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tannie
April 18th, 2013, 05:01 AM
Hello lovely people,

The nib in my (probably) favourite pen had a crack and when it started to wiggle I decided to remove it (carefully). Does anyone know where I can get it repaired (preferably 'nearby', I live in Amsterdam, NL). Any idea about the costs? (roughly, my bank-account already looks sad, so I like to plan this a bit). Or should I just get a replacement nib and where would I get that?

Some photos to show the crack (oh, my poor heart :cry:)

204120422043

Thanks!

jor412
April 18th, 2013, 07:58 AM
I would chase this kind of nib by looking at vintage fountain pen sales on ebay. Warranted nibs were "generic" -- a lot of pen brands used them, particularly 2nd and 3rd tier (as far as I recall). You can get a piece of junk pen with a Warranted nib for under $15-20, maybe even less if you're lucky & patient. I used to trawl ebay with a general search like "vintage fountain pens" and all kinds of pens and nibs would turn up. Squint hard at bad pics and ask the seller questions if you can't see the nib so clearly.

OakIris
May 2nd, 2013, 08:06 AM
I can imagine you are indeed heart broken to have lost the use of your favorite pen. :( At least you realized you should stop using it before doing irreparable damage to the nib.

This may not be of help since you live in NL, but John Motishaw of nibs.com (http://www.nibs.com/beforeandafter.htm) here in the USA repairs nibs and, from what I have read, does a wonderful job. He also sells vintage nibs and may have one that will fit your pen. Another good repair person is Greg Minuskin (http://gregminuskin.com/) (click to go to his website.) Both of these people are reputed to do excellent work. I have no idea what it would cost but you can email them with your inquiry.

I am sure there are places there in Europe that do this work as well; hopefully someone from your area will chime in. One place I have heard of that does pen repair is The Battersea Pen Home (http://www.penhome.co.uk/) in England; I don't know if they repair nibs, but again you can ask. They also sell some vintage nibs that might fit your pen, should you decide to go the replacement route instead.

I should imagine that if this is your favorite pen (what is it, by the way?) part of your joy in the pen is from the way the nib writes; getting it repaired may make you happiest as opposed to replacing the nib with one that doesn't please you as well. I would certainly try having it repaired first unless the cost is prohibitive.

Holly

Greg Minuskin
May 2nd, 2013, 08:26 AM
I can fix that for you! I use a laser welder, which is much more effective then any other process.

My turn around time is only 2 weeks!

Greg Minuskin
greg@gregminuskin.com
www.gregminuskin.com

tannie
May 2nd, 2013, 09:26 AM
I ended up buying a 'for parts Mabie Todd Blackbird' with a broken nib (for cheap). The sac had fallen apart and the nib missed 1-2mm (tipping mostly) on one tine, so I ground it down and smoothed it out (and I probably did horrible stuff to a poor nib). I figured at worst I'd figure out what not to do. It turned out fine and I learned how to take the Blackbird apart and clean out the sac-parts (keeping it to repair later), and how to put a new nib in the Waverley.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8116/8686057217_9725af05a3.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tannie/8686057217/)
New nib for my Waverley pen (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tannie/8686057217/) by tannie (http://www.flickr.com/people/tannie/), on Flickr

Pardon the grammar/spelling errors, I start to write funny when I get tired (I have no idea what I did with 'smoothly' there, I do know how to write it... ;) )

All in all, very pleased with how this turned out :)
Too bad I didn't take photos of the process :(

tannie
May 2nd, 2013, 09:28 AM
I can fix that for you! I use a laser welder, which is much more effective then any other process.

My turn around time is only 2 weeks!

Greg Minuskin
greg@gregminuskin.com
www.gregminuskin.com

Oh, I'd love that! I bought that other nib as a 'quick fix' so at least I could use my pen again, but I'll happily put it back in the blackbird once I fixed that ;)

I'll e-mail you for details :)

tannie
May 2nd, 2013, 09:35 AM
I can imagine you are indeed heart broken to have lost the use of your favorite pen. :( At least you realized you should stop using it before doing irreparable damage to the nib.

This may not be of help since you live in NL, but John Motishaw of nibs.com (http://www.nibs.com/beforeandafter.htm) here in the USA repairs nibs and, from what I have read, does a wonderful job. He also sells vintage nibs and may have one that will fit your pen. Another good repair person is Greg Minuskin (http://gregminuskin.com/) (click to go to his website.) Both of these people are reputed to do excellent work. I have no idea what it would cost but you can email them with your inquiry.

I am sure there are places there in Europe that do this work as well; hopefully someone from your area will chime in. One place I have heard of that does pen repair is The Battersea Pen Home (http://www.penhome.co.uk/) in England; I don't know if they repair nibs, but again you can ask. They also sell some vintage nibs that might fit your pen, should you decide to go the replacement route instead.

I should imagine that if this is your favorite pen (what is it, by the way?) part of your joy in the pen is from the way the nib writes; getting it repaired may make you happiest as opposed to replacing the nib with one that doesn't please you as well. I would certainly try having it repaired first unless the cost is prohibitive.

Holly

Thanks for the links!

I have replaced the nib temporarily (as a learning experience thing ;) ), I would like to have the original nib fixed because it writes better, hehe.

The pen is a Macniven & Cameron 'The Waverley' with a blue top on the cap. From what I understand, these pens started popping up in the past few years as New Old Stock, as eyedroppers, but I have a lever-filled. I like it because it fits my hands nicely and it was the first 'old' pen I bought, on a whim and randomly.

On to e-mail, to figure out costs ;)

Thanks again.

mhguda
May 2nd, 2013, 04:59 PM
Hi Tanja,

Maybe you can use this contact in the Netherlands the next time you have something to repair:
Lex van Galen galex at lexvangalen.demon.nl, I know him from the other forum, he did some nice work for me on two vintage pens. (Filling system).
Not sure if he repairs nibs, I think not, but he may have parts, nibs etc. And he did straighten out two for me.
HTH.

whych
May 3rd, 2013, 12:17 AM
@Tannie
Have a look on ebay.de. Every now and then you get guys selling a bunch of old nibs for reasonable prices.

OakIris
May 3rd, 2013, 11:28 AM
Glad to hear that you have managed a temporary fix, tannie - and had fun learning to disassemble a pen and how to grind a nib. I haven't done any nib grinding; think I will leave that to the 'experts' for the time being until I have some junker pens to practice on!)

Now you have your favorite pen working again and so can take the time to find the right person - at the right price - to fix your favorite nib as well. :thumb:

Holly

tannie
June 19th, 2013, 01:58 PM
I sent my pen to Greg Minuskin and he did a wonderful job fixing the nib. It writes smooth once again!

Thanks, Greg!

3566

CS388
June 19th, 2013, 03:59 PM
Wow!

Great news. And well done, Greg. That some specialist skill you have.

Excellent ending all round. And you've got a Mabie Todd, too! Nice!