Nib Tuning: Smoothing a Steel Pilot Italic Nib
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2020
- This is a M Pilot Plumix nib, sometimes called a CM ("calligraphy medium") nib or sometimes simply "broad" in other Pilot models. Some retailers call this nib a "stub", but in my experience, it's too crisp to be called that. Sometimes, it writes like a cursive italic, but sometimes you'll get one that's almost a full-on crisp italic or something in between the two. Smoothing a broad edged nib (italic, cursive italic, etc.) is different from smoothing a "regular" round-tipped nib. So I thought I'd show what I've learned from both grinding and tuning such nibs.
The nib is in a Paili 013 vac filler (same pen as the Wing Sung 3013 under different branding).
My video about this pen-nib combo: • Cheap FrankenPen Thril...
Ink used in this video: Noodler's Army Green www.gouletpens.com/products/n...
Paper: Kokuyo Edge Title Twin Ring Notebook
Excellent performance with fountain pens, a bit toothier than Rhodia but still shows shading and sheen well. www.jetpens.com/Kokuyo-Twin-R...
I don't recall where exactly I bought the micromesh, but it or similar packs of different grades of mesh are available all over sites like Amazon and eBay.
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MUSIC CREDITS
J. S. Bach Aria variata in A minor, BWV 989
Performed by Brendan Kinsella
This recording is in the public domain.
Source: musopen.org/music/4106-aria-v...
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All of my videos are non-commercial, uncompensated musings. If I seem eager to link to vendors and brands, it's because the fountain pen world is a niche industry, and I want to support people and companies that have made products and provided services I enjoy.
Find me:
on Instagram: / the_hardcore_dilettante
on Twitter: / hcoredilettante 
Хобби
Music is too loud; I can't hear the sounds of the nib to paper after you work it over on the grit paper!
This really helped me. I have successfully tuned two hard-starting Italic nibs on the basis of this video. I also enjoy the musical background.
I'm so glad it was helpful! Thanks so much for letting me know.
such a relaxing background music and great video Thanks for sharing
Very well explained tutorial.
Thanks you.
Awesome tutorial, This is my start when I sharpen nibs.
I smooth them down following your instruction.
Thank you ever so much!
I'm glad it's helpful!
Very nice tutorial. Thanks for sharing.
This is exactly what I needed. I really like my Plumix nib, but I would like to smooth it out. Thank you for posting.
would've preferred if the music wasn't playing
You have nice videos. Keep up the good work.
really great, thanks alot
well done, and thank you for the work. i'm going to try this on my twsbi eco 1.1 stub, i doubt i could make it any worse lol.
Great video.
I hope you to check that the tines of the nibs are aligned first . Otherwise you can ruin the nib of the pen. I have ruined round tipped extra fine Pilot Penmanship nibs by using too aggressive lower grit rough sand papers and turned then into stubs. Had to smooth out the pen like you did but ended up giving the pen away.
Thanks for this. I randomly encountered this video, but at the moment have two of the identical Pilot CM nibs in front of me. One of them in a Metropolitan, which is VERY smooth, writes really nice, but the Metropolitan itself tends to dry out quickly. I use pens often, but rotate to 5 or 6, so it happens that one isn't used for about a week. The Metropolitan doesn't like that.
My other CM is in a Wing Sung 698, which is a decent pen overall, but it seems much, much dryer than the one in pilot. It's also nowhere near as smooth. If it would be my first CM nib, I would have given up on it, but since I have two and test them side by side, I can tell that the second isn't right.
Based on this, I will find some micromesh and maybe take a look at the feeds to look at wetness differences. I also use different inks in them, so that could be a cause.
Additional question, do you purposely do this inked to help the smoothing, or is it just for convenience?
Out of all of them which grid sizes do you recommend to own as a minimum for fountain pen enthusiasts? Working mostly with cheap steel nibs here...
The ink can definitely make a difference! To answer your question, I do this inked for both reasons: because it does help to have the liquid there to lubricate the process AND it's important to be able to test the smoothness with a working, inked pen at many points during the process.
Re: grit sizes, it really depends on how much modification you plan to be doing. For smoothing only, I think 4000-8000 is fine. I go up to 12000 or mylar lapping film if I want a more glassy finish (8000 is smooth but with feedback, which I often prefer). If micromesh is hard to come by, nail buffers work as well. They can be bought in sets in the drugstore, usually ranging from very rough all the way to a very fine grit used to put a shine on the nails. When I first started doing this, I used a 7-surface nail buffer, and I mostly only used the three smoothest surfaces.
What are the odds? I have just received a couple of pilot plumix that are cool but a bit sharp on the horizontal stroke, it feels as if I’m going to shave the paper... will try your technique! Thank you
I hope it helps!
It's impossible to get those nibs to the point where they don't scratch at all because they have no tipping. They often feel a little better if you don't go finer than the 6000 micro-mesh, because the feedback helps to blend in the scratchiness.
Mine doesn't scratch. Tipping increases longevity of the nib and has an effect on the quality of the feedback, but it has little to do with smoothness, which is all down to the shape of the surfaces that hit the paper. Note that Jowo stubs, which are untipped, can be extremely smooth. The Pilot broad edge nibs are much more cursive italics, not stubs, IMO. I was trying to retain some of that crispness of contrast and not go all the way over into stub territory. That means it's not a buttery experience, but that wasn't my priority. While I can feel when the nib deviates from the ideal angle to the page, it doesn't *scratch*.
Remember that it's important to adjust a nib for a user's particular hand/writing angle/etc. If someone else were to use my pen, it might not feel as pleasant, but for me, there's no scratching or catching, even when the nib angle is off.
Re: grit
I find 6000 is too rough. I personally prefer 8000 for tipped nibs, but for this one, going to 12000 produced a better feel. While there are rules of thumb, in the end, adjusting nibs is all about what works for individual nibs for individual users, and the process is slightly different every time.
@@TheHardcoreDilettante I have one of these nibs on a Pilot 78g. I have also rounded the edges to make it more cursive. My impression that it is still scratchy may be because I prefer stubs to italics. I'm currently taking a break from trying to turn a medium Jinhao nib from round to stub-like. For some reason I always end up creating and architect grind.
I'm not new to nib turning an re-grinding and have been occasionally very successful. I remember totally destroying the first few pens I worked on. Luckily they were purchase for the purpose and were only £1 each.
Have fun!
Very nice tutorial, I'll try it! Thank you :-)
What ink are you using in the video? You have beautiful writing.
Thank you! The ink is Noodler's Army Green, an old bottle from 2014? 2015? I believe it's gone through a couple formula changes since then.
The 12000 is the rougher?
The higher the grit number, the smoother the result. So 12000 is smoother than 8000.
How much time does it take usually to well tuning a pen to feel smooth?
@@stathkon Not long. A few minutes at most. If it takes longer, then the issue is most likely not with the tipping, and/or it's a problem that surface smoothing is not going to solve. For example, scratchiness from a misaligned nib will not be solved with smoothing unless you smooth it so much you essentially deform the nib. Also, with some flexible nibs, you may need to pay attention to the edges of the tipping inside the nib slit, but it's very tricky to do that and not make the nib difficult to realign and not take off too much so that you end up with baby bottom issue. Another example: very malformed tipping may need some actual grinding to reshape it more drastically. Also, a nib that feels draggy because it's dry may not benefit much from smoothing but instead needs the ink flow adjusted.
@@TheHardcoreDilettante i see! Very useful informations! Some guys in here though like Douglas dau that sometimes smoothing maybe take about 15 minutes
the background music is too high!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!