How to smooth a scratchy fountain pen nib

[@butterletto]

I know this may be a 7 years old video but I have to say thank you so much for this advice because it is really genius

[@FountainPenRevolution]

I'm glad I could help!

[@rupalkumari5389]

Got a brand new Faber Castell Classic Sterling Silver Finish in Gold Nib and was hesitant to try this on an extra fine scratchy nib given the hefty price I paid for the pen. The nib alone costs 400$++. I think it only needed sand paper treatment and I had 10000 and 7000. Tried it and wow, amazed with the result. Thanks for the tip.

[@onserfdez7958]

Thanks! That really helped. I had just purchased a Jinhao fountain pen from Amazon for $15.99...a beautiful gold colored pen with cross hashes like the old Parker from days of old, and I was very disappointed because it was Very scratchy. I was going to throw it over the neighbor's fence but then used the micro sanding pads 8000 and 12000 grit, and now it is as smooth as a Ferrari's tailpipe! I am very happy, thank you. pah

[@FountainPenRevolution]

Glad I could help!!!

[@brooksofmaine]

Thanks to your guidance, I now have a smoother nib. Life is better!

[@Jivehappy]

Thanks so much for this. I'm new to fountain pens, but I am taking a class where one is required for drawing. Although I bought the instructor's recommended pen (an extra-fine Lamy Safari), I hated the scratchy, uncomfortable action of drawing with it. I tried your suggestions and the pen has improved amazingly!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I just bought some inexpensive pens that were scratchy but now they write great, thanks!

[@cheerprncess]

omg I LOVE you!! I have a pen that I adore but the nib is horrible, this fixed it and now its smooth like butter. It was a little nerve racking trying this, I was so afraid of ruining it but it was a quick and easy fix.

[@golddragon51296]

Got it on the first part, that bit about the nail file is pretty genius, definitely bookmarking for later

[@Sa-hl4tt]

Thank you for this video! It spared my cosmetically beautiful EF pen from the trash can. It really worked well.

[@AirBoneBG]

Lol i didn't noticed that amazing drawing till 4:38 You just made my day there dear sir. Can't thank you enough.

[@snshusat161]

When I was a kid I used to be a fountain pen doctor. We had fountain pens which used to costly less than half a dollar. So I had hundreds of them and everyday I used to experiment with them. I had made some very nice pen which were smother than those pens which cost more than several hundred dollars. Now when I reverted back to fountain pen after using using ball pens for years I can enjoy such thing only on videos as cheap fountain pens are gone from market.

[@gammondog]

+Shub Try the chinese pens. Such as Jinhou. I'm not sure of the spelling. Goulet Pens is a source of cheap nibs which fit the cheap Noodler's pens. They're still around. You just have to order them online. I do miss buying them from the local stationary stores but at least they still can be had via the internet.

[@preke953]

William Albert in India we have very cheap pens . That write as smooth as the ones that cost 20x it's price.

[@daveh3997]

@@gammondog Did you realize The guy in this video sells inexpensive fountain pens?

[@Solvinden]

Check the Platinum Preppy. You can use with converter or ink cartridge. Very much worth it’s price!

[@joshuatalavera4210]

@@Solvinden you can also eye dropper the preppy and have a huge 4ml of ink capacity

[@MorganScorpion]

Thanks to your tutorial I successfully smoothed my first fountain pen nib.

[@Mikey2008uk]

You're a godsend! I drew a few 8's on 3.5k grit (with a platinum plaisir) hoping to smooth the nib and it ended up a little scratchy. Just used the finest part of a nail polisher and the nib now writes smooth again. thanks.

[@ritchelangelosaclao5692]

This video helped me restore my Sheaffer Fashion 1 to write again. All he is saying is correct. I did all that he said and made my Sheaffer work again. Thank you.

[@freddymoisesgarcia]

Thank you for this tutorial! I never thought I would be able to fix a pen without spending money on the materials

[@walterzuki59]

amazing! First time I've been able to use this pen without scratching in many years. Thank You!

