Do you use a fountain pen?
Discussion
I've got the "good" W5 finished. Quite fiddly work to remove the broken box lever and fit the new one, which had to be glued at one end since it had a flap missing. The pressure bar was a little tricky to reattach to the lever. You have to slide it in the barrel and position it just right so the grooves slot onto the lever.
Since the good nib is still stuck in the poorer section I decided to see what I could make of the bad nib. Here you can see the iridium ball missing from the left tine.
DSC01227 by 1891CxelA, on Flickr
I snipped off the remaining ball (crosses legs) and flattened the tip with a small file (crosses legs tighter). Once I fitted it back into the pen I smoothed it further and did the corners with micro-mesh sheets. I tried to do this before with a Jinhao nib and I didn't get a very good result.
Gold is quite soft so I don't know how long this nib would last, but I suspect it will take me ages to wear it down since I have so many other pens to use and I don't write loads. All that will happen is the stub will get wider over time. I will probably put the good nib in it at the point it becomes unusable. I quite like it as a stub and it really does write nicely.
I ended up with this shape.
DSC01272 by 1891CxelA, on Flickr
DSC01269 by 1891CxelA, on Flickr
DSC01273 by 1891CxelA, on Flickr
Here's a couple of photos with my "new" vintage Pelikan ink bottle. It's a much more sensible design than the Parker bottles as you can always get the last bit of ink because the crook in the neck forms a little reservoir and it has a nice hand made look to it with bubbles in the glass.
DSC01243 by 1891CxelA, on Flickr
DSC01265 by 1891CxelA, on Flickr
Since the good nib is still stuck in the poorer section I decided to see what I could make of the bad nib. Here you can see the iridium ball missing from the left tine.
DSC01227 by 1891CxelA, on FlickrI snipped off the remaining ball (crosses legs) and flattened the tip with a small file (crosses legs tighter). Once I fitted it back into the pen I smoothed it further and did the corners with micro-mesh sheets. I tried to do this before with a Jinhao nib and I didn't get a very good result.
Gold is quite soft so I don't know how long this nib would last, but I suspect it will take me ages to wear it down since I have so many other pens to use and I don't write loads. All that will happen is the stub will get wider over time. I will probably put the good nib in it at the point it becomes unusable. I quite like it as a stub and it really does write nicely.
I ended up with this shape.
DSC01272 by 1891CxelA, on FlickrDSC01269 by 1891CxelA, on FlickrDSC01273 by 1891CxelA, on FlickrHere's a couple of photos with my "new" vintage Pelikan ink bottle. It's a much more sensible design than the Parker bottles as you can always get the last bit of ink because the crook in the neck forms a little reservoir and it has a nice hand made look to it with bubbles in the glass.
DSC01243 by 1891CxelA, on FlickrDSC01265 by 1891CxelA, on FlickrThats fantastic, really nice job. The Waterman looks like new.
I dont think you have anything to worry about with regards to wear on the gold nib, the ink works like a lubricant minimising wear and tear.
Is there some flex to the nib?
And what to do with the good nib stuck in the brown section, can it be knocked through with an old drill bit perhaps?
I dont think you have anything to worry about with regards to wear on the gold nib, the ink works like a lubricant minimising wear and tear.
Is there some flex to the nib?
And what to do with the good nib stuck in the brown section, can it be knocked through with an old drill bit perhaps?
Edited by Robbo 27 on Sunday 21st May 21:05
Robbo 27 said:
Thats fantastic, really nice job. The Waterman looks like new.
I dont think you have anything to worry about with regards to wear on the gold nib, the ink works like a lubricant minimising wear and tear.
Is there some flex to the nib?
And what to do with the good nib stuck in the brown section, can it be knocked through with an old drill bit perhaps? I bought some silicon aerosol spray recently which works like a penetrating oil but has no effect on plastics or hard rubbe, something like that might work.
