Talk to me about "Binderized" nibs, please

[Life2PointOh]

I've been seeing a lot of posts (and pen collections as part of member's signature) that describes their nibs being "Binderized". I did find a link to Richard Binder's website and looked around enough to notice that he tunes & grinds custom nibs. And I've noticed that many members place great stock in the services of Mr. Binder.

 

Please forgive my newbie ignorance but here are my questions re this topic:

a) What is the value of having a nib "Binderized"?

Should the word, "Binderized" be added to the dictionary, like "Googled"? (just kidding on this one - no offense meant)

c) I'm buying a new pen this week, either an Aurora Talentum Finesse, Namiki Falcon or a Faber Castell Ambition Pearwood (or black). The Namiki has a pretty flexible nib. Would there be value in sending the pen to Mr. Binder to have the nib Binderized, or should I expect to have the nib be as I want it right out of the box?

 

Your thoughts?

 

[jdboucher]

I've been seeing a lot of posts (and pen collections as part of member's signature) that describes their nibs being "Binderized". I did find a link to Richard Binder's website and looked around enough to notice that he tunes & grinds custom nibs. And I've noticed that many members place great stock in the services of Mr. Binder.

 

Please forgive my newbie ignorance but here are my questions re this topic:

a) What is the value of having a nib "Binderized"?

Should the word, "Binderized" be added to the dictionary, like "Googled"? (just kidding on this one - no offense meant)

c) I'm buying a new pen this week, either an Aurora Talentum Finesse, Namiki Falcon or a Faber Castell Ambition Pearwood (or black). The Namiki has a pretty flexible nib. Would there be value in sending the pen to Mr. Binder to have the nib Binderized, or should I expect to have the nib be as I want it right out of the box?

 

Your thoughts?

 

A binderized nib means that it will come out writing very smoothly. Richard tunes each nib before he ships them. He does have other special nibs, but Binderized describes any pen that comes from Richard.

 

If you get your Namiki from him, your guaranteed its a good writer. I recommend it.

[Titivillus]

Please forgive my newbie ignorance but here are my questions re this topic:

a) What is the value of having a nib "Binderized"?

Well you have the opportunity of having a standard nib ground to some more specialized points or improve the smoothness. If it adds value to the pen for resale- just like names on vintage pens it can and can't help the value.

 

c) I'm buying a new pen this week, either an Aurora Talentum Finesse, Namiki Falcon or a Faber Castell Ambition Pearwood (or black). The Namiki has a pretty flexible nib. Would there be value in sending the pen to Mr. Binder to have the nib Binderized, or should I expect to have the nib be as I want it right out of the box?

 

Your thoughts?

 

Well that's a hard one. I would suggest that you get the pen out of the box and try it as well as try as many different pens as you can. Some people are quite happy with stock nibs and find that some manufacturers produce excellent nibs ( on occasion) that are quite nice. Then maybe go to a pen meeting or pen show and try some of the more interesting nibs.

 

In other words you might be having a perfectly good nib ground to something different.

 

personal choice is what it comes down to.

 

Kurt

Edited October 8, 2008 by Titivillus

[jd50ae]

"Out of the Box" often leaves a lot to be desired. (I wanted to say alot)

 

When you buy a pen from Mr Binder (and other nib masters) you will get one that has been tested and tuned if needed. The other advantage is you can order your pen with a custom nib if you wish, and I can attest to the absolute joy of using these nibs.

 

Ah.......if Mr stickler is watching, I am very tired.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Should the word, "Binderized" be added to the dictionary, like "Googled"? (just kidding on this one - no offense meant)

 

 

"Binderized" already IS in the dictionary of anyone who is serious about fountain pens.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[mdblue]

If you get it Binderized, you will be assured that the pen will write as per your preference.

However it does not mean that the price of the pen will go up in the after-market. If you get an exotic nib, the audience to buy the pen later if you decide to let it go, will be relatively small and you may not get your $ back. The bottom line is buy the pen from RB (or John/Greg...) because of your writing pleasure and not necessarily to increase the value of the pen.

[jkrewalk]

You should definitely not buy a new pen and then send it to Richard without trying it or without a specific reason to do so. If you buy any of the pens you mentioned, chances are they are smooth beautiful writers out of the box. If they do not write smooth, the first thing to do is send them back to where the came from first and demand that they write right!

