Making a Nib Wetter in Seconds

DISCLAIMER: Working on pens can ruin pens. You try this technique at your own risk: I cannot and will not accept responsibility for ruined pens!
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[@alisonlynton1250]

45 minutes of watching various youtube videos, several WEEKS of angsting (my pen was a special gift) and about 3 seconds of "what the hell". My pen now writes so much better. Thank you :)

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad this was helpful!

[@Flaeren]

"Fixes a dry nib in a minute! Fountain pen repairers hate him."

[@allenlark]

The Ruwy A+ You're hired.

[@0xabad1dea]

Using the edge of a thick paper pad as the surface, this rescued a Lamy F that felt like it was suffocating. As a beginner in Fountain Pen World, I'm so relieved that something so straightforward worked.

[@gggfx4144]

You are such a pen genius Stephen; I used to watch your videos about 8 years ago, came back to find out how to make a troublesome hard-nibbed pen wetter and your video totally solved that - thanks very much

[@daveburrows9876]

I love how quirky pen people are. I feel right at home.

[@Sonicman415]

That music never disappoints, nor does your depth of knowledge. Thank you sir.

[@colin0521]

I've wanted to love my Lamy 2000 (F), but it's been so damn dry, even with pretty wet ink, that I've avoided using it. Given how expensive it is, I've been afraid of trying to adjust the nib myself until I saw your video, which I felt would be a very gentle way of trying to adjust it before I gave it to somebody else to tune. Thankfully, this worked and now I understand why people love the Lamy 2000 so much. It's as smooth as silk and now it's a much wetter writer. Thank you for giving me a new pen.

[@spicyboldstar8572]

We have the same sentiment. Mine is Lamy Vista. I thought it was a waste of money, and then I found this video. Now I can't stop writing. :)

[@killoffman]

I second this, made my Lamy 2000 {F} (LAMY T53 Crystal Ink which is a wet ink) flow perfectly

[@aleighgee6378]

Well, gonna have to try this with my 5 y.o. Lami Safari which was my first fountain pen and I was so disappointed with the nib I used it twice and it’s still sitting lonely and unused in the drawer.

[@tramzone]

Somehow you got the only dry 2000 in the world 😹

[@monluztrella]

I just tried this on my Moomman M2 and now it's a lot more pleasurable to write with. thank you!

[@toryfindley255]

I have been SO frustrated with a few of my Kaweco Sports for the past two weeks after impulse buying a bunch since my first one was so great. I just did this with two of them and it’s AMAZING. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR GENIUS!!

[@elsevillaart]

One of the best tips i had seen of ink pens, now i have to use less pressure, thank you.

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad this was useful.

[@nitina8564]

I cant put it in words how useful this video has been.. if there was an option I would have hit the like button a million times for this video.

[@jasonlee-fp9vs]

THANKS I JUST FIXED MY 8YEARS OLD PARKER SONNET!!!!!!

[@jrenee1040]

Tested this on my cheap jinhao, totally worked 👍

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad this was useful!

[@vermis8344]

J Renèe ツ glad you said that because I've got a cheap jinhao that needs it too

[@trilokeshroy7057]

it's also worked on my jinhao

[@daaxab]

I'm watching this video to try the trick on my Jinhao 159.

[@apontutul]

Watching for Same reason

[@arthurgalstian7472]

I've just tried this method and guess what?! I've got the result!!!! Thank you so much. You made my day mate!!!

[@ashishbhateja]

Thank you for uploading this. I note that it's 11 years old but still as useful. I wasted a few hours trying to figure out how to fix the Chinese pen that I got, and within a minute, your technique had me gliding.

[@brianc1111]

I know this is an old video, but thank you soooooo much!!! You saved my new pen!

[@willsagain]

Ooh thanks. Linked here from Reddit and one gentle press against my thumbnail fixed the slight skip and occasional hard start . Having much more fun with the flow now.

[@RobinRhyne]

Perfect! I'm brand new to the fountain pen universe. I've recently purchased a cheap little pen, only to learn that at least a part of why it was so inexpensive was the trouble getting it wet and started. Your technique has moved the pen from trashcan bound to a daily user.

[@CatholicZola]

What pen did you purchase, if I may ask?

[@Ajeeb0369]

I have purchased a Moonman M600S, a very beautiful fountain pen, but the nib is not smooth and very dry. I had a plan to purchase a Goulet nib. Before that I posted the photographs in FPN community @ Facebook, requesting the suggestions for the problem. One member Mr. Aaron Valdizan suggested this video. I did the same procedure on a steel vessel. Now my Moonman works smoothly. And now my pen is perfect. Thanks a lot. 🙂

[@M3nac3r]

My new-to-me Waterman Graduate turned from a dry dud to a friendly wet writer with one light pass. TYVM for all you do.

[@saira5269]

I’m watching this in 2020 and this was a Godsend! I was gifted a Kaweco Liliput brass fountain in September but it’s been unusable no matter how much I tried to run it in. Thank you for making my pen actually usable!

[@routhstars]

Thank you. I have conducted this operation on several of my loved ones and their ink circulation has improved a lot.

[@martinbachmann6283]

This Gentleman produced a most excellent instructional-video on nib-tuning here! I really like his step-by-step no nonsense approach, plus his "continued advisement" of being patient & NOT rushing the process!

[@lakaiy]

Great tip... that softness of the nails also help to protect the nib from over tip-off

[@tamieframpton5899]

Thank you for fixing my Stipula Ventidue Gold Touch (F). I bought it on a whim because it's pretty and I love inking it with Diamine Golden Sands but to be honest I really hated the pen. It wrote so poorly compared to other much less expensive pens. Today I decided I might as well give this a try, as it was that or stop using it altogether. You've saved the pen. It's never going to be a favourite writer but I no longer find the writing experience frustrating, I think it even borders on enjoyable now. :-)

[@yvanleivacastro6027]

Old but gold. I fixed my Faber-Castell Ondoro thanks to you! Many thanks from Belgium! 👍🏼

[@nararabbit1]

This worked amazingly well! I have a few Sailors that are beautifully made but tight at the tines. This worked perfectly, I rewrote the same sentence after each press and the difference is startling. I'm so happy with my pens now!

[@amorfu2]

Man, I always thought your videos were good, but for this I am forever grateful. I had two pens that I liked but were too dry. Now I have a magnificent wet Aurora 88 Sigaro and a magnificent wet Caran d'Ache Leman. Thank you!

[@williamdavidjaramilloe.897]

Can't believe it worked!!! I was so worry about damage my pen, but now it's a pleasure to write. Finaly i can use my Faber-Castell Loom with joy. Thank you very much for this awesome tip.

[@reaver2086]

Stephen this is an awesome tip. I like the poster below had problems with my Lamy Vista writing a little on the dry side and after using your method it now writes smooth and wet. Thanks again.

[@abhaybisht5280]

Thank you so much! Worked on my Muji fountain pen and I'm going to use it everyday now!

[@Cara_girlwithhat]

Tried this on my Kaweco Sport and now it works great. Thank you!

[@sbrebrown]

+CJSpooks You're welcome!

[@tresdivine]

Reading this comment gives me hope that I could fix my Kaweco Sport too. 🔥

[@karolen777]

Indeed, fixed my Kaweco Sport in seconds. It took only three presses on the nail and cap. I was wondering why its German fine nib was writing finer than my Japanese extra-fines. Now my Kaweco is a true wet fine like I believe it was designed to be. Thank you for this video!

[@apontutul]

Great man. Thanks. My dry jinhao 992 fine nib has turned into an wet flowing medium!

[@hypro999]

Thank You SOOOO much for this video. It fixed the dry and scratchy feeling of my other wise perfectly nice Parker Frontier.

[@sbrebrown]

+Hemanth Alluri I'm glad this was useful.

[@hypnosh]

Thank you for the tip. Now I can write comfortably with my new Jinhao 601.

[@TheBigBlox]

Thanks very much for this, Stephen. I was about to throw away my skippy, dry Parker IM (it's been in the draw for years because of these issues), but I did exactly as you did in this video and voila- you have saved my pens life :-)

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad this was useful!

