Thanks for sharing your craft. Can't imagine how long it took you to become competent at this. So much for me whipping out the Dremel tool and grinding nibs in my garage.!
So this is what you look like! You did a Mont Blanc 146 for me almost 20 years ago. Best pen in my collection, a very sharp, silky writing cursive italic. Thanks a lot!
This is exciting. I read John Mottishaw, and wondered why that name sounds familiar. Then I realized you just replaced my Nakaya nib and wrote me a nice little note, saying you "hope it will do the trick". Yes, it does! I'm loving it. Got a lovely Pelikan limited edition metal stripe 815 from you guys as well, which I loved right out of the box! Thank you for all your help.
I have a Pelikan Model 800 that I bought from a woman who had severely abused it. I swear this is a true story -- it was given to her by a fellow she didn't much care for apparently, so she took out her hostility on the pen. She had broken off the clip and bashed the nib until it was all curled up on itself. The barrel was missing the piston as well. But still, it was a Model 800 and I'd paid next to nothing for it. Well, I did my best to try and straighten that nib, burnishing it as best I could to remove the ripples. It ended up writing pretty well, but just looke bad. So I contacted Pelikan, asking if I could buy parts. The fellow I talked to asked if I was aware that Pelikan had a lifetime warranty on their pens, to which I said, "No, but I didn't buy it new." He kind of made a few noises then said it would be okay and that I should just send the pen in. He also explained that the piston section didn't come separate from the barrel. And he asked which color I preferred. Well the pen was green, but honestly I preferred blue, so I told him. And I sent the pen off. A few weeks later, I got back in the mail a brand new Model 800. I think I'd paid $10 for the one that woman had busted up. So that's my story, but what interests me so much about this video of John's is that he shows how he alters a nib. The one I have that doesn't look so hot, but writes okay is just a plain medium nib. But I would really like to have the exact same nib he makes in this video. When the pen was returned to me, it came with both the new nib and the old one. So I have this spare nib that's really practice material and which I will use to see if I can duplicate what John has done. I've contoured nibs, but I was just winging it, not having any sort of reference to work with. But I did okay, I suppose. I've made italics and even oblique stubs, and most came out pretty well. There's one I made that's always a bit catchy depending on the angle and now that I've watched this video I think I know how to take care of that catchiness. I don't have the sort of equipment that John does, but I make do with what I have. What I used to have was a grinder with a very fine wheel to provide the initial shape, then I used wet or dry sandpaper in grits running from 400 to 1600 for the final shaping and polishing. I sold the grinder years ago so now I just use some diamond hones I have for knife sharpening for the initial shaping and then the wet or dry sandpaper for the final shaping and polishing. When I'm using the wet or dry sandpaper I like to have a puddle of water, initially, on the paper when I'm working the nib. Wet or dry sandpaper seems to work better wet with metal. When I'm getting to the final stages of polishing, I switch from water to ink. This gives me some visual indication of how I'm doing, and I also test the nib with ink on a sheet of paper as I'm doing all this. It takes quite a while using my method, but in the end it has worked out to my satisfaction with several vintage nibs. I've brought a couple back from the grave, that had a broken tine, for example. I just ground the nib down until the two tines were of equal length and then proceeded to make italic or oblique nibs from them. It's really a pleasure getting to watch John Mottishaw, without question one of the world's greatest nibsmen, at work. I look forward to watching his other videos.
This is such a brilliant video, but oh, goodness me, I so wish a professional camera operator had been used!! The endless zooming, permanently hunting auto-focus and extreme camera shake drove me nuts and I even started to feel travel sick watching it! I hope one day you might be persuaded to remake this, because the content is fascinating.
WOW!!! it was fascinating to watch your entire process. I have a Spencerian customized nib from you on my Pilot Falcon. I purchased a Pelikan M805 last October as a graduation present to myself upon completing my masters degree. I think I will be asking Santa for a cursive italic nib for my Pelikan. Thank you 🙏🏽.
Love these videos, fantastic amount of info and well presented, paced and spoken also very good sound. Love your style. I have been collecting and using fountain pens for 50 years but it’s clear you know more than I ever will. You are “the” Master and I hate to be critical......However, man you gotta work on the framing and focusing. Please. Also get a tripod please. I hate missing out on your teachings just because I can’t always see stuff. Thanks
Very illuminating. I was wondering what the correct tilt angle is? If we were to equate a nib to a plane what angle would be the correct one? ------- is 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock the correct angle?
Your polishing material and stones, do they leave suspended particles behind that enter the feed or the nib in some way? I know you "floss" but have you experienced flow of substance into the feed or barrel that causes issues with flow?
I am facinate by the amount of tipping material that you remove correct me if I am wrong but it appears that at least half of the tipping material if not more is removed in profiling that nib. Additionally what sort of abrasive are you using when "flossing" the nib after profiling it?
John, I have watched this maybe a dozen times over the last couple of years and just noticed something. I sent you a message via facebook. If you might have a moment to check for the message and reply as time permits I would greatly appreciate it.
