Greg Minuskin

I saw this article about the decline of handwriting as a skill; its sad, real sad! Please copy and paste the link in your browser to read the full article.

Cursive writing is fading skill, but so what?
Teaching what used to be called “penmanship” is being shunted aside at schools across the country in favor of 21st-century skills.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32925695/ns/us_news-education//from/ET

So, you have a difficult nib to retip; no worries! I can do it for you. Such is the case with this music nib pictured above. After straightening and carefully aligning the tines for retipping, the owner of this rare nib will be back in business!

[caption id="attachment_1735" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Music to my ears "][/caption]

I have received some inquires about how to best send nibs and pens to me for repair Below are some photos of how I recently sent back a few nibs (be sure to move your cursor over each photo and click on it for a closer look) to a very good client in Israel. (By the way, the turn around time for his large retipping order was only 3 days!) There were a total of 14 nibs in this package. As you can see in the photos, the use of small zip plastic bags works well, and a sturdy plastic box was ideal for this shipping situation. Finally, lots of packing material and then strong paper packing tape that has those fiber threads running through it seals the box very nicely and is tamper resistant.
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This box was then placed in an Express Mail envelope and then the appropriate paperwork was filled out. If you live in the U.S., always mail your pens/nibs to me by Priority Mail, Insured for the value you think your items are worth, with Delivery Confirmation, or Registered Mail, which takes longer but is more secure. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at greg@gregminuskin.com and I will be happy to advise you on what sort of mailing options are best for your particular needs.

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Yeah, see that photo above; and you thought it was the paper you were using that was making your nib feel scratchy! Even if your paper is a sheet of glass, you will not have a smooth feel with this need. The owner of this nib chose wisely to have his nib retipped, regardless of how many folks say “Don’t change the tipping, its original.” Okay, we can leave it as is, and I will leave my old, balding tires on my vintage car and get on the freeway

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Sometimes good things come in three; (I say this because people always say that famous people/movie stars die in groups of three!) One of my good clients requested 1.1mm stubs on these three Sheaffer Triumph nibs. Enjoy the photos!
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Amazing artwork by one of my clients in Korea created with two pens I modified for him recently. With the fine lines created by the regrind of both pens to a needlepoint, plus the added flex, one can create varying degrees of line widths just by varying the pressure on the tipping. What is amazing about this artwork is that it allows the artist full control over his tools; that is, the pens, any only with a 14K gold nib (which has the ideal ratio of gold to alloy in it) can one have the right “spring” in the flex of the nib to create such infinite line variations. An 18K nib is too soft, while a stiffer nib in either 14K or 18K would not allow the artist the “feel” to create the smoothness and transition of lines that one attains with a 14k thin, flexed nib.