 

The only reason to send the pen to Richard is if you want to customize it in some way such as modifying the flow or regrinding to something that is not offered as standard (ie. cursive italic).

 

I have had many of my pens customized by Richard but I was looking for a special effect that was not offered out of the box by the manufacturer.

 

John

Krewalk.com

[Omegaham]

I've always considered Binderized nibs to be custom - he can grind the tips to make cool effects, (stub italics and the like) thin or widen the tines to make a finer or wider line, and he can also restore broken nibs.

 

If you haven't looked at his reference info, do so; he has so much basic stuff that everyone should know about FPs.

Edited October 8, 2008 by Omegaham

[PacificCoastPen]

I have three Waterman Phileas fountain pens...two bought and one gifted. Two out of the box have great nibs and need no 'fixing.' The third is in Binder's queue getting a 0.7mm italic cursive nib.

I did buy new a Pelikan M200 0.9mm italic cursive from Binder. It is a great writer. It is worth the expense. You betcha.

 

I may eventually get a Pelikan M200 with a fine round point (regular) and adjusted by Binder...those don't have a long wait time. I don't have a fine nib that I like, but I KNOW that I will I buy from Binder.

 

Go for it and wait in line if you get a custom grind.

 

Wanda

[Pippin60]

If you buy a pen from Richard Binder, either custom or not, he will tune it to make sure it writes as intended. Unfortunately many pens today regardless of price are not perfect out of the box. I have 2 from him and I'm expecting an M600 in a few days for my birthday and I can't wait to get it. He is one of the best, there are others as well. I plan to get an M215 with a cursive italic soon from him as well. Its about the same size as the M200 I just like the look. A treat to myself one of these days.

[Rufus]

"Binderised" is a generalisation: nibs coming from Richard's bench can be either adjusted or customised. Nibs that are adjusted by Richard are tweaked by him in respect to smoothness and flow; they are, in other words, standard factory nibs that Richard tunes to his standards. On the other hand, customised nibs are standard factory nibs that Richard re-grinds or modifies to meet a purchaser's specific requirements, eg stub, oblique, extra-fine.

[Firefyter-Emt]

If you want to buy a new pen and have it Binderized, buy one pen to use between now and next summer, and one to use after you get it back from Richard.

 

All kidding aside, he does have about a half year waiting list right now.

Quote:

"This week, I expect to be working mostly on pens that arrived during the week of May 12. Pens arriving this week should return in about 16 weeks."

 

I really thing you should buy your pen and if it does not write properly, make the company you bought it from provide you with a smooth properly writing pen. Down the road when you buy a pen that might need restoration, say maybe a Parker-51 that you can take the time to send out and be restored and tuned, this is the time to do it.

 

Now IF you buy a new pen from him, I "think" the tuning is put ahead of the repair service if I remember right. He does sell the Namiki, but I am not sure what ones.

 

Good luck, and don't over look the restored vintage pens either! You can buy a great pen, better than most new ones for a fraction of the cost.

[Rufus]

If you want to buy a new pen and have it Binderized, buy one pen to use between now and next summer, and one to use after you get it back from Richard.

 

All kidding aside, he does have about a half year waiting list right now.

Quote:

"This week, I expect to be working mostly on pens that arrived during the week of May 12. Pens arriving this week should return in about 16 weeks."

 

I really thing you should buy your pen and if it does not write properly, make the company you bought it from provide you with a smooth properly writing pen. Down the road when you buy a pen that might need restoration, say maybe a Parker-51 that you can take the time to send out and be restored and tuned, this is the time to do it.

 

Now IF you buy a new pen from him, I "think" the tuning is put ahead of the repair service if I remember right. He does sell the Namiki, but I am not sure what ones.

 

Good luck, and don't over look the restored vintage pens either! You can buy a great pen, better than most new ones for a fraction of the cost.

 

I think if you buy the pen from Richard and have it re-ground by him at the time of sale you don't join the six month queue; he does it immediately.

 

[blak000]

Well Life2PointOh,

 

It's agreed by many people that a nib that has been tuned by a nibmeister will generally be smoother and work better than a factory nib. That being said, Richard Binder is considered one of the best nibmeisters around. Surely, there are many other very skilled and talented nibmeisters, but Richard is one of the tops. You can't go wrong having a nib tuned by him.

[biffybeans]

With no disrespect to Richard, suppose he pulls out a new F nib for a Pelikan M200 and it needs......nothing. Not a squeak or a peep. It's perfect out of the box.

