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Thread: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

  1. #21
    Senior Member dneal's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    I’ve smoothed some nibs with 12000 grit micro mesh to the point that they were too smooth for my preferences, and to the point where they have trouble writing well on some paper (like Rhodia). A stroke or two on .3 micron Mylar paper “roughed” them up enough to correct the shortcomings.

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    Senior Member INeedAFinancialAdvisor's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Quote Originally Posted by Deb View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by INeedAFinancialAdvisor View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Deb View Post
    I sat an exam once with a very noisy pen. I got some annoyed looks from those near me but it was all I had with me, so I had to continue. I must say in mitigation for myself that I'd just got the pen and I didn't know it would be loud.
    Writing an exam with a new (to you) pen and only bringing one?! You like to live dangerously!
    I had a back-up ballpoint but, you know...
    ugh... if the FP had failed, would have been a tough decision... Fail the exam... or use a ballpoint!... not sure which way I would go on this one...

  4. #23
    Member Roe D Hym's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    A loud obnoxious pen to others means others will become distracted and will likely make mistakes. If the professor is grading on a curve this might bump up your score to a higher grade. Sounds like a good plan.
    Last edited by Roe D Hym; June 9th, 2020 at 05:18 PM.

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    Member Octavius's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Quote Originally Posted by dneal View Post
    ...stroke or two on .3 micron Mylar paper “roughed” them up enough to correct the shortcomings.
    Dneal, thanks for that.

    What, in your humble opinion, would be the Mylar paper to use for roughing up a nib to slow it down but not so gritty as to tear the paper?

    And where do you get your Mylar sheets from?

    Cheers

  7. #25
    Senior Member dneal's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Quote Originally Posted by Octavius View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by dneal View Post
    ...stroke or two on .3 micron Mylar paper “roughed” them up enough to correct the shortcomings.
    Dneal, thanks for that.

    What, in your humble opinion, would be the Mylar paper to use for roughing up a nib to slow it down but not so gritty as to tear the paper?

    And where do you get your Mylar sheets from?

    Cheers
    I got mine some time ago from Richard Binder. I think Indy Pen Dance (or something like that, I forget at the moment) now carries it.

    There are two color sheets, white and green. The green 1 micron is more coarse than the white .3 micron - but they’re both very fine. Estimates here, and personal opinion... but the green will leave a nib with the feedback of a sharp pencil. The white more like a dull, rounded pencil. The 12000 grit micro mesh stick will leave it like butter.

    You should have all three in a nib smoothing kit, but be cautious with the Mylar. Even though they’re very fine abrasives, they will wear a nib quickly.

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    Member Octavius's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    OK, Dneal, makes sense....thanks!

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    Member Octavius's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    In the exam room,
    scratchy nib annoys the swots.
    Not my problemo

  11. #28
    Senior Member dneal's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Quote Originally Posted by Octavius View Post
    OK, Dneal, makes sense....thanks!
    Youtube videos and people doing figure-eights popped in my head.

    Don’t do that with a nib, especially on the Mylar sheets. Figure-eights on Mylar abrasives will wear a flat spot on the nib. Hold the end of the pen with your fingertips, letting the tip rest on the Mylar, and draw it back as you raise your hand. Don’t apply any pressure. Let the weight of the pen do the work. Rotate the pen around the axis of the barrel a degree or two, and repeat. Once you’re 10 or 15 degrees off center, do it again rotating in the other direction. You’re looking at 3-6 strokes per “side” of the slit.

    Practice with a cheap pen. A Lamy Safari / Al-Star nib is inexpensive and easily replaced. Pilot Varsities can be bought in a box of a dozen, and are around a dollar each.

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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Many thanks for all that info, Dneal.
    I've a bunch of varsities - the old, good ones that can be disassembled - that I can practice on.
    Cheers!

  14. #30
    Senior Member jacksterp's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    600 grit is a good place to start if you want to sharpen a knife. Anywhere near a nib would likely be a big mistake.

    Keep in mind that a smooth finish paper plays a big part in how a pen/nib 'glides' across paper.

    Good luck in your quest.

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    Deb (July 4th, 2020)

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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Quote Originally Posted by jacksterp View Post
    ..big mistake...
    Thanks Jack, and every one, saving me from myself.

    I ordered some Micro-Mesh 1500 through 12000.

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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    No need to make less smooth for me. Given my wide range of nibs, some are more smooth than others, but all perform well.

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    Junior Member WLSpec's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    I've found that some nibs that I smoothed on a 2400 grit buffer and left it that way have been much less temperamental, and actually more pleasant to write with, than when I use a 4000 or 12000 grit buffer. It gives the nib feedback like a Sailor nib. That said, I am NOT an expert on nib smoothing.

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  20. #34
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Nobody in 1940 was doing this...…

  21. #35
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck Naill View Post
    Nobody in 1940 was doing this...…
    How do you know?
    Regards,
    Deb
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  22. #36
    Senior Member carlos.q's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Besides "unsmoothing" the nib, have you considered a less drastic measure such as using drier and less lubricated inks?

  23. #37
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    I've never considered unsmoothing a nib to make it more scratchy or to give it more feedback than it already has. I smooth my own nibs on a nib smoothing board if they don't feel smooth enough. If they are badly smoothed and scratchy it's less likely than not that the tines aren't level and the main thing I've learned so far about nib smoothing is not to start doing anything unless the tines are level.

    I wasn't around in 1940 so I don't know what they did then.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  24. #38
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck Naill View Post
    Nobody in 1940 was doing this...…
    I would have thought that in 1940, when fountain pens were the means of putting ink to paper, that everyone would at some point mess about with nibs (or have someone do it for them).

  25. #39
    Senior Member Ole Juul's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    My parents only wrote with fountain pens in the forties (and earlier). As a kid I watched them, and pages and pages of letters written by them over the years. My grandfather wrote even more. I'm sure none of them would even think of messing with nibs. To them the fountain pens were like the ballpoints that came later. You buy a pen and use it.

  26. #40
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anybody unsmoothed a nib?

    Could someone who was an adult in the forties and had wide experience of how other people used fountain pens at that time please clear up this argument. Many thanks.
    Regards,
    Deb
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