Quote Originally Posted by penwash View Post
The best pen for a tinkerer is a pen that ends up writing smoothly and satisfyingly...

after you spent days soaking the section to take it off, then realized that you have to use penetrating oil because the barrel was lined with aluminum, that adds 3 more days.

Then spending an hour with simulated three hands trying to skewer a tiny piece of piano wire through 4 holes two ebonite and two metal, and then realized that you forgot to attach the pressure bar. Do over.

Then realizing that the nib has a crack on it, so you spent the next two weeks sourcing a good replacement, only to find out that the original feed won't fit, so back to the parts drawer, finding the 'needle' in the 'haystack' of feeds.

What barrels are lined with aluminum? That's a new one to me.

Also... penetrating oil? David Nishimura's site references something similar sounding. Naphtha?

Gotta agree with you though. I've got a couple pens out getting their nibs ground right now. One of them I spent a month trying to figure out how to get the lever to lay flat. Can't wait to get it back so I can enjoy them!