My Frankenpen

[Scrawler]

I have several "hard luck" pens that I have been experimenting with. This old Wearever had no nib and a broken feed. I took the feed from another pen and ground it down to fit the curvature of a Hunt Imperial #101 and and after much experimenting with flow, spilling lots of ink and getting very ink fingers, I finally got it to fit together and actually work.

 

I now have a superflex pen

 

This is what it looks like:

 

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx153/FPWriter/fp1.jpg

 

and this is how it writes:

 

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx153/FPWriter/fp2.jpg

 

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx153/FPWriter/fp3.jpg

[requiescat]

Oh, how cool! And what pretty writing.

 

How exactly do you grind down a feed? I had no idea that was even possible (but I have never tried anything more ambitious than switching nibs around).

[Scrawler]

Oh, how cool! And what pretty writing.

 

How exactly do you grind down a feed? I had no idea that was even possible (but I have never tried anything more ambitious than switching nibs around).

I ground the feed by hand, carefully with a file and a whetstone (for sharpening knives). I did not know it was possible either, but I had parts and really wanted to try it. I was lucky that one of the parts pens I had had a long enough feed and almost fit the section. The first part of the problem was to make the back end of the feed fit the section then recurve it to fit the nib. I had to do a little carving with a needle file to fit the nib int the section. But now it is done and does not leak, so I can replace the nib easily enough when it wears out. Both the 22B and the Imperial 101 will fit into it. The Imperial has easier flex and finer lines so I will be sticking with that.

[loeshab]

I like your new frankenpen and its flexiness.

 

Can you tell me more about choosing and fitting the feed for length? What I'm wondering is if you had a rough idea of the necessary length in advance, say, by comparing it to

the old one? Or did you pick one according to the length of the Imperial nib? :hmm1: Any thoughts appreciated.

 

And is the reason for the difference in nib length between the pictures so you could set the ink flow to your liking?

 

Thanks,

Loeshab

[Scrawler]

I like your new frankenpen and its flexiness.

 

Can you tell me more about choosing and fitting the feed for length? What I'm wondering is if you had a rough idea of the necessary length in advance, say, by comparing it to

the old one? Or did you pick one according to the length of the Imperial nib? :hmm1: Any thoughts appreciated.

 

And is the reason for the difference in nib length between the pictures so you could set the ink flow to your liking?

 

Thanks,

Loeshab

I experimented with a standard feed that would have been of the original size that fit the pen first, but soon realized it would be completely inadequate. Most feeds are much too short for that size of nib. I then looked for a feed that would match the length of the nib and be long enough to go right into the section. The feed needs to fit tight into the section so that ink only flows down the ink channel. It also must be long enough to cover the breather hole. The channel needs to be deep and wide enough to allow enough ink through. I found an oversize feed in a parts pen that had been sent to me by an FPN member as part of a package of parts and broken pens which were for me to learn on. The pen it came from was much larger. I trimmed the diameter of the feed slightly at the back end to fit tightly and cut the ink channel a bit wider. I recurved the top of the feed to match the curvature of the nib by grinding, and ground the shoulders down to fit inside the front of the nib. It took a lot of looking, feeling and careful removal of material, a bit at a time. The bottom picture has it with an original Wearever feed and it was not working at that time. The upper surface curvature of the nib does not match the inner curvature of the section, so I carefully ground out a bit of the inside of the section, up to the nib stop.

 

The next time I do this, I will try to get a piece of original material and custom make a feed for the job. I just happened to be lucky that one of my feeds could be modified to do the job. The chances that I would have another spare feed long enough are quite slim. Unfortunately there are no makers marks on the pen I took the feed from, so I cannot tell you what to look for. I did experiment by taking feeds out of larger modern Chinese pens as well, before deciding that grinding my own was the only possible solution.

[krz]

A good day in the lab!

[olivier78860]

I could adapt a Waterman Ideal #2 wet noodle nib I got for 10€ in an old Malat fountain pen which had a broken nib. This just required to reshape a bit the feed and it gave me a very nice result.

Recycling is nice

[goldiesdad]

Nice fix ... I likey the notion of using other pens to rebuild another ... Coolio

[Anne S. Gray]

I'm not sure if it's a "Frankenpen" or an ugly duckling pen that has become a beautiful swan. I love the resin color on this pen.

[subbes]

Ah, Wearever. Friend to the shade-tree pen mechanic, mad scientist part swapper, and lover of under-appreciated pens alike.

[Scrawler]

I could adapt a Waterman Ideal #2 wet noodle nib I got for 10€ in an old Malat fountain pen which had a broken nib. This just required to reshape a bit the feed and it gave me a very nice result.

Recycling is nice

I wish I could get get my hands on a Waterman Ideal wet noodle, but I cannot, so I have to use what I can get. This was going to be the only way I was ever going to get such a pen was by making-do. Maybe you can post some pictures of your Watermalat.

[Scrawler]

Ah, Wearever. Friend to the shade-tree pen mechanic, mad scientist part swapper, and lover of under-appreciated pens alike.

Now you know why I beg for parts from unfortunate accident victims :roflmho:

[subbes]

I just sold on my Wearever. Pretty green thing, my first re-sac, but I didn't have room.

 

 

Speaking of parts, I have a bunch of dead bodies from Tyler I need to sort through and toss or put up on the Pay It Forward thread.

 

(Poor Pick pen; advertised as being able to write after being driven into a block of balsa wood. Your nib and feed were indeed so resilient, but your lever and pressure bar? Quite another matter...)

[Scrawler]

I just sold on my Wearever. Pretty green thing, my first re-sac, but I didn't have room.

 

 

Speaking of parts, I have a bunch of dead bodies from Tyler I need to sort through and toss or put up on the Pay It Forward thread.

 

(Poor Pick pen; advertised as being able to write after being driven into a block of balsa wood. Your nib and feed were indeed so resilient, but your lever and pressure bar? Quite another matter...)

Oh please do not toss anything. Even the most insignificant and apparently useless item may be of value to a learner like me.

[subbes]

I guess you'll take the leftovers, then?

[Uncle Red]

[wadams]

Scrawler

 

What a Beautiful Pen you created! I bet it is a fantastic writer.... All I can say in ink is

 

BTW, my bottom hurts from falling down that slippery slope....I know...you warned me...but...what can I say...:meow:

[loeshab]

..

[asaha]

This is great invention.

[Scrawler]

Scrawler

 

What a Beautiful Pen you created! I bet it is a fantastic writer.... All I can say in ink is[snip for brevity]

 

BTW, my bottom hurts from falling down that slippery slope....I know...you warned me...but...what can I say...:meow:

Oh that is so nice. I bet that is a Canadian Waterman. You are doing well with it. The 101 nib is a bit scratchy, especially on rough paper. It is real fun to use. Mind you I would love to get a gold nib with tipping instead of the untipped steel. Sorry about the bottom and all :roflmho: