Close-up side profile of a black Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen with a severely bent gold FA nib pointing downward, showing blue ink droplets on a white background. Copyright © Debbie Ridpath Ohi - DebbieOhi.com.

A while back, I stupidly bent the FA nib of my beloved Pilot Custom 823. I bought this fountain pen used from a librarian friend of mine, and love it because of the flexy nib, big ink reservoir, and the end cap which can be closed.

To those not familiar with fountain pens: There are many different types of fountain pens, and different kinds of nibs. Nibs make a HUGE difference, though I didn't realize this when I first got into fountain pens. Beginner and standard fountain pens have steel nibs (like the Lamy Safari pens). They are usually less expensive, and the nibs are more forgiving. Then there are gold nib pens. Gold nibs give more line variation because of the softer nibs, and I find them easier for long writing sessions. However, gold nibs are also easier to damage! It's one reason I rarely let other people try out my gold nib pens, unless they are already familiar with gold nibs.

There are also different ways of filling fountain pens. The easiest: Cartridges. However, using cartridges limits you to the ink colours available in that company's cartridge offerings. I quickly shifted to using other methods, which enable me to use bottled inks. And there are many, many different types and colours of bottled ink! Here's an older photo of just some of my ink collection:

Many different shaped ink bottles arranged on a white surface.

I have since culled considerably, heh.

My Pilot Custom 823 pen uses piston filling. I've always found the piston fill mechanism a bit challenging, especially with this particular pen. When I bent the nib, I wasn't supporting the bottle and the pen properly, and was struggling with trying to push the end cap down to release the vacuum...in the process, the pen slipped and the nib hit the bottom.

As soon as I heard the "clunk," I knew. 😢

Diagram showing three numbered steps for filling a fountain pen using a vacuum fill mechanism: Fig. 1 shows pulling the knob out past the stopper; Fig. 2 shows inserting the pen into the adapter in an ink bottle; Fig. 3 shows releasing the vacuum to draw ink into the pen.

When I posted about what happened on Bluesky, many offered advice (thank you!). That's when I first came across the term "nibmeister."

Love this term!

I ended up reaching out to Salman Khattak of The Toronto Pen Company.

From his bio on the site: "Salman is an avid Calligrapher and as well as a fountain pen enthusiast. A tinkerer by nature, he set out to modify fountain pens to match the performance of dip pens so he could practice Calligraphy on the go. One thing led to another and he has come to a point where he is designing his own line of fountain pens. Toronto Pen Company is established with this goal in mind."

Portrait of a smiling bald man with a dark beard wearing a black jacket over a pink striped shirt, with green foliage blurring in the background.

Photo from Toronto Pen Company website.

If I lived closer to the shop, I could have dropped off the pen in person. Instead, I carefully packaged up my poor pen in an old PenBBS box, sent it to his P.O. box with fingers crossed. When I didn't hear anything after 10 days, I nervously nudged Salman by email. It turns out the post office hadn't sent him a notification, so he was glad I let him know.

And look, Salman fixed my pen!!!

Close-up photo of a black and gold Pilot Custom 823 fountain pen resting horizontally on dot grid paper, showing a restored gold nib. Photo: Salman Khattak, Toronto Pen Company.

Repair cost: CDN $75 + shipping. Worth every penny, and I am even more motivated to be more careful when refilling this pen!

If you're in the Toronto area and looking for a nibmeister, I highly recommend Salman Khattack at the Toronto Pen Company.

Find out more about Debbie at DebbieOhi.com, or browse her social blogs.