Teardown Tuesday: Pelikan Stub Regrind

A week or two back I acquired a new pen: a Pelikan M800 with a BB nib. (BB = Double Broad)I got the double-broad because I wanted something bigger that would give me some more line variation. Not flex mind you, but something more calligraphic.The pen came through Deutsche Post and out good old USPS to me and I promptly dipped it in some cheap ink (Lamy Blue) to try it out.There is some line variation, but not too much. :-/I waited and mulled on this for a while.Three things that I have are tools, courage, and the internet.I had ordered some nib finishing supplies a while back and I had a nice enough fine diamond file (note: Arkansas stone is better but I didn't have one) for rough work and a few sheets of 1-micron and .3-micron 3M abrasive sheets.Thus it began.I took a nib (which, objective is too expensive to begin with) and ran it on the file. I did this for quite a while, each pass taking off perhaps a thousandth of on inch... maybe much less even.This went on for a while.Then I moved to the green 1-micron-grip abrasive followed by the .3-micron sheet.Ink. Clean. Adjust. Repeat for an hour or so.Yummy!What started as a big blob of Iridium is now a flat-topped and bottomed stub nib. It's not as sharp as a cursive italic or crisp italic nib so it's easier to write with; but it's extreme enough to make some good line variation!It's also (unintentionally) ever-so-slightly right-footed -- and that works since that's about how I hold my pen.Here's the nib in profile so you can see the grind:I started this project before taking any pictures so you'll have to imagine the before. It continued the curve you see on the left of this all the way to the front and continued past the now flat tip.BTW: not to toot my own horn, but I think my signature looks sexy. :-P