Vintage Nibs For #6 Jowo Housings?

[collectorofmanythings]

On 8/2/2021 at 1:53 PM, Karmachanic said:

 

Failing all else, Pablo at FPnibs can grind a very nice semi-flex 14k Jowo for you

You can also get the breather hole re-ground at FPnibs! So you could get a semi-flex nib with a unique breather hole.

[DvdRiet]

On 8/3/2021 at 1:03 AM, A Smug Dill said:

Does that include 18K gold JoWo nibs? If you meant ‘justice’ as in matching the level of ‘luxury’ of having custom-made pens, then spending more money on a higher-grade of nib is the obvious move to bridge the gap.

I have the opposite problem here and very little understanding of which nibs fit which pens, so I could definitely use a little advice from the forum members in this department. I have some pens that are meh (too obviously kit, lovely polished wood but clunky, heavy metal parts) but have been fitted with 18k #5 JoWo nibs. I bought them not really knowing quite what to do with them, but I knew the nibs were a fantastic deal at the price I got them for. I would like to move them to much nicer pens that really do the (yes, stock) nibs justice because they are beautifully smooth writers and have a lovely bit of flex to them. So, any suggestions? Do I need to find a custom pen turner who can make me a pen to go with the nibs? Is it possible to find a vintage pen or an 'older' pen just a couple of decades old perhaps that they might fit into? Any suggestions welcome. Oh, and I am in Europe (NL), so preferably a solution I could do 'locally'. 

 

Cheers, Darla

[gyasko]

On 8/2/2021 at 11:53 AM, terim said:

 

We've experimented a lot with vintage nibs, and the only ones we found that fit the #6 well were Waterman 100 year pen or Emblem nibs.  These came in various sizes for the various 100 year pens, so I can't be sure which exact nib was a good fit.

 

Hmm… I just tried a Canadian 100 Year nib on a Jowo unit and it did not work very well.  My nib was too big.  

[A Smug Dill]

10 hours ago, DvdRiet said:

… 18K#5 JoWo nibs. I bought them not really knowing quite what to do with them, but I knew the nibs were a fantastic deal at the price I got them for. I would like to move them to much nicer pens that really do the (yes, stock) nibs justice because they are beautifully smooth writers and have a lovely bit of flex to them. So, any suggestions?

 

That depends heavily on what your assessment criteria is for doing the nibs justice. Especially since you specifically mentioned that “lovely bit of flex”, as if it ought to be matched by something; to me, flex is just an observable property of the nib that does not make it inherently superior (or inferior) to other nibs, and a nib I like (and enjoy using) is just a nib I like that is ideally matched to a pen I like equally as well, not necessarily because it's vintage, ornate, artistic, aerodynamic, pricey, etc. or expresses some sort of softness or what-not in the pen body's design.

 

Personally I really enjoy using my Opus 88 Picnic fountain pens which come fitted with #5-sized nibs made by JoWo; I'm still waiting for my fourth one to be delivered. However, as far as I'm aware the model has been largely discontinued, although some retailers may still have NOS (new old stock) units on hand to sell. The Opus 88 Koloro models, which are still in production as far as I know, also come fitted with the same type of nibs; I don't like them as much as the Picnic, even though I would generally prefer flat ends to a pen's shape. You could perhaps look into those.

[DvdRiet]

Thanks for the Opus 88 tip, A Smug Dill! I will definitely look into them. With regard to my 'lovely bit of flex' comment, it's also not a requirement for me. It was just another aspect of these nibs that make them much too nice for the clunky (big emphasis on clunky) kit pens they are currently in. I would rather have them in a pen that is both pleasing to the eye (a very subjective criterium, I know) and pleasant to write with (also a very subjective criterium). I guess the only thing I am really saying is that they are fantastic nibs and I would love to put them in a very nice pen so that I can enjoy the entire writing experience. But the information on nib swapping I have been able to find so far is quite limited (and mostly to very cheap pens and nibs).

 

If there are any other suggestions for pens that use or will fit a #5 JoWo, I'd love to hear them!

[sansenri]

Franklin Christoph makes several pen models that take a size 5 Jowo. That is still on the other side of the Ocean though...

 

 

[sansenri]

check this out too

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/322925-pens-that-take-jowo-5-nibs/

 

this should also work as Goulet's nibs are I believe made by Jowo

https://blog.gouletpens.com/2018/10/which-fountain-pens-fit-the-goulet-5-nibs/

[mizgeorge]

16 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

Personally I really enjoy using my Opus 88 Picnic fountain pens which come fitted with #5-sized nibs made by JoWo; I'm still waiting for my fourth one to be delivered. However, as far as I'm aware the model has been largely discontinued, although some retailers may still have NOS (new old stock) units on hand to sell. The Opus 88 Koloro models, which are still in production as far as I know, also come fitted with the same type of nibs; I don't like them as much as the Picnic, even though I would generally prefer flat ends to a pen's shape. You could perhaps look into those.

