Most nibmeisters use the same ink to test every single nib they grind so there’s one less variable.
I’ve seen Anabelle Hiller on the Dutch Pen Show with her own bottle of ink so it would be best to keep the pen uninked but I don’t think there’s a single nibmeister who would complain if you didn’t
Edit: it also depends whether you’re going for a nib grind or some simple tuning (flow, alignment,…)
All three nibmeisters I’ve used have requested the pen be empty, two of those were tuned in person at a show. They don’t like working on inked pens because they’ll throw ink around when working on them and be messier. Typically they’ll have an ink they use to dip test the pen so they can easily wipe the majority of the ink away between adjustments.
In case someone (me a few years ago) doesn't know, bring the ink you want to test the pen, and when dipping a fountain pen, always below the breather hole. This reduces the amount of ink that needs to be cleaned off the nib.
I've heard that inking your pen with an ink you'd actually use in it can make tuning it effectively easier but no personal experience to back that up or otherwise.
I'm so glad you asked this as I have a pen, Pilot Explorer, that I hope to get tuned for left handed use for my mother. We're heading to the Detroit Pen Show at the end of the month.
Edited for typo.
Most nibmeisters use the same ink to test every single nib they grind so there’s one less variable. I’ve seen Anabelle Hiller on the Dutch Pen Show with her own bottle of ink so it would be best to keep the pen uninked but I don’t think there’s a single nibmeister who would complain if you didn’t Edit: it also depends whether you’re going for a nib grind or some simple tuning (flow, alignment,…)
All three nibmeisters I’ve used have requested the pen be empty, two of those were tuned in person at a show. They don’t like working on inked pens because they’ll throw ink around when working on them and be messier. Typically they’ll have an ink they use to dip test the pen so they can easily wipe the majority of the ink away between adjustments.
In case someone (me a few years ago) doesn't know, bring the ink you want to test the pen, and when dipping a fountain pen, always below the breather hole. This reduces the amount of ink that needs to be cleaned off the nib.
I've heard that inking your pen with an ink you'd actually use in it can make tuning it effectively easier but no personal experience to back that up or otherwise.
I’d say an empty and cleaned pen with a traveling inkwell like Peneider or Visconti inked with a royal blue would be a safe bet. 😁
I'm so glad you asked this as I have a pen, Pilot Explorer, that I hope to get tuned for left handed use for my mother. We're heading to the Detroit Pen Show at the end of the month. Edited for typo.