Dismayed by Nib Work

[Phthalo]

meanwhile: I like to believe they will work with me, but I think your advice is reasonable if my attempts fail.

 

I am going to tell them flat-out that I don't want any re-work, as I have no faith in their ability whatsoever. (I'm very blunt, and it's going to be very hard to sugar-coat that statement!)

 

I will let a lot of my photos speak for themselves. I have a good set of larger images and images of my other nibs which are very fine, but very well made, like my Sailor EF, Pilot F and Aurora EF, which I will send to the store so they can see for themselves what I have issue with. I'd also love for them to see what a properly ground nib looks like!

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

It does not look quite right.

 

I myself am still perfecting my technique in grinding these, but I can get quite good results still

 

By the way, which of the Princesses did you get and what year?

 

I have a Scarlet 2002 and a Green Arco 1997.

 

The Princess is my favourite Omas size because the pen fits my hand and the nib is not too big. I had to learn how to do tassels because one of my tassels came undone.

 

If I were asked my favourite pen to write with, the Princess is my favourite

 

Dillon

[Phthalo]

Hi Dillo,

 

I know you are a fellow Princess fan - they are such lovely sized pens, and so beautifully made.

 

The one I have a problem with is a La Royal Blue from 1994. The other one which I have no problem with is the Saft Green from 1993. They are quite early ones I think, as I have read the Celluloid Collection came out in 1991.

 

I have removed the ribbon-ring with the tassel attached, and am looking for a replacement ribbon-ring, which I think I have found. I did this because it's just more practical and keeps the tassel in perfect condition.

[StanSoph]

I would take the pen you have and send it to Omas and have them put the nib you want in the pen. Ask the shop if they have the box and sundries for the pen. If they do, great. If not so be it. You don't have to be an ass about it, just move on. It is apparent they have a butcher working in the shop so sending it back to them is a gamble. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.

[Phthalo]

I have just finished speaking with the store owner who sold me my Omas, and I am pleased to say that I have had a very good result.

 

I started the conversation by saying there were a few small issues. I explained the missing box and how the pen had been badly packed. The owner was quite shocked - they apologized, and told me that they would send the box immediately.

 

I then explained the issues I had with the nib. They did suggest I send back the pen for another nib grind attempt, to which I just said no, and very carefully explained why I would not do that. They fully accepted the explanation and my concerns, and said they had no problem ordering me a genuine Omas EF nib. It was all extremely painless!

 

We then chatted about Omas, and the owner told me a charming story about visiting Italy several years ago - she is lucky enough to be one of the very few people to have visited the Omas factory in Bologna. At the time the factory was apparently almost window-less, and the staff were divided into a few areas, and each area was secure. Staff from one area were not permitted to go to another area, as there was a lot of privacy around many parts of the manufacturing process. It all sounded very interesting.

 

In addition, I also bought the last Omas "Dama" model the owner had in the store. This is slightly larger than the Princess, and has a clip instead of a ring top. Six weeks ago it was the same price as my Princess when I was in the store enquiring, but today the owner did a very special deal for me, and I bought it for about 85% off retail. Amazingly, they also offered to order a genuine EF Omas nib for it as well. (I’m baffled as to why didn’t they order a nib for my Princess in the first place!?)

 

Disturbingly, the owner did admit the nib grind on my Omas was a bit of an experiment. I think this explains the very nice treatment I received today. They didn't elaborate, and I didn't ask further questions, although I'd have loved to know what type of experiment that was...

 

My Princess will soon be restored to its former Omas glory, so this story has a happy ending. Also, those of you who know about the store concerned, I am happy to say they will readily go the extra mile to resolve an issue.

 

Pictured below is my 'Saft Green' Princess. This is not the Omas I had trouble with, but I thought I would include picture of what I have been so wound up about.

Edited October 2, 2006 by Phthalo

[umenohana]

What a beautiful pen and a wonderful story! ::clap clap::

 

-Hana

[Chris]

Phew - and I'm glad all will come out well in the end.

 

Chris

[Lee UK]

Seems the owner is a very good business woman. Where are you likely to buy your pens from in the future and tell everyone what good service you get from that shop? Anyway I'm really pleased that you got the matter resolved so happily.

 

Lee

[Phthalo]

Hi Lee,

 

I have been buying from the store (The Pen Shoppe) for a couple of years - they are a brick and mortar store here in Australia, and do no online trading as yet. I'm not a complete unknown to them, but I do not buy many of my pens from them - luxury goods in AU are very expensive locally compared to online pricing.

