Have you ever seen that TV commercial of those animated “Pipe” people trying to sell a medication for the treatment of your “internal” plumbing? Well, just like people, pens need a bit of attention too. Below are a few photos of a 147 Montblanc Traveler pen which the client is complaining about the ink flow being rather poor. Suffice it to say upon removal of the nib and feed, the cause is quite obvious. The feed is filled with permanent, dried ink. I really suggest on modern pens, with narrow ink feed channels, that only washable inks be used, as permanent inks have impurities in them, and are thicker, and clog the feeds more readily. If you choose permanent ink, I would suggest washing out the feed/nib every time you put the pen away.
Talk about plugged up!
A closer look, ink flowed here?
Dried ink or dark glue?
I have a good client in Belgium that sends me now and then either loose nibs or nib sections. Here are some pictures of the nibs with their samples. Enjoy!
Running good, about 6-7 ink flow!
Here is a really nice Nakaya Piccolo that I received from France today, and I got right to work on it for the client. No long waits here, customer service is first!
The client requested that I increase the ink flow, and regrind the nib to an oblique stub. As you can see, the results are very satisfactory.
About 15º Oblique Stub
Frequently I receive pens that just don’t seem to start writing when they touch the paper. The client explains that there is a “skipping” that occurs, usually when one tries to make a down stroke, or when using paper that is sometimes covered with a wax coating (which is suppose to prevent “bleeding” of the ink.) The waxy surface of many papers are generally reserved for ball point pens, and are used in hospital/doctors office settings, to keep bacteria and disease down. The wax “seals” the pours of the paper, minimizing the spread of infectious agents through touch, shuffling of the paper reports, and the like. Many people new to the fountain pen world, unaware of this, and striving for a smooth fountain pen feel, use this paper, resulting in starting and skipping issues.
Paper quality aside, still the pen may have a problem; what to do? Well, my diagnosis is the following: Baby Bottom Syndrome. Many times, in order to smooth a nib, each tine of the nib sometimes becomes overly round, resulting in a rounded gap in the middle where they meet, hence the “Baby Bottom” effect.
I professional light regrind solves this, as can be seen in the photo below. This Montegrappa Elmo was just such a case, and after some study by myself under a microscope, and a light regrind, and then a nib/tine adjustment, the pen now write under its own weight by just cradling the whole pen in one’s hand. Suffice it to say my client is thrilled!
Just cradling the pen, and it writes!
Paper aside,
Besides custom regrind and retip work, I do standard retip work for those who want to return their nibs back to original. Here is a nice Green Sheaffer’s Balance with a missing tip, standard fine. I received the pen on Monday and did the retip today; much to the delight of this new customer.
Seems a bit off?
A closer look, yikes!
Back in business!
A closer look.
Well, suffice it to say, I was rather shocked to see this nib come to me after I had retipped it just a few months back. Seems that the client wanted to “smooth it a bit” in his own way, and the results were, well, not what was expected. So, the nib came back to me for a retip. With the quick turn around that I provide, the customer is more than happy to get back the nib as good as new, and now extra “rush” fees too.
Lots of cosmetic scratches; evidence of do-it-yourself nib work!
Tipping seems to be missing?
A closer look....
Back in business again!
Well, its finally cooling down here. Suffice it to say that with the cooling weather I have now planted my first winter garden. Swiss Chard, Romaine Lettuce, and other winter veggies are now in the ground.
I received this message from a first time client. It is always good to hear how people are surprised when they receive back their pen and feel that it has been transformed. Let me do the same for you!
Greg,
The pens arrived and I just had a chance to try the Montblanc. I was
pleasantly surprised. It’s smoother than it has ever been. Thanks for the wonderful job.
E.
Howdy all! Here are four nibs sent to me by a repeat client of mine from overseas for retipping/regrinding to an italic. As I don’t have the pens I can only “dip” test them to see the results. Pretty nice I would say!
I did a regrind on a Sheaffer’s Legacy with a factory broad. The client requested that it be reground to a sharp italic; least to say when he received back today he was very, very happy:
Greg, I got the pen in today! WOW!! A great grind!! I love it! And what fantastic turnaround. Mitch B.
Here are some photos:
