Referencing Cher...

[Deb]

EF isn't very common in vintage pens.

That's a baffling assertion.


The sheer number of vintage pens that I have gotten that disappointed precisely because they were EF/XF or F nibs that were very very fine. I have flipped so many vintage Sheaffers and Parker precisely because they were advertised by sellers as M or F but came pretty much XF.

I don't know what your area is but as a Sheaffer accumulator of many years I can safely say there are plenty of XF nibs out there in the wild. Or Perhaps I have just been "blessed" with a ton of XF P45s, 51s and Snorkels.

Perhaps Ef is more common in American pens. Mine are mostly British. Just flip a few of your EFs my way!

[stub]

Perhaps Ef is more common in American pens. Mine are mostly British. Just flip a few of your EFs my way!

That might explain it. I treasure all my fat U.K. Nibs. So many more beefy B Parker nibs over your way. Let's trade places.

[SIR]

Of all the animals in this world, we humans are the only ones who suffer from regret and depression.

I cannot agree with you when it comes to equating us humans with animal.

We might be the only animals who knowingly harm ourselves for 'pleasure', but we're not the only animals who suffer regret or depression.

[Lady Onogaro]

I see in the Classifieds that Michael McNeil is selling a Parker 51 with an EF 14K nib. Very pretty pen.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

With the plating flaking off, a high price (for me) and an unnecessarily expensive overseas shipping cost? No thanks.

Regarding ef nibs. Most of the ones I've had have felt like mediums or fatter, even the couple of supposedly fine ones. Perhaps that's just variation in manufacture, but I don't have the luxury of picking through a barrel of pens.

[Farmboy]

I see in the Classifieds that Michael McNeil is selling a Parker 51 with an EF 14K nib. Very pretty pen.

It would be interesting to check these XF nibs on a Parker gauge.

[heraclitus682]

EoC, I purchased a double jewel Parker 51 from you (if I remember correctly) that is in the same condition as when you sold it to me. It has an extra fine nib. I would have no problem selling it back to you for the same price I paid for it, if it happens to be one of your regret sales.

[junglejim]

EoC, I purchased a double jewel Parker 51 from you (if I remember correctly) that is in the same condition as when you sold it to me. It has an extra fine nib. I would have no problem selling it back to you for the same price I paid for it, if it happens to be one of your regret sales.

I have to say that I am not surprised at the selflessness and generosity of most of the members here at fpgeeks.

All the Best.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

It is indeed a kind intention, but I must decline.

As noted earlier in the thread, the reasons for selling/giving away was often due to one small thing that didn't suit me. In the case of the double jewel 51s it is the filling system. I loved the all of the pen except that part. It's not that it doesn't work or anything, just that I don't like it. And yes, as I recall that may indeed have been extra fine.

[stub]

E_O_C,

Have you thought about Franklin Christoph? You could get an EF from them or even a Masuyama Needlepoint. They have some big pens. They have wicked customer service. & they are VERY VERY international friendly. Shipping is on them and ultrafast.

Maybe something like an 03 or 19 with a EF and ask them to check the nib?

Just a thought.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

I had a Model 66 with an italic nib from Franklin Christoph. I sold it because... well, actually I don't remember why I sold it now. It was a while ago. Anyway, the nib was not to my liking, way too dry. Yes, it was one of the Masuyama grinds. Perhaps he was having an off day? I prefer the italic nib I got from FPNibs.com, to be truthful.

For a while I toyed with the idea of getting another model, perhaps the 19 or the 02. At one point though, IIRC, to get the material I was interested in required me to go on a waiting list for another waiting list. So I just walked away. In my opinion, based on a number of "custom" made pens I've had, there is no advantage or quality difference between any of the makers. If I have to jump through hoops, I'll take my money elsewhere. When you look at the sheer volume of available interesting materials it seems odd (to me at least) that FC should be so uninspired in their choices.

