Jump to content

Hunting For Vintage/antique Flex


Lunoxmos

Recommended Posts

RE: the Konrad cap problem: easily solved with a Dremel (or, less easily, a small round file). The pen cap twists off easily, and the acrylic cap is easily translucent with a strong light so you can see what part of the cap the nib is touching. There is an inner cap (also easily removed).

 

It can be tricky to figure out exactly what material you need to remove, so there is some planning involved. But in the end it's easily fixed.

Edited by Dr.X
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
  • Replies 34
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • sidthecat

    4

  • cunim

    4

  • Addertooth

    4

  • Detman101

    4

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

I am hunting for Vintage flex as well.
Nothing I have tried that is "Modern" has matched up with the performance of my Swan pen from 1915.
I've tried FPR steel nibs, Kanwrite nibs, Custom steel nibs from nib-meisters...none match.

The problem I've found is that there is no sizing on vintage gold flex nibs...there's no way to tell what stinking size the nibs are when they're from a time that everything was made smaller. I've asked sellers to match me up with a nib sized similarly to a modern #6 jowo nib and they've all come back bewildered and with no answers. As a last gamble, I've sent off a kanwrite ultra flex nib to a vintage pen dealer and requested that they find a "vintage flex pen" or "vintage flex nib" that closest matches the kanwrite nib...and then send me an invoice. Hoping that it pans out...it will be weeks before I know anything.

In the meanwhile...I am going to buy an FPR 14k Gold Flex Nib this week and see if it gets close. If not, I'll send it off to CustomNibStudio to get "flexified" and then see if it matches then.

If the "Flexified" FPR 14k Gold Flex Nib doesn't pan out...then it's on to FPNibs to get one of their 14k gold superflex nibs.
Then Linda at Indypendance...and on and on and on. Eventually I may wind up at the doorsteps of a "Masuyama" or "Binder" level vendor...begging for providence...we shall see.

Someone has to make a competent modern flex nib!

Eat The Rich_SIG.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe it's been said before, there are flex dip pens readily available. 

"Respect science, respect nature, respect all people (s),"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/9/2020 at 5:23 PM, Estycollector said:

Maybe it's been said before, there are flex dip pens readily available. 

 

Yup. Not as convenient, but way cheaper, and the finely-tempered, spring steel gives so much better "snap" than gold ever could.  Just saying. (the pen used was a Hunt 56) 

1702233826_flexible_writingsmaller.thumb.jpg.90e2d395178628fb9a30b65fd0d04810.jpg

 

And it's not always about how big a flex you can make. Bigger is not always better. 

 

2023223660_testshot1smaller.jpg.20a38daf96c96f7f526a873ae86c17f3.jpg

 

“When the historians of education do equal and exact justice to all who have contributed toward educational progress, they will devote several pages to those revolutionists who invented steel pens and blackboards.” V.T. Thayer, 1928

Check out my Steel Pen Blog

"No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the mistake is to do it solemnly."

-Montaigne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a few hybrid pens with old gold dip nibs and they're a lot of fun to write with. A nibmeister with a sense of humor is required.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, sidthecat said:

I have a few hybrid pens with old gold dip nibs and they're a lot of fun to write with. A nibmeister with a sense of humor is required.

No way! There's gold dip nibs!?!?!
I did not know that...will have to get a hold of some of those!
Thanks!

Eat The Rich_SIG.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another rabbit hole to fall down. They're mostly 19th-century and frequently need retipping...if you shop on ebay, ask the seller to take a REALLY GOOD picture of the business end.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, sidthecat said:

Another rabbit hole to fall down. They're mostly 19th-century and frequently need retipping...if you shop on ebay, ask the seller to take a REALLY GOOD picture of the business end.

Oof...more madness to follow up on lol.
I will take that advice, thank you!
 

Eat The Rich_SIG.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah, that hunt... 

 

Caveat: I like to write fast, as fast as i can spew on my journal so that calligraphic flair and slowdowness important to flex writing is not something i strive for.

 

I'm not into flex for line variation, more for feel. Vintage wet noodle feels is too unique to discount. 

 

The flex measure of pounds of pressure per area or whatever measure was never standardized though i recall one YouTuber tried. So really i do not know what flex is anymore after much research, trials and purchase. Mush, elastic, soft, semi-flex, superflex, flex, ultraflex, wet noodle are all relative subjective terms to me.😕

 

That said - 

For vintage, I've had good luck with Waterman's 5, 12 and 52s, Wahl Eversharp Skyline (Minuskin needlepoint) and  Sheaffer #5 BCHR (both after a well known flex expert pen dealer cracked the nib and after Minuskin repair) 

 

I have not found any modern equivalence to vintage and am not into disposable nibs like Zebra G as in solutions from desiderata, FNF, Osprey, etc

 