[@J0hnstrains]

I have a Parker Urban that I forgot about years ago too, and when I found it, it desperately needed a cleaning, as I left ink in it when I put it in a drawer and forgot about it.

[@jonahdesrochers9156]

I would like to sincerely thank you. You have saved me from sending my brand new and beloved Lamy 2000 back to Heidelberg for tweaking. My 2000 is now a pleasure. Thank you again.

[@catto95]

I recently purchased a Sailor ProGear Slim Mini in EF and for the past five days I was slowly going crazy flushing out the pen numerous times and writing so many paragraphs just to get used to it and somehow this pen still feels too dry for my liking. I'm glad I was able to see this video and tried out the thumbnail technique (while being careful with the nib of course) and now it writes a little bit wetter now with the line width being more or less similar to my 0.1 Rotring Isograph. Thank you very much!

[@retro51fan]

Thanks, Stephen! It can be a quick fix, but as you say---do this nib adjustment with great caution.... and don't over do it!

[@odaymarks]

My new Monteverde Invincia Deluxe skipped badly out of the box even after a good cleaning first. Found your technique, and figured that I'd try this first if it doesn't work, I'd buy a Goulet replacement nib. Your technique worked perfect. I love how this pen now writes! Thank you!

[@sbrebrown]

odaymarks You're welcome!

[@birom8361]

wow this really helps with my Lamy 2000 Fine nib. Now it writes with much better ink flow, more wetness, no skips, no scratchy at all. This saved me lots of time and money for not sending this lamy back for service.

[@sameerahel-amin2057]

Thank you SO much. I was disappointed with my purchase of some very beautiful but cheap (inexpensive) Chinese pens. All the techniques I tried were not helping, but this one did the trick. My pens (the ones I tried) are no longer skipping. Once again, THANK YOU!

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad this was helpful!

[@francisfaustino]

Thank you. You just saved me $14. I have a Kaweco Student with fine nib that writes really dry. Because of the pen's relatively slippery grip, it was very tiring if I have to write more than just a few lines with the pen. I was getting ready to buy a medium nib for it to try to improve the pen's feel. This was also why I was brave enough to try opening up the tines on my current nib. It was a huge improvement! The pen now writes the way I expect a German fine nib to write and because I don't have to press down nearly as hard as before, it is also a much comfortable writing experience with the pen.

[@christophermckinstry1354]

Not a big commenter on videos but I had to say something. This made a huge difference for me. Looked for lots of advice on how to make a pen wetter and tried a bunch of things that didn’t work. I was about to give up and tonight stumbled upon your video. Less than a minute later this pen is good to go and writing the best it ever has. Thank you so much.

[@ujjalmajumdar618]

I have a vintage wing sung 235 for quite some time now. But I never used it much since it ran terrifically dry, and cherry on the top it is an EF/F. You helped me sort it out, thank you.

[@Ash-up9gl]

Did it on a cheap Wing Sung that was hardly writing just to test it and it writes very nicely now - thank you!

[@normananderson8687]

I just got an old Soviet Soyuz pen from St. Petersburg. The pen is in like-new condition, however the 14 carat gold fine nib was a bit dry when I inked it up with shink kai. Then I watched your video and applied the technique, and--voila!--it's just as wet as I want it! Thanks for all of your videos.

[@farflunghopes]

THANK YOU SO MUCH. My new Lamy Safari wrote awfully and skipped/would barely right and now it's perfect.

[@michael4382]

That just gave new life to my favourite "Noodlers" pen. Thanks.

[@sbrebrown]

+Oh My Car I'm glad my videos are helpful!

[@gauthamtvpm]

sbrebrown-Mr Brown. My Conklin duragraph fine nib is very dry. It's not getting wetter with this technique as it's too springy. What do I do? I really love the Amber body. Please help me

[@cosminvlf4497]

Just done it on my Lamy Al Star medium nib and it writes much better thanks!

