

5 minutes ago, dysmedia said:

I'm not even sure whether this is a good idea.  It's a vintage Parker 51 Special with an absolutely perfect Medium nib (Octanium), but what I really need is a Fine.  Is it sacrilege to have it ground down?  Will it be as good as it is now?  Am I better to simply swap it out?

 

Shouldn't you first decide whether there is (sufficient) value to you in keeping the “absolutely perfect” Medium nib? If you're never going to write with it willingly given a choice, you could still consider whether the nib itself has any sentimental value to you, or gives you any pleasure or pride in ownership of something “absolutely perfect” even if you have no practical use for it, or think there is resale value in it that you may want to tap into later.

 

If, after all that, you still think or feel there isn't sufficient value in keeping the nib, then you can decide whether it is more convenient and/or cost-effective to simply buy a replacement nib, and keep the Medium nib aside somewhere as a not-particularly-important memento or display piece.

[jchch1950]

The 51 nibs in fine size are available in many stores. The price of a special 51 nib can be lower than what you have to pay to regrind it.

[dysmedia]

6 hours ago, jchch1950 said:

The 51 nibs in fine size are available in many stores. The price of a special 51 nib can be lower than what you have to pay to regrind it.

 

Ah, thank you. That's good to know. Means I can keep the old one as a spare, on the off chance that I decide that I like larger nibs.  Now I just have to figure out where to buy a new one and have it installed. What's the usual price for this operation?

[Wahl]

Contact my friend Francesco Gargiulo, francegargiulo@libero.it , 3404083991

[Karmachanic]

If no nibs in Rome try here: https://www.pengineers.co.uk/spares/nibs/

[dysmedia]

Thanks, all.  I've circumvented the issue.  I just did what I suspect indicates a burgeoning addiction (and impending bankruptcy):  instead of swapping out the nib, I simply bought another Parker 51.  It's not a Special — it's a gold nib, with the standard Aerometric mechanism, rather than the U-shaped bar.  Oddly, it writes just as smoothly as the Medium.

 

Lovely experience, purchasing it:  I went to Antica Cartotecnica, an old-school pen store, which has been there since the early years of the Roman Empire.  (I joke, but it's literally around the block from the Pantheon.) In fact, it opened in 1930; it's a family-run business that still sells items from that decade.  They have a *lot* of Parker 51's.  The price, for a fully restored pen, was better than I'm seeing elsewhere:  seems they charge considerably less for a pen with a Lustraloy cap.

 

Oh, and of course I bought ink.  I now have three different turquoise inks.  I'm doomed.

[mizgeorge]

6 minutes ago, dysmedia said:

Oh, and of course I bought ink.  I now have three different turquoise inks.  I'm doomed.

Not doomed - just out of the starting blocks