This is my biggest concern about nib customization, also, David. When I asked this question of nibs.com's customer service via email, they (not John, a representative) didn't seem to be aware that most high end nibs have an iridium tip, and that custom grinding could, from my lay perspective, remove this and expose the much softer gold to the writing surface, thus drastically reducing the lifespan of the nib, if it is actually used a fair amount. I didn't push the matter further when I couldn't get a good response from them, though I'm sure John himself, master as he is, would have a precise answer. I'm just hoping that there is enough iridium left behind to keep the writing surface preserved, as I have a cursive italic grind by Mr. Mottishaw on my Sailor 1911 Realo and it does yield a beautiful ribbon-like effect.
The problem with this profession for me is that I would love nothing more than to do it, but the perfectionist in me would never complete a damn job until there was nothing left and I had to buy a replacement pen for the customer. lol
Usually these units have a control and output valve of some sort, that makes the flow higher or lower. I have one for my lathe that I use for cutting metal, and it has a foot pedal I can use to control the flow of lubricant.
John Mottishaw improved the ink flow of the nib slightly, by grabbing the wings of the nib with his thumb and placing his index finger on the face of the nib and slightly spreading (bending) the tines of the nib just slightly a somewhat better demonstration on this can be scene in the video done by TWSBI I think sbrebrown also demonstrates that in one of his videos and well.
bradhorn14 Chris Jung was not referring to the flow of water \ coolant of John Mottishaw grinding wheel but rather to ink flow of the nib (note the timestamp reference of 9:13 John is test writing with the pen.
A nib master makes a day of many pen lovers. Very informative video on pen tuning
Thanks for sharing your craft. Can't imagine how long it took you to become competent at this. So much for me whipping out the Dremel tool and grinding nibs in my garage.!
So this is what you look like! You did a Mont Blanc 146 for me almost 20 years ago. Best pen in my collection, a very sharp, silky writing cursive italic. Thanks a lot!
This is exciting. I read John Mottishaw, and wondered why that name sounds familiar. Then I realized you just replaced my Nakaya nib and wrote me a nice little note, saying you "hope it will do the trick". Yes, it does! I'm loving it. Got a lovely Pelikan limited edition metal stripe 815 from you guys as well, which I loved right out of the box! Thank you for all your help.
So many years ago, and yet still applicable. Even more more so it seems. Thanks.
I have a Pelikan Model 800 that I bought from a woman who had severely abused it. I swear this is a true story -- it was given to her by a fellow she didn't much care for apparently, so she took out her hostility on the pen. She had broken off the clip and bashed the nib until it was all curled up on itself. The barrel was missing the piston as well. But still, it was a Model 800 and I'd paid next to nothing for it. Well, I did my best to try and straighten that nib, burnishing it as best I could to remove the ripples. It ended up writing pretty well, but just looke bad. So I contacted Pelikan, asking if I could buy parts. The fellow I talked to asked if I was aware that Pelikan had a lifetime warranty on their pens, to which I said, "No, but I didn't buy it new." He kind of made a few noises then said it would be okay and that I should just send the pen in. He also explained that the piston section didn't come separate from the barrel. And he asked which color I preferred. Well the pen was green, but honestly I preferred blue, so I told him. And I sent the pen off. A few weeks later, I got back in the mail a brand new Model 800. I think I'd paid $10 for the one that woman had busted up.
So that's my story, but what interests me so much about this video of John's is that he shows how he alters a nib. The one I have that doesn't look so hot, but writes okay is just a plain medium nib. But I would really like to have the exact same nib he makes in this video. When the pen was returned to me, it came with both the new nib and the old one. So I have this spare nib that's really practice material and which I will use to see if I can duplicate what John has done.
I've contoured nibs, but I was just winging it, not having any sort of reference to work with. But I did okay, I suppose. I've made italics and even oblique stubs, and most came out pretty well. There's one I made that's always a bit catchy depending on the angle and now that I've watched this video I think I know how to take care of that catchiness. I don't have the sort of equipment that John does, but I make do with what I have. What I used to have was a grinder with a very fine wheel to provide the initial shape, then I used wet or dry sandpaper in grits running from 400 to 1600 for the final shaping and polishing. I sold the grinder years ago so now I just use some diamond hones I have for knife sharpening for the initial shaping and then the wet or dry sandpaper for the final shaping and polishing. When I'm using the wet or dry sandpaper I like to have a puddle of water, initially, on the paper when I'm working the nib. Wet or dry sandpaper seems to work better wet with metal. When I'm getting to the final stages of polishing, I switch from water to ink. This gives me some visual indication of how I'm doing, and I also test the nib with ink on a sheet of paper as I'm doing all this. It takes quite a while using my method, but in the end it has worked out to my satisfaction with several vintage nibs. I've brought a couple back from the grave, that had a broken tine, for example. I just ground the nib down until the two tines were of equal length and then proceeded to make italic or oblique nibs from them.
It's really a pleasure getting to watch John Mottishaw, without question one of the world's greatest nibsmen, at work. I look forward to watching his other videos.
