Has Anyone Swapped A Vac 700 Nib Out?

[Alberto5398]

Just curious if anyone has done a swap out of the stock steel nib that comes with the TWSBI Vac 700. I am considering getting one of those #6 Karas Titanium nibs from Goulet pens so I can a more responsive writing experience. They are listed on their site at $60. What are some other suggested options? Is it worth it to go with Gold for example. Love the filling system, ink capacity, design, and initial price.

[PaganArcher]

Swapping the nib on a Vac700 or Vac700R is fairly straight forward. I had a steel 0.8mm stub in mine for a time, and I seem to recall a few posts of a Vac700 with a titanium nib around here somewhere.

[Jamerelbe]

Yep, I'm pretty sure this is possible. TWSBI source their nibs from JoWo, but there's an interesting recent YouTube video from fpnibs.com, which seems to suggest that the shape of the nibs in the Vac 700 is closer to the standard Bock design than a stock JoWo. Not exactly what you're asking, but it would seem to confirm that a Bock titanium nib would be suitable. Check it out if you're interested:

 

 

I'd happily recommend Pablo and Esther fpnibs.com as a reliable source of advice, and of reasonably sourced (mostly JoWo) nibs - they'll happily tell you whether any of their #6 gold nibs will fit a Vac700, and are expert at customising nibs to taste. They're based in Spain, but their international shipping is great.

 

I should also say, I've found Goulet Pens to be very responsive to queries, if you want to ask advice on something like this. Definitely worth using their Online Chat function before placing an order.

[mulrich]

I actually bought a bunch of #6 nibs from fpnibs.com just to use on the 700 and they worked great. This was my first experience swapping nibs and by the third or fourth nib I had the hang of it. I swapped the nibs while inked which made a mess but was worth the experience.

[Jamerelbe]

I actually bought a bunch of #6 nibs from fpnibs.com just to use on the 700 and they worked great. This was my first experience swapping nibs and by the third or fourth nib I had the hang of it. I swapped the nibs while inked which made a mess but was worth the experience.

 

Did you buy the BF nibs (which are being recommended in the video), or the regular JoWo #6 nibs? I've bought a few of the regular units to screw in to Ranga ebonite pens I purchased via FPN Group Buys, and am very happy with them - but haven't (yet) got a Vac700 to try this on...

[sketchstack]

I have a couple of simple videos showing pretty much exactly what you're asking about: Titanium nib in the Vac700. While I didn't test long term, it was quite easy and worked really well. My understanding is that Vac700 from the last couple of years use Bock nibs.

 

https://youtu.be/2iX4rEWJPL8

 

https://youtu.be/OsbGvUCsBak

[Alberto5398]

Thanks to everyone for all your helpful replies. I believe I have a Vac 700 with one of the newer Jowo nibs rather than Bock. I don't know if this will make any difference when swapping for the #6 TI.

[mulrich]

 

Did you buy the BF nibs (which are being recommended in the video), or the regular JoWo #6 nibs? I've bought a few of the regular units to screw in to Ranga ebonite pens I purchased via FPN Group Buys, and am very happy with them - but haven't (yet) got a Vac700 to try this on...

 

 

I don't remember buying a BF so I'm pretty sure I have the standard Jowo nibs but I could be wrong. I ordered in June 2017 and I don't even remember a BF being an option.

I was mainly interested in trying different oblique grinds.

[Phil_Dart]

Yes, a Bock #6 is a good fit in a VAC700, new or old. Not a day goes by when we don't send out Bock nibs for TWSBI pens somewhere around the globe. Bear in mind of course that you will have to swap it into your existing TWSBI housing, with your existing TWSBI feed.

[Driften]

I used a F Bock #6 gold nib in my 700r as well. It was no problem to swap in using the TWSBI feed. My 700r is a 1.1 stub and is on the wet side and was really wet with the F Bock nib. I ended up putting the 1.1 stub back in.

[Inksomnia]

Yes! I used Montblanc 146 vintage nib in my vac 700R for while. Nib and feed was easy to remove, but pay atenttion which way you pull out the feed. It only goes in one way to the section.

Edited January 29, 2018 by Inksomnia

[Cipolla18]

Yes!!! I frequently swap my Vac700R nibs to both Nemosine EF and 0,8mm italic and its awesome, super easy!

 

inksomnia, does it fit perfectly??

I wanna try it with mine!!

[Bold2013]

Can you confirm how well the 146 nib fit?

[stauffert]

The Noodler's flex nib works well.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/81079s/twsbi_vac_700r_with_an_ahab_nib/