Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 24

Thread: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

  1. #1
    Member Baisao's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    77
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    I have a Sheaffer Balance with a Feathertouch #5 nib. I am using Iroshizuku ink. The nib will lay ink in all motions but a 50° upward stroke with paper turned. This would mean the nib is moving almost due right in relation to my hand. It's fine when writing script but when practicing upstrokes (right) it will stop laying ink in short order. It does not run out on downstrokes (left).

    The nib is a bit dirty in the photos but looks aligned to me and I can't see anything that would cause the right side of the nib to behave differently than the left.

    Please advise.

    image0.jpegimage1.jpegimage2.jpeg

  2. #2
    Member Baisao's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    77
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Hello!

    Here is an image that may help to understand the direction that is not conducting ink. It is only in this one direction.

    The pen is laying at the angle I an making these strokes.

    Thank you in advance for your help.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  3. #3
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,907
    Thanks
    1,396
    Thanked 6,390 Times in 2,505 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    I suspect the tines are not truly aligned.

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to FredRydr For This Useful Post:

    jar (October 10th, 2020)

  5. #4
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,400
    Thanks
    6,872
    Thanked 10,361 Times in 3,977 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me about alignment of nib tines will come along as I only ever work on my own nibs.
    From your pictures, your nib tines do not align exactly how they should. Firstly there seems to be a little of what we call "baby's bottom" that means the tines are not exactly flat where they meet together in the centre. Also, one tine does look fractionally longer.

    You have the choices of sending it to a nib smith to be fixed or having a go at fixing it yourself.

    If you wanted to try to fix it yourself have a look at SBRE Brown's nib smoothing YouTube video. Or as many nib smoothing videos as you can find.

    If this was my pen I would ensure that the tines are perfectly aligned end on when I looked through the loupe. i.e. place the pen horizontally between your fingers and thumb and hold the loupe directly in front of the ends of tines so that you can see if they are exactly level on the horizontal plane. If one looks slightly higher or lower than the other then you need to carefully get them level with your thumb nail and index finger.

    Once they are level you could very carefully and gently use a nib smoothing board to ensure they are inline and flat together and both exactly the same length.
    You don't need to use anything rough or any excessive movements. Just a couple of passes at a time, then check, until you can't see the baby's bottom in the centre and both tines look like they are exactly the same length.

    It's not too difficult a job but you need to be really careful. You can always take a long time, being careful, and using tiny steps. You can never put back material that you've taken off by doing too much too quickly.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  6. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Chrissy For This Useful Post:

    Baisao (October 16th, 2020), eachan (October 11th, 2020)

  7. #5
    Senior Member eachan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2020
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    507
    Thanks
    1,442
    Thanked 868 Times in 341 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Excellent advice, Chrissy! The OP can't go wrong if he sticks to that.

  8. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to eachan For This Useful Post:

    Baisao (October 18th, 2020), Chrissy (October 11th, 2020)

  9. #6
    Member Baisao's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    77
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Hi Chrissy — thank you for your insight! I’ve been watching sbrebrown’s videos and it looks straight forward.

    I’m pretty competent sharpening/finishing my kitchen knives with water stones and strops. I imagine there’s not much difference: steady hand, slowly, proceed with care. In fact, I have the same micromesh pack for finishing blades to #12,000.

    https://youtu.be/tquFBCKlqh8

    I noticed in this video he starts at #1500 to correct a baby’s bottom, with 8 strokes of horizontal and vertical figure eights each. He then moves sequentially through finer grits.

    My question is, having never worked with “iridium”: is there enough tipping material left of the nib to start at #1500 as he did?

  10. #7
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    2,016
    Thanks
    3,725
    Thanked 1,703 Times in 822 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    I'm not a pro and defer to them.

    Meanwhile I personally would start at 3000 or 4000 and check every few strokes through the loupe.

    The other thing is the nib tip may be slightly bent inward, in other words the nib tips may not be parallel.

    Also, is it possible one side appears longer but in reality both tines are bent in the same lateral direction?

    Maybe practice on a cheap pen or two or three first. It's easy to find replacement nibs for wing sung, for example.

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to azkid For This Useful Post:

    Baisao (October 16th, 2020)

  12. #8
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,907
    Thanks
    1,396
    Thanked 6,390 Times in 2,505 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Vintage nibs rarely have the generous ball of tipping that modern nibs always seem to offer. If the Balance was my pen, I would not use such a coarse grit.

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to FredRydr For This Useful Post:

    Baisao (October 16th, 2020)

  14. #9
    Member Baisao's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    77
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Quote Originally Posted by FredRydr View Post
    Vintage nibs rarely have the generous ball of tipping that modern nibs always seem to offer. If the Balance was my pen, I would not use such a coarse grit.
    Thank you for confirming my hunch. I normally start my carbon steel kitchen knives at #2000. I can do this because I don’t wait for them to get terribly dull, but even #2000 is pretty course in my opinion. Using #1500 on a nib seems like driving a Ferrari over a motocross circuit.

    I had noticed there was generally less tipping material on the vintage pens compared to modern pens but assumed it was wear over time rather than a difference in manufacturing or engineering philosophy.

  15. #10
    Member Baisao's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    77
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Quote Originally Posted by azkid View Post
    I'm not a pro and defer to them.

    The other thing is the nib tip may be slightly bent inward, in other words the nib tips may not be parallel.

    Also, is it possible one side appears longer but in reality both tines are bent in the same lateral direction?
    Yikes! That never occurred to me. I feel confident grinding/polishing but an alignment like that— and being able to diagnose if it is an alignment issue— is probably beyond me.

    I may have to send it off to a nibmeister.