[@MujahidJazz]

Your technique served me well with the Zebra V301 fountain pen. It's a very cheap and problematic model that I keep only because I have dozens of cartridges of it. Its nib is very flimsy, also hooded. I understood until that moment that I had to concentrate the force on the tip, but taking care do not bend the nib. Thanks so much. The V-301 is no longer a headache

[@AxelSauter63]

Helped me with my old S.T Dupont Montparnasse fountain pen. The result was just amazing. Thanks so much :)

[@tonysameh]

The only technique that worked with my Pelikan M800 too-dry Fine nib. Now it is perfect. Thank you

[@xDolli]

My new pen was so dry I was feeling really deflated, even a thorough wash didn't help. I was scared to use too much pressure so this technique took me almost half an hour but now the ink runs so much smoother! Thank you!

[@saibal86]

My Oxford Helix pen had a very dry nib and would skip, even on downstrokes. Thanks to you and this video I have now adjusted the nib, first on my thumb and then on the metal cap, and now it writes just the way I like with much improved ink flow and no skips. Thanks so much SBBRE Brown! 😊

[@gourmetpens]

Whoa. Wicked. I have lots of cheap pens to try this out on! Thank you as always.

[@wizard9x]

This is AWESOME!!! I just recently got into Fountain pens my first pen was a Parker Vector. I then moved onto a Lamy Safari thanks to your review on it. I am very happy with the Lamy but it was a bit on the dry side. After watching this video i tried it and like magic the nib got wetter. I love the pen even more. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!!

[@scotty195823]

I managed to ruin a Bock nib trying to spread the tines purely down to inexperience. You have actually answered my question at the end of this video, the tines do take a slight upward slant after adjustment.

[@RobertMaguire67]

A good video from the vaults Stephen I took time to view again, I have used this on a few pens to adjust the flows on x-fine and fine nibs to make them wetter so the ink on the page is just a touch more adding to shading being seen and of course the pens will glide a wee bit more nicely all lubricated with ink that is flowing. I seem to recall mention of the Waverly or Waverley inventor being from Scotland.

[@chandrushekhar7414]

Tried it on a cheap Parker beta and it really worked , writes smoother with more flow of ink, thank you 🙏🏻

[@tma-1704]

Thank you so much! I bought a Jinhao X159X from eBay that was too dry for me. I just tried your technique and now..WOW! Writes just the way I like! So simple..THANKS!!!

[@xXxguitarman93]

Thanks greatly for this simple, cheap advise. I'm currently using a Zebra V-301 FP, and it never wanted to write smoothly because it would dry so quickly. After the simple modification my pen is so much more enjoyable to use.

[@ArtJourneyUK]

Thanks for this, will try it on my dry TWSBI mini. Never heard the term Waverley before so I learnt something today... I learnt that some people don't appreciate kudos and advertising you've given them in previous videos (watched by your not insubstantial fan base), that these same people don't seem to be in the same spirit as every one else and that being bolshy works as they now have a free advertisement on your video. As I say, I learnt a lot from this video today.

[@Harishumarji99]

I did this with my Parker vector gold plated nib which was very dry, now it feels great to write with!

[@vidur.vachan]

This works wonders! You are the best doc!! Much love!! 🤗🤗😊😎😍🤩

[@RyoCook]

Tried this carefully with my Pilot Petit F. Much less skipping than before. Thank you for sharing this trick.

[@alicmohamad8562]

great instruction and fast way to make your pen really work well lubricated, almost gave up on my JIN HAO 500, becasue ink flow was way too poor. after applying your technique, its like bringing back the dead from the grave!

[@ardakilicdagi]

I tried this method both on Jinhao 991 and Pelikan M600, along with various pens with various typed nibs. The tricky part for me was to take my time and make it slow. Thanks a lot for this, helped me a lot!

[@monluztrella]

Just tested it on a wing sung 3009 and good thing I was careful because it worked immediately. Now I’m getting sheen (have it inked with emerald of Chivor)!

[@ep2512]

O M G. This worked so well for my Kaweco Sport, Ferris Wheel Press and Platinum Procyon. Thank you so much for sharing this technique Steven! Now working on a scratchy Sailor PG mini 14 K nib. Guess I will have to get to the next video about smoothing nibs.

[@brianerickson1121]

Thank you so much for this! Pilot Metropolitan fine nib, FIXED!!! just got into fountain pen every day use!

