Feed: Plastic V. Ebonite (Hbr)

[gmberg]

A couple of years ago I acquired a Marlen Aleph in gray marble. It's a gorgeous pen with a flex "harmonic" steel nib. But alas, it had a plastic feed which produced an uneven and unreliable flow. I put it away in my collection.

 

I recently "discovered" it in my collection, and once again, it's beauty attracted me. This time around, however, I tried a little experiment. I removed the plastic feed and replaced it with a Sheaffer ebonite feed from the late 1930s. Now it flows perfectly and the nib produces just the kind of smooth moderate flex that this left-hander likes. Of course, I had to spend a bit of time shaping the Sheaffer feed to fit the Aleph's nib and section, but the time spent was worth it.

 

Has anyone else tried replacing a plastic feed on a modern pen with an old fahioned ebonite one?

[sansenri]

thank you for describing your experience,

I'm a convinced admirer of ebonite feeds and of their capability of improving flow vs plastic feeds.

It is quite a controversial topic as I've heard many arguments in favour of plastic feeds being more reliable in terms of regularity, reproducibility of flow, but I remain convinced that ebonite has characteristics that provide better flow.

There are obviously some good examples that plastic can be used effectively as a feed (think Pelikan, for example), but in general I prefer the less restrained characteristics of ebonite and, for example, love eye dropper pens with ebonite feeds for this reason, but also some upper end pens with ebonite feeds.

 

I'm curious to see your Aleph mod, what about some pictures?

 

PS the negative comments on the Aleph not being able to keep up with flow was one of the reasons why I did not get one, despite the Italian site FP.it had chosen this pen as it's anniversary pen sometime ago and had offered to members purchase of a LE in a different colour from the regular grey Marlen Aleph.

Edited March 5, 2020 by sansenri

[timotheap]

Unfortunately the ebonite feeds I have don't fit on the pens fitted with plastic feeds.

 

What I've noticed though is that a nib I didn't like showed great promise when used with an ebonite feed - which again got me wondering why Conklin would have wanted to offer their Omniflex without a feed that could actually keep up.

[gmberg]

I'm curious to see your Aleph mod, what about some pictures?

OK: here goes. I'm not a photog by any means, so bear with me! In the photo on the bottom, I included (to the left) the original Marlen plastic feed.

[gmberg]

Unfortunately the ebonite feeds I have don't fit on the pens fitted with plastic feeds.

 

What I've noticed though is that a nib I didn't like showed great promise when used with an ebonite feed - which again got me wondering why Conklin would have wanted to offer their Omniflex without a feed that could actually keep up.

Fortunately, you can alter the size and shape of an ebonite feed with a small file. In the case of the Aleph, it meant reducing slightly the diameter of the feed's rear end and flattening slightly the bottom of the feed to fit the shape of the section. Ebonite is very forgiving.

[sansenri]

that looks nice! and the feed from your Sheaffer seems to stand the time admirably.

I actually like it more than the original (I've never really liked those transparent feeds...).

Never attempted the transplant so far, but it's an inspiring thought...

[Maccabeus]

Towards the end of January, I used 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to thin an ebonite feed to replace the plastic feed in my Wing Sung 699. This was purely for aesthetics and out of bias, as the plastic feed was actually working perfectly well. I just prefer ebonite. This pen is my constant, daily writer, and it still works perfectly

Edited March 5, 2020 by Maccabeus

[timotheap]

Fortunately, you can alter the size and shape of an ebonite feed with a small file. In the case of the Aleph, it meant reducing slightly the diameter of the feed's rear end and flattening slightly the bottom of the feed to fit the shape of the section. Ebonite is very forgiving.

 

Lovely - was actually wondering if it was possible and I'm tempted to try and get the FPR Himalaya ebonite feed on the Conklin (my Himalaya drips like mad, even after trying to heatset the section and pushing the feed in as much as I could). But then I've come to like the pen itself so... we'll see.

 

Towards the end of January, I used 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to thin an ebonite feed to replace the plastic feed in my Wing Sung 699. This was purely for aesthetics and out of bias, as the plastic feed was actually working perfectly well. I just prefer ebonite. This pen is my constant, daily writer, and it still works perfectly

 

Cool !! Noodler's spare ebonite feeds have been out of stock for a while now (on Pure Pens UK), I hope they re-stock soonish...

 

So interesting, thank you both for that input.

