Small Gold Nib(s)

[Cob]

I am looking for one or two small (No 1 size max) gold nibs, make irrelevant. I would want them to be a) in good order b)cheap and c) not "nails" Firm stubs always welcome though.

Thanks,

Cob

[Jon Szanto]

Reminds me of the old joke...

[Cob]

Ha ha Jon very good...

Rgds

Cob

[AndyT]

Another take:

goodcheapfast.jpg

[Robert]

Joe S - -- Truer words were never spoken. You gets what you pays for.

[Cob]

Well I have come for rather too much opprobrium I feel; a joke's a joke and all that, but still...

I was not expecting to buy nibs for fifty pence a time - I had hoped that this might have been obvious.

So if I say I should like to buy one or two small (No 1 size) 14ct gold nibs at a reasonable price, that I do not care what name is on them, and that they should work, how does that sound?

Rgds,

Cob

[AndyT]

Well I have come for rather too much opprobrium I feel; a joke's a joke and all that, but still...

My apologies too, Cob - that useful saying came up in a different context elsewhere last week, and somebody threw the Venn diagram into the conversation. No opprobrium intended, just a cheap laugh.

I don't have any spares at all at present, but thought it might be worth saying that the section boring for a Mabie Todd No.1 is 5mm / 0.200" approximately, if anyone has an unnumbered nib which might be suitable, and the means to measure it. Other No.1s will probably vary ...

[Cob]

Well I have come for rather too much opprobrium I feel; a joke's a joke and all that, but still...

snip
I don't have any spares at all at present, but thought it might be worth saying that the section boring for a Mabie Todd No.1 is 5mm / 0.200" approximately, if anyone has an unnumbered nib which might be suitable, and the means to measure it. Other No.1s will probably vary ...

That's interesting; where you find these data?

I must buy a measuring caliper...

This relates of course to my Pitman's College pen. Its nib is so flexible, that after a bit of writing, the tines open up and have to be tweaked back again; this is tedious and so sadly the nib will have to be replaced. I have written up about the pen in the thread on FPB.

I do have a Swan No1 Calligraph nib currently in a SF1 which I might try. But I do need at least one other small nib for another pen anyway.

Rgds
Cob

[RuiFromUK]

Well I have come for rather too much opprobrium I feel; a joke's a joke and all that, but still...

snip
I don't have any spares at all at present, but thought it might be worth saying that the section boring for a Mabie Todd No.1 is 5mm / 0.200" approximately, if anyone has an unnumbered nib which might be suitable, and the means to measure it. Other No.1s will probably vary ...

That's interesting; where you find these data?

I must buy a measuring caliper...

This relates of course to my Pitman's College pen. Its nib is so flexible, that after a bit of writing, the tines open up and have to be tweaked back again; this is tedious and so sadly the nib will have to be replaced. I have written up about the pen in the thread on FPB.

I do have a Swan No1 Calligraph nib currently in a SF1 which I might try. But I do need at least one other small nib for another pen anyway.

Rgds
Cob

As some of my first 'pen' tools I have a lovely caliper and a micrometer which used to belong to my father.

[Cob]

Well I have come for rather too much opprobrium I feel; a joke's a joke and all that, but still...

snip
I don't have any spares at all at present, but thought it might be worth saying that the section boring for a Mabie Todd No.1 is 5mm / 0.200" approximately, if anyone has an unnumbered nib which might be suitable, and the means to measure it. Other No.1s will probably vary ...

That's interesting; where you find these data?

I must buy a measuring caliper...

This relates of course to my Pitman's College pen. Its nib is so flexible, that after a bit of writing, the tines open up and have to be tweaked back again; this is tedious and so sadly the nib will have to be replaced. I have written up about the pen in the thread on FPB.

I do have a Swan No1 Calligraph nib currently in a SF1 which I might try. But I do need at least one other small nib for another pen anyway.

Rgds
Cob

As some of my first 'pen' tools I have a lovely caliper and a micrometer which used to belong to my father.

Yes I have several - plus a few £1,000's worth of tools and electronic stuff, all rotting away in France, but that's a long story!

Rgds
Cob

[Jon Szanto]

Sorry, Cob. You've certainly made a reasonable request, it was just the wording that reminded me of that old phrase. I hope you find something - post in multiple forums, too.

[jar]

What is a #1 size?

[gweddig]

Just above a #0 size?

[Cob]

What is a #1 size?

