Scratchy Nib

[Motomo]

Acquired an old fountain pen that has a fresh bladder the other day and filled it with ink and the nib is quite scratchy. If you hold the pen a certain way it writes relatively smooth but as stated above for the most part it is scratchy.

 

It is not an exspensive pen, it is a branded Traveler's, but it is a handsome pen and for me being a newbie my first vintage pen. It is a steel nib that the majority of the gold plating has worn off of.

 

I would like to get it fixed and have a couple of questions since I am relatively new to all this:

 

1.) Since the gold plating is all worn off would it be better to look at just replacing the nib and feed or having the nib repaired?

 

2.) Who would you recommend to send it to for repair since I am not capable, at least at this point, to attempt this on my own.

 

3.) Ball park figure of cost for something like this

 

 

 

Any comments or advice would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jbb]

Hi Motomo. Welcome to FPN.

 

Have you looked at the nib of your pen with a magnifying glass to see if it's slightly out of alignment? If the nib is out of alignment you can sometimes push it back into place with gentle thumbnail pressure. Another thing is that there could be a teeny, tiny burr on the nib. If you draw circles and doodles on a piece of brown grocery bag it often takes care of it. Grocery bag paper has a mild sandpaper effect.

 

[mcrouse]

Acquired an old fountain pen that has a fresh bladder the other day and filled it with ink and the nib is quite scratchy. If you hold the pen a certain way it writes relatively smooth but as stated above for the most part it is scratchy.

 

It is not an exspensive pen, it is a branded Traveler's, but it is a handsome pen and for me being a newbie my first vintage pen. It is a steel nib that the majority of the gold plating has worn off of.

 

I would like to get it fixed and have a couple of questions since I am relatively new to all this:

 

1.) Since the gold plating is all worn off would it be better to look at just replacing the nib and feed or having the nib repaired?

 

2.) Who would you recommend to send it to for repair since I am not capable, at least at this point, to attempt this on my own.

 

3.) Ball park figure of cost for something like this

 

 

 

Any comments or advice would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

 

Check out Richard Binder's site. He has a lot of useful information and the site may give you an idea of the cost for the kind of repair you want.

 

Good luck,

Michael

[Motomo]

Hi Motomo. Welcome to FPN.

 

Have you looked at the nib of your pen with a magnifying glass to see if it's slightly out of alignment? If the nib is out of alignment you can sometimes push it back into place with gentle thumbnail pressure. Another thing is that there could be a teeny, tiny burr on the nib. If you draw circles and doodles on a piece of brown grocery bag it often takes care of it. Grocery bag paper has a mild sandpaper effect.

 

 

Did the grocery bag idea today and that has improved it about 90%.....maybe just a bit more and it is fixed....looked under magnification and it was in alignment but a small burr was causing the issue.

 

 

Thank you ever so much!

 

 

 

[jbb]

Did the grocery bag idea today and that has improved it about 90%.....maybe just a bit more and it is fixed....looked under magnification and it was in alignment but a small burr was causing the issue.

 

Thank you ever so much!

Yay! I'm glad it worked. Now, by the old, ancient and revered laws of pen-dom you get to buy a new pen for the money you saved by fixing the pen yourself.

Edited March 23, 2009 by jbb

[Motomo]

Did the grocery bag idea today and that has improved it about 90%.....maybe just a bit more and it is fixed....looked under magnification and it was in alignment but a small burr was causing the issue.

 

Thank you ever so much!

Yay! I'm glad it worked. Now, by the old, ancient and revered laws of pen-dom you get to buy a new pen for the money you saved by fixing the pen yourself.

 

Was out antiquing with the wife today, something we have been doing the last couple of weekends, and since I had not found anything the last two times out today found an Eversharrp Skyline that she suggested I get for myself...even if it would need work.

 

Well of course it does need a bit of work......the nib is loose and pulling up from the feed when writing.....so that will be my next topic I post.

[Joehek]

Did the grocery bag idea today and that has improved it about 90%.....maybe just a bit more and it is fixed....looked under magnification and it was in alignment but a small burr was causing the issue.

 

Thank you ever so much!

Yay! I'm glad it worked. Now, by the old, ancient and revered laws of pen-dom you get to buy a new pen for the money you saved by fixing the pen yourself.

 

 

Jbb, wanted to stay thank you for your post on the grocery bag. I was ready to send a pen out to the shop and tried this and it took care of my problem after two tries. Thanks for the advice! What other great tips do you have?

[fadeela rose]

[please help! I have the same problem on my mitchell dip pen. It scratches and sometimes snags the paper. I looked with a magnifying glass but think it looks okay. What can I do to smooth the nib?

[jbb]

[please help! I have the same problem on my mitchell dip pen. It scratches and sometimes snags the paper. I looked with a magnifying glass but think it looks okay. What can I do to smooth the nib?

Welcome to FPN fadeela rose. Dip nibs are expected to last only a short time and a snagging dip pen nib generally needs to be replaced. That's why those nibs originally came in one gross (144) boxes. I can't hurt to experiment with some fine sand paper just to see if you can get more life out of your nib but for the most part those nibs are considered disposable.

 

[Russ]

Please also be aware of that wonderful product known as micromesh, which is super-fine abrasive sold in a variety of assortments. It usually comes in closely-spaced grades so you can really smooth and polish to a perfect finish. I used it on a scratchy dip nib that was close to being thrown away last week, and saved it for more use.

 

One source (no affiliation) is The Wood Bin Ltd. They sell foam-backed pads that offer more give than a sheet of plain abrasive paper.

 

 

[publius]

[please help! I have the same problem on my mitchell dip pen. It scratches and sometimes snags the paper. I looked with a magnifying glass but think it looks okay. What can I do to smooth the nib?

Dip nibs are expected to last only a short time and a snagging dip pen nib generally needs to be replaced. That's why those nibs originally came in one gross (144) boxes. I can't hurt to experiment with some fine sand paper just to see if you can get more life out of your nib but for the most part those nibs are considered disposable.

Steel dip pen nibs, that is. Iridium-pointed gold dip pens also exist, which should not be disposed of, except perhaps to a friendly FPN member.

[jbb]

Steel dip pen nibs, that is. Iridium-pointed gold dip pens also exist, which should not be disposed of, except perhaps to a friendly FPN member.

Yes, I was only talking about the old steel dip nibs. What are Iridium-pointed gold dip nibs like? Are they old or modern? Are they flexy?