[@alainemedio3823]

I was VERY worried as I had a brand new pen, I am new to FP's and it was scratching like crazy. Got out my 7 way nail buffer and while watching this did a few minor loops and upstrokes and the pen writes wonderfully. Thank you!

[@FountainPenRevolution]

I am happy I could help!

[@amlecciones]

Okay so this is a great video :) i was smirking a little at 1:06. :) hehehe

[@advisord7637]

+Aaron Lecciones That's a penis!

[@mikisHaft]

@@advisord7637 No no that is a CREATOR's tool ;)

[@hamana2011]

glad I am not the only one :-)

[@shaunpearson7905]

@@advisord7637 That's what she said

[@AndyNorrisForReals]

Polish what needs polished!

[@MsPurplification]

Hi Kevin, thanks for this video. Today I dropped my uncapped fountain pen and it became scratchy. I followed your tips with the nail file, it worked!! I am so surprised and happy that my favourite fountain pen is now fixed.

[@andreagooglification]

Such wonderful advice!!! Can’t wait to work on my nibs!!! Thank you! Love the art and the scratchy sound is just a bit much!!! Stay well!!!

[@lolosee1]

Great tips. I was about to go to the supplies store and buy some micro mesh, then you mentioned Nail Buffer! Genius!

[@khalidrashid2092]

Thank you Sir. this was very very helpful. I could smoothen the scratchy nib of my Pelican Fountain Pen

[@chimichim2551]

I am a fan of inexpensive fountain pens and this video was informative!!

[@shivakumargn]

The hint about mis-alignment was very helpful !

[@arkanabar]

If the pen is much more scratchy either writing left-to-right or right-to-left, you can be sure that the trailing tine is the one that's bent just a little bit downwards.

[@justaguy6216]

*Reaches into my moms drawer to find her nail buffer*

[@Gunzee]

For anyone who lives in the UK, if you go to poundland they have three rectangle nail buffing pads.

[@gasken2182]

How much are they?

[@vincent-of-the-bog]

Is that a joke? It's Poundland. Everything's a pound. I know, a great shock.

[@mirageinthedesert5448]

Georgia S. not really I've seen things costing much more in *POUND* land

[@paperwormscat9760]

Thank you so much! I got a fountain pen last christmas, but it was so scratchy, I couldn't use it. This worked. I can finally enjoy it! :D

[@feedmyneko]

the nail buffer trick, it works. 🙏🏻 thanks

[@LLL-dv7yj]

OMG THANK YOU! I realize this is an old video but you saved my sanity!

[@anikettrivedi4031]

after watching this whole tutorial, I realized my ink ran out.

[@subhrajitroy1477]

lol

[@hornedowl_]

lol

[@Skyhunter-sq2rc]

Lmfaoo 😂

[@oldschoolfunkster1]

Mine turned into a rollerball pen.😁

[@gameschanel2407]

.

[@FirstNameLastName-eh5yy]

Thanks! This really helped me buff out my Lamy Safari :)

[@stickmanade2433]

Thank youuu so much this fountain pen was gifted by someone special to me and i thought i had spoilt it tyyyy

[@aishwaryauppala7759]

i tried it and it worked. Thanks for this video ☺☺☺☺☺☺

[@FountainPenRevolution]

You are quite welcome!

[@rathinavelsivan]

Sir it works well for all pen thank you. Especially to write tamizh and for hardworking academicians ,such smoothness is essential

[@DavidAJ0]

Thanks, my Kaweco AL Sport is now writing beautifully again thanks to the tips in this video.

[@angelofthenorth3133]

Are you the guy who sells Dilli flex pens (which are SO cool)? Loved the vid, you are clear and to the point, no waffle, very unlike most of the self-adverting pen gurus. More please, any tips you have for tuning and adjusting pens.

[@FountainPenRevolution]

Yep, I'm the Dilli guy. I'm glad you found the video helpful!

[@FountainPenRevolution]

The Dilli is one of our fountain pens. You can check all of them out at fprevolutionusa.com/

[@indiancruise12]

Hehhe great video. Nd the willy drawing

[@muskndusk]

Thanks for reminding me I need to order more micromesh. Great vid.

