Muji Fountain Pen + Fpr #5 Flex Nib

[Feanaaro]

A while ago, I recounted on these forums my troubles with finding a nib that worked for me with the Muji pen. I loved the pen, but the nib was too wide for my writing, and also marginally too wet to be used in daily note-taking. I tried fitting in it a Bock nib, and it was an half-catastrophe, which I barely survived to (you can read about the little odyssey here).

Later on, it occurred to me that fountainpenrevolution.com sold very cheap nibs, some of which with a minimalistic aesthetic which could have gone well together with the Muji pen. So I purchased some, put the #5 flex into the pen, and this review is the result.

 

I will not comment at length on the pen itself, since it has already been reviewed and discussed many times on this forum. It's a smallish, sleek, light aluminum pen. Precisely machined, it looks much better than its $15.50 price tag would let one suppose. Some may find it uncomfortable because it is relatively small and entirely cylindrical, but I love it (but then, as you may see later, I have a horrible grip on my pens anyway...)

 

The original nib+feed fits very snugly, and the sleeve itself is glued, making it impractical to change the entire unit. So, it is not the easiest pen to do a nib swap, but it can be done. The FPR #5 Flex nib fits also very snugly, and it is not a perfect match for the feed (someone better at these things than I am could probably bend the nib to better conform, but I haven't been able to do that), which makes it quite a dry writer when not flexed. The tines are very tight at the tip, and perhaps the nib could use some smoothing on the micro-mesh, so, again, someone more expert than me could probably improve the situation quite easily. However, the very fine line which is obtained by the relatively dry un-flexed nib works well to enhance the line variation, and in any case if one wants a wetter line just applying the slightest pressure will produce it. There is some skipping, which may be exaggerated by my atrocious grip and nib-rolling, but nothing terrible considering how this was put together.

 

The flex performance is very good in my opinion. There is some railroading occasionally at the highest pressures, but considering that the feed is in no way optimized for the feed, and that perhaps the ink I am using is not the wettest or the most suitable for flex pens, I am really impressed. Notice also that the railroading really happens only when pushing quite hard (indeed, it flexes with relatively little pressure, so even "hard" is not really a lot of force), if one just wanted to use moderate flex to add some flair to their writing, it would work perfectly. It is not comparable to a vintage flex for sure (though, I've never used one, just saw the videos), but for only 7 dollars I am very happy with this little nib.

 

In my opinion, as you may see in the pic and video, the FPR nib fits much better than the original one with the overall look of the pen.

 

Here below you may see a picture, and this is a link to the video (again, sorry for the quality, the terrible handwriting and the weird grip).

 

 

Edit: some grammar and added a close-up of the nib:

Edited February 1, 2015 by Feanaaro

[senzen]

Interesting, I had no idea the nib could be changed in these... Although I love my 4 mujis, they have never ever failed to write, which I can't say of the other brands I have, save for Pelikan.

[Algester]

one can use Faber-Castell nibs found in the Basic to Ondoro they will fit as well but the feed will still be the same as any other Schmidt nib albeit wetter

[Feanaaro]

Yes, I guess those would also look well with the pen, and usually would be smoother. However, those are sold (when you can find them) for about 35-40$ if I am not wrong, this was only 7, is flex, and looks even better I think.