Omniflex Made By Jowo

[MadAsAHatter]

I was browsing the Goulet site and noticed that they now had JoWo Omniflex nibs and that and that this nib would be what you would get with any Monteverde of Conklin if you selected Omniflex. I didn't know this but apparently JoWo was not making the previous Omniflex. The new version made by JoWo looks like it has a slightly different design in how the cutouts are made. I'm not much of a flex nib guy but if this one writes better than the old version I may just give it a try.

 

Here's a short video from Goulet about it.

 

[Dimy]

Never tried one and they are not at top of my to buy list but here is a thread about issues in old nibs of them and many seem to be happy with change there, might be useful to check it out.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/355395-conklin-duraflex-with-omniflex-nib/page-1

[sansenri]

yes, there are bad stories about the previous Omniflex (to the point that being Conklin I would probably have changed nib brand with the new Jowo,...).

Let's hope the new Jowo works better, some of the Conklin pens, although being low range pens, use nice resins and look good, but the nibs have been a great disappointment for many, so far.

[kestrel]

yes, there are bad stories about the previous Omniflex (to the point that being Conklin I would probably have changed nib brand with the new Jowo,...).

Let's hope the new Jowo works better, some of the Conklin pens, although being low range pens, use nice resins and look good, but the nibs have been a great disappointment for many, so far.

My Duraflex pen has gone through two different omniflex nibs and I was less than impressed with both nibs to the point that the pen now has a generic Goulet nib. I ordered one of the new Jowo nibs last night and will let you know how it works. It can't be any worse than the original omniflex unless it is two knitting needles welded together.

[sansenri]

curious to know

the Jowo flex might also be available on it's own which might be another reason to get one and swap it in other pens with Jowo threading

[Dimy]

curious to know

the Jowo flex might also be available on it's own which might be another reason to get one and swap it in other pens with Jowo threading

Goulet pens have started selling jowo omniflex nibs for them if one wants to change them, and idea is same, swap the nib, maybe worth checking.

[BlueJ]

Looking closely at the photos of the Jowo Ominiflex nib unit on Goulet's site, it appears that the threading for the Conklin and Monteverde sections is NOT the same as the standard Jowo #6 threading. The thread pitch and depth and their distance from the front of the unit look different. The geometry at the collar is slightly different too. of course one might be able to pull just the nib out of one of these units and insert it into a standard Jowo housing. I'm not sure which feed (Conklin-Monteverde or generic Jowo) would work best this way; the feeds also appear to be slightly different.

[txomsy]

Interesting. It may be the start of a new fad of nib makers finally targeting flex nib lovers.

[Honeybadgers]

Looking closely at the photos of the Jowo Ominiflex nib unit on Goulet's site, it appears that the threading for the Conklin and Monteverde sections is NOT the same as the standard Jowo #6 threading. The thread pitch and depth and their distance from the front of the unit look different. The geometry at the collar is slightly different too. of course one might be able to pull just the nib out of one of these units and insert it into a standard Jowo housing. I'm not sure which feed (Conklin-Monteverde or generic Jowo) would work best this way; the feeds also appear to be slightly different.

 

I had both my old bock nib unit all american (they were the ones that made the nibs for conklin prior to the JoWo switch) and a new JoWo nib unit all american sitting right next to me so I tried it.

 

The nib units screw into each other interchangeably and completely. No problems at all. A new omniflex nib unit should fit an older conklin no problem.

 

I am kind of excited to try a new JoWo made omniflex - the two EF and one B I got in the three new all american "courage" first responder LE all write absolutely flawlessly.

 

Weirdly I don't have any JoWo #6 nib unit pens, but I will say that I highly doubt the omniflex unit will fit a JoWo pen, because I just confirmed it fits into a conklin and a specifically-cut bock 250 ranga, so it's using the old conklin threading (but a bock 250 collar itself won't fit in the conklin)

[Honeybadgers]

My Duraflex pen has gone through two different omniflex nibs and I was less than impressed with both nibs to the point that the pen now has a generic Goulet nib. I ordered one of the new Jowo nibs last night and will let you know how it works. It can't be any worse than the original omniflex unless it is two knitting needles welded together.

