Got a 32V - but nib is damaged?

[7188photo]

Hey there :)

Today my Waterman 32V arrived - another of the pens I got on search for just the right amount of flex. But I digress.

The pen seems to be in overall good shape. The rubber sac is completely degraded and I'm still thinking of a way to get it out there without damaging anything, especially the metal lever. Which also means, that I couldn't test yet how it writes.

When looking at the nib, it looks damaged, bent, or like someone messed with it, though. I have to say this is my first Waterman and one of my first vintage pens ever, so I'm not really experienced enough to make any judgements. The spines look spread apart way too much. Kind of pessimistic about whether it would write or not. I hope it will write, though, because it seems to have a lot of smooth flex.

Anyway, until I can test that myself in a couple of days, can anyone with more experience tell me if that nib is normal, or if something is weird about it?

Here are 3 photos:

http://holgerferoudjphotography.com/data/waterman-7188HOLGERFEROUDJ_01.jpg

http://holgerferoudjphotography.com/data/waterman-7188HOLGERFEROUDJ_02.jpg

http://holgerferoudjphotography.com/data/waterman-7188HOLGERFEROUDJ_03.jpg

[Jeph]

Yes, unfortunately it is bent and splayed. It is not as easy as it looks to get them back into place but it is doable. I have played with more than a few bent nibs and I suggest having it professionally straightened. Whatever you pay will (should) be less than a new nib and it will be worth avoiding the frustration.

[7188photo]

Yes, unfortunately it is bent and splayed. It is not as easy as it looks to get them back into place but it is doable. I have played with more than a few bent nibs and I suggest having it professionally straightened. Whatever you pay will (should) be less than a new nib and it will be worth avoiding the frustration.

Oh wow, that's bad news :( When I finally found a flexy one… Any idea of places in Japan where they do that? I think I know two or three that might, but knowing Japan, it's probably gonna cost me 3 times more than I paid for the whole pen.

The good news is after some rough treatment the old ink sac came out quite beautifully, and I learned my lesson from the Mabie Todd incident and didn't bathe the whole pen in water this time :)

[mhosea]

I agree with Jeph. I'd probably try to fix this myself, but in general I've found flexy nibs difficult, so I'd lay even odds on me having to send it off, anyway. If you do try to straighten it, do not try to bend the tines up by putting pressure on the tipping. As a matter of fact, anything you might do should put no pressure on the tipping. Normal writing pressure is all the tipping should be asked to put up with.

[7188photo]

I agree with Jeph. I'd probably try to fix this myself, but in general I've found flexy nibs difficult, so I'd lay even odds on me having to send it off, anyway. If you do try to straighten it, do not try to bend the tines up by putting pressure on the tipping. As a matter of fact, anything you might do should put no pressure on the tipping. Normal writing pressure is all the tipping should be asked to put up with.

Thanks for the tip! Yes, I will try to be extra careful with this one, and if I don't get anywhere with being careful I'd rather have it repaired by an expert. I've already damaged another pen by not knowing what I'm doing, so... haha.

[7188photo]

I disassembled the nib/feed to get all the gooey sticky dried up ink out there, and found out that the nib is actually a 18K - not 14K as I thought. Are Waterman's Ideal nibs usually made in 18K?
Got this pen from an auction and they didn't mention any information other than "Waterman 32V" about the pen or nib at all (and also didn't provide good pictures which is why I noticed that the nib has been messed with only after I got the pen yesterday).

http://holgerferoudjphotography.com/data/waterman-nib.JPG

Edit: … and just when the thought that 18K was probably flexier and generally better than 14K made me happy, I read the article by Richard (http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/ttp/materials.htm) in which it says that actually 14K usually exhibits better writing properties than 18K nibs. Oh. Well.

[Jeph]

It is all in how it is alloyed, the shape and a few other things. Richard Binder's stement is still true all things being equal. Actually his statement is generally true even when all things are not equal but that gets too complicated. I just re-read the article that you linked and he covered it better than I ever could so I took my blather out. The important part is not think that your nib is somehow inferior. I think that nib will be a monster once it is straightened.

