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Hi, Dropped two pens off in London for a nib exchange. Anyone know the timeframe i can expect to get the pens back? Have been told anywhere from 2-6 weeks and hoping it's not the latter! Boutiques seem very quiet these days due to Covid. Many thanks

I bought a Caran d’Ache Varius Ebony fountain pen in January 2020. I chose an OB nib to bring some variety to my expanding collection (6 fountain pens and 3 ballpoints). However, the OB nib was not what I expected and I hardly ever used the pen. I therefore decided to do something about it, which means either to have the nib reground or exchanged. First things first, I contacted Caran d’Ache customer service for a nib exchange. I received their answer today. I can send the pen to the factory where the nib will be inspected. If it is found to be in good condition, it will be exchanged free of charge. If it has been damaged, I will be charged 130 CHF for a nib exchange (roughly 130 USD). I think it is very reasonable and the customer service seems friendly. As I live in Switzerland, sending the pen back to the factory costs practically nothing (roughly 7 CHF). Sending the pen to America to have the nib reground, on the other hand, would be an expensive endeavour. For example, sending it to Mark Bacas (I have already used his services and I can personally recommend), having the nib reground and the pen sent back to me, would cost roughly the same and take way longer. The goal of this post is not just to tell you about my life and that of my pens, but to provide you with some information regarding Caran d’Ache customer service and the cost of their nib exchange. I found no information about that specific topic on the Internet and thought I would change that. So, if you want to have a Caran d’Ache nib exchanged, you now know how it works and how much it costs.

I've been having some issues with my 90th Anniversary Edition 149 & my journey to get it repaired. I purchased my pen new from one of the Authorized Dealers in St. Maarten in January this year while I was on a cruise. As soon as I got home, I inked it up with some UNICEF Blue and all was good until it started leaking onto the grip section a couple of months later. I also didn't like how the medium nib wrote so I asked to exchange the nib for an OBBB when I sent it out in March. Since I sent it in, I've had an "interesting" experience with MontBlanc's repair center. I was told that the 90th anniversary 149 was no longer considered a limited edition model and was not eligible for the nib exchange program. This conflicts with what my salesman told me when I purchased it in January. My salesman told me that since it was a limited edition model, I would have a year to exchange the nib if I didn't like how the medium nib wrote. I was also told by the service center that they could not determine the authenticity of 149 as my warranty booklet was not filled out completely. I sent a scan of my receipt to no avail. Since then, I have reached out to the jeweler who I purchased my 149 from in St. Maarten. They would contact the service center themselves and resolve all of the issues that I am facing. This was back in April and I still haven't heard anything from either MontBlanc or the Jeweler. We're now approaching the end of June and it appears that no progress has been made on getting this pen repaired. Any suggestions?

I have a question for the nib-tinkerers amongst us: can one fit a Bock Type 380 (i.e. a Bock #8 size) nib onto a Pelikan M1000, and/or vice-versa? If so, does one exchange just the nib, or both the nib and feed? Why am I asking? I found a Pelikan M1000 quite very cheaply some time ago. Alas, although the beautiful 3OB nib looks perfectly OK, it is very temperamental in practice (much more so than other obliques I’ve used). So I want to find an alternative. I know I could buy a whole new M1000 nib, but that would cost several times more than I paid for the pen. So I was wondering whether I could simply get a Bock Number 8 nib instead and fit that. Any ideas? OR are there any other nibs I could use? (For interest, the tines on the 3OB nib may be damaged in some way, as if the metal had been stressed. Yes, I know that the nib on the M1000 is quite springy; that’s not what I mean. The result is that although the pen will write, it does not do so reliably, though some inks are less bad than others. There is nothing wrong with the feed itself; I’ve checked. Over time I'll want to have someone look at the nib, but in the meantime I want to use the pen...)

Hi everybody, I’ve recently opened a Izumo which carries a rhodium president nib that was bought quite a while ago. So warranty, if there’s any, could have expired. On second thought, I’d like to go on the thicker side of lines and would like to have the nib changed to Broad. Does Platinum offer a nib exchange programme as its western counterparts or if it is not free, does Platinum allow doing it with a cost? I’ve tried searching the forum but didn’t seem to find any previous discussion on this. Does that mean a no? Does anybody have any experience that could be shared? Many thanks!

