9 replies to this topic

[Uncial]

I spotted a post elsewhere that had a picture of a Neponset with a Zebra G nib, so I immediately got to work. Sadly, the Neponset ebonite feed curves downwards quite significantly. I recall this issue with the other one I have that I put a Goulet nib into. To do that I had to remove the Neponset feed and replace it with an Ahab feed and now it works perfectly and beautifully wet. The problem is I cannot for the life of me work out how the person managed to get the Zebra G nib to match the Neponset feed - mine are so far apart that you could drive a bus through the gap. They claim to have heat set the nib and feed, but I can't see how that would be possible without damaging both the feed and the nib....am I missing something?

 

Presumably I could stick a zebra g into an Ahab if all else fails?

[Uncial]

Ok, I spent quite a bit of time fiddling and here are my discoveries....for what its worth and in case anyone else attempts these things.

 

You can't put a Zebra G into a Neponset without significantly altering the feed.

 

You can't put a Zebra G nib in a Neponset with an Ahab nib. The back shoulder of the nib sits proud of the feed and the Ahab feed is ever so slightly thicker than the Neponset feed, so it wont leave enough room for the nib to go in with the feed.

 

You can't put a Zebra G into an Ahab - for the same reasons listed directly above.

 

The Zebra G will fit in some Jinhao's but the nib can sit so proud of the feed that flow can be an issue and capping the pen again can be impossible. Some of them - for whatever reason - won't work with it at all.

 

Basically, unless you are prepared to hack the feed I don't think there are any mods that can be said to truly work without additional work to make them work.

 

The result for me was a bit of frustration followed by buying a Daedalus - something I have delayed doing for about two years.

[Drone]

Basically, unless you are prepared to hack the feed I don't think there are any mods that can be said to truly work without additional work to make them work.

 

Ah, but you can buy inexpensive replacement #6 Ebonite feeds from Noodler's and/or Fountain Pen Revolution specifically to help you with your "hacking" And I see the additional work as additional fun! I say go for it.

 

First of all, if you are going to spend time hacking a tuning a Zebra Comic G nib in your Noodler's pen, you might as well spend a little more money and try the Titanium coated Zebra G Pro version nibs which supposedly last longer than the plain steel nibs. Steel dip nibs are not designed to be in constant contact with water like nibs in fountain pens are, so they oxidize (rust).

 

http://www.jetpens.c...-of-10/pd/13145

 

The link above is for JetPens who is usually pricey unless you hit the free shipping point. Shop around.

 

Besides common tools, abrasives, etc. useful for hacking nibs and feeds, there are a couple of other tools you might find useful: (1) A pair of Jeweller's Round Nose Pliers, and (2) a Nib Block. These tools really help with smoothly adjusting the inside curvature of a nib so it "hugs" a feed it was not originally designed for. If you don't want to buy a cheap nib block, using different sized screwdriver shafts, wooden dowels, or even disposable plastic pen barrels as bending guides may work instead

 

Here's a link to an inexpensive ($25) acrylic nib block (check on ebaY too):

 

http://www.vintagepe...arts.shtml#7835

 

Enjoy! David

[Meltemi]

I can comment on the jinhao-G combination: It does NOT work on all jinhaos. In some pens, the nib can be layed on top of the feed without problems. On some pens, regardless the model it is impossible to get a tight fit between the nib-feed. The feed has to be hacked severly if you are after a dip-pen style flex. It is indeed painful to have such a flexible nib on a pen but not be able to experience the joy it can offer because of the feed.

 

To make a nib lay into a different feed, here is what you can do:

As mentioned you can alter the shape of the nib itself. You don't have to buy a nib block for this. I personally have pressed a nib against my esk to make it a little bit more flat and it works. There are many tools you can use to achieve this. Anything with a curved surface at the size that you're after will work.

 

You can alter the feed - Leigh Reyes has a video on how to do it. She mods an indian feed to fit a zebra G. Same principal. I tried it on 9 feeds though... I just couldn't make it work though.

Edited by Meltemi, 20 January 2017 - 10:04.

[lysander]

For what its worth I have a titanium zebra G in an ahab and it works flawlessly despite having quite a big gap between the feed and nib.
I did heat set it to get it as close as possible but its still far and works fine despite it. Im not looking forward to taking the nib out and changing it I have to say, but so far no sign of decay after a few weeks.
I just dry the nib as much as I can and store the pen nib up when Im done, and prime the feed when I start and this has worked very well every time.

Edited by lysander, 26 May 2019 - 22:27.

[lysander]

I did also deepen the central feed channel with a scalpel, although Im not entirely sure it was needed ( yes I was silly and did it before testing it as I had seen it be recommended and taking the nib in an out is a bugger ).

[Honeybadgers]

I haven't read the thread, but the easy way to make a zebra G fit is to take some pliers with jaws wider than the width of the nib (so no needle nose but everything else is fine) and squeeze the base of the nib just a bit until you feel it "give" There's a HUGE margin of error where the nib will still fit wonderfully. I've done it for dozens and dozens of them.

[Pen_Padawan]

I haven't read the thread, but the easy way to make a zebra G fit is to take some pliers with jaws wider than the width of the nib (so no needle nose but everything else is fine) and squeeze the base of the nib just a bit until you feel it "give" There's a HUGE margin of error where the nib will still fit wonderfully. I've done it for dozens and dozens of them.

I read this somewhere and did the same, worked for me too.

[lysander]

I did mine today:
- increased the radius of the base slightly as per Honeybadgers instructions. I used soft grip pliers made with shrink wrap on the jaws.
- aligned and heat set the feed
- aligned the tines - not critical but it makes it a hair less scratchy. Theyre never perfectly aligned out of the box in my experience.
- filled and primed the feed.

Works perfectly with no railroading whatsoever even with large and heavily shaded copperplate writing.

Lets see how it handles being carried around and whether it dries out etc.
I use the titanium g nibs.

I did man today:
- increased the radius of the base slightly as per Honeybadgers instructions. I used soft grip pliers made with shrink wrap on the jaws.
- aligned and heat set the feed
- aligned the tines - not critical but it makes it a hair less scratchy. Theyre never perfectly aligned out of the box in my experience.
- filled and primed the feed.

Works perfectly with no railroading whatsoever even with large and heavily shaded copperplate writing.

Lets see how it handles being carried around and whether it dries out etc.
I use the titanium g nibs.

Edited by lysander, 04 June 2019 - 22:22.

[lysander]

Sorry for the weird post, the mobile website keeps playing up on me.