[@sharonkatz4451]

Thanks so much for posting this! I've been trying to figure out how to fix my scratchy nib for ages. I have some mylar sheets - can I use that instead of a 4000 grit nail file?

[@nolascoguevarra1932]

Very helpful tips. May I know whether the nail file approach could be applicable to stub and italic flat nibs? I wish to follow your technique to smooth some stub/italic nibs. I'm afraid though to damage or break it. TIA

[@kevinthiemann3784]

First make sure the tines are perfectly aligned. The more common issue with stub/italic nibs are misaligned tines. But if they are aligned feel free to use some very high grit (8000+) nail file micro mesh to finish smoothing it out. Just do it gradually and you should be fine.

[@NathanKennedy]

Excellent tip with the fingernail board, I might have to raid my wife's makeup bag!

[@johnhopcroft186]

Thanks you too much I didn't no what was wrong with my waterman and why it was so scratchy but this fixed it right up

[@ELIXIR.GT.]

Omg this video clarity is so good from 9 years ago

[@le9803]

Thank you for the video. Now my pens write smoothly 🙂

[@dg383]

Very helpful video. Did not know i could use my nail buffer!

[@jennjarboe]

Thanks very much for this video... fixed both of my scratchy pens!

[@pauljsmith2113]

Simple and effective. Nice. Thanks.

[@adityakamath4029]

Thanks a lot Fountain Pen Revolution.It helped revive my Pilot Metropolitan fine nib

[@analorenapulido8834]

love that trick with the nail file

[@vannigio6234]

i m italian, i like your way to talk! it s very clear anda easy to understand. uah

[@binchi2875]

THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!! you saved my ass(i mean my pen;-)

[@ready4anarchy144]

1:08 you got a lot of laughs in high school didn't you

[@oldschoolfunkster1]

I finally mastered this technique...and bought myself the 10 pk dollartree rollerball pens.

[@shengloongtan229]

1:20 is that what I think it is?? xD

[@MrSkateboardbassplay]

+Sheng Loong Tan LOL was thinking the same thing

[@yomama7084]

Yup a tine of a penis

[@steventrosiek2623]

It is, indeed, a dick.

[@forjazznjava]

Sheng Loong Tan nope lol

[@hamana2011]

:-) yup

[@billfish8843]

Re: Magnification. A lot of phones now (most?) have cameras with a macro function and you can easily zoom in on the nib to see how it looks.

[@paulchristian5375]

Zoom lens finally have a use for me

[@maryriley6163]

Dandy video on smoothing scratchy nibs. Thank you..

[@forjazznjava]

It worked! Smooth writing now. Thanks!

[@FountainPenRevolution]

Glad I could help CJ!

[@sinaatlan]

Thank you very much for the clear and clean expression. Thanks to you, my problem is solved.

[@empirestudio4397]

It’s clear...idk about clean though...Lol hehe

[@MarthaSpizziri]

Do you have to wet the nail file or mesh first?

[@kevinthiemann3784]

I don't.

[@AnotherNerdHere]

fingernail file is a great tip. I really need to get lope.

[@umutberk4588]

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

[@FountainPenRevolution]

Sure. 12,000 is pretty high though so it would likely only work for final polishing.

[@1DaTJo]

Awesome! Thank you for this. With a $250 Sailor pen, I'm so pleased that I can fix its suddenly scratchy nib.

[@raresfyt3r]

You saved my mont blanc with this video

[@FountainPenRevolution]

Glad I could help!

[@carolbrozman1415]

Does smoothing the nib alter the line width of the line? In other words if you polish a fine nib by your technique will it make it more an extra fine or a medium please?

[@kevinthiemann3784]

As long as you are careful to not smooth only one part of the nib (so that it becomes flat) this should not noticeably alter the line width. You want to make sure the ball tipping stays rounded instead of grinding down a flat spot.

[@shafeeqix4096]

How to repai a scratchy parker pen pls do a video on it..ur work thats great!

[@zodiacmister8861]

Hello Kevin, Just want to confirm that, If I use 10,000 Grit Sandpaper, would it do the job but it will take a longer time to smooth a nib - is that alright ? Thank you

[@FountainPenRevolution]

10,000 grit should work. I usually use 8,000 grit.