Hi guys, So I'm the newbie Pelikan owner who bought a Souveran M600 with an M nib from Amazon Global UK because the price was great and everyone in this forum raved about how awesome the M600 is (I'm coming over from being a Montblanc owner, be nice). Problem is this: my handwriting is small and the M nib is waaaaay too wet even using Pelikan's 4001 royal blue and Montblanc's midnight blue ink. So I reached out to Chartpak to do a nib exchange and lo and behold, they're not going to honor a nib exchange on a pen purchased outside of the US, which makes me wonder what they do about Americans who buy pens abroad and then come home, but whatever . . . . At this point, the pen is driving me a bit nuts because while I do like it, the M nib is practically unusable for me. What are my options at this point? Nibmeister and a grind? Purchase a new F nib and be bitter? I really wanted to fall in love with Pelikan but now, not so much (I also bought a P205 which I returned because it was super scratchy) UGH. Shawnee

Thought it might be of interest to post my recent (and first) nib exchange experience. Naturally it will be old news to the more seasoned forum members, but I know I've scoured the boards looking for info on it and always left wondering what the latest is on available nib sizes and so forth. Thus, fwiw: Short Version. It works, it takes a little over two weeks, the currently available nib sizes chart for the whole range is just below. Long Version. Very long version. Aug. 2nd - Took delivery of a Parker Duofold "Classic" International Big Red with medium nib at a ridiculously low price. I mean it was lower than clearance for the previous model kinda price. Did a happy dance and started researching alternative nib sizes. Why? Because, like Mount Everest, they're there, aren't they? The Parker website is big on flashy graphics and telling me about oblique and italic nibs, but the drop down menu and subsequent graphic doesn't want to offer them. Only XXF to EEB. "Alas," I exclaim. "Has the choice been brung so low by these Rubbery Maids?" I take advantage of their offer to "Contact Us" and contact them. I get an email back that very afternoon from Writing Instruments Consumer Services with a courteous note and an attached list of nib possibilities, which I shall likewise attach: Aug. 3rd - After considerable mulling and combing of the interweb for writing samples and personal experiences, I decide I shall entrust my new baby to the care of strangers, opt for a medium italic, and thus emailed back accordingly. As I was there, so to speak, I also rather cheekily asked if it was possible to get a fine nib exchange for a Vector that was still in its blister pack. The receipt, unfortunately, was lost. Writing Instruments Consumer Services was hot on the case and happy to assist me. Could I send them the following information and they would create a UPS label so that I could send both pens (I'll take that as a yes on the Vector then) to the repair centre: - Proof of purchase - Preferred delivery address - Preferred email address - Preferred contact number I could, and did. Well apart from the proof of purchase bit for the Vector, of course. Writing Instruments Consumer Services were still burning up the interweb wires like Usain Bolt in the 200m and a UPS label appeared accompanied by the assurance that a Return Authority (RMA) # was now in their system. This seems to be the key to unlocking the joys of the Parker Service Centre, or whatever they call it. Area "51" maybe...? I thus packed up my Parker Odd Couple, appending my previously asked-for details to both pens, plus a covering letter, and making it clear again just what nib was wanted where, just to be on the safe side. Stuck on the mailing label, and dropped it off at my nearest UPS drop off point as found via the link provided. Then I started to obsessively check the tracking number. Aug. 4th - 9th - UPS took it's sweet time swimming the Channel and kicking the parcel around parts of France. This might be worrying, but luckily France was where it was meant to be going. Meanwhile, on the 5th, Fine Writing Consumer Care emails me to ask me to take a consumer survey. I'm complimentary; they will have my Big Red precious in their hands and I don't want to make them angry. That, and it was also very good consumer care. On the 8th Parker email me to offer me a 2 year warranty extension. (Was I that complimentary?) On the 9th Parker email me to say the warranty extension was a mistake and disregard. (Clearly I wasn't complimentary enough.) Aug. 10th - UPS claims victory and delivers! Silence. Aug. 13th - The Parker - Rotring - Waterman Global Service Center rumbles into life and declares that it has received my product/request, their technicians are handling it, and they will keep me informed on the follow-up as soon as possible. The attached order acknowledgement only mentions the Vector. I start to worry. More silence. I worry a bit more and wonder why on Earth I thought there was any reason not to stick with medium nibs. Aug. 18th - Parker - Rotring - Waterman Global Service Center rises from the silent depths and declares (twice) that they have shipped my product/order on the 17th and they hope their service will give me total satisfaction. Depends; have they also included chocolates? Two dispatch notices, but one parcel. The UPS tracking number is on the attachment and not clicky copyable. I painstakingly type it out and start tracking... It's noticeable that the progress is a lot faster coming this way than it was the other. It's already on UK soil. Aug. 19th - A smiling brown shirt, enjoying the brief burst of sunshine amongst the driving rain, delivers my voyaging chums into my grateful hands. I have to sign for the parcel on an electronic screen with a plastic stick on a string. I think that may be irony. Open the padded envelope and find two elastic-banded sub-parcels with copious paperwork, a lot of which is the covering stuff I sent them in the first place. In fact I got everything back except the tissue paper the Duofold was wrapped in. It quickly became clear that pens at opposite ends of the range will get you slightly different results. Thus: The Vector was happily rolling around its Parker/Waterman tube naked as the day it was assembled, with a new slide convertor. And, happily, its new fine nib. Whereas the Duofold (and I know it's a terrible picture of it - I'm sorry) was blessed with a twist convertor and royally swaddled in a softly lined canvas-y pouch within its tube. Oh, and a blue cartridge. (I'm not counting the Vector's blue cartridge because it came with one in its packaging.) The medium italic is very lovely and surprisingly wet. Both nibs exhibit evidence of blue ink; might they have actually been tested? Gadzooks. Anyway, there ya go; the full experience in painful painstaking detail. I'm a happy weevil and give a thumbs up to the Rubbery Maid of the Stair Post*, or the Parker/Waterman employees who still believe in offering such a service despite them, whichever it may be. *That sounds like a euphemism for something dubious. I refer, of course, to Newell Rubbermaid. Some may argue that is something dubious, but whatever...