It flexes, but you cant really get a much wider line before I tramlines. It might wear out quicker if I press harder. I dont think you have anything to worry about with regards to wear on the gold nib, the ink works like a lubricant minimising wear and tear.
Is there some flex to the nib?
And what to do with the good nib stuck in the brown section, can it be knocked through with an old drill bit perhaps? I bought some silicon aerosol spray recently which works like a penetrating oil but has no effect on plastics or hard rubbe, something like that might work.
I think I've got some of silicon spray actually. I bought it to spray into a crackly dial on an old hifi. I was thinking that I may just embrace the brown. It could look quite good with a matt finish.
There was a bit of brassing on the tip of the clip, but I've polished it up and waxed it afterwards and it's really hard to see the brassing now. I'm hoping that the wax will stop it tarnishing.
ClockworkCupcake said:
Really good work on the nib, Alex. That looks brilliant. 
I love how the bottle can also be used as a pen rest. What an interesting design!
If they put a bit more thought into the design it could have been made to work like this. It's only balanced in the picture. I should design my own with a reservoir and pen rest built in. Patent it and sell for millions! I don't suppose it would cost much more to make than a normal bottle.I love how the bottle can also be used as a pen rest. What an interesting design!
DSC01263 by 1891CxelA, on FlickrEdited by AlexC1981 on Sunday 21st May 15:35
'I think I've got some of silicon spray actually. I bought it to spray into a crackly dial on an old hifi. I was thinking that I may just embrace the brown. It could look quite good with a matt finish.
There was a bit of brassing on the tip of the clip, but I've polished it up and waxed it afterwards and it's really hard to see the brassing now. I'm hoping that the wax will stop it tarnishing.'
If the tarnishing comes back then it can be fixed with a thin coat of clear nail varnish.
Very impressive restoration, as good as you will find anywhere.
BTW there is a very specialist repair service for nibs, really only worthwhile if you ahve something exceptional that cannot be replaced, what this man achieves is remarkable:
https://www.nibs.com/content/nib-repairs-after
There was a bit of brassing on the tip of the clip, but I've polished it up and waxed it afterwards and it's really hard to see the brassing now. I'm hoping that the wax will stop it tarnishing.'
If the tarnishing comes back then it can be fixed with a thin coat of clear nail varnish.
Very impressive restoration, as good as you will find anywhere.
BTW there is a very specialist repair service for nibs, really only worthwhile if you ahve something exceptional that cannot be replaced, what this man achieves is remarkable:
https://www.nibs.com/content/nib-repairs-after
Edited by Robbo 27 on Sunday 21st May 21:06
Snails said:
Does anybody the rough value of a Sheaffer Imperial Sovereign, with gold filled cap and body?
If it is perfect, around £60- 80 on ebay, perhaps £85 if you have the original box and instructions or it has an unusual nib such as an oblique or a very broad nib. Ebay is difficult to judge at the moment, pen prices are high for good makes in perfect condition,You might get a little bit more, net to you, if you sell to a dealer. You also wont have the hassle of dealing with some ebay buyers who may not be quite as straightforward as you might wish.
Edited by Robbo 27 on Sunday 21st May 18:37
Robbo 27 said:
You might get a little bit more, net to you, if you sell to a dealer. You also wont have the hassle of dealing with some ebay buyers who may not be quite as starightforward as you might wish.
Indeed. Don't forget that when selling on eBay you'll lose around 13% of the gross sale price (including postage) in eBay and PayPal fees. So you could sell to a dealer for 10% less than you'd get selling it on eBay and still be better off. 
That nib looks perfect, and yes you need the 1000, and the 600.
Do you know about the Pelikan Hubs?
https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US.CMS.dis...
Do you know about the Pelikan Hubs?
https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US.CMS.dis...
Robbo 27 said:
That nib looks perfect, and yes you need the 1000, and the 600.
Do you know about the Pelikan Hubs?
https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US.CMS.dis...
No, I haven't heard of that but I don't think that's my kind of thing- I'll just stick to the car meets Do you know about the Pelikan Hubs?
https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US.CMS.dis...
but thanks anyway!
