Tweaked my first nib

[andrew98]

I have a Lamy Nexx that I recently bought. It had a Fine nib that was writing on the dry side, so I decided to try to remedy this by using a razor blade to gently separate the tines. This made it write a little wetter. The fine nib wasn't the smoothest ever, so I decided to have a play with the nib on a Revlon nail buffing/polishing, uh, thing. It's not a nail file. It's used to polish the surface of the nail.

It's like a thick, spongy emery board, but unlike an emery board/nail file, it's divided into two sections. There's a "rough" section labeled "Step 1" and the other half of the board is a "fine" section labeled "Step 2." Bear in mind the "rough" portion is very fine and the "fine" section is probably like a 4000 grit sandpaper. I initially overdid it with the rougher section and flattened the nib a bit too much. After using the finer section for a while, I finally got the edges rounded and smooth so it's not scratchy. The result is a nib that's somewhere between a F and M Lamy. It's as smooth or smoother than when I started, so I'm pleased with the results. This process also seemed to help increase ink flow a little, and I can now write at my normal speed without any dry patches.

I'd recommend anyone give this a go if they have an inexpensive pen that's a little scratchy or too fine. I would just recommend using a little more patience than I started out with. A 10x jeweler's loupe/magnifying glass is also very helpful, as you can see any protruding or sharp edges on the nib.

I'm definitely no expert, but this was a fun experiment.

-Andy

 

[brianw]

Good show Andy. Same way I work on nibs... a loupe is a must and lots of patience.

 

[nemo]

Congratulations on getting it smooth and flowing but I really don't recommend that technique on anything but a very cheap nib. 9 out of 10 scratchy nibs I can pull back just by tweaking the tines back into position. Sticking anything as hard as a razor blade in the slit of a gold nib will also generally leave damage and a mark. There are soft brass shims sold specifically for this purpose. (I know your Lamy was steel)

Smoothing with abrasives by the beginner often leaves the nib with less tipping material as it's really easy to get carried away and take off too much iridium (and really hard to put it back). If a nib was smooth and suddenly becomes scratchy it is because of misalignment. A good loupe to see closely and pushing one side up or down with your fingernail is usually all it takes.

I've become a pen preservationist or conservationist over the years.

 

[andrew98]

One half of the iridium was lower than the other (toward the paper), but the tines were in alignment. I did try bending the offending tine up a bit, but that Lamy nib is quite stiff and didn't want to hold a new position. That's why I resorted to the abrasive. I figured I didn't have too much to lose with this pen, but everything Doug said is correct. If this weren't such a tough, inexpensive, and replaceable nib, I would have been more careful or left it to someone with some experience.

-Andy

 

[Greyfox]

Glad it worked out for you.

 

[strop]

A brown paper bag is somewhere around the equivalent of 10,000 grit IIIRC (may be a little more or less...can't find my old pen turning notes) but may be all you need. I've used it successfully on inexpensive nibs. Just scribble for 10 minutes or so. You'll be amazed.

Mark