Ebonite Feeds

[turningneko]

Does anyone make their own ebonite feeds or have a source for them that fit JOWO #5/#6 nibs? I'm starting to make my own sections, and it struck me that the feed/housing is what's really important. I feel like aficionados would appreciate an ebonite feed over the ABS plastic feed/housings that come on the JOWO nibs I'm using. Any advice is welcome even if it's "I tried and every one I made Leaked terribly."

[Joseph B]

Ebonite feeds may be purchased at Fountain Pen Revolution http://www.fountainpenrevolution.com/nibs.html .

 

Note that, ebonite feeds do not have the housing or feed extension for cartridge/converters. This necessitates filling/feed systems such as eye dropper, piston, vacuum, sac, etc. such as in vintage pens. Also,with no housing one needs to use ebonite sections that may be heat set for the nib/feed or a "notch" for the nib must be machined into the sections of other materials.

 

Hope this helps. Others please chime-in for corrections/clarification.

 

 

 

 

I

[thecla]

Gold Jowo #6 and #8 nib units can be had with ebonite feeds.

 

The housing for #6 nib unit with ebonite feed is different from the plastic feed version so the units are not interchangeable. I haven't seen a Jowo #8 nib unit with a plastic feed (do they even exist?) so I don't know if they are the same.

 

One source is FPNibs.com (in Spain).

 

Edited to add:

I wonder how the cross sections of the #6 ebonite and plastic feeds compare i.e. would it be possible to fit the ebonite feed into the housing for the plastic feed? If anyone has tested it I'd be very interested to know. The housing for the bonite feed version is thicker (housing threads are M8,4x0,5 vs. M7,4x0,5) so one can't make a pen with ebonite feed as slim as a one with plastic feed. For someone who likes smaller pens it's a bit of a bummer.

Edited January 6, 2016 by thecla

[richardandtracy]

Fitting nibs by friction is difficult.

I have not made my own feeds, but I have fitted nibs and feeds into a machined plastic section, machining the section as accurately as possible to get the correct grip on the nib. Unfortunately each pen was an experiment. The section shape alters its stiffness, and different section materials with the same shape have different stiffnesses, and as a result needed to be bored out to different sizes.

Using the standard JoWo nib and feed, with the same shape but different materials I needed to bore the section out to between 6.25 and 6.35mm, and 0.05mm difference in bore was all that was needed to go from 'So tight it can't go in' to 'Doesn't grip nib and it'll fall out'.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

[Joseph B]

Gold Jowo #6 and #8 nib units can be had with ebonite feeds.

 

The housing for #6 nib unit with ebonite feed is different from the plastic feed version so the units are not interchangeable. I haven't seen a Jowo #8 nib unit with a plastic feed (do they even exist?) so I don't know if they are the same.

 

One source is FPNibs.com (in Spain).

 

Edited to add:

I wonder how the cross sections of the #6 ebonite and plastic feeds compare i.e. would it be possible to fit the ebonite feed into the housing for the plastic feed? If anyone has tested it I'd be very interested to know. The housing for the bonite feed version is thicker (housing threads are M8,4x0,5 vs. M7,4x0,5) so one can't make a pen with ebonite feed as slim as a one with plastic feed. For someone who likes smaller pens it's a bit of a bummer.

 

 

Fitting nibs by friction is difficult.

I have not made my own feeds, but I have fitted nibs and feeds into a machined plastic section, machining the section as accurately as possible to get the correct grip on the nib. Unfortunately each pen was an experiment. The section shape alters its stiffness, and different section materials with the same shape have different stiffnesses, and as a result needed to be bored out to different sizes.

Using the standard JoWo nib and feed, with the same shape but different materials I needed to bore the section out to between 6.25 and 6.35mm, and 0.05mm difference in bore was all that was needed to go from 'So tight it can't go in' to 'Doesn't grip nib and it'll fall out'.

 

Regards,

 

Richard

 

Very interesting and informative. I was not familiar with FPNibs.com . I also have had trouble getting the correct machined fit of feeds/nibs without housing. For all the development of plastics over the last 100 years, it is fascinating that ebonite remains a superior material in many ways.

 

Thanks for the information.

[turningneko]

Thanks for the help. Anyone know off hand the thread size for the #8 ebonite feed housing? I'd also appreciate a source to buy the taps for it and the #6 ebonite feed.

[richardandtracy]

FPNibs gives thread sizes for the JoWo units as:

#5 = M6.5 x 0,5

#6 = M7.4 x 0,5

#8 = M9.4 x 0,5

(This is in the last picture when you press the 'More Pictures' button on each page)

 

As for taps... Aggh! No idea, I'm sorry.

 

Also, I am not totally convinced that the numbers are entirely correct. When I tried the #6 unit, it may have been theoretically 0.5mm pitch, but the two I measured myself were 0.55mm pitch rather than 0.5mm pitch.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Nanor]

The JoWo thread sizes above are correct and these taps are available from Silverpenparts.com.

 

FPR feeds also work well.

I fit them by drilling the section undersized, large enough to accommodate the feed only. Using a half-round needle file, I then gradually enlarge one side of the bore until the nib and feed just fit. It only takes a few minutes, and it might provide a better fit than a perfectly round hole.

 

Hope it works out for you.

[turningneko]

Thanks again for the help. I'm going to give FPR feeds a try with JOWO nibs and see how they fit and work together.

[fabri00]

Ebonite feeds may be purchased at Fountain Pen Revolution http://www.fountainpenrevolution.com/nibs.html .

 

Note that, ebonite feeds do not have the housing or feed extension for cartridge/converters. This necessitates filling/feed systems such as eye dropper, piston, vacuum, sac, etc. such as in vintage pens. Also,with no housing one needs to use ebonite sections that may be heat set for the nib/feed or a "notch" for the nib must be machined into the sections of other materials.

 

Hope this helps. Others please chime-in for corrections/clarification.

 

 

 

 

I

I have bought few of them, but I'm not really happy.

They are I believe completely hand made and therefore very much different one from the other, and also unprecise.