Fwd: The Penny Nib Smoothing Technique
- From: Carrie H <troubleattmill@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: fptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 29 Jan 2006 20:57:30 +0000
Forwarded so that all the list gets this message. Hmmm, looking back at my
previous message, I really must check for typos before sending messages.
Don't think we've got any Lincoln Head pennies in the random assortment of
foreign coins from our collection boxes.
Carrie
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Roger Beamon <rbeamon1@xxxxxxx>
Date: Jan 29, 2006 8:05 PM
Subject: Re: The Penny Nib Smoothing Technique
To: Carrie H <troubleattmill@xxxxxxxxx>
On 29 Jan 2006 at 19:23, Carrie H wrote, at least in part:
> Hello Roger and all on the list,
> I just altered me e-mail because it was getting a few too many
> e-mails for my other address. I don't look on Pentrace, so haven't
> seen the method you refer to. I'd be interested in a quick
> description.
Hi Carrie and all that expressed an interest. I can't do it in a few words,
so
bear with me...
It's good practice to be sure your pen's tines are reasonably well aligned
before proceeding. It's futile trying to smooth nibs with misaligned tines.
1. Procure a US copper Lincoln Head penny before 1983 issue. The original
PT poster said something about these pennies being harder. I can't
corroborate that but I happened to have a 1979 specimen in my
pocket, so that's what I'm using.
2. On the reverse side of the coin the Lincoln Memorial is depicted. Turn
the
coin so that the pillars of the building form a vertically oriented
ladder. Take the pen with the nib in your normal writing position and
run it very very lightly up and down the rungs of the ladder. The
least pressure you can use to keep the point in the ladderway is the
correct pressure to use. You probably want to do this some 10-30
times, up and down.
3. Now turn the coin such that the ladder is horizontal (The building is
right
side up). If you are righthanded, run the nib from left to right only
across the rungs of the ladder. Do not go in both directions. 10-30
times at the lowest pressure possible is about right here, too.
Southpaws will go from right to left only.
4. I've found that going back to step 1 for 5-20 passes up and down gives
the best job.
Some notes: It was recommended that the job be done with ink as that
allows one to check their progress as they proceed. That's fine, but I have
found that dry writing on paper will give you a very good idea how smooth
the nib is before it ever touches ink. If done dry, the caveats re: light
pressure are even more important. Whether done wet or dry, you will see an
order of magnitude increase in smoothness.
I can't properly explain why it works, but I'm forming my own hypothesis. I
suspect that a molecular coating of copper might be distributed on the nib,
and copper is a lubricant of sorts. That copper may be accounting for the
smoother performance. Suffice to say, I have examined nibs before and
after the treatment and the procedure doesn't seem to alter the appearance
of the ball on the point at all, so you aren't doing anything to the nib
that will
alter its configuration or performance. My examinations are done with a 10X
loupe.
I haven't found any downside to this, so give it a go and let us know how
you fare. Those outside the US could probably hunt up the necessary penny
at banks or merchants that cater to visitors from other countries.
My mylar films aren't seeing as much action as before.
Roger
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