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Thread: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

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    Default Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    Good day everyone, hope you are all well and safe.
    I hav jusr receives my 'new' CS NO. 27 bought from a reputable shop.
    The nib is a 14k Gold Semi Flex Nib medium.
    I have never bothered to find out the difference between a flex, semi flex, and normal nib.
    The pen is in beautiful condition so I'm happy about it but the writing is not what I was expecting.


    In my opinion this nib is a nail and doesn't put enough ink on the page either.
    This nib has no 'flex' and is not a medium in my opinion.
    Tried writing a few pages but it becomes frustrating and painful on my wrist writing with it.
    Writing looks faded.
    If I press hard while I write writing becomes more accentuated but really I can't write like this, a nib has to write by itself.

    After looking at the picture of my writing sample:
    is this is a medium nib ?
    should it by so 'dry' ?

    have any of you a CS No. 27 with medium nib that writes like mine ?

    I've already written to the shop and am waiting for a reply.

    Thank you
    Marco

    sample.jpeg

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    Default Re: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    Most Conway Stewart nibs are firm. Best to wait and see what the seller has to say. They may consider making an adjustment to make the pen more free-flowing if that's what you wish..

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    Default Re: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    The seller asked me to send the pen back. He will try if and how he can improve the writing 'experience'. I sent the pen back this afternoon. I'll wait for him to report back.

    The gold band didn't show any brassing when I took it out of the box. Today looking at it I noticed brassing starting to show. Can you remove it and if so how ?

    Thank you
    Last edited by MarcoA64; September 20th, 2021 at 10:19 AM. Reason: typo

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    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoA64 View Post
    The gold band didn't show any brassing when I took it out of the box. Today looking at it I noticed brassing starting to show. Can you remove it and if so how ?
    You must be careful with terms in this situation: Brassing is the condition whereby the gold plating on a metal part has actually been worn away, exposing the underlying metal. The base metal was frequently brass, hence the term, but you can have silver or other 'white' metals as the base and when the plating is worn away, it becomes even more obvious.

    You'll need to make certain it is brassing and not just patina, a darkening/discoloration of the gold (plating). By looking at the area with a loupe, brassing should become apparent when you can see the line between the base metal and the remaining plating; patina would be just a discoloration without any boundary of material loss.

    For patina, I would recommend simply polishing with a soft cloth, or at most using a product called a "sunshine" cloth, which has mild polishing agents and used carefully won't take away any material. If a piece is brassed, there isn't much you can do except keep it clean, because you can't reverse the process. Also, keep in mind that the quality of plating varies, though CS would normally have good, robust plating. In lesser pens (and I learned this through experience!), if you over polish a plated nib or other hardware, you can actually polish off the very thin layer of plating; cheaper pens used very thing plating (obviously a cost-saving move) and this was often termed "gold wash".

    Good luck with the pen!
    "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

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    Default Re: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    Hi Jon, thank you for your input. I used the term 'brassing' as this is what people post when describing pens on ebay, usually reffering to the gold trim that is 'growing' a shade ond the cap bands. Mine after your explanation ia not 'brassing' then but oxidation?

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    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
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    Default Re: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    Quote Originally Posted by MarcoA64 View Post
    Hi Jon, thank you for your input. I used the term 'brassing' as this is what people post when describing pens on ebay, usually reffering to the gold trim that is 'growing' a shade ond the cap bands. Mine after your explanation ia not 'brassing' then but oxidation?
    The darkening of silver, gold, and similar metals is usually referred to as patina. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that can occur to a number of surfaces/elements and is one of the processes that creates patina on the pen's metal components. Because it is a surface element, it can often be polished away and restored to a shiny look. Patina is an important aspect in a lot of antiquarian collecting (silverware, jewelry) and many people have opinions on how much, if at all, you should polish the object. Many feel the passage of time, visually, is important.

    All of that is very different from brassing, which is very much a loss of the plated portion (gold, usually) and can't polished back or restored. The only solution is relating.

    You might find this basic article of interest.
    "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

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    Default Re: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    If you purchased it as a “semi-flex”, it doesn’t look like it from the sample - but you’ve already noted that.

    “Medium” doesn’t mean anything, because there’s no standard and there are too many variables that can affect line width besides tipping size. I can take a needlepoint, adjust the flow and use cheap paper and you would never know it wasn’t a broad.

    The problem I see is in regulation, if that’s the pen and not your varying pressure. I have doubts about the tuning capabilities, experience or maybe “give a crap” factor of the “reputable shop” that sold that pen and described it as a semi-flex.

    Stuff slips through, so maybe my doubts are unwarranted. The writing problems shouldn’t be too hard to solve, but if they can’t do it then perhaps a refund or adjustment by a different person.
    "A truth does not mind being questioned. A lie does not like being challenged."

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    Default Re: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    Good day all, the seller has come up with two alternatives, swap the present nib for a broad one or a refund. I opted for a refund as I do not believe that altering a way a pen was made is the way to go. If I had bought it in the 50s and the shop assistant proposed something like a nib swap, probably, I would have bought directly a broad. 70 years later I might look for an out of the factory broad. Lets see when the money arrives. Marco

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    dneal (September 23rd, 2021), Fermata (September 23rd, 2021)

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    Default Re: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    Money arrived 24th. All well in the end
    Cheers. Marco

  11. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to MarcoA64 For This Useful Post:

    dneal (September 26th, 2021), Fermata (September 26th, 2021)

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    Default Re: Vintage Conway Stewart No. 27 - Nib issue

    I have quite a few vintage Conway Stewarts and have never come across one that was even close to semi-flexible.

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    eachan (September 26th, 2021)

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