[@michelledelecki6224]

This was so helpful for my Lamy Al Star. I kept thinking maybe it the ink so I kept trying new inks. This small adjustment has be so much happier with my Lamy now. Thank you ❤

[@desertratedc9596]

Thank you so very much my good sir! You have helped me get my kaweco sport flowing properly and changed it from a severe disappointment to something very nice!

[@papik1965]

Brilliant!!! I have a Caran d'Ache Chevron pen, beautifully detailed, weighted and designed. But lately I had stopped using it so often because I found it was not writing all that well. I flushed the system, but result was no different. Consequently I have been using my Kaweco instead. But now having followed your instructions (without breaking anything:-) it's like my pen has been reborn. It writes and flows like a dream! Thanks Stephen.

[@sbrebrown]

Excellent, I am glad this was useful for you!

[@redhairedwriter]

I've also done this by using the pen caps (usually with my TWSBI and Lamy nibs), though the nice thing about your nail technique is that you really get an idea of how much pressure you're using. Thanks for the video! I have some medium Lamy nibs that are horribly dry that I'll have to adjust soon.

[@WirlWind494]

Thank you, yet again, for helping a newbie FPer :) I had a 159 that was a bit dry and was skipping and I used this to open it up and now it's almost perfect. Though I was honestly surprised how much pressure I had to put on it. It's a very springy nib. Even after all the pressure, I can't even tell anything has changed, except that now you can actually see the line between the tines where the iridium ball is (before, it looked like it wasn't cut; the gap vanished when it hit there).

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad this was useful. If you do it well, you still shouldn't see a huge gap (that does not work), so you've done well.

[@mansigupta]

This helped me immensely with my TWSBI Eco Fine. The nib was too dry and scratchy, but a couple of passes with the side of a pen cap and its a world of difference!

[@maryriley6163]

Cool! Thanks. I have a couple of dry pens that I didn't pay much for. I will give that a go.

[@peacedude65]

Fixed my Lamy safari EF before the video even ended. Fantastic, thank you so much!

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad to hear that!

[@robertrujawitz371]

Very helpful for my wife’s diplomat magnum extra fine tip! It was very dry and after following your tips it’s writing like a champ!

[@RayCornett]

I just finished watching this and I type this with ink stained finger tip and nail as wel as thumb tip. It does work well on old nibs of other materials, too. I have only one FP so far. A 1949 Sheaffer Touchdown Statesman and it has a gold and platinum/palladium two tone nib. Initially I thought the scratchy aspect was the nib but it was the paper. The scratchyness went away with a better paper but it still skipped. This simple adjustment fixed that and the nib is wetter now. I will use it throughout today to decide if it is wet enough before going further. Thank you for your simple turorials.

[@sbrebrown]

You're welcome!

[@maryriley6163]

Thank you for this tip. I have a recently purchased X450 Jinhao pen with the original fine nib. It wrote pretty dry even with Baystate Blue ink in it. I carefully adjusted the nib as per your instructions and that improved it. The nib was juicier after the adjustment but still a bit rough so I looked around and found a little, smooth, river- polished stone I had gathered some years ago and kept because it looks just like a chicken heart. I gently polished the business end of the nib on the stone and now it writes very well even on Clairefontaine which had previously not accepted the ink from this nib very well, maybe due to the smoothness of the paper and the reluctance of the nib to deliver ink. I am so pleased that this Jinhao is now writing very well. Thank you again and best wishes from Ohio.

[@dalfvideos]

I did the exact same thing with my Jinhao x159 and now it writes like a charm! I read that many chinese pens are manufactured "on the dry side" on purpose because it makes it easier to write chinese characters (not sure if that's true or not). So that + the wheel of fortune that is their QA (or lack thereof) gives a weird experience vs. a Lamy or something like that. I did the nail thing but I put a piece of paper on top of my nail. So no ink, and a happy pen! :) Thank you so much!!

[@mrs.cookie5610]

Roflmbo, "This happens with cheap Chinese pens" I have a dozen cheap Chinese pens and your video stopped me from throwing them out. Thank You!