[@wnose]

Just ordered a flex jaipur from your website - looking forward to receiving it!

[@drdevil83]

I have a suggestion for viewers.Try making circles in clockwise and anticlock wise direction as shown in video.This has smoothen my pen nib.Otherwise when i tried writing lines, alphabets or strokes on sandpaper it didn't work.So making circular motion in both directions is key in my experience.Happy Writing...

[@thanusreem5284]

This tips Use only Fountain pen??

[@Stefan54]

That worked! Thank you very much! 😁

[@kennethmcgeechan604]

Brilliantly simple but informative video. and yes I found airmail nibs to be scratchy :)

[@alvinscott1331]

Can this be done using a whetstones? I have 5000 and 8000 grit whetstones.

[@kevinthiemann3784]

I have not tried that. If you do make sure to go slowly and just smooth a little at a time!

[@vwood2]

Extremely helpful - thank you!

[@zuneid375]

great video

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Nice one :) Thank you

[@brettthorndike1079]

It was helpful.....Thank you

[@j.c.e.mixedtv9877]

Hello, can I use a 7000 grit for my scratchy nib?

[@FountainPenRevolution]

I use generally use 8000 but 7000 should be fine. Just do a little at a time so you don't take too much off.

[@j.c.e.mixedtv9877]

@@FountainPenRevolution Thank you...

[@jochenkulow4282]

This helped a lot. Thank you so much.

[@FountainPenRevolution]

You are quite welcome! Glad I could help.

[@VRFunbox]

What diagram was that man.... Lol.... But great video

[@aladdinkayqubad1645]

Thank you Sir!

[@mohammedmaaliki4660]

it was very helpful

[@adanahmedsaleh6026]

God bless ya man.

[@durgag3202]

Thank you sir. It's really working

[@mariapaulavasquezsepulveda2123]

I ruined a fine nib with micro-mesh (Cries silently). Hahaha but thanks for the video.

[@shehrazad]

Thank you!! It works ! By the way how can we make a nib finer.

[@kevinthiemann3784]

That is a bit trickier. You would need to polish the sides of the tipping so as to narrow the surface that touches the paper without making it scratchy.

[@jitheshvp]

Thank you

[@Winzrful]

I love fountain pens and I loved the video......but who thought the nib diagram to be something else🤪

[@allanknight843]

My boheme has a very scratchy nib. Do you offer this service ?

[@kevinthiemann3784]

Hi Allan. Shoot me an email at [e-mail]

[@altamasshaikh3605]

How to make pen bro

[@shanegarland5869]

Who is this handsome man ;-) Fantastic

[@Zephoro]

Gayyyyyyyyy

[@EduardoBach01]

You should do a disclaimer for this video. Many people will think that a 4000 grid is fine in their countries but the reality is that this grid is pretty rough and can destroy the nib. I believe that in the U.S a 4000 grid is equivalent to a 12000 in the rest of the world.

[@yashkarmarkar8056]

Is that Camlin scarlet red ink? Great video BTW!

[@kevinthiemann3784]

+Yash Karmarkar Yep, it sure is. Thanks!!!

[@bvmkarthik]

Did anyone notice the drawing and chuckle at 1:06. That was funny :D

[@DarkAngel-dz6xm]

I want to smooth my hero pen 336 with iridium nibbed

[@DarkAngel-dz6xm]

Can you can do it simply

[@akshata892]

Nice vdo thank you sir

[@thaddei4088]

wow, thanks

[@williamhumes3005]

you can finish polishing by writing on cardboard.

[@phillewis3108]

This inspired me to spend a few minutes, ahem, “Smoothing my nib”…

[@advdevkumarghosh6663]

umm , the diagram mimicked male genetalia. ..

[@prasoonkumar9391]

Dev Kumar Ghosh no it is a PEN IS

[@mesri3]

i scrolled down just to see if someone pointed out this similarity.

[@delaadland3219]

Dev see a Dr. because that isn’t a normal shape 😆🤣😂