Wet Noodle 2.0

[Joshua J.]

A Pelikan M200 with a Zebra G nib.

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f94/Norramp/Pelikan/Capture_00026.jpg

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f94/Norramp/Pelikan/Capture_00027-2.jpg

 

I gouged out the feed to increase flow as much as possible (in hindsight I probably didn't have to do anything to the front half of the feed). The pen will drip if I hold it nib down and lightly shake the pen, but so far it hasn't dripped during use.

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f94/Norramp/Pelikan/Capture_00008-1.jpg

 

It's still not perfect, but it works well enough in that it is a true flex nib on a piston filling fountain pen, and finally the feed can keep up with it.

 

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f94/Norramp/Pelikan/Capture_00030.jpg

[Pen Is Mightier]

Interesting retro fit, hope it works out well for you!

[watch_art]

is it gold or gold plated? how long till it rusts out and you have to replace it?

[Joshua J.]

Rust? It all depends on what type of steel they used. Could be decades if they use the right stuff, if it's a high carbon steel then it would be more a matter of months. My bet is somewhere in the middle.

[Joshua J.]

Great, now I read about dip nibs being notoriously rust prone.

 

Well, even carbon steel can last awhile once it's got a good patina. I guess this is turning into a long term viability test.

[watch_art]

:clap1: yay! more tests!

[Joshua J.]

Turns out the Zebra G nibs are definitely not stainless. Five days ago I stuck one in a cup of vinegar, today one of the tines fell off.

 

The other one did too as soon as I disturbed the nib.

 

 

While this may seem to be distressing, Montegrappa Bordeaux is the only ink I've read about that is as acidic as vinegar. I'll need to test another nib in bleach to see if the other end of the PH scale does the same thing.

I'm hoping the alkalinity of BSB works to my favor.

[Edgar Allan Bo]

cool, I remember experimenting with dip pen nibs on fountain pens few years ago, I don't know what nib it was but I used a flexy dip pen nib with an old GEHA piston fill FP, the nib matched the feed pretty well - but I also carved deeper ink channels into the feed and it worked great - but I had to clean it very often.

 

But it was just an experiment, after that I heard of http://www.ackermanpens.com/ and got me one of them but wasn't that satisfied... now I use dip pen nibs on dip pens only.

[Berghain54]

A Pelikan M200 with a Zebra G nib.

 

Dear Joshua J.,

 

i would like to replicate your finding - only with the silver M205 - but i seem to be unable to remove that metal ring around the feeder, which holds the nib in place ... unless i use some kind of martial arts as it seems.

 

Is there a safe and easy way to remove this metal ring?

 

Thank you!

[tragique]

Turns out the Zebra G nibs are definitely not stainless. Five days ago I stuck one in a cup of vinegar, today one of the tines fell off.

 

The other one did too as soon as I disturbed the nib.

 

 

While this may seem to be distressing, Montegrappa Bordeaux is the only ink I've read about that is as acidic as vinegar. I'll need to test another nib in bleach to see if the other end of the PH scale does the same thing.

I'm hoping the alkalinity of BSB works to my favor.

 

Unless I'm mistaken they're just regular carbon steel but plated in chrome to prevent corrosion. It's interesting how long these dip nibs can last compared to unplated ones. Often enough mine wear out from metal fatigue (from flexing) after about 3-4 months, and almost never from rusting. I had them sit in pens (so in contact with ink) and they still didn't rust. Really amazing for dip nibs.

Edited February 3, 2016 by tragique

[Joshua J.]

Martial Arts is about right.

 

Removing a nib from a Pelikan feed requires finding a hole the same size as the feed and pounding the nib and feed out with a small hammer. I used the lanyard hole in a wooden handle of a metal spatula, it happened to fit perfectly.

I forget how I got it back in, probably holding the nib and feed together with soft grips on a vice and then tapping the ring back on with the wood handle on the other side.

 

Note that the Carbon Steel flex nib does not last long before the insides peel off. In hindsight I abandoned this avenue of Flex pretty quickly.

What has worked for quite a while now is a regular Stainless Steel nib with fins cut in the sides. That was with a Bexley nib, though it does lose alignment pretty easily if you push it, and it's ugly. The aesthetics are probably the only good thing about the Zebra nib on a Pelikan.

 

Currently I think grinding the sides off an Ahab nib is far and away the best method of achieving some decent Flex. Though I haven't personally tried it, my experience with the Bexley experient is enough confirmation for me.

Stick it in a Jinhao 159 if you don't want to deal with smelly Noodler's plastic.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/240492-noodlers-ahab-ease-my-flex-mod/

 

 

I should also note that in recent years I pretty much stopped using flex. Stubs give lots of variation and can be used like a normal pen. Right now I have an inked up Jinhao 159 with Goulet 1.5mm Stub, it works pretty well after a bit of tuning.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Joshua J.

[Berghain54]

Dear Joshua J.,

 

thank you very much for your input - i will continue to experiment with those chinese pen's and these nib's then.

 

Best

Berghain