Lovely to watch a professional at work!
You hear a lot about grinding a nib, but it’s very informative to see a master work his magic.
Good video.
Amazing! You got to have nerves of steel to do this!
BBC or CNN should make a documentary about nib masters !!
Great video - I will watch it a few more times 👍
This is what a master nib restorer looks like, friends!
The master at his work. He is the best.
This is such a brilliant video, but oh, goodness me, I so wish a professional camera operator had been used!! The endless zooming, permanently hunting auto-focus and extreme camera shake drove me nuts and I even started to feel travel sick watching it!
I hope one day you might be persuaded to remake this, because the content is fascinating.
WOW!!! it was fascinating to watch your entire process. I have a Spencerian customized nib from you on my Pilot Falcon. I purchased a Pelikan M805 last October as a graduation present to myself upon completing my masters degree. I think I will be asking Santa for a cursive italic nib for my Pelikan. Thank you 🙏🏽.
Excellent, and I'd love to have a nib tuned the same way.
It's a pleasure to see you work. Greetings from Spain.
Love these videos, fantastic amount of info and well presented, paced and spoken also very good sound. Love your style. I have been collecting and using fountain pens for 50 years but it’s clear you know more than I ever will. You are “the” Master and I hate to be critical......However, man you gotta work on the framing and focusing. Please. Also get a tripod please. I hate missing out on your teachings just because I can’t always see stuff. Thanks
nice to see you work
Brilliant! !! Oh what I'd give to learn at your elbow! Thank you to your camera woman lol, and to you for sharing your knowledge and expertise
thanks for the video. I have three fountain pens in need of repair. you'll see them soon :D
A master at work!
Very illuminating. I was wondering what the correct tilt angle is? If we were to equate a nib to a plane what angle would be the correct one? ------- is 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock the correct angle?
I would love a drawing diagram of the stages and angles of 1st cut..
Your polishing material and stones, do they leave suspended particles behind that enter the feed or the nib in some way? I know you "floss" but have you experienced flow of substance into the feed or barrel that causes issues with flow?
I am facinate by the amount of tipping material that you remove correct me if I am wrong but it appears that at least half of the tipping material if not more is removed in profiling that nib. Additionally what sort of abrasive are you using when "flossing" the nib after profiling it?
Fascinating!
I just sent you guys my Pelikan. Don't mess it up! lol
Nice work. Amazing ink, is it Pelikan Edelstein jade green or adventurine green?
Anyone know what type of grinding wheels John is using?
John, I have watched this maybe a dozen times over the last couple of years and just noticed something. I sent you a message via facebook. If you might have a moment to check for the message and reply as time permits I would greatly appreciate it.
awesome !
What do you do about the tipping material? It looked like you ground it all off, but I may be not seeing it right.
This is my biggest concern about nib customization, also, David. When I asked this question of nibs.com's customer service via email, they (not John, a representative) didn't seem to be aware that most high end nibs have an iridium tip, and that custom grinding could, from my lay perspective, remove this and expose the much softer gold to the writing surface, thus drastically reducing the lifespan of the nib, if it is actually used a fair amount. I didn't push the matter further when I couldn't get a good response from them, though I'm sure John himself, master as he is, would have a precise answer. I'm just hoping that there is enough iridium left behind to keep the writing surface preserved, as I have a cursive italic grind by Mr. Mottishaw on my Sailor 1911 Realo and it does yield a beautiful ribbon-like effect.
He absolutely left tipping material, he reduced it and changed the shape.
Thank YOU..GREAT
Extreme sklls.
Great work
I hope that vaccuum leads to a bucket, so that you collect everything you grind off.
Surely that would be worth loads after a while, haha!
I don't think the tipping material is actually worth that much
@@glumfish6862 depends on what the tipping material is.
@@Alsry1 Even if it was gold, the cost of refining it probably isn’t worth it compared to its value.
@@glumfish6862 you’d be surprised how easy it is to refine metals.
@@Alsry1 sure but I don’t think it would be that cost effective.
I'd send my Lamy 2000 your way if you weren't a continent away XD
The problem with this profession for me is that I would love nothing more than to do it, but the perfectionist in me would never complete a damn job until there was nothing left and I had to buy a replacement pen for the customer. lol
How did he make the flow wetter right at 9:13??
Usually these units have a control and output valve of some sort, that makes the flow higher or lower. I have one for my lathe that I use for cutting metal, and it has a foot pedal I can use to control the flow of lubricant.
John Mottishaw improved the ink flow of the nib slightly, by grabbing the wings of the nib with his thumb and placing his index finger on the face of the nib and slightly spreading (bending) the tines of the nib just slightly a somewhat better demonstration on this can be scene in the video done by TWSBI I think sbrebrown also demonstrates that in one of his videos and well.
bradhorn14 Chris Jung was not referring to the flow of water \ coolant of John Mottishaw grinding wheel but rather to ink flow of the nib (note the timestamp reference of 9:13 John is test writing with the pen.
And that's how you ruin a perfectly good pen.