Flexible Nib Fountain Pen

[AJ50]

I keep on seeing adverts on Facebook for what they call an Executive Flexible Nib Fountain Pen. Has anyone seen these adverts and if so are the pens any good?

[Lomi]

I keep on seeing adverts on Facebook for what they call an Executive Flexible Nib Fountain Pen. Has anyone seen these adverts and if so are the pens any good?

this is just Jinhao pen with dip pen nib (Zebra G) installed in it, and cost of this pen is around 5$, also this was discussed alot of times

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/341678-is-this-for-real/

Edited December 20, 2018 by Lomarion

[AJ50]

this is just Jinhao pen with dip pen nib (Zebra G) installed in it, and cost of this pen is around 5$, also this was discussed alot of times

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/341678-is-this-for-real/

Thank you for answering so quickly and for the link you supplied. I’m going to give this pen a miss know that I know about it!

[Lomi]

Thank you for answering so quickly and for the link you supplied. I’m going to give this pen a miss know that I know about it!

it's good that you at least asked, and not just throwed your money, doing some research is always good.

there alot of this scam sites builded through shopify platform appeared in recent years, they just put aliexpress listings on their sites and make price for an item x4-x5 from what it actually cost, but they are easy to track down if you know the market a little and always doing research before buying an item.

[Honeybadgers]

God these scams need to just up and die. We seem to get these questions from newbies at least once a month.

 

For what it's worth, make that pen yourself. it's pretty good when you only spend $5. but NOT as a first pen. They're very fiddly, the nibs rust, and they are best for sketching. They're not good for everyday use.

[sopher]

Wish i'd seen this thread before i wasted $40 on a $3 dollar pen LOL.

Not really happy with it. I have used dip pens and i seem to have even worse ink control with this than i do with dip pens. Anyone know if replacing the feed with ebonite (from FPR or elsewhere) would be helpful?

 

I'm a relative newcomer to FPs, but have been lurking here and absorbing as much knowledge as i can, so thanks to all who contribute here.

http://i66.tinypic.com/1zvq1w3.jpg

[AAAndrew]

I’ve tried a few of these dip-pen-in-a-fountain-pen. None have the ink control of a plain dip pen.

[Lomi]

 

Wish i'd seen this thread before i wasted $40 on a $3 dollar pen LOL.

Not really happy with it. I have used dip pens and i seem to have even worse ink control with this than i do with dip pens. Anyone know if replacing the feed with ebonite (from FPR or elsewhere) would be helpful?

 

I'm a relative newcomer to FPs, but have been lurking here and absorbing as much knowledge as i can, so thanks to all who contribute here.

 

I wish people valued money more when they have them but what done is done.
doubt ebonite feed will help you alot on this pen with zebra nib, but if you buy FPR pen with flex nib and ebonite feed or just feed with FPR nib that you will install somewhere else it might change something. Ofc it's better first to view an reviews of them and decide if this pens fits you, but imho for dip pen flex experience it's still better to use dip pens, nothing wrong in looking on free time for rare vintage full flex pen that you will love but this pen might cost you alot more than you might expect.

Edited January 13, 2019 by Lomarion

[sidthecat]

I have a couple of dip hybrids, and they are harder to control than conventional fountain pens.

That said, many years ago I took a karate class, and the answer to every question about form or timing was: Practice more.

Edited January 14, 2019 by sidthecat

[sopher]

 

 

 

I wish people valued money more when they have them but what done is done.

doubt ebonite feed will help you alot on this pen with zebra nib, but if you buy FPR pen with flex nib and ebonite feed or just feed with FPR nib that you will install somewhere else it might change something. Ofc it's better first to view an reviews of them and decide if this pens fits you, but imho for dip pen flex experience it's still better to use dip pens, nothing wrong in looking on free time for rare vintage full flex pen that you will love but this pen might cost you alot more than you might expect.

 

Thanks. I'm considering getting the FPR flex nib with the ebonite feed. I have also been looking at vintage wahls, swans, moores,watermans etc, but it's frustrating as the prices seem artificially inflated. Probably due to people like me looking for good flex ability for practising copperplate.

[inkstainedruth]

The best "hybrid" (i.e., fountain pen style with a dip pen nib) I've seen are the Desiderata pens. But they are not cheap.... And you have to get used to the dip pen nibs (which don't have tipping). I have one of the Dedaelus prototypes, and the Zebra G nib that Pierre sent with the pen tore into nearly every paper I tried it on (Clairefontaine being the. notable exception).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[AAAndrew]

Dip pens are much sharper than fountain pens. (no tipping) Learning to control pressure is a vital skill to develop in order to write successfully with them.

