Manu Propria Pens - Nib Experiment - Sneak Preview

[Manupropria]

In the moment I am working on a nib/feed experiment.
It's a No.8 gold nib and matching ink-feed milled from Bronze, all made in my atelier.
No idea if it will work out although there is no reason why not.
If it works the feed can also be made from 18 kt gold

Stay tuned

Best,

Martin
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[ethernautrix]

Wow. Well, that looks amazing.

[Robert]

That's a very, very beautiful feed. After your tests are complete, let us know how it works - - and if you perceive any advantages or disadvantages in using such material. (Off hand I suspect the cost of fabricating a feed from metal might be significant.)

[Manupropria]

I will keep you posted.
This morning I worked on the feeed.
The feed was Rhodium plated and then 10 microns gold plated. The Rhodium seals the Bronze before Gold plating. If Copper alloys like Bronze and Brass are not pre-plated with Palladium, the Gold would fuse with and will be absorbed by the Bronze within short time. Ink flow is great, the feed took the ink within a fraction of a second
Inkflow.jpg

[penwash]

What kind of saw do you use to cut the nib's slit?

[Manupropria]

It's a tool used by dentists, a stanless steeel disk with diamonds

[TMac]

This is fascinating. Please keep us updated as you progress.

[whichwatch]

How much do you find the metal feed affects the weighting of a light ebonite pen?

[Manupropria]

My standard size pens are arround 28 grams. The metal feed is 9 grams, so a third of the pens weight. But it writes extremely well and I really like it, it seams the pen writes itsekf
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[azkid]

Could nickel plating be used as a barrier metal on bronze prior to gold plating to prevent diffusion?

Your work is amazing and inspiring. I hope I have a chance to try making my own fountain pen one day soon.

[Manupropria]

As I know, in the pen industry brass is usually nickel plated before gold but in high jewellry we use Palladium