Chipped-Tip Regrinding?

[kharrisma]

Hi Forum Folke,

 

I recently picked up a Stratford "77" button-filler in fairly decent shape, except for the tip. The left tine has about half of the tipping material chipped off. There also appears to be a slight (15 degree or so) bend right at the tip, just behind the tipping material, but it's so even on both tines that it might have been manufactured that way (I have a Sheaffer Triumph that has similarly curved tips, though those are turned up rather than down... I mistakenly straightened them out before finding out that this upturn was deliberate. They survived being re-curved. Another lesson learned.)

 

Anyway, is anyone aware of a decent tutorial on re-shaping a chipped tip? All of the stuff I have been able to scare up involves a really wrecked tip being turned into an untipped italic nib, or assumes that the tip is intact, but rough and in need of smoothing, or reshaping a broader tip to a finer one. Nothing dealing with partially missing tip material.

 

I'd just send it off to someone that specializes in such things, but for two reasons: A), I like to learn these things as I go; it's a valuable skill to have when you're pursuing this hobby on a shoestring budget, and , as I understand it, Stratford is a second- or third-tier pen, of little value today, so investing a minimum of $60 to $80 or more to have the tip professionally restored isn't really a sensible option, not in my case, anyway. It's not even a flexible tip (it has a small amount of give under moderate pressure... a stiff semi-flex at best), which makes the prospect of a relatively expensive fix even less appealing.

 

I'd attach pics, but I don't have any capability of taking macro pics that would show the tips in enough detail.

 

Thanks for the read and any advice / pointers / links or what have you!

[Tweel]

I can't point out any tutorials, because when I engage in nib-grinding it's based on what I've read here and there, plus experience. I'm wondering though, if half the pellet is gone on one side, whether you wouldn't have better luck going for a flat, stub-style grind, rather than trying to get a round point out of the material that's left on the end of the tine.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Could that be an oblique nib....or is it really rough and broken off half the tine?

 

Picture helps.

Edited May 14, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[Honeybadgers]

chipped tipping is likely going to chip again. Just set the nib aside for retipping later. I think every vintage nib is worth retipping at some point. But depending on the details, ask Greg Minuskin to look at it. he retips and re-grinds all the time, and his turnaround is fast.

[kharrisma]

@ Tweel: No reason it couldn't be. I prefer flex, italic, or fine nibs (pretty much in that order,) but if it's easier to transmogrify it (don't get a chance to use that one too often!) into a different style nib, that's a viable option. It's questions and opinions like that that I'm looking for!

 

@ Bo Bo Olson: Nope, it's definitely not an oblique. I have a good BeLomo 10x triplet loupe, and can clearly see the ragged fracture right across the fullest part of the tip blob. No other partial fractures are visible, but that doesn't mean they aren't there... just that these 66-year-old eyes can't see 'em! Yeah, pics are worth a dictionary's-worth of words, but my phone camera just isn't up to the task. Maybe I'll play with trying to get a "through-the-loupe" shot... that'd be another useful skill.

 

@ Honeybadgers: That's the third recommendation for Greg I've had for this tip. Might be time to follow good advice. While I do like to learn new skills or hone existing ones, I very much dislike rendering a vintage nib (even a lower-tier one) into irreparable junk. As I mentioned to Bo Bo above, I'll see if I can get a half-decent pic to send him and see what he thinks.

 

Thanks all for the replies!

[Honeybadgers]

While I do highly recommend his work, I must give warning that when it comes to Greg, caveat emptor. He is not a pleasant person to do business with, and if something goes wrong, he will not take responsibility for it. But despite all that, and how much I really dislike how he treated me as a customer when he screwed up and accidentally sent me a waterman 52 with ink in it that ruined the ebonite, I still point people to him because when it comes to nibs, he can save stuff that nobody else can, and is a wizard with a laser welder.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I believe you....if you can see the dammage with your good loup ...good enough, but I did have to take your post count into account..........which was why I asked if it was rough and broken off.....instead of just slanted.

 

I once inked a pen i'd not used in a while, and boy was it scratchy....I was reaching for the micor-mesh before I realized not only was it ans semi-flex OM but it had a 30 degree grind so if I didn't cant the nib....it was scratchy. As soon as I canted/rotated the nib....the nib worked as it should.

 

There have been others with unknown to them, oblique nibs.

[woleizihan]

Try fpnibs for retipping. Cheaper, probably easier to deal with and also fast turnaround. You can even get extra nibs/pens from them for the return trip. Their nibs are very well priced and they also have a nice selection of pens.

Edited June 8, 2019 by woleizihan