Missing Tipping

The majority of second- and first-tier vintage and modern fountain pens have a little ball of iridium grafted to the tip of a gold nib. Given how soft gold is and how malleable it is, the iridium tipping helps to protect the nib and keep its point size. Unfortunately, with age and use, sometimes that tipping goes missing. If a nib has missing tipping, it is completely useless unless someone can replace the tipping, which is a very challenging and toxic metallurgical procedure. The only person whom we know that does it is Greg Minuskin at gregminuskin.com. It is usually an expensive repair that takes a lot of time. Mr. Minuskin often has a fairly long backlog. Nevertheless, it is worth it to save a favorite pen or family heirloom.