Fitting A Different Nib In A Pen

[thirdguess]

tl;dr I wanna put a new nib in a delike alpha

 

I'm still a bit new to this, short of using a couple Platinum preppys and dip pens for the last several years, so please excuse my ignorance! I tried looking this up and couldn't find a concise answer on here, so I apologize if something similar has been discussed or something.

 

I want to understand the concept of fitting a different nib in an existing pen better. As a test, I tried putting a #5.5 Flex nib from fpr in one of those stinky free Charlie pens that come with a large bottle of noodlers these days. It didn't go well. Since the feed that fpr supplies does not fit in the Charlie, I had to use the feed that came with the Charlie. I had globs of ink randomly dripping out. I didn't pay attention to weather Charlie comes with a plastic feed or an ebonite one, so I don't know if it's even worth attempting to heat set, but it smells awful so I don't really plan on using it LOL! It was really just a 5-minute play around thing.

 

So what I want to do is modify a delike alpha. I am probably ordering one today. I plan on doing some of the stuff @gmcalabr @honeybadgers have talked about, ie stripping the lacquer, sanding the inscription, etc. But I wanted to replace the nib. I read it's a standard #5 and was thinking I might try to put a fpr flex or Ulta flex in it and see what happens. My worry is that the delike probably comes with a plastic feed and won't play nice with a totally different nib even if I tinkered with a razor blade or something since I can't heat set it...

 

Does anyone have any good advice?

[bass1193]

You can heat set the plastic feed on your alpha using boiling water, being very careful of course.

 

Don't give up on your Charlie, though. The "cotton butyrate" as Nathan calls it in a video is surely stinky, but the smell lessens with time. The feeds are definitely ebonite, so much safer to heat set.

 

I'll try some different nibs in some of my alphas and post pics later today.

[thirdguess]

You can heat set the plastic feed on your alpha using boiling water, being very careful of course.

 

Don't give up on your Charlie, though. The "cotton butyrate" as Nathan calls it in a video is surely stinky, but the smell lessens with time. The feeds are definitely ebonite, so much safer to heat set.

 

I'll try some different nibs in some of my alphas and post pics later today.

Thanks! I just ordered the alpha, but it's coming from Hong Kong of course, so it'll take some time to get. Let me know how fitting other nibs goes! I really want to know!

[Honeybadgers]

Anyone who tries to "correct" bass on heat setting plastic with boiling water as not being possible is dead wrong. I have bent a plastic feed into a banana to accommodate a vintage flex nib in a chinese pen.

 

The charlie will accept that FPR nib. You just need to heat set it carefully. I personally like to remove the feed, dip it in near boiling water for 15-20 seconds, and then bend it quite a bit past where it should go (visibly curved) and then insert it into the pen, and then re-do it, pressing the nib and feed together. this always results in a much tighter fit (I don't usually like the "sheet of paper in between" result, as I find it results in eyedroppers that burp) and I have never had a charlie burp until it dipped below 15% ink level.

 

But on average, you shouldn't keep an eyedropper (which the charlie is) in a particularly cold environment and then just pop it out to write- the warmth from your hand will make it burp. If you do, hold it upright in your hand for 10-20 seconds to let any air expand and then write. And always refill them when they dip much below half. even a half fill on a charlie is a TON of ink.