 

They also dump a lot more ink than fountain pens, so getting the right paper is important. Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Southworth 25% cotton laser paper, and Black n' Red notebooks are all good. 100% cotton paper is tough enough, but not smooth enough. It works great for stub dip pens, which dump huge amounts of ink and aren't sharp, but they snag pointed pen nibs even with great care.

 

tomoe river paper also works, but as soon as you start to put pressure on the nib, like for copperplate writing, it tends to move because it is so slick and lightweight. I've found that I have to tape it down with masking or washi tape to write on it.

 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

and Black n' Red notebooks are all good. ....is Oxford Optic 90g paper....a nice inexepsive paper like Clairefontaine Velote 90g.

 

Southworth 25% cotton laser paper,....good to know I picked up some the last Stateside visit I had some 7 years ago.

 

Finally got Rhodia in 90g, Clairefontaine Triomphe 90g. Good paper, but not near as slick as I'd expected....so I did have better paper than I knew, and others have worse papers than they knew to complain how slick Rhodia and Triomphe is.

 

Could be I don't have enough butter smooth nibs.....Ah Ha....dug out the butter smooth B-BB MB Virginia Woolf............lots smoother.....not quite slide off the paper but a lighter feel.

 

Grumble squared......I know I have a couple butter smooth nibbed pens hidden away somewhere. In I never chased butter smooth....they really don't stick out like a flashlight on a stormy night..

The stubbed to 1.0 from BB Pelikan 605 is a tad less smooth than the Woolf.............

 

Have to dig out the glossy Avery Zweckform 170g and or 120g, to see which is a slicker paper. Both are much slicker than Rhodia or Clairefontaine.

:crybaby:Grumble cubed, can't decide which is slicker...the 120 or the 170...........but that really has nothing to do with dip pen use ... just slickness.

I am forced to come back to this someday, after opening a brand new bottle of dip pen ink, to see if one can write on those Avery papers at all with a dip pen.

[Gracie]

Just in case this is useful (I have posted this attachment in another discussion on flex pens) I tried some of my favourite pens, a group in which some are specified as flex and others are not, but do actually give some subtle flexing.

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Gracie

[sidthecat]

The old gold nibs I use do have tipping, but can still be quite sharp. That said, the technology hadn’t been perfected and some tips are quite eroded.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Yep, tipping procedure was perfected in WW2............the compounds who knows....if or when or ever was or would be perfected.

Before The War, tipping was often lumpy and chunks would fall off.....which is why I warn for extrema caution if 'smoothing' one.

Good chance the ones that had lumps fall out became gold bricks in the $800 days of the '80's....or the $3,000 days now..................even a good gold nib will buy a two pack.

 

Inflation is a pure Btch................ Surely once it bought a six pack???

[sidthecat]

The punchline to all this is that the handwriting style I’m using lately is not very flex-dependent - it’s nice with flex, but not significantly so.

[GMCustompens]

I think, Flexible or soft nibs as mentioned earlier would create line width variations depending on the pressure applied while writing. As you press down the nib while writing, the tines would be split apart creating a wider line. Flexible nibs are generally known to be made out of gold. However, by increasing the size of the fountain pen nib or the slit length between the tines steel nibs can be made flexible as well. Too much pressure can damage these nibs very easily (especially gold nibs). Flexible nibs are, therefore, not recommended for beginners.[/size]

[Bo Bo Olson]

I have very flexible steel dip pen nibs that are great.....Some make a Wet Noodle look uncooked....others of lesser flex are a bit more flexible than a Wet Noodle........one of course can find stiffer dip pen nibs...........in they were made for carbon copies or business writing.

Some with gold dip pens.....lucky fellas..............say theirs is more flexible than a Hunt 99-100-101.

 

 

I have some 8 or so, Osmia/Osmia-Faber-Castel (Late '30's-mid '50's) pens with Degussa nibs.....1932 Osmia was broke again and for debt sold it's nib factory (started in 1922) to Degussa which continued making Osmia's nibs and nibs for others....to 1990's, like Reform. I have them in gold and steel, in semi-flex and maxi-semi-flex....................I am to ignorant. I don't see a huge difference between the steel and the gold nibs in size or shape.

 

When I was noobie, I believed all sorts of weird things, like only In-House nibs were any good and or The Gold Nib myth.

 

I had a Degussa and a Bock nibs saved from a couple of junkers.............back before I knew I should have saved the feeds too.............I almost tossed those two nibs....saving them only because they didn't take up much space.

A good gold nib can be as good as a good steel nib....accent on good.

My Osmia gold or steel nibs are =........both are great.