On the moderns, FPR Steel #6 Ultraflex (specifically in Jaipur v2), IndyPenDance Jowo #6, FNF steel flexible nib units are decent enough that i got them twice, eek 😱

 

Again not flex, but nice feeling are the cutouts: Platinum/Nakaya Elastic Soft Medium and Pineider Quill and also i'm fond of Titanium in #6 and #8 Bock - i like mush🥣

 

I have not tried OMAS, Scribo, Montblanc Calligraphy and others. Always ready to buy but never followed through💸. This holds true too for the new nib experts doing Jowo cutting mods: Crossflex, Secretary of De Flex and others i cannot remember

 

So my conclusion after the little flex chase is

  1. I don't know what flex is but i know what i like, so try before you buy or assess through lots of videos and opinions. Everyone writes differently so YMMV
  2. Nothing tops the vintage for me in the feels but not great for travel- precious antique, burping, need for friendly inks. 
  3. The feed and ink delivery. I read a lot about flex nibs but I don't think enough attention is paid to ink flow if one goes frankenpen with vintage nib to modern pen marriage

For flex goodness, vintage 😊 all the way at home and for travel, I just have Linda Kennedy's Jowo flex in my Opus 88 eyedropper; I think of it as a mini Namiki Emperor #50, not flex but good yielding softness with some line variation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/11/2020 at 3:34 PM, AAAndrew said:

 

Yup. Not as convenient, but way cheaper, and the finely-tempered, spring steel gives so much better "snap" than gold ever could.  Just saying. (the pen used was a Hunt 56) 

1702233826_flexible_writingsmaller.thumb.jpg.90e2d395178628fb9a30b65fd0d04810.jpg

 

And it's not always about how big a flex you can make. Bigger is not always better. 

 

2023223660_testshot1smaller.jpg.20a38daf96c96f7f526a873ae86c17f3.jpg

 

Could you share your tips for maintaining a stable flow of ink on dip nibs? I mainly aim for a moderate line variation like in your second photo, but even then I often get blobs of ink on the page. If I wick only a tiny amount of ink on the tip of the nib to avoid this problem, it only lasts for several words so not really suitable for daily writing. How do you deal with this problem? Oh, and I use india ink with dip nibs.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reading the "steel nib" from Aaandrew will help.  It has to do with the nib prep, type of paper, and ink.  In ink adding Gum of Arabic will help.  If the paper is bad, it's bad (absorbs too much too fast)   try hair spray on paper first.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, ForeverFPN said:

Reading the "steel nib" from Aaandrew will help.  It has to do with the nib prep, type of paper, and ink.  In ink adding Gum of Arabic will help.  If the paper is bad, it's bad (absorbs too much too fast)   try hair spray on paper first.

 

 

 

Thanks. I burn off the residual oil on the nib and this helps a bit with keeping the ink on the nib, but not really to a satisfactory level. I'll have to try Arabic gum. Does it mix well with India ink or is it better with fountain pen inks?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't really use India ink for writing, so I don't have much I can suggest specifically for that ink. When I burn off the varnish, I wave the flame under the pen for two seconds or so, then immediately wipe it down with a tissue or napkin. 

 

I don't know if this will work the same with india ink, but sometimes, with fountain pen inks, if you add some water, it, counter-intuitively, will make it less "wet." Monte Verde inks work well with a 50:50 dilution. This is because the substance added to fountain pen inks to make them flow well through a feed is diluted, the ink sticks to the nib better. Crazy, but it works. 

 

Good luck!

 

“When the historians of education do equal and exact justice to all who have contributed toward educational progress, they will devote several pages to those revolutionists who invented steel pens and blackboards.” V.T. Thayer, 1928

Check out my Steel Pen Blog

"No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the mistake is to do it solemnly."

-Montaigne

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AAAndrew said:

I don't know if this will work the same with india ink, but sometimes, with fountain pen inks, if you add some water, it, counter-intuitively, will make it less "wet." Monte Verde inks work well with a 50:50 dilution. This is because the substance added to fountain pen inks to make them flow well through a feed is diluted, the ink sticks to the nib better. Crazy, but it works. 

 

Good luck!

Great info! Trying this later!
Does it increase shading in the ink?
 

Eat The Rich_SIG.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, AAAndrew said:

I don't really use India ink for writing, so I don't have much I can suggest specifically for that ink. When I burn off the varnish, I wave the flame under the pen for two seconds or so, then immediately wipe it down with a tissue or napkin. 

 

I don't know if this will work the same with india ink, but sometimes, with fountain pen inks, if you add some water, it, counter-intuitively, will make it less "wet." Monte Verde inks work well with a 50:50 dilution. This is because the substance added to fountain pen inks to make them flow well through a feed is diluted, the ink sticks to the nib better. Crazy, but it works. 

 

Good luck!

That's interesting - is the writing in the photo written with a diluted fountain pen ink? Anyway I'll give it a go, thanks a lot. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...