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Dear all, (I hope I am posting in the right part of the forum. Apologies if I am not and, moderators, please help me move this message where appropriate.) TL;DR: This is about an issue with a 1970s Pilot Elite, Soft 18K Nib. I have never seen something like this before, but I suspect there is something wrong with the iridium tip of this pen. In plain English, I think it's missing. Could you please comment? Details: I just received a few pens from an eBay seller from Japan. One of the pens felt very scratchy on my thumb, so I started looking at its with 10x optics. Here are the photos, Figures 1-3, showing the nib overhead, sideways, and underneath, respectively. The original photo from seller seems to me to show the nib with tip, but I will not display it for now so I do not damage the reputation of the seller (which is high wherever I checked). My questions are: What do you think could be the problem? Is there a missing (iridium) tip? Is this reason to contact the seller and complain? What would be a typical request - money back? Is there any other way I could fix this? Can the nib be re-tipped? Who could do this and what would be typical expenses? Many thanks. Figure 1. Nib from above. Figure 2. Nib from the side. Figure 3. Nib from underneath.

Where or who are the best professional and reputable sources (vendors/dealers/etc) for vintage pens? Places where the prices are fair, the pens are restored professionally, and the nibs are tuned? Places where the pens do not smell of cologne, cigarette smoke, and mold. I've tried Ebay and it's "touch and go". Sometimes I get a great pen, most times I have to return it for refund. Any suggestions? Where have you bought from with great result and great return policy? Right now, I've been looking for a vintage Pelikan 400NN (old one) fine point , smooth writer, and a vintage Parker Senior Duofold (fine point) smooth writer. Both in excellent to mint condition. Thanks everyone for your help. jim

So I decided to climb further up the price notch in the Lamy brand and I decided to purchase an Al-Star from amazon.ca for 49, 95$ CDN which seems to be a regular rate for these pens in Canada. I am just concerned that it may be a fake as there is a lot of stories out there of fake Safaris and Al-Stars going around. My question is does anyone have any experience with fake Al-stars from amazon where amazon itself is the seller? Any input would be greatly appreciated.