aligning nib's tines

[sanegeek]

Hello FPN

 

Just wondering, do you know of any guide on how to align tines (video will be great)? I have a pen that is not aligned (observer using loupe) and can write smoothly only on an angle. I want to try to fix it myself but afraid that I might damage the nib.

[Paddler]

Aligning the tines is a rather simple procedure, although it can be a bit scary the first time you do it. Usually, you only have to bend one tine very slightly. You usually do this by bending the appropriate tine away from the feed. You do this by pulling the tine away from the feed with a fingernail. Do this gently at first and then check the result. If you were gentle enough the first time, you did nothing - no improvement. Do it again, slightly more this time. Check results. Keep trying to bend the tine with slightly more authority each time. Most nibs, even 18ct gold ones are astonishingly springy. Tweaking one, even a tiny bit can be scary. Some nibs are very hard and springy; others (the Parker 21) are surprisingly soft. The idea is to take it slow! A tiny bit more each time until the job is done.

 

Good luck!

 

Paddler

 

[bgray]

Paddler's got it.

 

The only thing that will add is to use magnification.

 

Also, if you are bending tines up, be sure to pay attention to the gap (or hopefully lack of gap) between the nib and feed.

 

If you bend enough to create a gap in between the feed and nib, you'll create flow issues.

 

You can bend them downward if needed, but this is best done by removing the nib from the feed first. Get the feed out of the way before doing this.

[sanegeek]

Thanks! Works great now

In fact I made 2 more pens that are poor starters to good pens just by aligning the nibs.

[Paddler]

Yeah! It is shocking how many pens you find with misaligned tines - even brand new ones. I was recently given a new Parker 45 by someone who said it was too scratchy. Satin lined box, original cartridges, converter, everything. A little tweak and the pen is now just slippery smooth. I wonder what these manufacturers are thinking. I wonder where they went to school.

 

Paddler

 

[ZeissIkon]

I wonder where they went to school.

 

You're assuming, here... :roflmho:

[Saturninus]

Paddler's got it.

 

The only thing that will add is to use magnification.

 

Also, if you are bending tines up, be sure to pay attention to the gap (or hopefully lack of gap) between the nib and feed.

 

If you bend enough to create a gap in between the feed and nib, you'll create flow issues.

 

You can bend them downward if needed, but this is best done by removing the nib from the feed first. Get the feed out of the way before doing this.

 

 

How can I tell if I should be bending the lower tine up, or the higher tine down?

[Paddler]

Usually, if the pen, stored nib up for several hours, needs priming before it will begin to write, the feed is positioned a little too far from the nib already. Bend the high tine down. Bending one up can make the problem worse.

 

Bending a tine up can widen the slit slightly because of the way the nib is curved. If the nib writes too wet already, bend the high tine down.

 

Bending the low tine up is easy; you can leave the nib and feed in the pen. Bending a tine down (except for a tiny amount) usually requires that the nib be removed from the section. This is a much more involved process. Practice on junk pens before you try it on something shiny.

 

Me? I always start by bending the low tine up. If that makes problems, the nib had to come out anyway. Nothing lost. The problem with dismounting the nib is that when you remount it, one tine can touch the feed and end up too high. Getting things adjusted just right can be a really fiddly process.

 

Paddler

 

[Saturninus]

Ok thanks - this is great. Wish me luck!

[frolland]

There is a great article on alignment of nibs on the Web. Please see this link:

HERE

 

FR

[tryphon]

and another article here: http://www.newpentrace.net/articleGA04.html

[ac12]

 

Yeah! It is shocking how many pens you find with misaligned tines - even brand new ones. I was recently given a new Parker 45 by someone who said it was too scratchy. Satin lined box, original cartridges, converter, everything. A little tweak and the pen is now just slippery smooth. I wonder what these manufacturers are thinking. I wonder where they went to school.

 

With an old pen, I do not put any faith in "new pen" statements. Who know how many hands and what kind of hand a pen has been through. I have had pens with factory stickers LOADED with dried ink, so someone used the pen.

A heavy fisted writer could missalign the tines by too much pressure on one tine by writing with the pen rotated, so they are writing primarily on one tine.

[tryphon]

When I was repairing pens under warranty, most nib problems were caused by owners (of new pens!) who tried to smoothen the nibs with disastrous results.

[AD43]

I have a very stubborn GvFc Missalignment, but I will overcome!

[Bo Bo Olson]

You need a good glass 10X loupe, to see which tine is up.....from the breather hole, press down under the other tine for 2-3 seconds...check. Can do that 3-4 times until even.

 

It is seldom one has to lift the down tine....and a bit more delicate.

 

I do remember how 'fearful' I was the first time I did that...by the time I did it 4 times....it was no longer a big deal.

Edited February 24, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[AD43]

Thanks

[Paul Raposo]

Bumping an old topic.

 

How do you know which tine to adjust?

 

A friends modern 149 which he received as a gift many years ago sat unused and when he decided to ink it and use it was scratchy. Misaligned nib was the issue as seen under 12x magnification.

 

I decided to lower the tine that was higher using the same method Bo Bo Olson wrote about and the nib was aligned and smooth.

 

However, under a higher magnification (30x) the nib slit was slightly misaligned, meaning it wasn't perfectly smooth when I ran my finger nail over it. It's imperceptible to normal vision but can be seen under magnification.

 

So I'm left wondering if I should have raised the lower tine up.

 

However, when examining the pen I saw the the higher tine was not completely down on the feed, so in my mind I needed to lower that higher tine so it would match the lower tine and then both tines were be flat on the feed.

 

So the question again, how do you decide which tine to move? In the case of my friend's 149 the tipping material is perfectly aligned, the tip of the nib is flat on the feed and it writes wet and smooth. Am I worrying too much about the very slight misalignment of the nib slit?

 

Edited to add: If I had lifted the tine that was lower to meet the higher tine the nib slit would have been much more misaligned, which leads me to believe the slit was already misaligned. I should also say the misalignment is tiny and is impossible to see without magnification.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Paul Raposo