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Crazyorange
April 17th, 2014, 07:44 PM
I fountain a very pretty no name fountain pen at an antique store. The pattern on the barrel was attractive and price is reasonable but one of the tines is broken. I'm a newbie to vintage - how do I determine if the pen is worth buying or avoiding? Is it easy to find another nib or should it be repaired? I'm looking to use the pen....it's certainly not a collectors item....but maybe it's better to stick with pens that have working nibs? Any words of wisdom?
Thanks

scrivelry
April 17th, 2014, 08:04 PM
I think this is one of those things where it is going to vary hugely from person to person.

I personally love vintage pens and I am slowly learning to repair/restore them.
Some things are a lot easier to do than others. A vintage pen caught in the wild will very likely need a new sac, and as for the nib, there are places to get new nibs - the question is whether you can get one you like that will fit the section and feed.

I might not be the only person around who has stubbed a vintage nib with a pair of scissors and a nail file... it is a good way to go with vintage nibs that have lost the end of one tine... (Ok, I know I'm not, I learned about it online but I refuse to implicate my sources...)

Getting a nib repaired can be very expensive because it is very skilled work and it takes time - probably you are better off getting a new nib. A picture of the pen - well, as many pictures as possible - might help us figure out what nib it takes and what that would cost you.

Personally, I love my little collection of trash can pens, even if they sometimes require a bit of whimsy to deal with issues like missing jewels, and I write with them all the time. If you love it, and it is not expensive, get it and see what can be done... lots of help available here!

ETA: Some people really don't like futzing around with these things and just prefer to buy either new pens or restored vintage pens and that's fine too, but I find the old celluloid irresistible...

Crazyorange
April 17th, 2014, 08:29 PM
Hello scrivelry
Great to hear from you :)
I'm loving some of the old pens...they are beautiful without costing a ton of money. I never thought about filing the nib down....that would be fun to try out.
One mans junk is our treasures. Thanks for the input.

gweddig
April 17th, 2014, 11:44 PM
I find most of my pens "in the wild" and whether it has a nib on it generally is a prime consideration in how much I'm willing to spend. Typically a no nib pen I will suggest to the dealer a parts rate (if I have that chance) same for a broken nib.
Nibs are one thing I have to outsource to either find or fix and it's expensive compared to the cost of most pens I'm finding. Sure with "junker pens" you can put a modern nib in and nobody will care but one has to find the right size and hope it fits with the feed etc.
The third tier pens I find with broken or missing nibs better be pretty of they will be left behind for the next sumgai.
--greg

Crazyorange
April 18th, 2014, 07:51 AM
I find most of my pens "in the wild" and whether it has a nib on it generally is a prime consideration in how much I'm willing to spend. Typically a no nib pen I will suggest to the dealer a parts rate (if I have that chance) same for a broken nib.
Nibs are one thing I have to outsource to either find or fix and it's expensive compared to the cost of most pens I'm finding. Sure with "junker pens" you can put a modern nib in and nobody will care but one has to find the right size and hope it fits with the feed etc.
The third tier pens I find with broken or missing nibs better be pretty of they will be left behind for the next sumgai.
--greg

Thanks for the input. It sounds hard to find a replacement nib -even if it's modern nib. Lots to learn with this hobby.

mhguda
April 18th, 2014, 11:51 AM
I've had only one nib that I stubbed the way scrivelry describes - not a scissors but a grinding wheel at a machine shop (fine work); a friend who does such work ground it down for me and I took it home and manually polished it further, until it was very smooth. This happened because a friend told me her pen was broken and I foolishly offered to take a look and fix it for her... but it turned out very well. In fact it started me on my love affair with stub nibs; I almost did not want to give the pen back once I'd tested it!