I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Back in 2003, just after I bought my red Parker Vector pen (a decent pen for a student), I bought a blue Parker Reflex (which is no longer in production, though you can still find them).  From day one, it didn't work.  It either flooded or skipped, depending on the angle I held it, and the letter I was trying to write at the time. 

I very sadly put it away, since it was precisely my favorite shade of blue. 

Fast forward twelve years.  I spotted the problem with the pen last week: the tines were uneven.  Not crooked--the feed slit in the nib was cut unevenly.  One tine was shorter and much narrower than the other. 

So, I started trying to figure out if I could replace the nib--hard to say, because I cannot figure out the size of nib I need.  I know more than I used to, but I'm still far more novice than expert.  I did get the nib and feeder* removed and got a better look at the problem, today. 

And then, I fixed it.  It's a cheap, soft stainless steel nib--nothing high quality, but utilitarian, when it works--so I took an emery board to it, and evened up the tines, then put it back.  Inserted a cartridge, and tried it out.

It works.  For the first time since I bought it, it neither floods nor skips.  

Best of all?  I much prefer a fine nib to the medium it came with, and after the work I did evening up the tines on the nib, it's now more fine than medium.

*The feeder is the plastic thing behind the metal that makes up the nib.