Something I have found that helps when flossing your nib is look at the edge(s) of your piece brass sheeting often the edge(s) is distorted from being cut with scissors. This can make it nearly impossible to get your piece of brass sheet started between the tines of your nib. To smooth the edge(s) of your brass sheet simple lay it on a hard flat surface and then run the back of a teaspoon gently but firmly along the edge(S) of your brass sheet a couple of times on both sides.

That's an original artwork by comic book artist Ced Nocon. He did that for me in Noodler's Purple Heart with an Ahab Flex. He and I both had grandfathers in WWII, and the WWII theme Purple Heart award for the ink struck a chord with him, so he felt compelled to draw that for me. I was blown away, so I framed it and keep it in the background of my videos.

An excellent point. You can also have the opposite effect. I've written on cheap paper where the fibers tear off and get stuck in the tines, then the pen ends up writing like a felt-tip marker because the fibers are wicking all the ink out! Either way, brass sheet will help to get you back to normal.

True, I probably could have clarified that a bit. Technically, nibs should be alllllmost touching, and a brass shim like this will help to get a nib spaced properly if the tines are in fact too close and actually touching. Perhaps that's something that I'll dive into in a separate video, that really gets more into nib adjustment and stuff which is a little deeper than I wanted to go for this video. For the average pen user, the brass will be something used more for cleaning the tines.

Thank you for yet another great video. Here is something the pen community don't seem to have caught onto yet. I had a misspent youth studying mechanics and working on engines. A lot of folk use a thin sheet of brass to spread the tines. Much better than this is a set of 'feeler gauges'. Mechanics use these to measure and set very small gaps with a high degree of accuracy. Essentially they are a set of very thin calibrated, polished steel sheets. Simply start with the finest and work up until the nib is wet enough. It takes seconds and no tine mis-aligning lateral leverage is needed. The thinnest ones are much stiffer and thinner than your brass sheet. They are inexpensive too. All the best to you and thanks for your videos.

What a difference this made on my Lamy tip. Thanks for the tip!

Yeah, cutting this stuff on a mass scale is definitely an adventure...we had to buy several different fairly specialized tools to be able to do it safely and cleanly. This is thin, sharp stuff though, you have to be careful handling it!

As a college student, I find that loose leaf has an extremely nasty habit of causing little fibers (pocket lint like texture) to get caught in between the tines. This especially true with budget loose leaf in my experience. These shim metal sheets are extremely handy in getting that stuff out. Those who are new to FPs will find that their FPs tend to stop writing when writing on loose leaf, it's because of this. If I'm not mistaken I believe most at FPN will refer to this as "flossing"

FYI New users: careful. The edges of brass sheet can cut you!

This one's superb, Brian. These tutorials are so well done, with very well selected and germaine topics. A great knowledge base doesn't hurt. Thanks!

You got it! I put that there on purpose, a little reward for the loyal fans ;) Glad you like it!

literally just had to rush to gouletpens to buy these cause stupid ol' me put a piece of paper in between my tines and it tore off in there :'^( also i would like to thank you for saving my pen

some of your vids Sir are priceless! thank you.

Awesome! I had already scavenged the various parts of the package (sheets, mesh, loupe) from various places, though. The sheet I got was 0.0015 inch and came in a 5 ft by half a foot sheet, so I don't think I'll ever need more of that. I'll probably get the mesh from you guys some time in the future because yours is a far better deal than the 2x2 inch pad I got for the same price as your 3x6 sheet

OMG, you look so young in this video. LOL. Thank you so much for all the educational videos!

From what I've seen, a .002 inch shim would be a better choice for opening up the tines. The .001 inch is handy for testing the spacing after you have worked on the nib with the thicker shim and of course flossing it out after the operation is done.

I've heard of folks using anything from .001 up to .007 for flossing, I personally felt .002 was sufficient as a single all-around brass sheet. Thinner brass would be just as good for flossing (and easier to fit in the tines), I just settled on the .002 personally.

Another golden video! I especially liked two particular tips. First, cutting down the brass when needed with standard scissors is simply a great way to extend the life of the brass sheets. Awesome tip! Second, it’s a such great reminder to throw in the fact that the brass sheets could be used with the nib either on or off the pen. Outstanding tip! I placed an order just a couple of days ago for a Goulet Pen Cleaning and Tuning Set. It’s probably one of the most comprehensive sets out there for the price and I am very eager to receive it! Literally, the ONLY thing that could make the kit any better would be to include a cheap baggy of O-rings to help create a seal for eye dropper pens. Grease is nice, but an O-ring and grease is even better! Regardless, the value definitely speaks for itself! I’m looking forward to checking out even more of your educational videos. I like how you go far above and beyond simple reviews and recommendations, but the fact that you could pack this much content consistently into just about 12-minutes or less really speaks wonders! Be well. ✌

Here where I live I can't find those brass sheet, so I cut a soda can in small sheet. It worked but "my" sheet are disposable, after one use have to cut a new ones

Is that a super rare limited edition Edison Bulb filler in the background next to Leonardo? It's the little things that make me smile.

That's actually some calligraphy sent to me by the one and only S.B.R.E. Brown here on KZfaq, before he started shooting videos!

It can! Like anything thin and sharp, be careful.

Thanks so much!

I have a Lamy Safari and I van clean the nib separately so I don't ruin my pen! 😀

imagine accidentally slicing your finger with that.

Noob question. Can these sheets be applied even to Japanese fines, which usually have almost no visible space between the tines? Or while that end up spreading the tunes slightly and making them wetter?

What is the thickness of the brass sheet.

So I have a Pilot Plumix and I switched the nib with my wife because she wanted an extra fine. So I added the Medium nib to my plumix. Had a startup issue and didn't have a brass sheet available. I had a one edge razor handy and cleared the clog with it. Did I just mess up?

*WOULD A DOUBLE EDGE RAZOR ALSO WORK?*

How thick is this brass sheet? 0.02 mm? Appreciate it.

Why dou you use and recommend brass instead of (e.g.) aluminium? Aluminium should be softer than brass or is it too soft?

Is the Mylar finer or courser than the micro mesh? I have the mesh but haven't used the mylar before

What is the picture of the medic holding a wounded soldier?

what about something like 1 thou shim stock ?

What can i use if i don't have these? Could a double edge razor's blade be fine?

Brian...I just put a Wing Sung 626 away after thoroughly cleaning it with water. When I lift it off the page and start writing again it skips pretty consistently. It was driving me crazy so I put it aside. Interestingly enough, when I look at it under a loop, it does not appear to have baby's bottom; however, looking at it from the top of the nib I can see that the slip between the tines goes from open to essentially touching right before it reaches the nib. Since pulling apart the tines seems slightly impossible, do you think the brass sheet could help?

How would you use these with an ahab nib. There's no hole to start with.

Mylar is finer. 12,000 grit Micromesh has abrasive about 2 microns thick, the Mylar is 1 micron and 0.3 micron.

How thick should a brass shim be?

Is a razor blade thin enough for this ?

I love my Platinum Preppy but wish it wrote a bit wider, would flossing the nib open up the tines?

how thick is that in milimiters?

Informative video! What gauge brass is that sheet? It's entirely possible I have it in my jewelry making supplies.

shall i try that with a razor blade?

I thought brass shims were typically used to help adjust the spacing between the nib tines? Your video doesn't even mention that.

Can you remove the twsbi vac 700r nib?

Wow, yeah that ought to last you a while ;)

What pen is that you are cleaning?

How thic is the sheet?

Is there any alternatives? If for example its not available locally?

John 1:1 in Latin. What