 

But, I do probably spend about 1K with the store each year, so I am very grateful my custom was appreciated by the owner.

[meanwhile]

I'm glad things worked out.

 

"Experiment" seems a kind term though - if they're learning how to do this, they should get their practice on pens that are not for sale, and then when they are ready to sell check each one like a hawk.

[Phthalo]

meanwhile: Exactly. But the weird thing - the nib person has been doing the job for more than a year. Maybe they used a different tool, or method... hopefully though, they won't experiment again.

[*david*]

I suspect the "experiment" may have been that they tried sending out their repair work to a new person. If that's the case, then obviously they won't be calling him for nib work again anytime soon.

[rogerb]

Please let us know when this story is complete .... with you happily using your two newly-nibbed pens.

 

I have 2 Omas FPs, one a Revelations LE BB which came all the way from Aus! Both have been tweaked by Oxonian .... who does know what he's doing ....and both write beautifully (or they would if I could ).

 

I aired my thoughts on FPN, that I felt I should have just one Omas in my collection ....and someone wrote "Betcha end up with more than 'just one'!"

 

Best of luck for a completely satisfactory conclusion.

Edited June 28, 2012 by rogerb

[Uncle Red]

Roger, Phthalo's status is listed as ON HIATUS.

[Silent Speaker]

I don't get it. Are people actively searching out dead threads from a century ago and bumping them? Or does no one read dates anymore?

 

Said it once and i'll say it again: there really should be some kind of auto lock on threads long expired.

 

Bah humbug

[rogerb]

  On 6/28/2012 at 7:49 PM, Silent Speaker said:

I don't get it. Are people actively searching out dead threads from a century ago and bumping them? Or does no one read dates anymore?

 

Said it once and i'll say it again: there really should be some kind of auto lock on threads long expired.

 

Bah humbug

 

Oh dear, someone got outa bed the wrong side!

 

Thanks to Uncle Red for politely pointing out the age of this thread!

 

If the dates were a bit more boldly displayed, we might notice more often.

 

I usually only look at posts made since my last login, so I'm not sure how i came upon this one ..... sorry :embarrassed_smile:

[Silent Speaker]

  On 7/2/2012 at 2:43 AM, rogerb said:

Oh dear, someone got outa bed the wrong side!

:embarrassed_smile:

Sorry about that. It wasn't so much the wrong side of the bed as the wrong side of the world.

 

Still, you know what they say: if you can't say something nice... THEN DON'T RESURRECT DEAD THREADS!

BLEH!

I regret nothing! Nothing, ya hear?

 

(you'll never catch me alive! Hahahahahaha!)

 

~fin~

 

Rest finally in peace, oh poor thread!

[effrafax]

Far be it for me to perpetuate this long dead thread, but I remember visiting The Pen Shoppe here in Brisbane (same owners) and having a discussion about how they smoothed nibs. I was shown a board with 2000 grit wet-and-dry and some jeweller's rouge on, with accompanying scratch lines in the w&d. No kidding.

 

It kind of puts the above problem into some perspective.

[Ytland]

  On 7/2/2012 at 8:00 AM, effrafax said:

Far be it for me to perpetuate this long dead thread, but I remember visiting The Pen Shoppe here in Brisbane (same owners) and having a discussion about how they smoothed nibs. I was shown a board with 2000 grit wet-and-dry and some jeweller's rouge on, with accompanying scratch lines in the w&d. No kidding.

 

It kind of puts the above problem into some perspective.

 

To continue on from a similar running threat at the moment, it seems this one has been well and truly reincarnated...

 

Interesting story, but 2000 grit! That's what I'd use to grind a tree into a miniature model boat :roflmho:

 

Okay, I'm exaggerating just a tad.

 

But I don't think I've ever gone below the 4000 grit mark even when drastically changing the profile of a nib-tip. The gouges made in the tipping by such a low grit are just too time-consuming to completely eliminate.

Then again, if you got a smooth nib back from them, the ends justify the means, I suppose. (Dont shoot!)

 

 

Jack.

 

 

EDIT: Clearly I'm not too good with cliched idioms... The ends justify the means in this case, not the reverse.

Edited July 2, 2012 by Ytland

[effrafax]

Well, I never saw any results from their "smoothing", only the implements of nib death that were used.

 

I'm sure I never want to see, either.

 

And yes, I do smooth my own nibs, using sub-micron materials.