I've ordered ink samples of Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine and Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-Ro as a replacement for Sailor's Yama-Dori. Yama-Dori is a beautiful colour and it works fine on cheaper paper, but when writing on Clairfontaine Triumph paper (like the paper above), the ink gets ever-so-slightly smudged even when the ink is dry. For example, if I have a hot/slightly clammy hand, my left palm blots the ink slightly and makes little faint ink dots over the paper (hard to describe). I think it's because of the sheer saturated wetness of the ink.
Your handwriting has improved considerably, perhaps due to a combination of nib, practice and concentration?
Really attractive combination of ink and pen, hoping you can post some pics of the ink samples. I am stuck in a rut with blacks, greys and MB Blue hour, your choice of inks is making me think again.
Really attractive combination of ink and pen, hoping you can post some pics of the ink samples. I am stuck in a rut with blacks, greys and MB Blue hour, your choice of inks is making me think again.
Seeing Prohibiting's work reminds me to spend less time working on new pens and actually do a bit more writing. I suppose practising with only one or two pens helps too. I had seven fountain pens in my bag today and only one of them had ink left in it!
Thanks guys. Yes, this thread should be just as much about using a pen for its main purpose- writing! 
Regarding my handwriting, I actually haven't wrote much in the past 2 weeks and if you look at my first picture posted today at approx. 11:00 with the teal ink and then compare it to the picture posted this evening with the orangey ink, I think you'll all be able to agree that the second picture with the orangey ink looks a lot more free flowing and neater. That improvement came with an hours writing.
What I've found is that if you don't write much for just a couple of weeks, it's still long enough for your neatness to drop but it will only take 30 mins of concentrated writing to get back into the feel of it.
I have 75 thank you notes which I am personally hand writing (I got married last month) so today I wrote about 8 A5 sized letters just like above in an hour and my handwriting neatness really tidied up after the first 2 to produce the style like in the picture above.
Oh, move away from the plain blacks and blues! That's no fun! You'll enjoy it even more when trying interesting colours. Even a nice teal makes an interesting suitable alternative from blue/black.
Regarding my handwriting, I actually haven't wrote much in the past 2 weeks and if you look at my first picture posted today at approx. 11:00 with the teal ink and then compare it to the picture posted this evening with the orangey ink, I think you'll all be able to agree that the second picture with the orangey ink looks a lot more free flowing and neater. That improvement came with an hours writing.
What I've found is that if you don't write much for just a couple of weeks, it's still long enough for your neatness to drop but it will only take 30 mins of concentrated writing to get back into the feel of it.
I have 75 thank you notes which I am personally hand writing (I got married last month) so today I wrote about 8 A5 sized letters just like above in an hour and my handwriting neatness really tidied up after the first 2 to produce the style like in the picture above.
Oh, move away from the plain blacks and blues! That's no fun! You'll enjoy it even more when trying interesting colours. Even a nice teal makes an interesting suitable alternative from blue/black.
For those who are interested in repairing/restoring old pens there is some good advice from Steph at Grandmia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecaDAYHfdUw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecaDAYHfdUw
My latest acquisition, a Pilot Prera (in medium) arrived late last week. Not my pic, but looks like this one:
It's fairly short, so needs to be used posted, but it's really quite nice. It has the same nib and feed as a Pilot Cocoon/MR (which is a very good thing), but a thicker section with no step up to the barrel. The cap has a very satisfying snap close action, which gives it a high quality feel.
I'd highly recommend it as an alternative to a Lamy Safari. Got mine from Rakuten.
It's fairly short, so needs to be used posted, but it's really quite nice. It has the same nib and feed as a Pilot Cocoon/MR (which is a very good thing), but a thicker section with no step up to the barrel. The cap has a very satisfying snap close action, which gives it a high quality feel.
I'd highly recommend it as an alternative to a Lamy Safari. Got mine from Rakuten.
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