I have been a longtime lurker since last August, when I started using fountain pens, and reading articles here and other's posts have been enough to help me solve a lot of the problems that I've encountered. But now I have a problem that I have found some information on but it is contradicting other posts so I want to ask others from this community for the most up to date information and advice. I have discovered Montblanc's Writer's Edition recently and immediately got hooked. My first purchase was a Dumas with a medium nib, but after inking it up and filling around 10 pages, I've concluded that I can't use a medium nib. From my previous post surfing I thought that the stubbiness of Montblanc nibs would be ok but it is just too thick of a line for my handwriting, so I'm thinking about the nib swap program that they have. So far I have gathered enough info about the nib swap program to know that Montblanc will replace the nib on my pen with my desired nib and if they don't have that specific Dumas nib in stock that they will make one to order. My question is regarding which channel I would go through. I'm in Dallas, Texas and the Fort Worth service center is 11 miles away. But an old post by a former Montblanc reseller specifically said to contact Montblanc service center in Hamburg directly. Does anyone have the most up to date information on who I should contact to get a fine or extra fine nib exchange? Thank you in advance for your help.

Every Vector I have bought over many years has had a medium nib, so I bought a new Vector with the plan to send it in to have the nib swapped to a fine. I sent it to Parker on 10 Jan 2017, and got it back on the 30 Jan. Am very pleased with it, it writes how I had hoped for. The nib had been tested as there was blue ink in the feed, plus a surprise was the fitting of a slide converter, marked 'Made in UK'. It's the type of converter where the agitator inside is not a ball bearing but a steel tube type. (I could post a photo if asked.) Also included one new Quink cartridge.

Hey guys, Anyone know what their average wait time was for getting a nib exchanged at the Lamy repair centre in Heidelberg? I sent my Lamy 2000 from the UK (f) in September and got a confirmation email to say it was delivered around the 28th September. It's now towards the end of October but have not had anything in the post yet or an email to say it's on it's way. Is this a usual amount of time to wait for Lamy Germany to send a pen back for a nib exchange only? And what were your experiences with their customer service? The initial interaction I had was pleasant enough but I was just wondering if this was an exception to the otherwise efficient service?