[SIR]

For anyone coming late to this thread;

basically, EoC is a...

[KrazyIvan]

I don't know you, but I've read through a few of your threads and seen the mud slung your way. I am in a similar situation being somewhat isolated. The closes pen shows are north and east of me, both at least a 12-hour drive away. While that is not extreme, It's not a trip I'll take on a whim either. There is one shop about an hour's drive from me. If they don't have the pen I want to try, I am out of luck. They carry mostly high-end pens out of my price range anyway. My point is, learn how to adjust nibs on your own. That is what I did. It sounds like a lot of the pens you got rid of, probably could have been fixed rather quickly, saving you money and the heartache. I don't fret over how a pen writes anymore. I can make a nib do what I want.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

That's a good point, but mostly it is in the ergonomics that I had issues. One or two with nibs I didn't like. Yes, it would be good to able to adjust nibs, or grind them to my liking, but I doubt I would do it often enough to justify the time and expense learning how to do it. I'm not the tinkering kind really.

As for being fussy (@SIR), if I'm going to spend over $100 on a pen you're damn right I'm going to be fussy!

[heraclitus682]

That's a good point, but mostly it is in the ergonomics that I had issues. One or two with nibs I didn't like. Yes, it would be good to able to adjust nibs, or grind them to my liking, but I doubt I would do it often enough to justify the time and expense learning how to do it. I'm not the tinkering kind really.

As for being fussy (@SIR), if I'm going to spend over $100 on a pen you're damn right I'm going to be fussy!

Why not get a pen made by one the good custom pen makers out there. You seem to know what you want. Some of them will even make it around a specific nib, be it vintage or a nib from one of the modern pen makers.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Tried that, got nowhere. So much for them being "nice people".

[Deb]

Tried that, got nowhere. So much for them being "nice people".

So have you tried them all or are you just condemning them all on the basis of one unfortunate experience?

[Empty_of_Clouds]

Several, actually, but certainly not all. Probably just the most visible ones. I'm not going to know about smaller operations that don't advertise too heavily.

[empliau]

E of C - I don't know you, but I've followed your many and varied disappointments. I was struck by what you said above:

"As noted earlier in the thread, the reasons for selling/giving away was often due to one small thing that didn't suit me. "

Surely you understand that makers thousands of miles away can't promise that not even *one* small thing will be wrong for you, a person in New Zealand whom they've never met. But they do have every reason to suppose that unless a custom pen for you is perfect, with not even "one small thing" wrong, that you'll take to the boards to let the fountain pen community know, as you have done before. Postage to New Zealand is expensive for adjustments, so they can't make it right easily. I also know you've questioned whether their prices are fair, given your viewing of youtube videos of how long it takes to turn pens on lathes.

From what I've read, and please correct me if I'm wrong, you seem to want to restart your relationship with custom makers. It seems to me that you have been demanding - rightly so, if your view (stated above) is that a $100+ pen entitles you to be fussy. I also understand the perspective of someone who chooses to decline getting a potentially delicate object *exactly* right for a complete stranger the first, and only, time.

I wish you would not think of them as not nice people. From what I've read, making a pen for you from a great distance would be a gamble. Some of us aren't gamblers.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

We are all mirrors in our interactions. Nothing in this world is one-sided. I actually have a custom made pen that was a modified design that I commissioned. No problem with the maker, fantastic communication at every stage of the procedure. It's much less a gamble when you actually talk to each other. However, that maker informs me that they will likely be closing their business operation soon, so...

And yes, you don't know me, how could you?

The pens I am referring to though, with one thing that doesn't suit, are not custom made pens but vintage pens. From my perspective, and I would imagine that of many people, if the pen does not lend itself to prolonged comfortable use then there is no reason to persist in using it. I think that is quite reasonable. Of course nothing is perfect, and the pens I do have still have small issue that I'm not fond of, but they are sufficiently small to be able to live with them. The ones sold/gifted, not so much.