Sailor 21K Broad Nib Question

[dneal]

Looks like somebody ground a foot on it.

I'm not familiar with that term. What is a foot on a nib?

See pages 6 and 7 of Richard Binder’s “Nib Smoothing Workshop Notes”.

http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

[KKay]

I love the Sailor nib. It is my favorite nib, that is made now. I have tried an Aurora, and loved it too. I don't own an Aurora though. (I would if I could) I would never be able to use a zoom nib properly, since I write at a very low angle to begin with. I wouldn't like changing the angle up to get a thin line. You say you have a broad though. If it was presented as new, and someone had it and messed it up by smoothing it themselves, that is a problem. I would send it to a nib meister, and get their opinion of it. At least take macro shots of the nib and maybe they could tell you if it is fixable before you even send it to them.

[calamus]

I love the Sailor nib. It is my favorite nib, that is made now. I have tried an Aurora, and loved it too. I don't own an Aurora though. (I would if I could) I would never be able to use a zoom nib properly, since I write at a very low angle to begin with. I wouldn't like changing the angle up to get a thin line. You say you have a broad though. If it was presented as new, and someone had it and messed it up by smoothing it themselves, that is a problem. I would send it to a nib meister, and get their opinion of it. At least take macro shots of the nib and maybe they could tell you if it is fixable before you even send it to them.

Thank you. Not long after I began this thread, I accidentally knocked the pen onto the floor, and it landed nose-first, bending the nib. I sent it to Michael Masayuma for repair and tuning, and he fixed it and sent it back. It is at this very moment en route, and according to the tracking information, should be showing up at my door tomorrow! It is remarkable how I've missed the pen; even when the nib wasn't at 100%, it was still loads of fun, and the whole experience of the 1911 just luxurious as all get out. I will be posting writing samples and my report of how it's behaving now that it's been worked on as soon as possible. Michael Masuyama is reputed to be a nib wizard, and I can't wait to se how the pen writes. I actually think I may have subconsciously knocked the pen onto the floor accidentally on purpose, to justify sending it to him!

[calamus]

Looks like somebody ground a foot on it.

I'm not familiar with that term. What is a foot on a nib?

See pages 6 and 7 of Richard Binder’s “Nib Smoothing Workshop Notes”.

http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

Fascinating material; thank you for referring me to it. But it doesn't seem to mention the term foot. Hmm.

[KKay]

I love the colors of the Pro Gear slim, but the feel of the 1911 standard wins out every time. At first I thought the standard was small, but after I wrote with it a while, it seems perfect. I think it is more balanced in my hand. (than a Pro Gear slim) The nib let me know that I love feedback in a nib. The nib though is the main attraction for me. I've never seen nor held the large version of either pen.

[dneal]

Looks like somebody ground a foot on it.

I'm not familiar with that term. What is a foot on a nib?

See pages 6 and 7 of Richard Binder’s “Nib Smoothing Workshop Notes”.

http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

Fascinating material; thank you for referring me to it. But it doesn't seem to mention the term foot. Hmm.

I’m not sure what your trying to imply. I referenced it because he does such a good job describing and illustrating it, not because he uses the specific term.

[calamus]

Looks like somebody ground a foot on it.

I'm not familiar with that term. What is a foot on a nib?

See pages 6 and 7 of Richard Binder’s “Nib Smoothing Workshop Notes”.

http://www.richardspens.com/pdf/workshop_notes.pdf

Fascinating material; thank you for referring me to it. But it doesn't seem to mention the term foot. Hmm.

I’m not sure what your trying to imply. I referenced it because he does such a good job describing and illustrating it, not because he uses the specific term.

Not trying to imply anything. He does an excellent job of describing and illustrating three different nib problems; I just don't know which of them is what you call a "foot." The one I thought was the likeliest candidate for the term was the third one, the one with the flat area on the underside of the nib tip, but I don't recall seeing anything like that in the sketch I posted, or in the nib itself, for that matter. The underside of the tip was rounded, but tailed off low.

So, I googled the term, and found this article by John Mottishaw that describes the foot and discusses the various kinds of foots (feet?):
https://www.nibs.com/blog/nibster-wr...-scratchy-nibs So yes it was the third example, but no, I don't think my nib had that particular problem, or at least not as extreme as what Richard Binder was describing. It's too bad I don't have a macro lens; a good photo would have been much more illustrative than my sketch.

[calamus]

[KKay]

Wow, that looks great. I am so happy for you. Sailor's nibs are outstanding to me. Oh, and I like that ink you are using. What is it?

[calamus]

Wow, that looks great. I am so happy for you. Sailor's nibs are outstanding to me. Oh, and I like that ink you are using. What is it?

Thanks. It's Diamine Oxford Blue, but the photo isn't doing as good a job of rendering it as my scanner does. Here's a post from another thread that's been scanned and shows the ink a little more accurately, although it looks duller than in real life. The reality is somewhere between the scan and the photo, but closer to the scan in hue. It looks washed out, though, in the scan. It's actually a richer, deeper color in real life.

[KKay]

I had a sample of Oxford Blue a good while back. It didn't look like the color you had in the first photo. I like it, but I can only have so many inks, LOL.

[Mags]

The little shaped blob on the end of the steel/gold nib is a foot. It is what is polished once the nib is split to create the slit for the ink to travel down using the capilliary action.

[Mags]

That little blob is normally iridium that is sodered, welded, dipped on to the nib however the magic little elves do it.

[calamus]

I had a sample of Oxford Blue a good while back. It didn't look like the color you had in the first photo. I like it, but I can only have so many inks, LOL.

In the first photo the paper originally had an orangey cast to it, and the ink looked almost black. I took a quick on-the-fly stab at color correcting it, but making the paper white I bumped up the blue/cyan a little too much, and got the rather interesting effect I ended up with. Alas, it doesn't exist in the real world.

Oxford Blue has really grown on me, and is now my go-to ink for almost everything. At first I thought it was a little boring, but as I got to know it better, why, I just fell in love with it!

[calamus]

The little shaped blob on the end of the steel/gold nib is a foot. It is what is polished once the nib is split to create the slit for the ink to travel down using the capilliary action.

I've always heard that called the tip, or the tipping. What John Mottishaw described as the foot, if I understood him correctly, is the slightly flattened part of the underside of the tip that comes in contact with the paper.

[dfo]

I am glad you got the pen back back. Having a nice pen is one thing: having a pen tuned specifically for you is sublime.

[calamus]

I am glad you got the pen back back. Having a nice pen is one thing: having a pen tuned specifically for you is sublime.

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. Yes, the word sublime is an excellent choice. I haven't been able to find the appropriate superlatives to describe the experience of writing with this pen. Also, it just gets better and better as I get to know the pen more intimately. For example, I've discovered it needs only the lightest touch to write beautifully and glide effortlessly across the page, but if I add just the tiniest bit of additional (although still very slight) pressure, the stroke becomes bolder and the feel of the nib interacting with the paper becomes a completely different experience, while remaining delightful. I was expecting to be pleased, but Mr. Masuyama's work has far exceeded my most optimistic hopes.