 

You just paid him $25 to basically "pre-check" a pen for you and to guarantee a smooth nib.

 

Is it worth spending the $25 for this service?

 

That's your decision.

 

 

[blak000]

With no disrespect to Richard, suppose he pulls out a new F nib for a Pelikan M200 and it needs......nothing. Not a squeak or a peep. It's perfect out of the box.

 

You just paid him $25 to basically "pre-check" a pen for you and to guarantee a smooth nib.

 

Is it worth spending the $25 for this service?

 

That's your decision.

 

Good point. You can always get a good nib right out of the box.

 

I'll buy a pen for dirt cheap if I can. If it happens to have problems, then I'll send it off to a nibmeister to get adjusted. I already have 2-3 good pens, so I don't mind waiting a few months to have it fixed. Of course, for those of us who don't want to wait, and want a peace of mind, buying from a nibmeister is a nice option to have.

[simonrob]

c) I'm buying a new pen this week, either an Aurora Talentum Finesse, Namiki Falcon or a Faber Castell Ambition Pearwood (or black). The Namiki has a pretty flexible nib. Would there be value in sending the pen to Mr. Binder to have the nib Binderized, or should I expect to have the nib be as I want it right out of the box?

 

Your thoughts?

 

That depends what you want from the nib right out of the box.... If you don't want some sort of customization - the nib recut to an italic of some sort, say, or the ink flow significantly altered, etc. - but just want the nib to perform optimally for what it is (i.e., no skipping or hard-starting, good ink flow, etc.), it depends. Namiki/Pilot have a well-deserved reputation for superb quality control, so chances are that if you buy a new Falcon from anyone it will write as it should out of the box. If you don't want to take the tiny risk of buying a dud, you could always just buy one from Richard - his price is good and he will make sure it's writing properly.

 

But he doesn't sell Auroras or Faber Castells, so that's not an option. If you buy one or the other of those two, see if you like how it writes. If there's a flaw, return it. If you would like it tweaked, by all means send it to Richard (or someone else). You won't know until you try it.

 

Simon

[Rufus]

With no disrespect to Richard, suppose he pulls out a new F nib for a Pelikan M200 and it needs......nothing. Not a squeak or a peep. It's perfect out of the box.

 

You just paid him $25 to basically "pre-check" a pen for you and to guarantee a smooth nib.

 

Is it worth spending the $25 for this service?

 

That's your decision.

 

Good point. You can always get a good nib right out of the box.

 

I'll buy a pen for dirt cheap if I can. If it happens to have problems, then I'll send it off to a nibmeister to get adjusted. I already have 2-3 good pens, so I don't mind waiting a few months to have it fixed. Of course, for those of us who don't want to wait, and want a peace of mind, buying from a nibmeister is a nice option to have.

 

I did this recently with high-end pen which I could have bought from Richard, but decided to go with the "best" price instead. Big mistake, as the pen suffers from ink starvation and had to be returned to the distributor in the USA to have the feed replaced. IMO, buying on the basis of price alone was a false economy; I should have paid a few bucks more and bought one that worked from Richard.

[Barbara Binder]

Since the question has been asked I hope no one minds if I give our Richard's Pens definitions for the terms under discussion. First, we "Binderize" every pen we sell. This means that the pen is filled with ink and used to write a few words after Richard has smoothed the nib and adjusted the flow and alignment. Then the pen is flushed and polished and packed up in its box for shipment.

Customization is what we call it when a pen's nib is altered to a specialty shape such as stub or italic. The nib is reshaped then the pen is filled with ink and used to write a test sheet to assure that it writes as Richard has described that nib shape as writing. A customized nib is also one which is adjusted to the new owners special requirements for writing hold or flow.

When a pen is purchased from our web site these things are done without any waiting period. All pens are sent out within a few days. The turn around time applies only to pens sent to us by their owners. This work takes about 16 to 17 weeks (four months) to return.

The terms are somewhat arbitrary but this is what we mean by them here in our shop. I hope this helps.

[Wolf]

Almost all the nibs I have on my pens are very smooth. The ink flows like water out of a high mountain. If not, I modify the nib a little bit or give ithe pen a good wash and change ink. The result is very good.

 

I think a 'nibmeister' is not necessary. They charge too much for a few minutes work you can do yourself (may take a little longer). They could maybe repair a damaged nib, but that's a different story.