How To Swap Nibs Between The Two Nakaya's?

[Sketch and Doodle]

They are 2013 and 2014 Nakaya portables but different colours.

 

How difficult is it to swap between the two? I like the colour of the one but prefer the nib of the other.

Since I'm only using one, I'm thinking of selling the other one.

 

Are they friction fit?

Can I just clean the nib and feed and just wriggle it out and switch?

 

I really don't want to ship it to the U.S. and wait many days and pay to ship it back.

Is it really hard to DIY?

Edited October 28, 2014 by Sketch and Doodle

[Algester]

Since they use platinum nibs and feeds yes they are friction fit

[elderberry]

As far as I know Nakaya changed their feeds a few years back. The older ones are really really tight (can confirm that). I've pulled some nibs and feeds before but gave up on the Nakaya (and sent it to John Sorowka for the job).

 

From what I've heard this should be easier with the new generation feeds but I doubt these are freely interchangeable. If you have two new ones you might be lucky.

 

Don't you have any experienced nib guys in Canada you could ship it to?

[Sketch and Doodle]

I should visit the pen show coming up on this Sunday in Toronto 'SCRIPTUS 2014'.

 

ON-SITE REPAIRS AT SCRIPTUS

No pen show would be complete without offering on-site repairs, and Scriptus is no exception.

We are happy to announce that Sean Gosse, formerly of PenRX, has agreed to be available for on-site repairs and nib work at Scriptus. Many will remember his ink-stained fingers at the Toronto International Pen Show, in previous years.

So dust off your pen box, dig out that not-quite-right nib, and bring them in with you. Just five weeks to go!

 

 

[Bijouxandbeads]

I just found out how to tell the difference between old and new feeds. The newer feeds have a rectangular indentation on the underside of the feed just above the tines, while the older nibs have a circular indentation. It is my understanding that these are not interchangable. It is also my understanding that Nakaya nibs are not swappable by a lay person, only an experienced nibmeister or by Nakaya.

[shuuemura]

I have seen Shinichi Yoshida (Nakaya's nibmeister) swap nibs before and his approach involved heat-setting the feed. A couple of months later I had the pleasure of having my Nakaya pen adjusted by Yukio Nagahara who simply yanked out/pushed in the nib and feed (no heat involved). That pen seems to write properly, so my opinion is that you can probably get away with pulling out the nib and feed if you dare.

[ethernautrix]

Todd (FarmBoy) swapped the nibs out of two Nakayas for me and Loren (lsmith42). He just... yanked them out. Carefully. Thus, Loren received my heki tamenuri Piccolo Writer, and I received his matte black Piccolo Writer. No heat setting required.

 

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this (we were at a winery - Pen Posse), but if you were motivated to do so, you could try the heat setting with very hot water. Not boiling, but not tepid. If you felt you needed a heat source.

 

I have swapped nibs between a Long Piccolo and a Piccolo - unscrewed the nib sections and bada bing! Now the solid black Piccolo has a kuro tamenuri nib section, and the kuro tamenuri Long Piccolo has a solid black nib section. Would the color schemes of your Nakayas work as well aesthetically?

[Sketch and Doodle]

Both are rectangular indentation and identical. Both have newer feed.

I'm going to "Scriptus" anyway and I'd rather have the experienced pen meister to swap it. Just a few more days.

[gmax]

Mine just pull out, and are a surpisingly loose fit. Try gently twisting the nib and feed, as if to unscrew them, and if they move freely then just pull them out. This allows for very thorough cleaning, as the nib just slips off the feed, and seats back perfectly on an indentation on the feed, so there's no problem with alignment. A brilliantly simple system

I also have an older Portable with a music nib that doesn't budge at all.

[Sketch and Doodle]

Mine just pull out, and are a surpisingly loose fit. Try gently twisting the nib and feed, as if to unscrew them, and if they move freely then just pull them out. This allows for very thorough cleaning, as the nib just slips off the feed, and seats back perfectly on an indentation on the feed, so there's no problem with alignment. A brilliantly simple system

I also have an older Portable with a music nib that doesn't budge at all.

Thanks gmax!

I did it!

 

I just cleaned up the ink in the CC filler and wiped dry and grabbed the feeder with paper towel and thought I had to grab firm and yank it out? but as soon as I grab the feeder it started pull out without any resistance. It just came out without any effort at all. Zero pressure. Wow, so easy.

I cleaned once more under running water and wiped dry and switched into the other body and again easy in. No drama.

 

It was really easy pull out and easy push in's. No hard grip is necessary.

I inked up both and they write as beautiful as before.

 

No need to send them to nibmeisters and saved the hassle.

 

Thanks to you all!

[Algester]

The same is said to be the same case as Pilot pens but zi think the true namiki pens have ebonite feeds

[daintydimsum]

My portable (before I lost it) had a slightly loose-fitting nib unit. It never leaked, but it was certainly easy to remove and clean. (Not that I did it that often, for fear of somehow making the unit too loose.)

[mirosc]

The newer feeds have a rectangular indentation on the underside of the feed just above the tines, while the older nibs have a circular indentation. It is my understanding that these are not interchangable.

 

The older ones are really really tight (can confirm that)

[...]

From what I've heard this should be easier with the new generation feeds but I doubt these are freely interchangeable.

 

 

This is correct.

Yesterday I had the idea that it might be interesting to have a different nib in one of my Nakayas, so I grabbed another one and tried to swap nibs. Unfortunately the first had the old feed, the other one the new feed.

 

So:

- old/new feeds have different diameters and don't fit into the other collar (old collar only takes old feeds, new only new)

- old nibs don't have the cutouts and don't fit the new feed

- new feeds have cutouts and could fit the old feed, but the diameter is a little bit different

- all in all it is an easy task to pull/reinsert feed and nib (both still write flawlessly), but I recommend not trying this if it is your first pen to do so...