[sansenri]

Towards the end of January, I used 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to thin an ebonite feed to replace the plastic feed in my Wing Sung 699. This was purely for aesthetics and out of bias, as the plastic feed was actually working perfectly well. I just prefer ebonite. This pen is my constant, daily writer, and it still works perfectly

Interesting, which version of the 699 do you own?

Do you feel no difference at all in the ink flow?

[rdh]

Heat-setting an ebonite feed will re-form it so that the contact between the nib and feed is optimized. I think that should provide the best ink flow. Trying to heat-set a plastic feed will just cause it to melt. Unless the nib and feed are manufactured for one another, I don't think plastic is the best choice for most pens.

 

 

Dave

[zaddick]

Dave hit on the one practical advantage of an ebonite feed - heat setting it to optimize flow. Others have mentioned shaping and it is easier to shape an ebonite feed. That said, a well made plastic feed works just fine and can keep up with most any demands. I am regularly impressed with plastic Sailor King of Pen feeds that can handle all the rivers of ink created by specialty nibs.

Edited March 6, 2020 by zaddick

[timotheap]

I have a Sailor "Fude de Mannen" - a cheap, plastic pen with a bent nib, so it lays a very wide band of ink, and it never skips, never starves, yet it has a plastic feed. With Platinum Carbon Black, which is pitch black, it's amazing to watch.

[TassoBarbasso]

I have a Sailor "Fude de Mannen" - a cheap, plastic pen with a bent nib, so it lays a very wide band of ink, and it never skips, never starves, yet it has a plastic feed. With Platinum Carbon Black, which is pitch black, it's amazing to watch.

No wonder Sailor plastic feeds are among the only ones (possibly alongside Pelikans?) that can somehow compete with ebonite ones.

[Maccabeus]

Cool !! Noodler's spare ebonite feeds have been out of stock for a while now (on Pure Pens UK), I hope they re-stock soonish...

 

So interesting, thank you both for that input.

I actually used a spare from Ranga (or maybe ASA). It was closer to the original length

 

Interesting, which version of the 699 do you own?

Do you feel no difference at all in the ink flow?

I have the vac-fill 699 in brown. It might be a little wetter with the Goulet nib and ebonite feed, but I didn't put enough intentionality into the ink choices or attention to the performance before-and-after to say definitively. The F Wing Sung nibs are definitely more fine than the F 2-toned Goulet one I'm using now. I did a side-by-side comparison with Pilot Blue-Black yesterday when I was testing the WS699 (vac-fill in blue) that I bought for a friend.

[sansenri]

I actually used a spare from Ranga (or maybe ASA). It was closer to the original length

 

I have the vac-fill 699 in brown. It might be a little wetter with the Goulet nib and ebonite feed, but I didn't put enough intentionality into the ink choices or attention to the performance before-and-after to say definitively. The F Wing Sung nibs are definitely more fine than the F 2-toned Goulet one I'm using now. I did a side-by-side comparison with Pilot Blue-Black yesterday when I was testing the WS699 (vac-fill in blue) that I bought for a friend.

so interesting, I have several spare Ranga ebonite feeds...

Is the Goulet nib a rebranded Jowo? I know I have some spares of those too

I need to give this a try myself...

thanks

[Maccabeus]

so interesting, I have several spare Ranga ebonite feeds...

Is the Goulet nib a rebranded Jowo? I know I have some spares of those too

I need to give this a try myself...

thanks

That's an excellent question. I've never used a Jowo nib, so I can't speak to that. It's whatever Goulet sells as their own brand

[Jamerelbe]

That's an excellent question. I've never used a Jowo nib, so I can't speak to that. It's whatever Goulet sells as their own brand

 

Yep, Goulet are pretty open about the fact that their nibs are made by JoWo, with their own custom branding or imprint.

[Maccabeus]

 

Yep, Goulet are pretty open about the fact that their nibs are made by JoWo, with their own custom branding or imprint.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I appreciate it.

[sansenri]

Thank you Jamerelbe, I seemed to recall that.

So I have the nib and the feed, now I need a 699...

jokes aside, I never bought one because I knew I was going to dislike the nib, now I should able to change that, I just need to play around with the feed a bit...

[sansenri]

but wait a minute...

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/348804-pen-rambling-wing-sung-699/page-2?do=findComment&comment=4254238

Does the Goulet/Jowo nib really fit in there?

 

The following post says it does, Maccabeus did you have to force the nib in?

Edited March 7, 2020 by sansenri