[Ernst Bitterman]

The mark isn't one I've seen before, but the J.F. and the gold content strongly suggests that the point was made in/for the French market. Does J.F. actually refer to Jules Fagard? Hopefully someone with primary sources will have an opinion to share.

[7188photo]

I think that nib will be a monster once it is straightened.

Thanks! Sure hope so!

[7188photo]

The mark isn't one I've seen before, but the J.F. and the gold content strongly suggests that the point was made in/for the French market. Does J.F. actually refer to Jules Fagard? Hopefully someone with primary sources will have an opinion to share.

Ernst, unfortunately I have no idea, but if it helps: on the front it says "Waterman's / Ideal / Reg. U.S. / Pat. Off. / 2 / U.S. / America" - phew, quite a lot of text on a small piece of metal!

[Cob]

The mark isn't one I've seen before, but the J.F. and the gold content strongly suggests that the point was made in/for the French market. Does J.F. actually refer to Jules Fagard? Hopefully someone with primary sources will have an opinion to share.

This is very interesting - my sympathy goes to 7188 for his nib problem. JF makes me think of JIF - the French name Waterman's used. I have a couple of Jif pens - both "spares" I'm afraid. One has a No4 nib marked Made in USA 14k etc. This one looks superficially like a 3 or 32, but is shorter and fatter; I wonder if there is an American/Canadian equivalent. The other has an 18ct nib made in France, sadly more or less a "nail". All very mysterious I think.

Cob

[7188photo]

I finally got my pack of silicone ink sacs (there seems to be a dispute of whether silicone or rubber is better, haha) and could test the pen - and to my surprise it actually writes! And flexy, not naily!

It does need "priming" at first by pressing the nib on the paper slightly the "other way round" to press the tines a bit together and bring the ink to the front, but after that it writes nicely although a bit too wet even for my taste - this might be fixed by adjusting the feed, though, I guess? Or maybe it's normal. I do like pens on the wet side but as long as it doesn't dry up when writing much and flexy it doesn't need to be super wet.

Anyway I took a video of me doodling some meaningless sentences (don't judge me, haha) and it's really the first nib I've written on that flexes effortlessly (see the ugly "ROCKS" at the end of what I wrote)

http://youtu.be/CNx7Qtz18os

So yeah, seriously considering getting it repaired because then this might be the kind of pen I was looking for all along! :)

Holger

[pajaro]

Why then don't you just send it off? It's going to take skill, so better let an experienced person do it. Alternatively, you could search for another with an intact nib. That would no doubt cost more.

[Cob]

You write very nicely.

The problem is most likely feed related as you suggest - good idea to do the sheet of paper test - will a thin piece of paper pass between the nib and feed? If so adjustment is required.

There are plenty of instructions available as to how to do this - have a search in the repair section which is the appropriate place. Meanwhile however, the advice given elsewhere in this thread is good; the nib looks nice and would be best given to a professional to repair.

Best of luck.

Cob

[7188photo]

Why then don't you just send it off? It's going to take skill, so better let an experienced person do it. Alternatively, you could search for another with an intact nib. That would no doubt cost more.

Things here don't go as fast as in Narnia - just taking my time and savouring every aspect of it ;) Some time next week I'll bring it to the pen shop to get an estimate.

Holger

[pajaro]

It's your pen. Have fun.

[7188photo]

Hello - it's been a while! Life happened inbetween, but I finally sent the pen off last week to have the nib repaired. Might take up to 3 weeks, but I'm really excited to (hopefully) get it back in perfect working condition.

Also, I did a lot of research on where here in Japan you can have vintage pen nibs repaired, and at first was shocked that in some fountain pen repair shops (that also repair nibs) they just sent me away, saying they won't do it.
I know not many of you live in Japan, but if you need a few pointers where to send your pens in let me know.

Will post the results as soon as the pen is back - excited!!

P.S: The person I sent it to will do it for 5,000 Yen (EUR 36, USD 42) - that was about the cheapest I could find.