The Picnics are getting hard to find - I know because I've been looking everywhere to find a replacement for my blue one (incident involving office chair wheel and clumsy owner, don't ask), but the new Halo is a nice pen with a very comfortable section and a #5 Jowo. I prefer it to the Koloro, and I've just ordered a second one to use for a vintage flex nib that fits this particular housing perfectly. 

[DvdRiet]

Thank you for the links, @sansenri! I did manage to find the other FPN thread a little later and followed it to the spreadsheet from the Reddit post (following all the breadcrumbs! 😊), which gave me a couple more options, like some models of the Benu that I think is a fun-looking pen. (I haven't tried one yet, but there's someone in my pen pal chat group that loves them and has a whole collection of these fun and colorful pens, so I've already been tempted to get one.) The Goulet list has a few more interesting options as well, so thanks for that!

 

I've also looked for the Opus 88 Picnic but the only one I could find was a brown one at one of my local go-to pen shops here in NL. Nothing second-hand either. Already have a few too many brown pens and was looking for something a little more colorful.

 

And finally, I have noticed that a few of my larger vintage pens have feeds that are very close to the 5mm, so I may come across one of those at some point as well. I have 2 nibs to rehouse, possibly 3 (I've inked one kit pen to use), so it's good to have multiple options!

 

Edited August 31, 2021 by DvdRiet
typo

[DvdRiet]

13 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

I've just ordered a second one to use for a vintage flex nib that fits this particular housing perfectly

 

Do you mind revealing which make and number vintage nib that is? I would be interested in keeping a lookout for one and/or the pen they might originally belong to! 

 

Also going to check out the Halo now!

[A Smug Dill]

6 minutes ago, DvdRiet said:

I've also looked for the Opus 88 Picnic but the only one I could find was a brown one at one of my local go-to pen shops here in NL.

 

Dang, I'm still waiting for the brown one of those I ordered, from a Dutch retailer no less. I already have the green, teal and magenta ones. (I can't remember whether there were special/limited edition colours outside of those.)

[DvdRiet]

4 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Dang, I'm still waiting for the brown one of those I ordered, from a Dutch retailer no less. I already have the green, teal and magenta ones. (I can't remember whether there were special/limited edition colours outside of those.)

 

Maybe that was your pen I saw! 😅 It was at Couronne du Comte in case you want to chase it. Don't remember the nib size though. Also, I've been waiting months for a TWSBI from them (factory issues apparently), so I'm willing to 'tag team' them with questions about where our orders are, haha!

[A Smug Dill]

Just now, DvdRiet said:

Maybe that was your pen I saw! 😅 It was at Couronne du Comte in case you want to chase it.

 

Yes, that was from whom I ordered, but I wanted an EF nib which wasn't even listed as a selectable option for any of its Opus 88 pens (as listed in its online shop anyway). That, and an Opus 88 Demonstrator (which has a #6-sized nib) with EF nib, have been on order for me from their manufacturer in Taiwan for months.

 

3 minutes ago, DvdRiet said:

Also, I've been waiting months for a TWSBI from them (factory issues apparently), so I'm willing to 'tag team' them with questions about where our orders are, haha!

 

Oh, same old story here, but going ballistic on my part, I finally got some traction on the >€1500 of outstanding items, and received two sizeable DHL shipments already (split that way to avoid unnecessary expenses due Customs paperwork and scrutiny); I've just sent an email a few hours ago with instructions for a third one to be dispatched this week.

 

After that, there should be one final shipment some weeks away, containing the Opus 88 pens and some other things.

[DvdRiet]

3 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

Oh, same old story here, but going ballistic on my part, I finally got some traction on the >€1500 of outstanding items,

 

*whistles!* I feel a tiny bit less annoyed about my 99 euro 580 now, compared to that, but I certainly would have gone ballistic too! Things were i n c r e d i b l y slow with all the lockdowns and restrictions and the huge pressure on the parcel delivery services with everyone ordering stuff online, but it doesn't seem to have gotten any faster yet, unfortunately. Glad to hear you're getting at least some of your stuff now.

 

I've also been waiting for weeks already for ink sacs from the UK to be processed by the Dutch postal service for customs, thanks to the new rules as of July 1st. And thank you, Brexit. They tell me it can take up to a month for them to get around to charging me the 4 euros processing fee so that I can finally have them deliver the package. The little button fillers I have to fix will just have to wait a little longer.