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

[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

[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 ...

[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]

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.

[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.

[Cob]

Thanks Jar. The problem is that the pen is not a Swan - as I said originally, I don't care about the make - but the nib must be on the small side.

I'll do a bit of offering-up this evening and try to provide more information.

Thanks again,

Cob

[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

[Cob]

OK, well I've removed the nib from the Pitman's pen and the Swan No1 Calligraph nib fits the section, though I had to use the ancient Swan feed (from a SF1) which is smaller than the original, but it's fine and works well - makes an interesting pen really. So No1 Swan size is good. This does not mean that the nib has to be a Swan of course - anything that size!

Cob

[Tony Rex]

This is a CS #1 A


Unfortunately, it's not for sale cause I'm still using it. Like Jeph said, just cannibalize from something off eBay. Cheers.