Just what it says: many manufacturers stamped their nibs with a number which related approximately to the overall size of the nib. From what little I have learned there was no industry standard, and some makers such as Wyvern and Jewel did not number their nibs. "Warranted" nibs never seem to carry a number. The best known examples or numbering are I suppose Swan and Waterman's.

So I wrote "No 1 size" as a guide since small is not sufficiently precise - even though numbering is rather unreliable!

Rgds
Cob

[jar]

What is a #1 size?

Just what it says: many manufacturers stamped their nibs with a number which related approximately to the overall size of the nib. From what little I have learned there was no industry standard, and some makers such as Wyvern and Jewel did not number their nibs. "Warranted" nibs never seem to carry a number. The best known examples or numbering are I suppose Swan and Waterman's.

So I wrote "No 1 size" as a guide since small is not sufficiently precise - even though numbering is rather unreliable!

Rgds
Cob

But Swan and Waterman nibs sizing are quite different. Adding Swan #1 might give folk a better idea of what you want.

[Jeph]

I don't, but most serious restoration people have personal sources for such things.

My method for donor gold nibs is to snag bargain hopeless pens off the bay and steal their nibs. It is hit or miss on condition and size, but with practice you can assume 1 recovery for 4 or 5 attempts and then you can get a pretty good feel for how much of a bargain you need to hunt for. My problem is more that I keep tryig to save the entire pen instead and end up having to start over again on the nib hunt. The small ones are significantly more difficult to source but they are out there.

[RuiFromUK]

I don't, but most serious restoration people have personal sources for such things.

My method for donor gold nibs is to snag bargain hopeless pens off the bay and steal their nibs. It is hit or miss on condition and size, but with practice you can assume 1 recovery for 4 or 5 attempts and then you can get a pretty good feel for how much of a bargain you need to hunt for. My problem is more that I keep tryig to save the entire pen instead and end up having to start over again on the nib hunt. The small ones are significantly more difficult to source but they are out there.

Reading this thread I absolutely agree with Jeph.

This morning I received a fairly cheap (below Jeph's normal prices) Blackbird which nib I intend to use on another Blackbird I got last week which has a Swan #1 which will be installed on a Swan that has been waiting for a nib for a while.

[Cob]

I don't, but most serious restoration people have personal sources for such things.

My method for donor gold nibs is to snag bargain hopeless pens off the bay and steal their nibs. It is hit or miss on condition and size, but with practice you can assume 1 recovery for 4 or 5 attempts and then you can get a pretty good feel for how much of a bargain you need to hunt for. My problem is more that I keep tryig to save the entire pen instead and end up having to start over again on the nib hunt. The small ones are significantly more difficult to source but they are out there.

Reading this thread I absolutely agree with Jeph.

This morning I received a fairly cheap (below Jeph's normal prices) Blackbird which nib I intend to use on another Blackbird I got last week which has a Swan #1 which will be installed on a Swan that has been waiting for a nib for a while.

A Swan No 1 in a Blackbird? Lucky you; going down a step, I do have a Blackbird G in a Jackdaw!

Regards
Cob

[Cob]

SORTED

My bumper batch today (see recent pen acquisitions), together with a Waterman bought this morning has yielded more or less what I need for the present.

Thanks for all your contributions.

Rgds

Cob

[Cob]

I don't, but most serious restoration people have personal sources for such things.

My method for donor gold nibs is to snag bargain hopeless pens off the bay and steal their nibs. It is hit or miss on condition and size, but with practice you can assume 1 recovery for 4 or 5 attempts and then you can get a pretty good feel for how much of a bargain you need to hunt for. My problem is more that I keep tryig to save the entire pen instead and end up having to start over again on the nib hunt. The small ones are significantly more difficult to source but they are out there.

Sorry Jeph I missed this one earlier. Yes, well, today I have bought TEN pens, most of which I expect to be junk. On top of these I have a very cheap Blackbird coming which is supposed to have a Parker nib; must be a small one if it's in a Blackbird; perhaps I've struck a gold mine?? ANd there's a John Bull and a Jewel coming too but I'll be trying to save those. I'll post pictures of some of this tat in the "What's your latest pen acquisition?" thread. They'll look great next to all the fancy coloured Lucky Curves, Namikis and Montblancs I think
Oh yes, a Waterman's Ideal 3V pen and pencil set arrived today; the "Accounts" nib in the pen is a bad joke - a tungsten steel rivet - so now I want a "cheap" No2Waterman's Ideal nib too (ha ha ha ha ha).

Best wishes and thanks,

Cob