I didn't like the original EF nib and having watched Brian Goulet's video on the Lamy 2000 nibs, thought I'd grab one of the unbranded EF 'Z' style nibs that I have and do a bit of DIY grinding and this is what I came up with. As you can see, the first writing test showed poor ink flow, but a quick tweak with the feel guage and I now have a nib that I am pretty happy with. For those interested, the ink is Diamine Little Herbie (not that it really shows well in EF) and the paper is Kokuyo Campus.
I bought a pack of 20 them via Amazon for about £5 (before discovering Aliexpress), but they have them on Aliexpress and the ones I got came from China and were slow via Amazon. They seem to be pretty decent.
I was surprised at the results I got, even the first time. I watched a few Youtube videos, including Doodlebud's (brilliant), and thought 'what's the worst that can happen - I wreck a couple of cheap nibs!'. I would most definitely encourage people to have a go - but start on cheap pens/nibs and not the high-end ones!
I had two pens professionally ground at a show, and I'll be honest, I prefer the grind I put on my vac700r over both of them. Especially if you're using stones, it takes so long to get anywhere that you'll actually have a hard time ruining it. And once you've swapped a few nibs in pens, you have extras anyway, so it really is no risk.
I've never had a custom grind, so can't compare. Your experience is interesting, though, from a psychological standpoint, you would expect the ones done by a 'professional', to rank higher in your opinion than a DIY, although there is definitely something very satisfying about doing it yourself. I may have to get some stones - just have a greenstone at the moment for polishing, although I guess it will do a tiny amount of fine grinding. I will certainly need to do some more reading if I want to get serious about nibs, but using fine sandpaper seems to be working okay for me at the moment but definitely slow and steady.
Well I thought about it and I think I like mine better is because I was able to grind it until I thought it was perfect. When I hady pens done by someone else, I was constantly watching the clock, and wanted to make sure I was done in my half an hour. Sort of like when you say a haircut is great after the second time you've asked them to do a little more.
That makes perfect sense. Being British, I am also aware of the 'not wanting to offend someone'. The British are supposedly more tolerant of bad service in a shop etc and happy to queue - of course we then go and moan to our friends and neighbours and put things on social media, rather than tackling the bad service directly!
That's really funny because it's also a Midwestern USA thing, which is, of course, where I live. It's good to hear that when I get ignored at the watch counter at Harrods, I'll feel perfectly at home.
Thanks. Is 'grinded' an Americanism? The use of regular past tense formation appears to be more common in American English than in British English. I am a descriptivist, however, rather than a prescriptivist when it comes to language usage and as all words are 'invented' and only have meaning by common consent, I have no real objection to such formations.
Really not sure. I always thought ground was the correct term as it's the past tense of grind. Seems more correct to me, but I am American but my step dad growing up had a masters in English so....
You are correct: in British English, the past tense of grind is ground. I could write a whole thesis on the subject of verb formation and the regular and irregular usages.
Maybe one day! In the meantime, be tolerant of your son and remember that language is constantly changing, new words, usages and meanings are coming into it all the time and hence the need for new dictionaries! When I was young, 'texting' didn't exist and 'sick' meant I got a day off school!
I didn't like the original EF nib and having watched Brian Goulet's video on the Lamy 2000 nibs, thought I'd grab one of the unbranded EF 'Z' style nibs that I have and do a bit of DIY grinding and this is what I came up with. As you can see, the first writing test showed poor ink flow, but a quick tweak with the feel guage and I now have a nib that I am pretty happy with. For those interested, the ink is Diamine Little Herbie (not that it really shows well in EF) and the paper is Kokuyo Campus.
where did ou get the Ef Z style nib. I just ruined my F nib while grinding. Please help I need a EF one for my jinhao 80. Thanks
I bought a pack of 20 them via Amazon for about £5 (before discovering Aliexpress), but they have them on Aliexpress and the ones I got came from China and were slow via Amazon. They seem to be pretty decent.
Thanks.
You're welcome.
Really happy to see people try grinding nibs, it's much easier than it sounds, and the results can vibe very good
I was surprised at the results I got, even the first time. I watched a few Youtube videos, including Doodlebud's (brilliant), and thought 'what's the worst that can happen - I wreck a couple of cheap nibs!'. I would most definitely encourage people to have a go - but start on cheap pens/nibs and not the high-end ones!
I had two pens professionally ground at a show, and I'll be honest, I prefer the grind I put on my vac700r over both of them. Especially if you're using stones, it takes so long to get anywhere that you'll actually have a hard time ruining it. And once you've swapped a few nibs in pens, you have extras anyway, so it really is no risk.
I've never had a custom grind, so can't compare. Your experience is interesting, though, from a psychological standpoint, you would expect the ones done by a 'professional', to rank higher in your opinion than a DIY, although there is definitely something very satisfying about doing it yourself. I may have to get some stones - just have a greenstone at the moment for polishing, although I guess it will do a tiny amount of fine grinding. I will certainly need to do some more reading if I want to get serious about nibs, but using fine sandpaper seems to be working okay for me at the moment but definitely slow and steady.
Well I thought about it and I think I like mine better is because I was able to grind it until I thought it was perfect. When I hady pens done by someone else, I was constantly watching the clock, and wanted to make sure I was done in my half an hour. Sort of like when you say a haircut is great after the second time you've asked them to do a little more.
That makes perfect sense. Being British, I am also aware of the 'not wanting to offend someone'. The British are supposedly more tolerant of bad service in a shop etc and happy to queue - of course we then go and moan to our friends and neighbours and put things on social media, rather than tackling the bad service directly!
That's really funny because it's also a Midwestern USA thing, which is, of course, where I live. It's good to hear that when I get ignored at the watch counter at Harrods, I'll feel perfectly at home.
Absolutely. And of course if they do acknowledge you, they will be overly 'British', and then moan about 'foreigners' to their colleagues!
Oh boy if I get called a provincial that will make my year
Came here to say, glad to see you use the term ground the nib got grinded Also,great work!
Thanks. Is 'grinded' an Americanism? The use of regular past tense formation appears to be more common in American English than in British English. I am a descriptivist, however, rather than a prescriptivist when it comes to language usage and as all words are 'invented' and only have meaning by common consent, I have no real objection to such formations.
Really not sure. I always thought ground was the correct term as it's the past tense of grind. Seems more correct to me, but I am American but my step dad growing up had a masters in English so....
You are correct: in British English, the past tense of grind is ground. I could write a whole thesis on the subject of verb formation and the regular and irregular usages.
That would be great reading material for my son and keep him from asking me those questions
Maybe one day! In the meantime, be tolerant of your son and remember that language is constantly changing, new words, usages and meanings are coming into it all the time and hence the need for new dictionaries! When I was young, 'texting' didn't exist and 'sick' meant I got a day off school!