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad this was useful!

[@2727202]

Worked wonders on my Parker Sonnet 18k nib. It barely wrote, and was probably equal in dryness to your pen, and now it writes wonderfully. Thanks!

[@sbrebrown]

You're welcome!

[@a1038954]

You've saved my Pilot Vanishing Point EF, thank you so much!

[@TheJeppesk]

By happy happenstance I ended up with two of the same TWSBI pen, but the one is much much drier than the other one. This video helped me fix that right up. Thanks a lot S!

[@rachelbecknell5289]

I just received my first fountain pen in the mail yesterday (a Lamy Safari), and it worked beautifully after I filled the converter with ink. This morning when I uncapped it to do homework it wouldn't write at all. After doing this technique it started working again! :) I'm very appreciative of helpful videos such as this one.

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad this was useful. Brady in mind that fountain pens sometimes dry out a little overnight: often, just priming the feed with a bit of ink by squeezing the cartridge or using the converter, suffices to make it write again.

[@TylerC_]

Awesome video Stephen!

[@acidtv9037]

Oh My GOD.... This man is a freaking genius. Fixed a new Lamy 2000, in a second with just 1 try. Thank you!!

[@trantrad]

It worked for me! I took your advice and went carefully, step by step, checking the progress at each step. My very pretty but very dry Recife pen has now become wonderfully comfortable to write with. Thanks!

[@sbrebrown]

I'm glad to hear this was helpful for you.

[@DragonFarceRock]

I just did a quick search of the trade office. The trade office does indeed list the Waverley trademarks. However, it also lists them as being defunct. Out of the four applicable Waverley trademarks, the first two were abandoned in 1996, the second two were abandoned in 1997. Therefore, there is no current Waverley trademark in force regardless of what you've been told. If you want to re-register it under your name, you'll have to pay the trademark fees.

[@ArkamasRoss]

Thanks for the sage knowledge Stephen. My Custom 74 has a fine nib and it came very scratchy and dry. I was able to smooth it out with micromesh but I couldn't figure out the ink flow and I was getting worried. It writes like a dream now.

[@sbrebrown]

EA Burt I'm glad this was helpful!

[@zainalu]

Arkamas Ross! Did it solve the weak upstroke issue in your custom 74?

[@berryj.greene7090]

I learned some things. 1) I prefer a wet pen that slides over the page. However, that won't suit some papers. 2) That trick which splays the tines and makes a reverse profile is called a "Waverley" nib. 3) Dry pens are quite commonplace. Thank you. Good video

[@wimvannieuwenhuyze5015]

Kept wondering if I should return my EF nib of my Lamy 2000. Never heard of nibs being too dry or too wet before. Then I stumbled on this video and boldly tried it out. Couldn't be more happy right now and very pleased with the result. Thanks ever so much !

[@sbrebrown]

Very happy this was useful!

[@James-np8oj]

Thank you so much for sharing this! Like you, I prefer wetter writing nibs and was able to do this on 4 of my pens (3 mediums and one special bock fine nib) and it worked perfectly. Greatly appreciated.

[@robbys929]

James I want to do this but I’m scared I’ll ruin my pen how much pressure did you use and did you flex it on your nail ur pen cap or some paper?

[@James-np8oj]

@@robbys929 Like Stephen says in the video, get a feel for it by starting light and increasing pressure, writing in between and then repeating until it becomes wet enough. I tried it using my nail but found it more effective using the edge of a rhodia pad as well as a thin block of wood with a sheet of paper on top, as that was more solid than the paper. As long as you do it with some delicate force, it should work beautifully!

[@robbys929]

James ok thank you :) I’m gonna take it very slow and hope it works for me

[@abhishekag6927]

Thanks a lot ,finally got my parker frontier fountain pen working properly with good flow.

[@miabuelitatocaelpian]

Thank you! You solved one of my problems. I can sleep better today because of you.

[@sbrebrown]

You're welcome

[@dusadeech5679]

Thanks so much. I just fixed 14k nib on my 1911 with your help. The problem gone in just two press. Thank you very much.

[@freespirit995]

Really useful- thank you!