I sent two nibs to Appelboom. A fine that wrote as if I was writing with glue and a broad that I asked to be grind down to a stub. The fine nib now writes 'glassy smooth' and is also reasonably wet without increasing the line width. When I compare Anabelle's stub to the one in my Esterbrook Estie (Journaler nib by Gena Salorino) this writes even better. Anabelle's stub is now my most favorite stub I have. I don't know if this was done deliberately, but reverse writing with the stub does give a little more feedback, but also a finer line. So now I have a broad and medium stub in one. Pretty cool!
If I may point out one drawback, the nibs have been gone for a little less than five weeks. Although this is not entirely attributable to Appelboom, as shipping problems made it take a week longer.
Annabelle performed pure magic on a nib that came with a custom pen I had purchased. The nib was hard starting -- without any equipment, at the Commonwealth Pen Show she managed to turn it into the smoothest nib I have. I would take any and all of my pens to her for customization in the future. You will be hard pressed to find a more skilled nib meister anywhere!
I sent my PIlot SE in for an adjustment of the nib and feed. The nib made a clicking sound when I wrote with it, The feed and nib have been adjusted as requested but the pen still makes a clicking sound.
I sent my Waldmann fountain pen to Appleboom for a grind down. I wanted a Japanese fine on a European broad. Great work from Anabelle, She's a grinder who knows exactly what she's doing. Pen performance is A+. Highly recommended.
I dropped my custom 823 and the nib bent unfortunately. I had sent it for repair, It took almost 3 weeks to complete. The ink flow was fixed however the pen was too scratchy (way more than before). After I returned The pen they made it butter-smooth. Thank you so much!
It took three weeks, as was estimated. Joost answered any questions regarding the process very quickly and courteously, which some other stores can't manage.
I am quite satisfied with the nib grind and the pen writes nicely now. Anabelle did a great job and I would definitely send any of my pens to her again if they need work.
Crisp Italic grind on Leonardo Momento Zero Fine (steel) Nib
Review Add on: 05-08-2022
Average Rating:
(5)
Anabelle has done an amazing job on grinding the steel 'Fine' nib of the Leonardo Momento Zero. This pen is a workhorse daily writer so I have given it a bit of a work out before writing this review. The Crisp Italic grind gives my writing a little bit of a flare to the shape of the letters and brings an expressive aesthetic to my writing that is pleasing to the eye.
Anabelle is one of the best nibmeisters in the business. I order pens specifically from Appelboom to ship to the USA because of her impressive work. The cursive italic nib on my Leonardo Supernova feels like a ball when running across the paper, yet writes with the calligraphic flair I desire from the grind. Thank you, Anabelle, for another fantastic customization!
There are those who believe that the higher end of the Visconti pen line are not made to write well, they are things of beauty, a joy to look at, but not to write with... Visconti has a history of problems with e.g. Homo Sapiens pens not writing well or having some issues. I can confirm. I received a Homo Sapiens Skyline as a gift (not available in Europe), stub nib. It was writing so extremely wet (even for a stub nib) that it was hard to write something legible.
I sent the pen to Appelboom and Annabel did - once again- a wonderful job.
The pen is still writing wet as a stub is supposed to do, but now the result is perfect. So it is possible to have the best of both worlds: an extremely nice looking pen that also writes very well. Hint: buy your Visconti at Appelboom and ask for a nib tuning. That way your Visconti will write like a dream out of the box...
First of all, thank you so much for your work in making my Aurora Plutone GF nib in good working order again ^o^)! Not to mention your previous work on my MB Calligraphy - job well done! PS: it was fun meeting you at the Dutch Pen Show last sunday!
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