Increasing Ink Flow With Brass Shim: How Do You Do?

[EBUCKTHORN]

IF one is going to use shim stock for flossing or adjusting would it be best NOT to use stainless steel stock? I ask because I have full sheets of .001" and .002" stainless on hand, but no brass. I've hesitated to use the stainless because its hardness is probably close to that of the nib material and is more likely to gouge it if I don't have the shim stock properly held as I work. thanks.

[lurcho]

IF one is going to use shim stock for flossing or adjusting would it be best NOT to use stainless steel stock? I ask because I have full sheets of .001" and .002" stainless on hand, but no brass. I've hesitated to use the stainless because its hardness is probably close to that of the nib material and is more likely to gouge it if I don't have the shim stock properly held as I work. thanks.

 

This thread is more than two years old, but I thought it might be useful to add my pennorth.

 

Out of about twelve stainless-steel JoWo stock nibs, all of which required gapping, I did about half by thumb, and half by feeler-gauge shimming.

 

I was always afraid of creating IGC, an upside-down-V-shaped gap at the bottom edge, with the thumb method, and that's what happened with most. However, I found that even the effects of a severe-looking V could eventually be remedied by smoothing. I have some exceptionally smooth pens with awful IGC.

 

With steel feeler gauges you're less likely to get the IGC, but more likely to bend one tine out of parallel. The key to not doing that is to keep the gauge well away from the tip, and then twist gingerly but firmly as others have described above. In my experience, this procedure was guaranteed to seriously misalign the tines, but that is a relatively easy and quick matter to correct. It takes seconds.

 

If you do bend a tine way out of whack, you'll probably feel that you've buggered-up that nib terminally. But I've been amazed to find that using pliers, such as the tiny ones on some Swiss Army Penknives, can the bend the tine back with complete success. I have two nibs that now write brilliantly after I cack-handedly bent them out and then in again, though some serious realignment and smoothing was required. You must, of course, try very hard NOT to bend a nib tine to begin with.

 

Finally, although I'm about to buy some brass shims off eBay, I have not damaged the inner-slit surface of a nib using steel gauges, though I imagine it's possible. And in my opinion, though I continue to use both methods, shim is superior to thumb. Pace Binder and Mottishaw.