Omas Extra Flessible Nib

[cunim]

I understand Omas made its own nibs through the years, and then switched to Bock for the latest pens. However, I do not know about the efless nib. Is this an Omas holdever or did they job it out?

 

This particular one was a river and had starting problems. Mike M has it now and will set it right.

 

[Uncial]

I'm envious. I don't know whether they made these nibs themselves or not, but my experience with mine is that the nib does slacken slightly with use making it very wet. I quite like that, but I don't push the nib at all. I've never tried because when I bought it I read that the nib can be very, very easily sprung. Your pen looks beautiful.

[AltecGreen]

Omas switched to Bock in 2000. Some of these Extra Flessible nibs date to the 90's so were Omas production. It is unclear if more were made in more recent years. I suspect the more recent nibs were Bock made.

 

Don;t let the name fool you. Even the Omas made 'Extra Flessible' nibs were more just soft than truly flexible. Compare the 'Extra Flessible' to an Omas nib made while Simoni was still alive. For the amount of money people are charging for modern Omas celluloid pens, you are better off buying a vintage Omas pen that are better made, come in a larger variety of patterns, and have truly flexible nibs, the kind even professional calligraphers who use dip nibs marvel at.

[Bo Bo Olson]

From what I've read AltecGreen is right.....most say it is not semi-flex.

A couple have insisted it was.....one said he had semi-flex pens.

 

I took the view point of many....that it was not a 'true' semi-flex...just 'soft'........not that I had the money for one, but was never on my 'semi-flex' nib list.

 

Pretty pens.....

Edited March 31, 2018 by Bo Bo Olson

[Christopher Godfrey]

I also agree with AltecGreen: my "extra-flessibile" sits patiently in my pen case, mostly unused, because the nib lacks (almost entirely) what I call "spring-back". It is plenty flexible, but quite without that last-mentioned quality -- in total contrast with proper, vintage Omas flexible nibs from the 1930s-1950s. It's a shame: I had expected more...but it is almost a "floppy" nib! ;^(

[cunim]

I would agree that it is floppy rather than flexy, and suitable for a bit of line variation but not flex writing. However, that is not really the question.. Did Omas bring it in from an outside maker and, if they did, was it a Bock variant? I suspect that once they gave up nib making it was a total loss, and they had to source all nibs externally. Bock would require a reasonably large order to formulate a nib and I wonder if Omas sold enough of these to profit from such an order. Maybe ordering 5000 extra flessibles didn't turn out so well (too easily sprung and lacking flex). A resulting overstock may have been one little thing contributing to their demise.

 

Trouble with the older pens is the material. For me, the more modern Omas pens (including ASC and other resurrection players) are all about the Arco and other celluloid patterns. I like the look and the feel and don't expect the nib to do what a flex pen does. I am not aware what Omas had available in the day, but what I see from a cursory look is a fairly plain appearance. That said, I would love to find any sort of vintage Omas with a superflex nib - but I doubt I will.

[dapprman]

I have an OMAS Extra Felissibile nib under the ScriBo brand (which is where the last of the staff now are apparently) and I would describe it as a semi-flex nib with the live variation capabilities, however, as with the same nib under the OMAS brand, over time the tines became softer and it then effectively acted as slightly sprung. It's been fixed but now I treat it like a springy nib, rather than a flex nib (or semi Flex - be kind to me Bo ) which is my preference anyhow.

http://i.imgur.com/6jd589X.jpg

Edited April 1, 2018 by dapprman

[Bo Bo Olson]

Self correction is the best correction....

Dapprman, your very good description is matches what I've read over the years.

I could never understand why they didn't go back to semi-flex. Somehow cutting corners....offering half-a** instead of the real thing. ....soft wasn't fancy enough; though may have sold better, that trying to make sound better than it was. Extra Felissibile/Soft would have been more honest, easier to understand, and not left so many folks bad mouthing it, thinking they were getting semi-flex.

I had been interested when they came out with that nib, even at that high cost. Then ....not semi-flex.

 

Bock can make a semi-flex nib....I have a couple '50's semi-flex nibs from them.

Omas somehow cheaped out.

Some ball point using bookkeeper saw only he could save ten cents, and not that it would cost them the company.

It's easy to show a saved dime, hard to prove how very, very expensive that dime really is.

[PAKMAN]

I would still own my beautiful Omas Arco had it been fitted with a standard nib. Couldn't stand how the ef extra fleessibile nib wrote.