The Case of the Wrong Nib

[gbryal]

I have a Waterman 94, blue and mottled cream (no, really; I apologize that I can't get the lighting right to capture it.). When I first received it, it had no clip. After a while it became apparent that such clips weren't something I could just grab off of eBay. So the strategy turned to finding a new cap. Finding a cap in the desired color became a problem, so I entertained the notion of a donor pen.

Stop laughing... I MIGHT be willing to toss aside a repairable pen in order to take its cap! No, you are right. That would require a harder heart than I possess. But I didn't really know that until the donor pen arrived. It was sold as nonfunctional, but in this case, a new sac had it up and running. Besides the correct clip, it also has better coloring. Look, it even has a nice gold nib, looks okay... but wait! What's that?

w94nibtop.jpg

A Parker Lucky Curve nib? This wasn't mentioned in the eBay listing!

w94nibbottom.jpg

But it has a Waterman feed. Or in any case, not a Parker Lucky Curve feed. Will the darn thing even write? I looked at the tipping. I haven't seen a lot of custom grinds or Lucky Curve nibs, so I am not sure, but it looks like someone tried to put a point on it. The sides are beveled, and the point is pretty sharp. It looks like the tipping on one side is nearly (but not quite) gone.

So, I try it. SCRITCH SCRITCH! Very unpleasant. But then I try to flex it, and it goes from a hairline to the same semiflex as my more factory correct 94.

w94writing.jpg

I started thinking. Is the fine flex worth the scratch? I found turning the music up very loud covered the audible part. I decided, rather rashly, to buy a Waterman nib. I think I must not have had enough sleep. The nib hasn't arrived yet, but all I know about it is it's a Green nib. It's not the Ideal #4 on my other pen in any case. I am not sure if it will fit, but it's not a Parker. I'm going to proceed with caution from this point on.

The thing is, the Parker nib is sort of growing on me. Maybe I'll leave it alone.

For the record, the cap matches the pen it came with better than mine. So, the search is on again .

[Jeph]

I understand completely. My track record with stealing parts from supposed donor pens is abysmal.
As far as the lucky curve nib goes, I have seen many with those machine marks on the edges. I suspect that it is more likely that the nib was bent and then almost re-straightened. The tines look slightly out of alignment. I would make an attempt to get rid of the scratchy-scratch. It would drive me crazy.

[pajaro]

I think you should count your lucky stars. Nice flex. Personally I don't mind a bit of scratchiness. I learned to write with dip pens in school, back in the 1950s. They all seemed scratchy.

[gbryal]

I have had fine nibs that were on the verge of scratchy, pushing the very boundary of "feedback", but this one is well and truly scratchy. There may well still be some alignment issues I can address, though I think I got it most of the way there. That might not be enough on a tip this small.

[Laura N]

Wow, that's lucky. An early Parker with flex. Congratulations. Does it have a number or other code?

I'm going suggest that this nib is worth enough that you might want to send it to a nib person, like Dan.

[gbryal]

Wow, that's lucky. An early Parker with flex. Congratulations. Does it have a number or other code?

All that is currently visible is Parker Lucky Curve Pen 4. I haven't taken it out, but there is a line below that where it must have met the previous pen's section.

I'm going suggest that this nib is worth enough that you might want to send it to a nib person, like Dan.

That's a possibility. I hadn't counted on many more expenses with this pen, but it's also not one I immediately need the use of, so I might sit on it until I decide if I want to spend more or not.