Welcome back to my nib grinding series! If you’re joining me for the first time, you can find part “zero” here. Today we’re covering all the kinds of tools one may need for nib work.
Out of all the posts in this series, this one will probably be the most authoritative, since this is less about skills and more about knowledge. Special thanks to Kirk Speer for a lot of this.
There is no standard method to grind nibs. The reason for the diversity is that nib grinding used to be backed by widespread industrialization. Pen companies in the twentieth century made a variety of nibs and ground them at a large scale. These days, you either get lucky enough to find an apprenticeship, or you teach yourself by trial and error and Richard Binder’s Ten Commandments of nib tuning. Likewise, the tools for nib grinding used to be specially designed for the purpose, but now we creatively adapt tools and techniques from other industries like jewelry, dentistry, and even nail cosmetics.
While there is no modern standard method to grind nibs, there are a few convergent strategies in terms of equipment. There are existing good resources on how to tune, so our focus here will be strictly on equipment. We’ll move through three stages: testing, tuning, and grinding.
Testing
The ability to assess a nib’s condition precedes the need to modify it. You need to understand the ink flow and the geometry of the tipping and tines before making irreversible changes.
Ink and Paper
This is generally well-known, so my comments will be brief. Use ink and paper that you are familiar with. Consider their compatibility with all kinds of pens, nibs, and feeds. For most people, Waterman Serenity Blue and Rhodia are the go-to. If you have enough experience, you can use a customer’s ink of choice.
Magnification
There are generally 3 types that people use: handheld jewelry loupes, head-mounted lenses, and microscopes. Again, this is up to personal preference and how good your eyesight is.
I personally have a cheap head-mounted set of lenses that goes from 2x - 25x. I use 8x and up for grinding and tuning. I have heard that a proper BelOMO loupe blows the cheap lenses out of the water, but I haven’t made the upgrade yet (Update: I eventually did).
Microscopes are only becoming popular in the last few years. I have little knowledge or experience with them, and they have a relatively high entry cost compared to the other options, but you do get insanely high and clear magnification, which is great for professionals.
Practice Nibs
The main requirements for this are large tipping size and low price. I sometimes use Platinum Preppies if I can get a discount. There are also plenty of cheap Chinese nibs on Aliexpress. Specifically, I like Jinhao medium nibs and the blank ball-tipped ones. I’m also fortunate enough to know pen collectors who sometimes give me pens they no longer care for.
Tuning
Beginners are encouraged to start with tuning, but I’ve also been told it’s the hardest nib working skill to truly master.
Tine Manipulation
Typical tine alignment requires no more than your fingernails. However, you can get many kinds of smooth-jaw pliers for more advanced nib repair. I won’t say any more because I have little knowledge of nib repair.
You can also manipulate the tine gap with your fingernails for flow adjustment. I often use a feeler gauge or brass shim, which is also useful for cleaning the slit.
Abrasives
You need gentle, fine manual abrasives for smoothing nibs. Micro-Mesh brand is the go-to for good reason. It’s cheap enough, readily available, and produces excellent results. The manufacturer has a good page on their website explaining the difference between Micro-Mesh and regular sandpaper. To me, the key characteristic is the cushioning, which helps prevent sanding flat spots into the tipping.
I’ve personally tested several kinds of smoothing media including lapping film, buffing compound, natural whetstones, and bootleg ultrasonic polishing. I have found so far that Micro-Mesh is the most convenient and consistent. My results aren’t conclusive, and I’ll probably explore it more in the future.
There are several variations of Micro-Mesh which differ based on the composition of the abrasive and the type of backing. Some people use the diamond pads for coarse tuning, and some use the paper-backed sheets. It’s something you will have to determine for yourself. I have personally found the fabric-backed gray kind to be most useful, but I also own and use the foam-backed pads.
Grinding
I used to get confused between grinding and polishing. All these things involve removing material, so why do we differentiate them so much? Then I started physically doing it for myself, and I realized it’s all about length scales. Polishing removes a little material to change the micro-scale texture. Grinding removes a lot of material to change the macro-scale shape.
When you start grinding, you increase your ability to destroy a nib beyond repair. For this reason, I chose to split this category into manual grinding and powered grinding.
Manual
This method involves using sandpaper, whetstones, or files to remove tipping material. It’s extremely tedious. If your grit is too low, you’ll gouge the tipping. If it’s too high, you’ll never finish.
This method is best for beginners precisely because of the tedium. As long as you check your work often, you’ll be able to spot and correct any mistakes as they occur. You’ll develop a kinesthetic understanding of how to remove tipping material, even if it takes 3+ hours per grind.
I started out using water stones, and I found the hard tipping would dig into the relatively softer stone, so I would recommend sandpaper or diamond stones.
Powered
This is where the fun begins! After less grinding less than 5 nibs manually, I gave up and bought a motor. Unfortunately, the tuning took so much longer that I only finished 30 minutes faster than before. There’s a big learning curve when it comes to getting those rough cuts refined.
When you use power tools, you not only increase your ability to destroy a nib – you increase your ability to hurt yourself. Most nib grinding machines pose little physical risk when used properly, but anything spinning close to your body has some inherent danger. Additionally, this method generates dust from the grinding bits and the tipping. You don’t see it at pen shows, but most high-volume nib workers have some kind of dust collection setup at home. You can get extremely sick after years of exposure to these particulates. I currently use a mask due to space limitations.
Okay, scary stuff covered. Let’s actually talk about the tools. I’ll do my best to explain the strengths and drawbacks of each, but this is where my authority and understanding reach their limits.
There are a few ways to subdivide the categories, but I’m choosing two for simplicity: handheld and stationary.
Handheld motors are the most modern and versatile approach. Typically, you hold the pen in one hand and the motor in the other. This orientational flexibility allows you to see what you’re doing very well, since you can hold the nib right up to your magnifiers. You can also cut into other parts of the nib for stacking and flex modification. However, this method requires a lot of dexterity, and is difficult for most beginners. The most common handheld tools are Dremels and jewelry micro-motors. Dremels are accessible, but they are clunky, high-runout, and too fast (nib grinding is usually done at < 1000 rpm) Micro-motors perform amazingly, but are very expensive. Both can accept a wide variety of bits, including cut-off disks.
Stationary motors have several distinct variations. All of them involve a fixed rotary shaft, which leaves the user free to manipulate the nib with both hands. The pros and cons correspond to the handheld tools: stationary motors are more traditional and beginner friendly, but have limited visibility and less versatility for not-tipping modifications.
Of course, this depends on exactly which tool setup you choose. Several nib grinders use jewelry polishing motors, which accept as many bit types as the micro-motors, and you can even attach a flex shaft for extra utility. Several other nib grinders have custom-built machines in the Japanese style. They’re very quiet and comparatively large, and that’s all the relevant knowledge I have of them. I strongly doubt anyone reading this will be obtaining one anyways.
Overall, I think the stationary motors look the coolest. They’ve got some weighty, craftsmanlike presence, and they lend themselves to better looking grinds, at least for my taste.
Thanks for reading along! I’m trying to balance narrative flow with conciseness, but I suppose it’s better to have an imperfect publication than a perfect draft.
The next article in this series will be about architect nibs. I’m currently not good enough at them to write anything useful, so it will be a while before I publish it.