 

Please update us! I'm 100% with you, the original omniflex was possibly the worst nib I've ever used, but I have generally experienced JoWo nibs to always be very well tuned (or at least very very close and needing a tiny bit. most all bock nib units I've ever gotten have needed quite a bit of work to not hard start)

 

Only annoyance is that these nib makers won't stop making their flex nibs in a fine only. It's like the worst size you could choose. A medium or broad or stub would at least have a lot more personality, and an EF would show off the actual line variation. Fine nibs always kind of suck when they're flexy. I would have really preferred an XF or XXF.

Edited October 27, 2020 by Honeybadgers

[MadAsAHatter]

Since Goulet released their exclusive Conklin Endura Abalone & Chrome LE (I got one too with a 1.1 stub) a few reviews came from ones that got the new Omniflex in it. The initial comments on the Omniflex were it writes ok with a medium line width but is stiff, has very little flex, less flex than the original, and little line variation. One person described is as going from a medium to a slightly thicker medium. The first reviews coming in seem to be meh at best.

[BlueJ]

Sansenri wrote:

 

the Jowo flex might also be available on it's own which might be another reason to get one and swap it in other pens with Jowo threading

 

​Honey badgers wrote:

 

Weirdly I don't have any JoWo #6 nib unit pens, but I will say that I highly doubt the omniflex unit will fit a JoWo pen, because I just confirmed it fits into a conklin and a specifically-cut bock 250 ranga, so it's using the old conklin threading (but a bock 250 collar itself won't fit in the conklin)

 

Above is the issue I was addressing: this new nib unit does not have the standard Jowo #6 threading, though the nib itself was made by Jowo. Undoubtedly this new Omniflex nib unit will exactly replace the old one in the Conklin and Monteverde grip sections. On the other hand if Sansenri is referring to a different product not yet announced, namely this new flex nib in a standard Jowo housing, of course that is possible.

 

​As to the performance of the new nib, the two videos about it on the Goulet Pens website are not extremely encouraging. The first one describes only a factor-of-two line variation with flexing and shows more than occasional railroading, while the second is devoted to how to fix the nib if you spring it, apparently not an infrequent outcome, and ends by saying that you are likely to need to replace it after springing it a few times.

[Honeybadgers]

 

Above is the issue I was addressing: this new nib unit does not have the standard Jowo #6 threading, though the nib itself was made by Jowo. Undoubtedly this new Omniflex nib unit will exactly replace the old one in the Conklin and Monteverde grip sections. On the other hand if Sansenri is referring to a different product not yet announced, namely this new flex nib in a standard Jowo housing, of course that is possible.

 

​As to the performance of the new nib, the two videos about it on the Goulet Pens website are not extremely encouraging. The first one describes only a factor-of-two line variation with flexing and shows more than occasional railroading, while the second is devoted to how to fix the nib if you spring it, apparently not an infrequent outcome, and ends by saying that you are likely to need to replace it after springing it a few times.

 

Goulet also talked a LOT about people springing the titanium bock nibs too, which is something I just couldn't personally imagine being able to do unless I was being a lunatic with it. But I guess they get a lot of people who do.

 

The old omniflex, however, would spring if you looked at it wrong. It was made from genuinely terrible materials and cut hideously, the cutouts were way too wide, which has a habit of making a nib mushy.

 

JoWo also does know how to semiflex nibs a bit because they offer a 14k semiflex nib. I haven't tried it, but I have a custom 14k JoWo turned into a crazy wet noodle by FPnibs and it's superb. Snapback sucks, but I knew what I was getting into when I asked for max flex. XXF-BBBB performance has sacrifices.

 

I also have generally been confused by the majority of people's reports on how much a nib flexes. I've heard the Pilot FA nib isn't flexy, but I can compare it directly to a soft vintage semiflex side by side. I've heard the pilot falcon IS a bit flexy normally and flexy when spencerian ground. I have both, and even the spencerian is hardly a flexy nib, the needlepoint just gives it the variation.

 

I wish we'd adopt a general tool for flex description, like "max safe line width achievable with X ink" and "grams of pressure required to achieve that flex"

 

I hope the new omniflex isn't a medium though. That'd be stupid. But the video from goulet makes me think it's on the finer side of a JoWo fine.

