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View Full Version : Thanks to a Nibmeister



Uncle Bud
February 8th, 2014, 03:21 PM
Early last year my father died. I only have one thing that belonged to him, he only ever had one pen, a montblanc 149. A couple of things to point out, one, we were not a very well off family so he must have saved for a while to get this pen, or bought it secondhand. Two, he was what you would call 'a mans man', in that if I said I loved him, I would be a 'big girls blouse'. Needless to say, this pen means an awful lot to me personally, so when just before Christmas last year whilst writing with it, my cat jumped on me, stuck her claws in my leg, and because of this I accidentally dropped the pen on a tiled floor nib first!

The nib was bent to 90 degrees! I know very little about nibs, I know how to smooth a nib but not much more. I was beside myself, I had lost the only link I had to my dad! After reading a post about a UK based nibmeister, I asked for contact details, and was told to simply pm her, which I did.

She was very understanding, and asked for some pictures which I sent, she said she would try but didn't promise anything. We agreed that I would send her it and she would attempt a repair, which I duly did.

I got the pen back about a week later. She had managed to straighten out the nib, not perfect but not a lot off! I had also mentioned that it had written a bit wetter than I'd liked. She had also adjusted that too! And that's not all, she also smoothed the top of the nib, and it now wrote with a very fine line when turned upside down. It is now the smoothest nib I own.

For me it was now better than perfect, I had the pen back, it wrote better than originally, and wrote upside down. My memories were restored, and I'm sure my dad would be pleased too.

The nibmeister? None other than fpgeeks own Annie. I am so pleased with her work, I just had to tell everyone. I would not hesitate to recommend her, she was a great lady, friendly, polite and her work speaks for itself. If you need work done, and are in the UK, she is really great.

It made me think though, that people who do this type of work, not only help people out with troublesome nibs, but can sometimes keep memories alive. I want to publically thank Annie for her work, and say a general thanks to nibmeister all over the world for the work they do for this great hobby, pen people are some of the nicest people about. So nibmeisters everywhere I salute you. Well done Annie, and thanks so much.

Annie
February 10th, 2014, 02:10 PM
I paced around this pen for a day or so before attempting the nib. I knew it was worth more than the sum of its parts. Really pleased my repair worked out well. Luck had a lot to do with it. Getting the flow sorted out was much easier because you told me from the outset so I could factor that in during the repair. Thanks so much for the kind words.

Uncle Bud
February 10th, 2014, 02:37 PM
You deserve every word, you fixed it and more. I did have a broken 149, I've now got a medium 149 with just the right flow and an extra fine 149 for when I need it. Genius!, thanks again Annie, and anyone in the UK, Annie is friendly, honest and gives great advice, just wish I lived closer to London for the pen posse.

Annie
February 10th, 2014, 02:52 PM
You deserve every word, you fixed it and more. I did have a broken 149, I've now got a medium 149 with just the right flow and an extra fine 149 for when I need it. Genius!, thanks again Annie, and anyone in the UK, Annie is friendly, honest and gives great advice, just wish I lived closer to London for the pen posse.

Teehee:) We have passports, we go north of Watford (when the authorities permit) and for a price (usually a tonic water and a packet of cheese and onion) the London posse can be hired for weddings, nibmeistering and the like. Funerals by special arrangement and we don't take paypal. :spy:

oldstoat
February 14th, 2014, 12:41 AM
As someone else who has benefited from Annie's skills with nibs, I can vouch for the quality of her work. Indeed so can anyone who has been to a London Pen Meet. She is very good with her hands and can turn a scratchy sputtering nib into the pen it should have been all along. Highly recommended.

Annie
February 14th, 2014, 12:16 PM
As someone else who has benefited from Annie's skills with nibs, I can vouch for the quality of her work. Indeed so can anyone who has been to a London Pen Meet. She is very good with her hands and can turn a scratchy sputtering nib into the pen it should have been all along. Highly recommended.

Aww, fanks :)