Nib replacement for Moonman T1

[HartGummi]

During the last week I got my Moonman T1. The pen seems sturdily made but the nib is underwhelming. The nib is rather dry and scratchy.

 

The usual remedy is to swap it out with a Bock/JoWo nib. Which nib (Bock/JoWo) would fit? 

 

Has any user done such a swap?

[MuddyWaters]

My nib swaps with Jowo nibs have not really worked out with Moonman pens unfortunately. I think others here have had better success. I have found that the Jowo nibs lack juicy flow in the Moonman feed.

 

This has unfortunately held these pens back because indeed the Moonman #6 nibs are not very reliable and quite finicky.

 

Penbbs pens are also held back by their nibs but their feeds are excellent (though fragile) and nib swapping works pretty well.

[HartGummi]

4 hours ago, MuddyWaters said:

Penbbs pens are also held back by their nibs but their feeds are excellent (though fragile) and nib swapping works pretty well.

So both Moonman and PenBBS have finicky nibs. What about Wingsung? Do its pens have better nibs?

 

I really wanted to buy a PenBBS vac filler after hearing good things about the quality of construction. 

 

 

[MuddyWaters]

3 hours ago, HartGummi said:

So both Moonman and PenBBS have finicky nibs. What about Wingsung? Do its pens have better nibs?

 

I really wanted to buy a PenBBS vac filler after hearing good things about the quality of construction. 

 

 

 

Penbbs like Moonman's pens that use #6 nibs uses the same nibs on all their pens. Some people are able to tolerate them. I find that they require too much pressure to write. I have stopped buying penbbs pens because I don't care for back-heavy filling systems and don't like Jowo nibs that much either.

 

Wing Sung pens tend to have more reliable nibs imo, but they have a greater variety too. The Wing Sung 698 is a classic pen that comes with a very reliable though boring nib, that could also be switched for a pilot nib if desired.

[A Smug Dill]

3 hours ago, HartGummi said:

So both Moonman and PenBBS have finicky nibs.

 

I have not found PenBBS nibs to be finicky, or unreliable in their ability to write (relatively) smoothly out-of-the-box. I haven't encountered one yet that observably scratches or rips through the paper's surface (with or without coating), or come with uneven tines or asymmetrically cut tipping. In contrast, I've encountered two Bock nibs — including one factory-fitted on a Moonman 800 — on which the tipping were cut asymmetrically, such that more pressure is put on one tine and causes it to be raised higher than the other when writing.

 

That doesn't mean I like or enjoy how the slightly upturned F nibs fitted by default on most PenBBS pens write; they aren't fine or precise enough for my tastes, but that's me being fuzzy and not the nibs being finicking. Do also keep in mind that PenBBS sells standalone REF, RM, etc. nibs as well, so any general statement about PenBBS nibs ought to take those into account as well, and not simply what you get without having to spend more money than the pen's asking price.

 

 

[Mech-for-i]

for all, Wing Sung, PenBBS, Moonman, and also Delike and most decent current Chinese fountain pen that's not student pen nor the entry level pen kind , with exception of Hero, I had not found any to be finicky nor any that require pressure to write. if indeed pressure is required it usually indicate some flow issue here or there. Hero exhibit a very different behaviour these days vs vs their old ones. Todays non student pen , non entry pen level Hero(s) tend to be tuned for fairly wet flow, in fact too wet for many who like to write fine.

[Ardakilic]

I have one Moonman C1, and its nib was scratchy and dry as hell. In my region, it's hard to find Bock/Jowo nibs directly, and to be honest I thought it wouldn't worth it considering the postal fee and import tax.

 

So I ended up buying 3-4 Jinhao #6 nibs for a dollar each if I recall correctly (added to a parcel of my another purchase). First one I tried was wet and smooth enough for my taste.

 

I believe Moonman T1 is also compatible with Jinhao #6 nibs, so I believe it's worth to try.

[MuddyWaters]

Jinhao nibs seem to fit in everything. They write flawlessly without pressure, but they are round and very broad. Because of this last fact I don't use them. But they are nice to practice custom grinds.

