What is the Proper way to Repair a Bent Nib?

May 24, 2016

There is no reason to be so critical of someone that is offering to assist someone with their experience and knowledge. It is pretty evident that much of the repair information presented in this forum is a "proceed at your own risk" situation. There are also people on this forum with vastly different skill levels when it comes to detailed work. If you are not good at detailed work or don't have a clue which way an intersecting gear will turn when a set of them are intermeshed then you probably should send your expensive pen out for repair. I know gears have nothing to do with repairing fountain pens, but what I'm getting at is that a person that attempts to do this kind of work should be able to look at a device, understand how it works and understand how changing its physical properties will affect specific qualities of its performance. Now I can tell you I have only been a fountain pen follower for a short time. A few months ago I purchased a few different Noodler's pens and tinkered with them so I could learn how modifying them affects their performance. Then I purchased 2 Edison Collier pens with 18K nibs, and a Visconti Homo Sapien a couple of weeks ago. I set the tines and smoothed one of the Colliers and the Visconti.

Today, like an idiot I handed my Collier (which can not be posted) to my wife to sign some closing docs, and I turned around to look something up on my computer. Then I heard this "Crack!" sound and as I turned around I saw the Collier on the tile floor with both tines splayed upward and outward at a 90 degree angle. I was not a happy camper and I was pretty PO'd at the wife. She said, "I had no idea that it would roll off the counter." But you know what, it was my fault because unless you are a fountain pen owner you have no clue as to how fragile they are and how well an unposted pens rolls. So, My Bad!, not hers.

So here I am in this thread trying to glean info from experienced people on how I can repair a $150 18K gold fine Edison nib and not have to spend $50+ to have it fixed and be without the pen for weeks on end. Long story short, after reading the information shared by the wonderful people on this forum, I decided to tackle it. So, I went to my tool box pulled out a set of flat blade small needle nose pliers, a small block of wood, 2 different size drill bits (one to fit the curvature of the nib, and the other to act as a roller to flatten the nib on top of the other bit), a feeler gauge to set the tine split, a piece of 2500 grit sandpaper to smooth and set the tine split, a diamond file to smooth the flats on the pliers so I wouldn't mar up the finish of the nib, and a set of micromesh pads to smooth the nib. Three hours later after repairing the nib and heat setting the plastic feed the Collier writes better that the day I pulled it out of the box. It also looks almost as good as new. Yeah it took me 3 hours. But it was worth it just for the sheer satisfaction of a job well done on something I have never tacked before. Only regret is that I didn't take a before pic of the nib.

Now for my background. I went to college to be a mechanical engineer, broke my back racing dirt bikes while at college, didn't finish my engineering degree, worked as a bicycle and motorcycle mechanic for 3 years, then worked 10 years for a shop building race engines and chassis for pro street cars and circle track race cars, then wised up for benefits and retirement, and took a government job as a firefighter and currently am a chief officer after 25 years with the department. So I have a fairly extensive background in mechanics and I can fix just about anything that is thrown at me, I'm a gadget nut. But I bet there are plenty people like me reading these forums that love absorbing information from people about tweaking, modifying and repairing fountain pens.

So my word to the members that post information and instructions based on their experience is, please don't sensor yourself because of a few naysayers, keep pouring out that information because there are plenty of people that will wick it up like a sponge. Thank you to the OP's that start these kind of threads and also to those that provide positive input like "Flourish."

Edited May 24, 2016 by hsdrggr

May 24, 2016

Bravo. Someone should write an instruction manual. Nice pen.

May 24, 2016

You do need to make a fair assessment of both your skills and value of the item. If you're like my grandfather, who could fix anything, you go for it. If however you are like my father-in-law who drove a nail into an electrical wire the first time he tried to hang a picture on the wall, you think at least twice about anything mechanical. He stuck to doctoring, which he did very well indeed, and wisely left the mechanical stuff to others. Same with price - if you can afford to pay someone else to fix it, or replace it if you screw up, go for it!

May 24, 2016

Bravo is right, and many thanks for resurrecting this great thread, which I remembered from its first incarnation in 2009 but had missed in 12 and 14.

Tim