Bought this from the MB Boutique, but they had to send it off to Germany for a nib exchange; I like Fine nibs. Just got it back recently. Duke of Milan 4810. Any votes for which ink I should use in it for its first trial?

Dear all, I bought a bunch of Deltas recently and I am wondering if any of you have experience in getting the nib exchanged in Europe. I have filled up the web form of Deltapen.it several times without ANY responce. The pinned topic here <https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/54397-italian-brands-contact-info/> doesn't have the info I need either. I did search in this forum and the web in general but couldn't come up with a decent answer -> Help. Thanks in advance -DOL

Hi, I've come into possession of an Astoria Nib No.2. Disregarding the fact that the feed might not be able to handle the ink requirements of the flexible nib, would it be possible to mount this nib on any Pelikan M Feed or any Sailor 1911? Thank you very much!

Customer support and after sales service - the way it should be There are companies who make promises and there are companies who keep it; encountering the latter came as a pleasant surprise, not only did they keep the original promise, but went far beyond their remit to keep an end customer happy. The story goes thus. I land at my dad's after a couple of years [we live half way across the world] and during a nice balmy drink he jumps and says 'Son, I was meaning to give you something last time you were here, but forgot, let me go fetch it'; before I gulp the drink and pop the question as to what, where & why, he has disappeared back in the house. Out he comes after some time holding what looks like a Parker gift box. I knew that my father knew about my preference to fountain pens but did not know that he knew that I liked it that much. 'This has been sitting in the closet waiting for you, I thought you'd like it' is what he says pressing the pen in my eager hands. His eyes twinkle as I gingerly open the box and find a magnificent Sonnet. I don't know *this* sonnet says my logical side of the brain and goes on its way meandering though the existing mental database while the emotional part of the brain has forgot to close the faucet to the salivary glands. Time is not kind to satin and other soft materials that is used in the gift boxes these days especially when it sits for 4 years in humid tropics locked inside a closet. There are spots of brown and red and the texture and feel is tending towards a starched-cotton fabric instead of the silky, shiny that is supposed to be. The pen itself though, looks pristine! As the cap is tepidly opened, hoping that the dampness has not nibbled on the nib (see what I did there ;-), Out comes a gleaming dual-tone tip with squiggly scroll. A twirl and a peek at the feed reveals that it is an 'M' which is when logical bit of the brain returns with a 'Nadaaa' instead of a 'TaDaaa' and goes back again scampering, wondering if parker would oblige to change the nib to XF instead. A slight press of the nib-tip on the finger nail unravels a springy metal, NICE, and the faucet is opened again. With no internet connection [blessed is that place] and hardly a mobile around, 'net' still means something that you catch fish with and a tweet is actually made by a bird! A hole in the system is made by earthworms and what gets hacked is almost always a dead tree. A buzz is made by a bee and not by a marketing drone; finally, stars are still visible to the naked eye; a python is not what you script, but run away from. This meant 3 weeks of waiting before I get back to uncivilised world. In the meanwhile more dehydration ensued just looking at the golden swirls. This one not easy to capture on a photo and is lot more handsome/beautiful in reality. Fast forward; a polite e-mail is rushed to folks at NewellCo and a quick response received. Half way through the perusal, a smile breaks out on an old wrinkly face and both hands begin to pack the precious to be shipped off. Despite Einstein’s desperate protest against such statements, time did move really slowly for the next 3 weeks. Here is it ladies and gentlemen, the new XF on the Parker sonnet Chinese lacque Amber. Despite being an old model and having no proof of purchase, the Parker-waterman customer service team rendered a stellar job at keeping a promise – nib exchange. The pen was returned in excellent shape, superb nib and the interaction with team was exemplary. They threw in a new converter and a cartridge to boot. A Customer couldn’t have asked for more; and now they got a loyal one.

I just changed the nib on my Parker Sonnet from a medium to a fine. I watched a video http://www.penbox.tv/Pens/Parker/16613428_S4gptd/1252557369_BJbBN7n#!i=1252557369&k=BJbBN7n and then made the exchange. Easy!! I was as thrilled as I was the other night when I had my first loaner hand in Euchre. Woohoo!!