HELP! - Can A MB Broad Stub be ground to regular medium?

[David In Austin]

I recently got a really good deal on a Montblanc Patron of Art 4810 Semiramis Fountain Pen shown here:

 

  

 

While it is a stunning pen (and I am keeping it if it is all possible) the nib is a broad stub, which I really don't have a whole lot of use for. The nib is shown here:

      

  

Can a good nibmeister, like Kirk Speer, grind this down to a regular medium nib? He is going to be in Houston at Dromgoole's later this month, and I am planning to take this down to him and see what he can do. Every other pen I have that he has worked on came back like brand new, and he is a master nibmeister (redundant in two languages, I know, but he is! 🙂).

 

The question I have is if it can be done at all. Is it possible for a professional nibmeister like Kirk to grind a broad stub nib like the one shown above to something approaching a regular medium nib?

 

Thanks in advance for all of your wisdom!

 

Take care,

David

[Karmachanic]

For a qualified answer I suggest emailing Mr Speer and asking him.  

[David In Austin]

  On 4/1/2025 at 3:48 PM, Karmachanic said:

For a qualified answer I suggest emailing Mr Speer and asking him.  

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@Karmachanic I emailed him a little while ago and I am going to try to call him later today. Thanks! 🙂 

 

[JCC123]

That looks like a double or even triple broad? I wouldn't try to grind that down to an M. You can usually tell because BB or BBB nibs have a very different taper profile than an M.

[Lam1]

I suppose it is possible.

But... that is heresy 😀.

A nib like that makes the pen way more valuable than one with a regular M nib.

 

[CS388]

Hello David

 

That looks like a huge nib. I wonder if it is factory, or if a previous owner has had it customised?

As has been suggested, it's desirable and other users may crave such a nib. An ideal situation would be to find such another owner who wants such a nib, and arrange a nib swap (assuming they have your desired nib) - but it's not a common pen, so that may be a stretch?

 

Re your question: not an expert in this field, but have read (on this forum) that it is easier to go from large sizes to small sizes, as there is plenty of tipping present (common-sense, I guess) - so I'd imagine your wish can be achieved. 

 

Good luck.

 

[Beechwood]

• I asked a similar question to a nib expert 10 years ago, the answer was that he could turn a Fine to a Broad and Broad to a Fine if needed. I have all the nib skills of a mouse but still took a Fine to an Oblique double Broad.

It can be done, just a case of finding the right person when there is only a handful of such artisans in the world

[David In Austin]

Thanks for all the input - it was very helpful. I am probably going to see Kirk Speer next time he is at Dromgoole's (coming up in the near future) and have it changed to a medium. I will keep you posted!

[SashK]

Say it ain't so! Look at that beautiful nib! All the juice! 

[PAKMAN]

Yes to the question. I too have purchased pens for a good price knowing that the associated nib would not fit my needs. I would definitely have it ground to something you would use.

[David In Austin]

@PAKMAN That was my first thought, but due to a truly remarkable gentleman on this board another option presented itself that I will share when everything is completed. 

[Opooh]

Since this is a modern MB only the nib needs tuning.

Older MB have different feeder depending on nib size, a F nib has a feeder allowing less inkflow as to a BB which needs more ink.

In this case a standard M nib with original feeder writes dry compared to a BB tuned to M nib with the Bbfeeder that will write wet