Un-Italicizing A Visconti Homo Sapiens Nib

January 5, 2015

I think I've made a terrible and expensive mistake.

I have a Visconti Homo Sapiens fountain pen, the one with the excellent "dream touch" nib in fine point. Based upon the recommendation of someone who showed me how his Homo Sapiens wrote an elegant italicized line after he had it worked on, I took the pen to the same place and had the repairman italicize mine. The problem is that my nib was already a fine point, and now that it's been italicized, it's virtually a needle point. It writes scratchy on the page, and it only suggests the smoooooth flow it used to have if you use it on the right kind of paper and hold it at just the exact proper angle.

I feel sick about this. I don't want to pay $350 (or thereabouts) for a new Visconti nib. I can't do a nib exchange with Visconti because the existing nib isn't in "like new" condition now. Is there anything another repair could do to make the nib write smoother? Is there any way to un-italicize a nib once it's been ground down?

Thanks,

: Allen

January 5, 2015

I am afraid not, other than retipping and regrinding, and that is going to cost you a fair amount of money as well, although significantly less than a completely new nib.

Warm regards, Wim

January 5, 2015

Gutted for you.

Sounds like "the repairman" didn't make such a good job of yours as he did your friend's.

Have you given any thought to going in together with both pens and asking "the repairman" what he thinks of his work?

January 5, 2015

I can't hold it against the repairman. The first nib he did that made such a good line was a medium nib which he ground down to a fine italic. Mine was already fine in the first place, so now it's more like an extra-fine italic. I thought that since the Visconti nibs run a little wide anyway, I would be in good in shape.

The repairman's only fault is that he didn't warn me in advance just how sharp this would make the fine nib.

January 5, 2015

Hmmm

January 5, 2015

Unless it is left very sharp to mimic a dip pen, even a fine italic nib should not be scratchy. Whoever worked on it should be able to get it to write smoothly. Take it back to the person and see if he can fix it.

S.

January 5, 2015

Unless it is left very sharp to mimic a dip pen, even a fine italic nib should not be scratchy. Whoever worked on it should be able to get it to write smoothly. Take it back to the person and see if he can fix it.

S.

Yep. A closed mouth don't get fed and all that.

Besides it'd be a shame to not allow a VHS nib to live up to it's true potential.