How To Repair A Broken Fountain Pen Nib

Re-Tipping

Confronted with a damaged or mangled nib unit, many pen owners may throw their favorite writing instrument in a drawer and think it beyond repair--and that is how many vintage fountain pens have come to light later on years of being lost and forgotten. But the repair and restoration piece of work that can be washed on a 14k or greater gold nib unit tin ofttimes be astounding, returning both pecker and pen to total functionality. Whether y'all accept a gimmicky pen that has just taken a nose-swoop off the dining room table, or a vintage pen that has been sitting in a box for the past fifty years, the nib repair work washed here at Nibs can ofttimes outcome in a pen that writes as well equally or better than when it was offset sold.

This S.T. Dupont nib was worked on past someone with pliers and/or other metal tools, probably in an effort to straighten the tines. The repair involved straightening and untwisting followed by a light re-grind in order to take the tips match for length, a crucial quality when contacting the paper. It was necessary to remove some of the rhodium plating in the immediate vicinity of the tips in order to terminate the surface.

Although these 2 pictures exercise not show the beak before work began, they show the progress of the repair.

This Waterman Ideal 14K Music beak had one tine partly cleaved off, shortening the tip. We had to shorten the other tines and make it into a wider music betoken. The process involved a splint and spacers in order to keep all three tines in alignment. Then a piece of iridium wire was welded to the tines. This restored nib is now a very broad and moisture writer.

The Parker Black Giant is i of the landmarks of fountain pens. It was produced in very small-scale numbers by Parker as a testify model, attracting attending to other more affordable and practical models at the sales counter. These are rare pens, and working nibs even rarer.

This nib every bit seen on the left was unusable, with a mangled slit and with tines worn so thin every bit to be unworkable. And so this re-tip had to start almost two-thirds of the way back towards the heart-shaped vent hole. In order to preserve every bit much of the original pecker equally possible, It was necessary to cut back the tines and start over with an entirely new forepart.

The restored tines were fused onto the bill using electro-welding and and then gold solder. It was then possible to retip the signal to Medium. When examining the pecker in person, the line of the join is just barely visible at a 40-five degree angle to the neb slit. And while a sure amount of care must exist used in handling a restored nib of this kind, this is nonetheless a fully functional unit of measurement that writes well and has returned this pen to full working condition.

Straightening

This Aurora Leonardo Da Vinci took a nose-dive. The softer 18K metal responded well to straightening.

This Extra Fine Sailor nib equally seen from above had seen ameliorate days. The Extra Fine is Sailor's virtually frail tip, peculiarly in the soft 21K gold.

This Pilot inlayed nib had a very bad day. The left tine was bent under and twisted. The right tine was aptitude to the left merely beneath the tipping.

This is the same pecker three hours later after being straightened, polished, and reset. We were able to preserve the original tipping, and make this a nib that writes well once again

Above: This is a client'southward Senior Parker Lucky Curve pecker from a circa 1925 jade pen. The customer informed us that it had been dropped on its tip. The crossed tines presented several challenges: they had to be straightened and realigned, and good ink flow had to exist reestablished.

Above: This Montblanc 146 nib suffered a standoff with something firmer than itself. We don't know how it happened, but partly because it is an eighteen karat nib, it was able to be straightened without fatigue to the metal. The feed was besides slightly plain-featured and had to exist returned to proper alignment under the nib.

This Crewman 21K gold nib went through the launder with the cap off. In the left image, observe how the tines are lightly hammered through repeated and consequent blows.

21K golden is soft and pliable, and more easily returned to its right shape than nibs with lower gold content. Later straightening, this Medium-Fine size Crewman bill is ready for polish sailing again.

In a higher place: Straightening of the torso and the tines of the neb.

Above: We straightened this super flex bill after the tine was caught on rough paper.

Cleft Repairs

This Moore's Maniflex nib was cracked all the mode through the imprint and into the tail.

Through the whole crack repair and straightening process, we were able to save the original tipping on this Waterman'southward Patrician pecker. Notation the typical Waterman's bevel on each side of the tipping.