Richard Binder Nib Adjustment Comparison. Standard Lamy Studio EF Nib on the Right, and Custom Richard Binder Lamy Studio Nib Ground Down to EEF.

Earlier this year when I went to the Philadelphia Pen Show, I was lucky enough to stop by the Richard Binder table to drop off some of my pens to have him adjust the nibs for me.  One of the pens I left with him was my stainless steel Lamy Studio which I love, but I’ve always wished the Studio EF nibs were a bit more fine.

Richard Binder Nib Grinding Slip

Being probably the most popular person out there when it comes to doing nib work, Richard Binder has quite a backlog, and in my case it took about 16 weeks to have the pens returned back to me after leaving them with him at the Philly show.  It was a long wait, but I can say I’m incredibly pleased with the work that he did on my pens.  Not only was the work itself of great quality, but the personal touch of having the slip you see above which is signed and dated by Richard with the pen to show it was tested was really nice.

Close up of Richard Binder Nib (left) and Original Nib (Right)

The results I’ve had with my new nib have been fantastic so far.  I’ll show you a writing sample in just a minute, but one thing you might also notice from the photo above is the significant decrease in the nib creep.  Now I don’t know if this is a side-effect of having the nib ground down to a finer size, but you can see the obvious difference in this photo.  Both pens have the same ink (Pelikan Edelstein Topaz) loaded in them, and there is a clear difference that you can see here.

Richard Binder Writing Sample Comparison (click for a better view)

The writing sample I did shows my old Lamy Studio with a regular EF nib, and then shows a comparison to the Binder Extra Extra Fine, as well as a standard Pelikan M215 Fine Nib to give some additional perspective.  The writing sample was done on Rhodia Levenger Circa paper, and as I mentioned before I had all of the pens loaded with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz to maintain the consistency of my testing.  If you take a closer look at the scan above, I think the best place to see the difference is where I wrote the alphabet with all three pens because you can do a one for one comparison of the letters and all of the different strokes.   Beyond just the look of the written lines on the page, the pen is still just as smooth to write with even with the much finer nib.

I’m really enjoying the new nib, and I would definitely recommend shipping your pens off to Mr. Binder for some work if you can stand to be without your pen for a few months.

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