[inkstainedruth]

I had seen the new Goulet email ad, but hadn't watched the video. So it's good to know that people are willing to experiment and post about their experiences with the new JoWo nibs.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[sansenri]

Goulet pens have started selling jowo omniflex nibs for them if one wants to change them, and idea is same, swap the nib, maybe worth checking.

Thanks but buying a German nib from a US seller, me being in Italy, would be a bit silly, it would cost me double the price with shipment...

I'll have to see if sellers like the spanish FPnibs starts selling it.

[sansenri]

 

I had both my old bock nib unit all american (they were the ones that made the nibs for conklin prior to the JoWo switch) and a new JoWo nib unit all american sitting right next to me so I tried it.

 

The nib units screw into each other interchangeably and completely. No problems at all. A new omniflex nib unit should fit an older conklin no problem.

 

I am kind of excited to try a new JoWo made omniflex - the two EF and one B I got in the three new all american "courage" first responder LE all write absolutely flawlessly.

 

Weirdly I don't have any JoWo #6 nib unit pens, but I will say that I highly doubt the omniflex unit will fit a JoWo pen, because I just confirmed it fits into a conklin and a specifically-cut bock 250 ranga, so it's using the old conklin threading (but a bock 250 collar itself won't fit in the conklin)

True but might be you can pull out the nib and feed and swap the nib in the collar, the collar threading will be different (Jowo/Conklin) but the nib is most likely same size (size 6) and could fit.

Edited October 27, 2020 by sansenri

[sansenri]

 

Sansenri wrote:

 

the Jowo flex might also be available on it's own which might be another reason to get one and swap it in other pens with Jowo threading

 

​Honey badgers wrote:

 

Weirdly I don't have any JoWo #6 nib unit pens, but I will say that I highly doubt the omniflex unit will fit a JoWo pen, because I just confirmed it fits into a conklin and a specifically-cut bock 250 ranga, so it's using the old conklin threading (but a bock 250 collar itself won't fit in the conklin)

 

Above is the issue I was addressing: this new nib unit does not have the standard Jowo #6 threading, though the nib itself was made by Jowo. Undoubtedly this new Omniflex nib unit will exactly replace the old one in the Conklin and Monteverde grip sections. On the other hand if Sansenri is referring to a different product not yet announced, namely this new flex nib in a standard Jowo housing, of course that is possible.

 

​As to the performance of the new nib, the two videos about it on the Goulet Pens website are not extremely encouraging. The first one describes only a factor-of-two line variation with flexing and shows more than occasional railroading, while the second is devoted to how to fix the nib if you spring it, apparently not an infrequent outcome, and ends by saying that you are likely to need to replace it after springing it a few times.

 

I consider both options

 

1) that Jowo may start selling the new flex nib with their own collar (unless they have some kind of licence agreement with Conklin that prevents them from doing so, but I somewhat doubt it)

 

2) that despite the collars are different the nib size is the same so you can pull out nib and feed and fit them in the collar that does screw in...

[kestrel]

 

Please update us! I'm 100% with you, the original omniflex was possibly the worst nib I've ever used, but I have generally experienced JoWo nibs to always be very well tuned (or at least very very close and needing a tiny bit. most all bock nib units I've ever gotten have needed quite a bit of work to not hard start)

 

Only annoyance is that these nib makers won't stop making their flex nibs in a fine only. It's like the worst size you could choose. A medium or broad or stub would at least have a lot more personality, and an EF would show off the actual line variation. Fine nibs always kind of suck when they're flexy. I would have really preferred an XF or XXF.

Delivery expected Wednesday, October 28. It will come out of Covid quarantine two days later and I will ink it up. I just mixed a fresh batch of Blakwah.

[Honeybadgers]

True but might be you can pull out the nib and feed and swap the nib in the collar, the collar threading will be different (Jowo/Conklin) but the nib is most likely same size (size 6) and could fit.

 

It's almost certain this would work, since the omniflex looks to be based on their standard steel nib, judging by its shape.

 

The feed most certainly won't work though.

 

I ordered one. I'll report back on some experiments.

Edited October 28, 2020 by Honeybadgers

[Honeybadgers]

Delivery expected Wednesday, October 28. It will come out of Covid quarantine two days later and I will ink it up. I just mixed a fresh batch of Blakwah.

 

If you're worried about covid and can't wipe it down - you need to wait 9 days. That's the bar we use for "air washing" our N95's after treating a covid patient.