Fountain pen question

I think this is in the right place. I know I have seen some of you discussing fountain pens at B&B somewhere.

Anyway, my wife gave me a fountain pen about a month ago. I really like using it and have every day since we cleaned it. (It had been hers but she had not gotten out of a box in about ten years--before we even met). This afternoon, I knocked it off my desk, the cap flew off, and the nib hit the ground, bent. It seems to be leaking ink and will no longer write.

Do any of you guys know a good place to get it repaired? How much does it usually cost to fix these things?

Thanks for any advice,

EW

There are a few 'nibmeisters' of renown. One I can recommend is Richard Binder www.richardspens.com
If you send him your pen, he'll give you a free estimate within a few days. He does have a several month wait though, so if you decide to have him do it, you'll have to be patient.

What kind of pen is it? A few pens (such as Pelikans) have nibs that unscrew and can be replaced easily by the user. Probably only a reasonable option for inexpensive nibs.

Finally, you can get more info from www.fountainpennetwork.com
They're as geeky about FPs as we are about shaving (and actually their forum directed me to here or SMF and the rest is my shaving history). Also, you may not be spending all your money on shaving supplies and might want to consider expanding your FP collection. There are some great ones for under $100.

I would contact Richard Binder of www.richardspens.com He should be able to fix it for you.

You can email him directly at [email protected]

I'll also recommend Richard. Depending on where you're located, John Mottishaw might be another option (nibs.com, IIRC). I've not had personal experience with John, but I've only read good things.

Thanks for the info. The pen is a Waterman. Do you know if they have removable nibs? How can I tell?

Have you heard anything about The Southern Scribe? I found the place on the internet, and he seems to have a shorter turnaround. I will e-mail richard's pens too.

Thanks again,

ew

ulysses145 said:

Thanks for the info. The pen is a Waterman. Do you know if they have removable nibs? How can I tell?

Have you heard anything about The Southern Scribe? I found the place on the internet, and he seems to have a shorter turnaround. I will e-mail richard's pens too.

Thanks again,

ew

Click to expand...

This is out of my league, but if you don't get an answer here, go to fountainpennetwork.com and ask. It'll probably take as long to get an answer as if you posted here and asked "is QED really reputable" or some such question.

ulysses145 said:

The pen is a Waterman. Do you know if they have removable nibs? How can I tell?

Click to expand...

Waterman's been in business since dirt was invented, and I would imagine that some nibs are easily removed while others not so. For example, I've got a Waterman Taperite from the late '40s that took me two weeks to get the section out of so I can resac it (and with that particular pen it's not recommended that the nib and feed be driven out of the section except by a professional, so I left those alone). That being said, if you decide to send it to get the nib repaired, you're going to be sending the whole pen. They're going to be able to remove the nib more easily and safely than you, and after they've straightened it, they're going to install the nib and reset the feed so the ink flow is correct. In other words, it's not a case where you remove the nib and send only that.

I second Barry's suggestion that you check out FPN, but be forewarned, the acquisition disorders are just as tenatious with fountain pens as with shaving gear.

you could contact Waterman, they have been very helpful to me in the past.

I've used Richard Binder for pen repair in the past. He does first class work, but be prepared to wait a while to get your pen back. I dropped my fountain pen on a cement floor and the nib bent 90 degrees and when I got it back, it was like new!

I am a fountain pen collector (about 100 pens) and have had several restorers work on my pens. Richard Binder is at the top of the heap. There is also another nib meister in town that might also help you out. I have not used him but he gets rave reviews and has a lot of experience. I think his turnaround times are better than the more well known folks and you might try him.

His name is Michael Masuyama and his web site is: http://mikeitwork.com/index.html

He has worked with the top Japanese nib specialist so he comes well qualified and should be able to easily take care of your problem.

If this is a relatively recent issue Waterman pen, they might be able to fix you us as well. If you need the Waterman info, let me know and I will get it to you.

Good luck!

www.nibs.com


===Tom

Richard Binder gets my unequivocal recommendation. He has restored a pen and repaired a broken nib for me and his work is outstanding. It was well worth the wait. He's a true craftsman.