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I snagged the gold fine/flexible nib of my recently acquired first vintage pen on the cap and misaligned the tines. I was going to attempt to put them back in alignment using a brass shim to help me apply some gentle pressure to the bent tine to bring it in line (ala some videos I watched on YouTube- how else do you learn something these days?). I've not done this before - is there anything I should be particularly wary of - or should I defer entirely to an expert?
Thanks,
Scot
the most important thing: do not exert any force to the iridium tip! it can break off.
I’m unclear how brass shim would help to remove a bend.
Is there any way you could put up a close shot of the nib ?
There’s different ways of dealing with differing 'bends' / damage
It's difficult to give any advice without seeing a picture showing exactly how the nib is bent. I've also watched a few YouTube videos on fountain pen nib repair. I really liked this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln-t9UHDT3g
Thanks, I'll try and take an image of the nib. The shim method: slip between the tines, then gently wrap around the bent tine and again gently pull it into alignment ...
In the video the nib repairer seems to use lapping film instead of brass shim. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by AlohaPens
OK - here's an image of the damage- the tip of the nib is out of focus, but hopefully you get the idea...
Thanks for any additional advice!
Scot
Yeah- that's the general idea since I don't have lapping film nearby. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrissyIn the video the nib repairer seems to use lapping film instead of brass shim. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by AlohaPens
From that picture the tines look like they are bent in a vertical plane. That might be fixable just by bending down the high tine with thumbnail and forefinger and crossing the tines over and under themselves a few times until they are level.
If you are removing the nib then the part of the video where he puts the nib under some leaves of a book and uses his plastic pressing tool could be a fix.
@alohapens, if it was a truly flexible nib of mine then I would send it to an actual expert to remedy. Trying to fix it yourself is of course a laudable idea, but if you have real value the nib the risk may not be worth taking. Just something to consider.
If you want the pen restored to writing condition, send it to a repair person. That's not a difficult fix, but it's more difficult after someone has made unsuccessful attempts.
I advocate experimenting and learning, when one understands the risks involved and is willing to assume those. Not trying to be rude, but you don't seem to understand the uses of a brass shim. Wrapping it around a tine to pull it into alignment is not one of them.
The video appears to use the film for two purposes:
1. Prevent damage to a portion not being worked - a type of masking. Note one tine is wrapped while the other is sanded, for example.
2. It appears the main portion of the nib is wrapped, maybe to mask it, but it seems to be used to give better purchase.
Especially given how valuable a lot of vintage flex nibs are these days, this probably isn't a great first one to try. I'd also be really afraid of doing more harm than good with a brass shim.
I'm FAR from an expert on this stuff, but if it were mine and I wanted to attempt it myself, I'd have it out of the pen completely and would work it on a nib block(or at least some sort of surface). That bend in the right tine(left in your photo) looks nasty enough that I suspect it needs to be worked out from behind the nib.
I'm with others that sending this one off is probably best. If you're determined to fix it yourself, I'd suggest setting it back, tackling some other simpler repairs and lower stakes ones, and then revisiting this one.
Thanks all. I'll send if in.:)
The nib block & a tool is the ideal piece and for that the nib has to be out free from the section.
So it is best to give more time using many shaping up getting back to it original shape. I have seen how a shim could be used in between the slit of the nib. But it looks the tines are gone off without getting bending as A "FUDE BENT". So the shim is not necessary here.With a very patient time this could be repaired/ fix with less worries. That depending on how confident and experienced you are to get started this is achievable to fix it yourself.