    What is the ballpark price of getting a nib adjusted? (I have no idea if it’s $2 or $300)

  16. #11
    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    6,616
    Thanks
    7,795
    Thanked 11,039 Times in 4,010 Posts
    Rep Power
    22

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Quote Originally Posted by Baisao View Post
    What is the ballpark price of getting a nib adjusted? (I have no idea if it’s $2 or $300)
    Each nibmeister sets their own prices so you should visit their sites. A flow issue like this should be able to be cured by someone who has worked on a lot of nibs. I can't pull in all the links, but look for some of these folks (names with asterisks are people that I have had work done with and can personally recommend; any others have been recommended by friends or I've seen their nibwork):

    Mike Masuyama* / Mike It Work
    Dan Smith* / the Nibsmith
    Gena Salorino* / Custom Nib Studio
    John Mottishaw* / Classic Fountain Pens (nibs.com)
    Mark Bacas / NibGrinder
    Linda Kennedy / Ink-de-Pendance (sp?)

    That should give you something to go on.
    Last edited by Jon Szanto; October 12th, 2020 at 12:10 AM. Reason: typo
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

  17. The Following User Says Thank You to Jon Szanto For This Useful Post:

    Baisao (October 16th, 2020)

  18. #12
    Member Baisao's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    77
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Thank you, Jon. I'll reach out to them and see where it goes from there.

    And thanks to all of you who have given advice. I am very grateful to you for generously sharing your wisdom.

  19. #13
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,400
    Thanks
    6,872
    Thanked 10,361 Times in 3,977 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Quote Originally Posted by Baisao View Post
    Hi Chrissy — thank you for your insight! I’ve been watching sbrebrown’s videos and it looks straight forward.

    I’m pretty competent sharpening/finishing my kitchen knives with water stones and strops. I imagine there’s not much difference: steady hand, slowly, proceed with care. In fact, I have the same micromesh pack for finishing blades to #12,000.

    https://youtu.be/tquFBCKlqh8

    I noticed in this video he starts at #1500 to correct a baby’s bottom, with 8 strokes of horizontal and vertical figure eights each. He then moves sequentially through finer grits.

    My question is, having never worked with “iridium”: is there enough tipping material left of the nib to start at #1500 as he did?
    I tend to not use sheets of micro mesh and definitely not sharpening stones for smoothing. I use a nib smoothing board. Pink and white on one side and grey on the other. And I don't use the pink and white very much.
    If I was using micro mesh pads I would probably start at 8000 then quickly go to 12,000. 1500 sounds too rough for me.

    It's not only the price that you need to consider with a nib smith. It's also the length of time you won't have your pen.

    Kirk Speer (Pen Realm) is also now doing nib grinding for Dromgooles'. He was at the Lone Star Pen Club online meeting last Saturday when Joshua from The Pelikan's Perch was a special guest.
    Last edited by Chrissy; October 12th, 2020 at 12:42 AM.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  20. The Following User Says Thank You to Chrissy For This Useful Post:

    Detman101 (October 17th, 2020)

  21. #14
    Member Baisao's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    77
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Chrissy, you are dropping lots of pearls!

    I think the grey surface on the board is #12,000 grit. I wouldn’t use my water stones for multiple reasons but some of the buffing compounds might be useful on other pens.

    I never thought to look for local clubs.

    I’ve reached out to Gena and if that doesn’t work out I’ll seek out Kirk.

  22. The Following User Says Thank You to Baisao For This Useful Post:

    Detman101 (October 17th, 2020)

  23. #15
    Senior Member jar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Deep South Texas
    Posts
    4,045
    Thanks
    479
    Thanked 3,711 Times in 1,610 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Also if you are anywhere near Houston make a pilgrimage to Dromgoole's on Rice Blvd. Call them and see when the Doctor will be in.

  24. #16
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,400
    Thanks
    6,872
    Thanked 10,361 Times in 3,977 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Quote Originally Posted by jar View Post
    Also if you are anywhere near Houston make a pilgrimage to Dromgoole's on Rice Blvd. Call them and see when the Doctor will be in.
    He has his own web site at Pen Realm so he could be contacted there.

    Better yet sign up to the current run of online meetings at The Lone Star pen club. See the Meetings and Geek Gatherings forum.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  25. #17
    Member Baisao's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    77
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by jar View Post
    Also if you are anywhere near Houston make a pilgrimage to Dromgoole's on Rice Blvd. Call them and see when the Doctor will be in.
    He has his own web site at Pen Realm so he could be contacted there.

    Better yet sign up to the current run of online meetings at The Lone Star pen club. See the Meetings and Geek Gatherings forum.
    I’ll do just that!

  26. #18
    Member Baisao's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2020
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    77
    Thanks
    93
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    4

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    It's now en route to Gena Salorino.

  27. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Baisao For This Useful Post:

    Detman101 (October 17th, 2020), Jon Szanto (October 16th, 2020)

  28. #19
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    369
    Thanks
    115
    Thanked 247 Times in 125 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    I agree with Fred. I would not go after a minor alignment issue with such coarse abrasion. I would look to gently re-aligning. If you prefer leaving it to a professional, that's understandable. There are some good suggestions listed above for repair options.

  29. #20
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
    Posts
    701
    Thanks
    20
    Thanked 164 Times in 94 Posts
    Rep Power
    5

    Default Re: HELP REQ: Feathertouch #5 does not lay link well on upstroke

    Linda is amazing as a nibmeister if you ever decide to use her. I had her work on a couple of nibs at the Detroit Pen Show, and these are some of my favorites.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  30. The Following User Says Thank You to Radonactionservices For This Useful Post:

    Baisao (October 20th, 2020)

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •