Tuning And Smoothing A Fountain Pen Nib

[@Equinox051256]

As someone who has recently gotten back into fountain pen collecting, I want you to know how much I appreciate your channel. I have learned so much from watching it over the past three months. I'm able to adjust or align nibs, smooth the scratchiness of some nibs, make pens, wetter/dryer, understand what "feedback" means. Your method for delivering this information makes things so easy to understand and put into practice. Keep up the outstanding "work" and thanks again for everything you do to help pen enthusiasts such as myself.

[@Doodlebud]

Glad to know my vids have helped out. I just do them to share what I've learned in the hopes it will help someone somewhere 👍

[@johnlopez3996]

Let the good tines roll. You have a special gift when it comes to working with fountain pens.

[@Doodlebud]

I think the "gift" is just patience 😉. It's easy to get frustrated when adjusting nibs

[@michaelsimon4034]

I appreciate the amount of detail you provided. I knew the basics, but being able to see each step up close is a big help.

[@Doodlebud]

Glad it helped you out

[@juanvielma7817]

The whispers on the microscope shot is the best part, I love this videos ♥️🐢💨

[@sathishrao7926]

Thanks to the renowned Nib-smith/Grinder in the KZbin world for having listened to us ! I’ve a Parker 45 (semi hooded nib) which is a little too scratchy and ‘fine’ for my liking and a Sheaffer Targa (Inlaid nib) whose tines need alignment.. It’s time to roll up my sleeves and get to work ! I see that I can get the loop magnifier, but struggling to get those micro-meshes with different grits here in India ( where Mango chutneys are more easily available ) !

[@Doodlebud]

I have used the a finger nail buffing bad in the past and they work not too bad. Smoothing is the very last step to do if needed at all. I spent 30min back & forth on my MB 24 to get it just right & didn't need to use the micromesh pads. Was just about adjusting the gap & tines. I try to do everything before I get the buffing pads out.

[@davidpsimon4257]

It’s Danube, like the river in Germany, but I came for your awesome videos, so you can say it any way want.

[@kevinu.k.7042]

A superb video. You are clearly the real deal. At last someone else using feeler gauges. So much better than a sheet of copper or brass with unspecified width. As you know they also enable one to work upwards in increments. Bravo! I put this idea out on a well known pen forum and got lot's of holes shot in my pants seat. LOL (Feller gauges have always been my natural option having been a mechanic.)

[@Doodlebud]

Some are concerned about scratching or damaging the nib. You can, if you don't know how to properly use feeler guages. Brass ones are good if you buy a pack of them & they are labelled with each individual thickness. But still need to know how to use them as they are softer are more prone to deformation & wrinkling. As with any tool, have to know how to use it properly

[@oleleclos]

Many thanks - this is a great video with really useful tips. I started with some cheap Chinese pens and ended up tuning and polishing my favourite, expensive pen which now writes better than ever (I like'm smooth just like you do). Wouldn't have dared do that without this inspiration and lots of practice.

[@Doodlebud]

Glad it was helpful!

[@xerxiusmaximus]

AS always, and as expected.... delightfully engaging, such a thrill and most informative. Love your content. And, please keep providing us, you loyals, with what you have so spoiled us.... Please, stay safe....

[@Doodlebud]

Good to hear you liked the vid 👍

[@gristlevonraben]

I use, at the last, firm, smooth leather. Your video is great. You are gonna help so many people. I hope you have a great day.

[@Doodlebud]

I have some strops for my razor & knife sharpening I've use as well to give a quick buff. They work great. Hope other find the vid helpful

[@pietrogiovanna]

Awesome video. Thank you for the details, very informative and great tips for tuning nibs!!

[@sunnycharacter]

I have not tried the Quink, but I can tell you the straight up shades of the Iroshizuku inks are so smooth and really help me determine the flow reliability of my nibs.

[@shellshock10]

Quink is a pretty noble ink, dries fast but im not a fan of the way it looks on an European EF, it makes it look really light blue, on my kaweco Fine it looks gorgeous.

[@sunnycharacter]

@@shellshock10 It's funny how difficult inks with some nibs can function so well on others, then throw paper into the mix to really confuse things. But it's fun figuring it out.

[@e.f.evelhoch4278]

Hey DB! Just used this vid to smooth out a Montblanc No 12, Kaweco Sport, and Pelikan 140. Like Buttah! Thanks

[@Doodlebud]

Hey good to hear you gave it a go and sorted it out. I was just thinking to do an updated version of just smoothing a nib

[@christopherpavkovich4995]

DOODLEBUD! I’ve just now started tuning some nibs. Haven’t ruined one yet. Yet. lol 😂

[@Doodlebud]

Good to hear!

[@queenbuzybee4074]

Wish me luck! I bought a Narwhal/Navalur with a nib that’s scratchy and writes like a dry . It’s disappointing because I read a lot about their in-house made nibs. I‘m going to try to get it right, I want it like „butta“. If all goes wrong, I‘ll get a Jowo or Bock. Thanks for the video - tutorials are always useful!

[@Doodlebud]

Good luck!

[@BuffaloNickel9]

Love Bock 180 Nibs! The five Bock Nibs, 4 Steel & One *Titanium* I've had are incredible performers! With the Titanium Bock Fine Nib being *"like butter"* smooth. No smoothing or adjustment needed over any of them!

[@StarKnightZ]

Is it better to do the adjustments with the pen already inked? Also I only have 12000 micro-mesh, is that sufficient for polishing scratchy nibs? How about removing a little nib tipping?

[@Doodlebud]

I like to adjust with the pen inked. I can make the fine adjustment, check on the paper and repeat. That way you find out instantly how it feels after each adjustment so its just how you want it now. Use an ink that is easy to wash off your fingers. Parker Quink washable blue is a favorite of mine since you can spill a whole bottle on your hand and it cleans up surprisingly well. 12K pad can polish a tip up, but wouldnt work to fix babies bottom for example. To fix babies bottom (depending how bad) you can do it with 4-6K. To really shape a tip you need coarser. You can see my setup in other videos when it comes to grinding a nib.

[@santauxia]

Great video. Thank you for the tip.

[@richardsimms251]

Very very useful video. RS

[@hameedn.b7004]

My favourite type of video

[@joefaracevideos]

Thanks Doodle; that was great.

[@Doodlebud]

😁👍

[@derekdavis5720]

Great video as always. Although I’m unlikely to try these techniques at home still useful information and very interesting

[@Doodlebud]

Using the micromesh can mess things up very quick if you're not totally sure of what you're doing. But many pens need just a slight tweak to the alignment or gap and takes just a couple min.

[@jeffroberts532]

How dare you tune a nib that way! Ha! Just kidding. Great video, love it when it's entertaining and educational.

[@Doodlebud]

Glad you enjoyed it buddy 👍

[@roderickfemm8799]

It looked like the gap was narrower in the middle of the slit than it was at the end, or was that an illusion caused by video circumstances? I've done these adjustments any number of times. Fingernails really are the best tools for so many nib adjustments.

[@Doodlebud]

Yup, very end was opened up more. Finger nail are great as they bend & have some give. I coukd have just rolled the very tip in the desk but I don't get as much feedback when I do it that way. Finger touch is perfect

[@gfodale]

Danube, is a river in Germany or Austria I believe. If you search a video on Danube River tours, they should give you the proper pronunciation. I appreciate the tip tuning tips. I'm going to try some old pens over again. Thanks.

[@AntonioBarba_TheKaneB]

I got a chinese pen that I like a lot, but it's a bit scratchy. I'll try your tips to see if I can make it smoother. If I fail, I can always buy more, since they are cheap

[@anguswhite8233]

Thanks for showing us the technique for making the tines closer together: what is the technique if the tines are a bit pinched?(too close together); thanks for your last two vid’s: they’ve helped a lot!:)

[@Doodlebud]

I have another video where I showed what I did for that as well. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHWyfqmEp7Wdf80

[@anguswhite8233]

@@Doodlebud you are a star!:); most of my nibs have been pretty much perfect out the box except, ironically, for my two 14k nibs from Pilot: both my Pilot Custom 823 ‘F’ and my Pilot Custom 74 ‘EF’ seem a bit pinched - I get so little practice adjusting nibs am slightly uneasy starting on two relatively expensive pens!:(

[@Doodlebud]

Yeah I would get some inexpensive pens to mess around with first. Get them writing too dry, then too wet, then just right. Get the tines out of alignment, then put them back into alignment. Maybe even bend it or something, the try to bring it back. Spending $10 on a few pens to sacrifice and practice on can save you a bunch of sending pens off to get fixed, let alone the frustration.

[@anguswhite8233]

@@Doodlebud ok, got the technique now: thanks:)

[@calanm7880]

Love your videos, learning tonnes - I never get to comment 1st haha. Hi from Scotland 👍

[@Doodlebud]

Haha there you go! First comment 🏆

[@MrCabimero]

Thanks very much. Would you mind sharing the brand of the micro mesh squares? I have tuned a few of mine and WOW what a difference. Some of my cheaper pens write better than the more expensive ones in the stable

[@Doodlebud]

This is the link for where I bought mine locally www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/supplies/sanding/discs-and-pads/62127-micro-mesh-pen-sanding-pads

[@nancymilawski1048]

@@Doodlebud Lee Valley Tools is my favourite store. 😀😀😀

[@dashsunil]

Very helpful video. I need to find that micromesh here. They are very difficult to find here. Only upto 2000 grid is available.

[@Doodlebud]

Before I got these pads I used finger nail buffing pads I got from the dollar store

[@vperalta]

I recently found your site and am loving it. I have gone through a bunch of your videos. I have a question about the springiness of nibs. If i were to adjust the tines as you show in this video, could with time the metal spring back to where it was before? If so, is there a way to make the adjustment permanent?

[@donnaellis3314]

Thank you for another thorough and informative video! I watch as few videos as possible on Pens unless I feel I can learn something or to research a pen I'm interested in. You're definitely one on my list. BTW, you've got to get some Brooklyn friends to learn how to say 'buttah' 😂

[@Doodlebud]

Lol, west coast folks don't know how to throw down the east cost lingo

[@davelester1985]

I would suggest that you use leather to finish off your polishing. Just like a barber shop....a piece of leather (hard not soft) and you stroke your pen nib across that to finish the polishing. This is how wood carvers sharpen their knives to the highest level. Try it and see the difference.

[@BuffaloNickel9]

Yep, It's called stropping. Not necessarily needed if he's finishing with super fine 12000 grit but you're not wrong.

[@therealjenso]

Thanks for doing this. Would your approach to tuning and smoothing be different for gold nibs?

[@Doodlebud]

It would be the same. But as I mentioned in the video, different nibs behave differently. So the pressure used & how far you move the tines are dependant on the nib itself

[@knowledgeos]

great

[@ichirofakename]

High quality, useful info, thanks. Two minor points: 1. The before and after close-ups of the nib looked the same to me. Who cares, the proof is in the writing. 2. Is duh-NUBE the correct pronunciation in Hungarian or something? I've only heard DAN-yoob.

[@Doodlebud]

There wasn't much it needed just a bit. Could notice it more on the underside of the nib as that's the writing surface. The pen colour is listed as Blue Danube, not sure on the pronunciation.

[@bettibriedad]

I'm an American and I lived in Hungary for 18 years and speak Hungarian. In the Hungarian language, the river is called the "Duna" (pronounced DO-nuh). Not sure about the origin of the word "Danube," but you're right, I've always heard it pronounced like you say, DAN-yoob. Maybe it's a Canadian English thing 🙂. Nothing major either way. This was an excellent and very useful video for adjusting nibs. Thank you, sir!

[@nancymilawski1048]

@@bettibriedad Johann Strauss Jr. wrote his wonderful waltz "On The Beautiful Blue Danube " so maybe it was a translation of some kind back then?? 😀😀

[@ikreer9777]

@@bettibriedad DAN-yoob is also the American English pronunciation. Why it differs from Hungarian I don't know.

[@MrCabimero]

Sir, if a pen is not writing as broad as you would like, would opening the tines solve that? I have a broad. nib that is more like a medium and want to have it write thicker. Thanks.

[@Doodlebud]

You can open the tines a little bit which will increase ink flow. It will be more wet but also a little wider as well. Just don't go too much, little adjustments

[@CatholicZola]

The question i have never asked of any of my pens............."can it mango chutney" 🥺

[@CatholicZola]

The mystery of Doodlebud has got me again

[@user-rp6db8qy3l]

Do you have a good video for smoothing out a medium? I have an Asvine 169 vacuum that is medium. Their nibs seem to have a hard start all the time. I am also a lefty which makes some scratchy with writing. It would be awesome if you have any tips or recommend I watch. Stubs and italics doesn’t work great for me as a lefty (we push vs pull) Thanks in advance - love your channel and your vibe

[@AshutoshKumar-zd3qg]

thanks didn't knew all of this... never knew there are grinding pads for nibs...

[@Thearcherfl]

Under normal writing condition, do you find this tuning to come undone? Do you tune every so often?

[@umutberk4588]

Can I use a 12000 grit sandpaper instead of micromesh pads? Just to smoothing it up a bit.

[@Doodlebud]

You can use that. Another cheap option is the nail buffers you can pick up from a dollar store as well

[@phunghuynh825]

Would you say a nib being smooth and a bit scratchy at the same time is caused by misalignment of tines , or may it be the particular nib ? I am quite new to fountain pen and dont have a magnifier loop to check. Mine is a Parker sonnet 18k medium. I opened the tines a bit, did some tine spreading as well to help with the hard start.

[@Doodlebud]

It's really tough to say without looking at the nib without a loop. You can get one pretty inexpensively & is a must to tune up a nib

[@phunghuynh825]

@@Doodlebud After I wrote the question, I had an idea and kinda did some test with my fingernail by running it back and forth on the under side of ball tip of the nib, if it catches one side of the tine , I think, it's the side that's misaligned. I bent it back and feel with my finger-nail again. It helped with my case, I thought I'd share with you.

[@Doodlebud]

Yup fingernail is a good check as well. Can be a bit tricky since the fingernail is rounded, but does work especially to feel for any sharp edges.

[@dr_ink7268]

Do these techniques work for tackling baby's bottom on the nib or are they different?

[@Doodlebud]

Baby's bottom is using the micromesh to reshape to remove the baby's bottom. Bit of a different technique

[@dr_ink7268]

@@Doodlebud would you be so kind to do a video demonstration please?

[@Doodlebud]

Next time I get a pen that has baby's bottom I will do a video for sure. There are several other vids on KZbin that give good instruction on how to fix it as well.

[@fraudgurupollkhol5931]

The two tines remind me of vulva which I never got

[@Shak-MD]

Great tutorial! Have you had trouble with losing the tipping material and having to work with the pen untipped?

[@Doodlebud]

When I grind I leave a little tipping material but it's ok if you don't on steel nibs. Stub nibs that you buy don't have tipping material at all. On gold nibs I always leave tipping left over

[@Shak-MD]

@@Doodlebud Like you, my second grind was a MB 149...I have the close up on my videos, let me know what you think. It was stressful, but I am very happy!

[@Doodlebud]

Awesome work! Yeah, you definitely turn up the focus when working on a pen like that. Good to hear you're please with how it writes now 🖋👍

[@ArjanD78]

I'm trying to tune a nib. It's VERY dry and VERY scratchy (picking up fibres) What width am I looking for in the slit? Metric of coarse, as the whole world should be using ;-)

[@Doodlebud]

I would aim for somewhere around 0.03mm to 0.038mm

[@ArjanD78]

@@Doodlebud Thank you

[@kuraicraft]

could u show us how you smoothed out the ahab? mine is quite scratchy but i'm not sure how to smooth it out

[@bipindra]

how to tune a extra Fine nib? Especially if it is scratchy.

[@Bomb0095]

Eyyyyyyyyyyy I’ve come this far with my pen hooby as well What to do with those pesky pens that look awesome but don’t write well. On top of that I’m left handed. I se that pens write some times best right handed. Believe me I’ve tried. I’m trying these methods first on my por writing, lamy Safari. If I feel confident enough, il give the pilot 95s a go. Because if I don’t fix them they won’t get used. Whis me luck. Thanks again to all those who publish there hobby on the tubes. Regards form Northern Norway:) brrrrrrrrr the weather is windy today. At least it’s not freezing outside

[@Doodlebud]

Hei, hvordan går det? Thanks for watching my video and hope it helps out. I have playlist with several videos on nib tuning, alignment, etc. Having nibs be out a bit is just part of using fountain pens. You'd be surprised how quickly you can fix up a pen once you become familiar with the process. Lykke Til!

[@highnoon9333]

I don't have any expensive pens but I'm so afraid of trying this on even my cheap ones. I just got a new special edition Pink Cliff Safari and it's surprisingly scratchy. I am so afraid to try this and make it even worse.

[@GlennKarlsenCurlyfied]

Im struggling with my Travelers Co pen being a slow starter. First up-stroke tends to be dry (no ink) and than it gets going. Any thought on what the issue might be?

[@mstipich1]

But how to reduce ink flow of Shaefer nib. It can not be removed.

[@Doodlebud]

Here's a video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWe3lXmfpdujd6s

[@mstipich1]

@@Doodlebud Thanks so much

[@bdog792]

Did you smooth your Pilot 823 nib...mine is a fine too and isn't as smooth as I thought it would be.

[@Doodlebud]

I did, mine wasn't as smooth as I wanted either

[@ridhwannasution5085]

I have an anxiety 🤣 everytime my pen must perfect . So i check them up one by one everyday to make sure everything is ok. But i had one pen that so hard to tune, it gives me anxiety and OVT. Help me, i just check the bby bttm, slit, etc but wthell the hard start makes me crazy

[@Doodlebud]

With the hard start maybe check the tine gap

[@ridhwannasution5085]

@@Doodlebud yes, im using cigarette paper to bend the nib to make the tines tighter

[@ridhwannasution5085]

@@Doodlebud its just work perfectly now, i dont know why yesterday and a week ago i cannot doing well for this

[@Rgc571]

What microscope are you using?

[@Doodlebud]

If you look up USB Microscope on Amazon, it will be one of the recommended ones. They're ll the same other than colour of the packaging

[@TheDormousesDesk]

Where do you get your micromesh?

[@Doodlebud]

Here's a link to a local place I use but can find them many places www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/supplies/sanding/discs-and-pads/62127-micro-mesh-pen-sanding-pads

[@estycki]

I broke my pen lol… it’s okay it was a preppy not a big loss

[@mangeshbhise98]

Mango chutney 😂😂

[@brodeyleembruggen9910]

Bad comment about the pen.

[@Doodlebud]

Good comment about soup

[@hattorihonzo5804]

Mines just skippy all the time.

[@Doodlebud]

Sounds like it needs some adjusting. I have several other videos on how to check & troubleshoot a nib, maybe those will help

[@Thearcherfl]

Under normal writing condition, do you find this tuning to come undone? Do you tune every so often?

[@Doodlebud]

I haven't had to re-tune as of yet