Can one smooth the tip of a dip pen nib that is very scratchy?

[The Scribe]

I recently purchased a selection of dip pen nibs for Copperplate and Engrosser's Script. Some nibs perform beautifully smoothly on the upstroke like the Zebra G and the Brause EF66. However then there are the Hunt nibs I purchased like the Hunt 101 and 22B which are very scratchy! The Gillot 303 and 404 suffer the same fate. 

While I can ameliorate the scratchiness by using really smooth paper like Rhodia as well as using a very light touch I am wondering if I can use the same techniques and materials (e.g. 3M micromesh) to lightly round and polish the tine tips of these nibs as I have successfully used on my fountain pens?

 

Anyone had experience doing this?

[Christopher Godfrey]

Goue more, meneer! 

 

Although I have had no experience of dip pen nibs, I cannot for the life of me see why you shouldn't use the usual smoothing methods for yours.  You will probably find that progress is rapid, for the lack of any "blob" on the end of the nibs -- I used to use those vintage Esterbrook nibs, come to think of it, which had no "blob" for a tip and those wore down fairly quickly when I was writing marathon letters: I smoothed them somewhat by drawing circles, etc, on brown wrapping paper!  (Micromesh wasn't in my vocabulary in those far-off days)

 

I would say you should sommer go for it: aren't those nibs cheap enough for a little experimentation, ek se?

 

Totsiens vir nou en lekker bly!

[Claes]

Ja, zeker, meneer.

Micromesh works just fine --- but remember that those steel dip nibs are much much softer than the tips of fountain pen nibs, i.e. you just do not need to work as much on them 🙂

 

BUT: are you sure that the nibs are "scratchy"?

Are they scratchy of both up and down-strokes?

What if you do not press so hard on the downstrokes?

 

What ink(s) do you use for dip nibs?

 

Have fun!
MvG
Claes in Lund, Zweden

 

[Vintage_BE]

My personal experience confirms what @Claes writes. Steel pens in comparison to fountain pen nibs are quite delicate and mostly much finer.  It takes time and patience for your brain to get used to them. Your hand really needs to be as light as a feather. And for beginners (like me) I found there to be a significant difference between Zebra (and other) G nibs and the “real deal” such as Hunt nibs, the Leonardt Principal, and many vintage steel nibs.

I remember that after trying Gillott 303 nibs I was tempted to give them away as unusable - but over time my hand became lighter and now I actually am able to squeeze some decent writing out of them. So before grinding those poor things on the micromesh, cut them some slack 🙂

[Claes]

Addendum: Not all old nibs were XXXF and flexible. Some were made to withstand the pressure when having to write in triplicate (using a carbon paper inbetween the sheets); others (like the J pen) existed in stub/italic versions.

 

 

[Vintage_BE]

19 minutes ago, Claes said:

Addendum: Not all old nibs were XXXF and flexible. Some were made to withstand the pressure when having to write in triplicate (using a carbon paper inbetween the sheets); others (like the J pen) existed in stub/italic versions.

 

 

Yes, of course. I should have clarified that my comments relate to pointed pens, for “calligraphy” use. I assumed that also was the subject of the question of the OP. 

[The Scribe]

Hunt 101 performance

 

Thanks for the feedbak guys. 

I have found that my Hunt 101 nibs actually perform much better than the Leonardt Principal nibs. The Hunt 101 is a wonderful nib. Almost no scratching. Observation under a 10x loupe shows that the Hunt tips are more polished, formed and rounded, hence less drag.

I am going to test an idea I have had on a Leonardt Principal nib by dragging it backwards a few times gently over a leather strop loaded with Dialux Vert compound  (green) or Dialux Blanc (the white compound which is even gentler). Essentially polishing and rounding on a very small scale so as to emulate the finishing work on the Hunt, but not compromise the fine tip or fairly squared off side profile of the tines that create the sharp lines and squared off start and endings on downstrokes one needs to create. 

 

When I get round to it I will share my results with pictures. I am convinced I can improve on the performance dramatically.

 

I have a very light hand so it ain't my technique. I can get some fairly decent upstrokes with the nib as is (but it sounds like a cat sharpening its claws on bark lol), but on flourishing when one moves through ovals at a certain point the tines always move out of parallel to the direction of movement and then the points skip or shudder. It's an inevitability! I think it goes away as the nib breaks in and natural polishing occurs, but who wants to wait for that?