[Mech-for-i]

for local nib replacement, I prefer the Fuliwan no.6 which they provide in EF, F and M and can be had in the normal and short variant ( aka 35mm and 32 mm version ) , Hero's no.6 nib kind of hard to come by but they can be had with an FM grind, Lorelei 3.0 nib unit can be had in the EF, F, and the petite fude and those are directly interchangeable with PenBBS. Wing Sung's nib that they use for 699 are offered independent. And then there's Fulin, which offer a BB nib whic the Mfr clearly stated are not ready to write but are for user to do their own custom grind , that stated it always come to me ready to be written just as a BB. Occasionally some might still find no.6 vintage 80's and 90's nib from Golden Star, GLM and others. And of course Jinhao

 

 

[Starguard]

I swapped the nib out of a Jinhao 922 and put it in my C1 Moonman, works great but it was a tight fit. The 922 nib works great, the donor pen was badly cracked and the top of the cap broke off after a fall. 

[MuddyWaters]

10 hours ago, Starguard said:

I swapped the nib out of a Jinhao 922 and put it in my C1 Moonman, works great but it was a tight fit. The 922 nib works great, the donor pen was badly cracked and the top of the cap broke off after a fall. 

 

If I could fit a Faber Castell nib in there I would be overjoyed. I will try later. 

 

Edit: could not get it to work. What type of nib is in the jinhao 922?

[Starguard]

I'm not sure what size it is, it will work but it is a very tight fit, on the jinhao 922 and you really have to push down to seat it fully or the cap won't fit

[Ardakilic]

I believe Jinhao 922 is identical with Jinhao 992 (a widespread typo made the name stuck I believe. Google image search proved my theory), if so, it has #5 nib, which shouldn't be compatible with Moonman C1 or T1.

[Starguard]

Well, regardless of the size, it's working for me I put the Jinhao in my C1 and it's worked flawlessly every since.

 

Katherine

[sansenri]

This seem typical, many of us buy the Moonman pens because they look nice and are reasonably cheap and then swap out the nib...

It's been mentioned that the Moonman nibs are fine nibs with a scarce flow, because that is what most Asian users expect to write the local language, but I do note that many westerners head for a nib change...

 

I don't know about the Moonman T1, if it's a #6 nib. What I have found in attempting to change the #6 nib on my Moonman M600s is that the Moonman nib is thinner that Jowo, Bock, and Jinhao nibs, so these will fit with difficulty in the collar with the Moonman feed. Moreover the Moonman feed fits well with the Bock nib shape (despite the Bock nib being a bit too thick), while the Jowo nibs have wider shoulders, in fact if you compare a Jowo feed with the Moonman feed you will see it's different.
Other nibs seem to fit better, in view of being thinner.

One thing I discovered is that the Moonman feed is identical to Stipula feeds.

Stipula nibs are as thin as Mooman's, so, both steel or gold Stipula nibs (35 mm length #6), fit perfectly in the Moonman M600s!

 

Santini nibs also fit well.

 

Omas nibs also fit well, despite being 32mm.

 

Here is a quick (cellphone) pic of my M600s cracked ice with a spare Omas 18k B nib, (another world!...by my standards)

 

[MuddyWaters]

Thanks for the summary Sanseri. Always helpful to have your arsenal of pens at our service

 

Unfortunately I have none of these Italian nibs. I tried the Jinhao nibs too and no cigar. Unfortunately my C1 is one of the pens that fails to meet its enormous potential. The next thing I could try is to do a needlepoint myself from a #6 Moonman nib, which I have never done and will undoubtedly screw up. Fortunately I have a few extra moonman nibs.

[sansenri]

I think it's worth a try, you can get some extra steel nibs without spending a fortune, in case you mess it up, but you need to start somewhere if that is the way to go.

I've not ventured into nib grinding myself yet, but I have messed up a few nibs at the beginning, just by attempting to smooth them out... I'm better at that now

[HartGummi]

Update:

 

Jinhao's #6 nib fits well in the T1. Ink flow and feedback issues have been resolved.

 

The nib makes a smooth and wet line.

[Peter_H]

I have just put a Kaigelu #6 EF nib in my Moonman T1.  It was surprisingly easy, compared to what I’d read from others.  The only bit needing a bit of welly was removing the original nib from the feed - I used pliers, since I’m not keeping that nib.

 

5 minutes work and I have a nice pen.  No leaks, skips, hard starts and the correct line width for me!  😊

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Peter_H
Added photo