"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
As someone else who does pen restoration I do find it strange that he would return the package because he "didn't know whose it was". I have had people send me pens to work on and I had no idea who they were because they didn't contact me directly but had gotten my address and paypal information and sent the pen and payment without notifying me. It made no difference. I had their information on the package. I kept the pen in the package, unopened until I was able to get to it. I fixed it and sent it back to the name and address on the package. No big deal. I don't have to know everyone I do work for. Imagine how many packages FPH gets. There's no way they know what is coming. Their prices are usually on their site. You send the pen and send payment and when it's done, you get your pen back.
As for grinding - I have seen work done by Dremels/lapping film/micromesh pads, and I have seen work done by traditional wheels similar to what is used in fountain pen factories. I couldn't tell any difference even while examining the nib under a 60x loupe.
I myself do some jewelry and silversmithing. Between my fiance and I we have multiples of every jewelry tool and piece of equipment for jewelry making. There are so many of these tools and machines that lend themselves perfectly for pen restoration and nib work/repair and if done well you wouldn't know the nib was worked on with jewelers tools completely by hand. So, bragging that "my equipment costs me more so somehow now my work is more expensive even though it takes no more, and in many cases less, time than those who use a Dremel" is rather pointless. It's all about how well you use the tools you have, not their cost.
countrydirt (December 29th, 2019), Detman101 (October 30th, 2020), silverlifter (December 28th, 2019)
In his defense (a little, since we are trying to be fair) I think (those who know chime in please) there are 2 ways to repair a cracked nib and Greg is the only who does the fancier way, which is I believe (sorry to be so vague, my understanding is limited in this area) essentially gold welding. Apparently the machinery for this as well as the re-tipping and nib cutting is indeed very expensive and I think Greg has stuff from when we was a watchmaker. My understanding is the there are only 3 people who do extensive nib repair beyond grinding. Greg, the one guy in Spain, whose name escapes me, and Mottishaw.
Jon Szanto (December 28th, 2019), welch (October 30th, 2020)
Yep, the laser welder is very expensive. One of the master jewelers who I learned under has one and is showing me how to use it properly. A decent used one of these can be $5-10k. It can be used for retipping but there is also a tabletop tack welding setup that can be used. One such machine was shown in one of the episodes of Masters of The Fountain Pen. Nib cutting can be done with a jewelers saw with a thin blade often used for Opals.
Oh, he is/was a watch maker...that explains everything, and I mean that in the most complimentary, respectful way possible.
I can confirm Greg is an accomplished watchmaker. He worked for many years for a very exclusive watch company.
It should be noted that nothing in this thread questions Greg's abilities in the areas he chooses to work and, furthermore, points out that he offers services few others can provide. The only points in play are the transactional, customer service aspects of having work done by him.
"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
My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
Too bad about the customer service experience. I have used a few nibmeisters and all did great work and used a variety of tools that looked complicated and simple with no doubt prices to match. As for general experiences the mood and interactions tends to be on the great side with interesting chats as they work away and prices at shows all being quite comparable and long waiting times. There was one notable exception over the years and its best to turn the other cheek and just not use that person any more is my approach. Mom said if I cant say anything nice about someone dont say anything at all.
So in this case my advice is turn the other cheek and try Greg again hoping it was a one-off experience or move along to another nib expert with a waiting list and no rush pricing to get you in and out.
Mags or Rob Maguire MB 149, 147, 146,144, Mozart, Boehme, Sailor Realo, Aurora Optima, Churchmen Prescriptor and Parson's Essential, Parker 51 1.3 mm stub, Parker Vacumatic 1939 OB Can, TWSBI's (540,580, Mini and Vac 700), Pelikan M 1000/800 Demonstrator 600/200 demoM/200 OBB, Visconti Rembrandts (2), Lamy, Cross, Watermans, Pilots, Sheaffer's, Omas 360 LE 84/360, GvFC, Esterbrooks J and SJ, Bexley Jitterbug, Taccia, Eversharp 1952 flex, Edison Herald, Franklin Christoph Piper.
Chrissy (January 1st, 2020)
countrydirt (December 31st, 2019)
I've dealt with him on only one occasion and that was to repair a badly cracked Watermans 18kt #2 french export nib. Work was impeccable. Communication was effortless and the whole process too just over a week....no complaints here.
Sorry to hear of your difficult dealings.
I'd take the first sign of resistance as a not interested and move on.
J
Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk
welch (October 30th, 2020)
I read the "horror stories", but needed somebody to re-tip a spare 146 nib and a vintage Omas. I went back and looked at the correspondence (late January 2019). I found him to be to-the-point, and easy to work with. I'm a grumpy old veteran, and I like to-the-point.
His actual turn-around time was 3 days. He sent an email that they were done, included high quality pictures, and did a great job.
I wouldn't hesitate to use him again for re-tipping. He's one of the few people that provides that service.
welch (October 30th, 2020)
This is interesting. I have had him do some laser welding on a nib and some other repairs on another pen. Both transactions were fast and polite.
"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
Detman101 (October 30th, 2020)
"I can only improve my self, not the world."
Strangely enough, I can see both sides of these incidents.
The customer that expects to be treated kindly for their patronage...
And the service provider that expects to be treated with respect for their mastery...
Everyone deserves to be treated kindly.
I wish there were a peaceful resolution to this all.
"I can only improve my self, not the world."
I think this experience is in of itself, abnormal. In the FP community, people are very friendly, polite, and communicative - or at least my experiences are.
Sorry to hear this, and as others have mentioned I won't go to Greg unless absolutely necessary.
-NK
u/sworist
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