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Are Penbbs 456 worth the £30 price?


InkNsap

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3 hours ago, Leo_Luz said:

About Platinum #3776 seeming like cheap materials, translucent Pilot C74 seems like it too, right?

 

It does to me.

 

The two Pilot C74 pens I had (and sold) were plain black, because that was the only colour option on which I could get the #5 SF and #5 Music nibs. (The Pilot CH91 is a different model option, and I have still have one of those, also in plain black and it has an SFM nib.)

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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6 hours ago, InkNsap said:

This is one of the reasons I wish I could try them first. In a store, with the nib I want and good paper. I just don’t want to cash out +100£ on a pen and regret it. 😕 

I might need to wait to visit Japan some day in one of those heavenly stationary stores with walls of FP and displays of notebooks to try. 
 


True indeed...regret is the most expensive of all the feels. :(
ESPECIALLY when you can't get your money or time back.
Its funny that Japan is still having pen shows, albeit smaller and more restricted, and doing great.
If I had the money and free time I would book a flight just so I can say i went to a pen show before I died.
Guess that's a bucket-list item now.

Eat The Rich_SIG.jpg

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7 hours ago, InkNsap said:

This is one of the reasons I wish I could try them first. In a store, with the nib I want and good paper. I just don’t want to cash out +100£ on a pen and regret it. 😕 

I might need to wait to visit Japan some day in one of those heavenly stationary stores with walls of FP and displays of notebooks to try. 
 

My thought when I take decision on buying C74 was "buying around 4 cheaper pens will cost around the same as C74 and I will still wanting it"

 

My problem with C74 Fine feedback is mostly because left handers push the nib on paper instead of pulling. And I bought Fine because a Medium nib would make the ink smudge my hand.
 

Often people that didn't like C74 tells that have problems with the lightweight, short section, length or girth (considering only the writing experience and ignoring all aesthetic aspects). 

I prefer lightweight pens (Platinum Preppy instead of a Jinhao X450 for example), I don't like long pens (never used any of them posted) and I'm really ok with short sections. So before buying C74 I already knew that it would be ok.

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I share your affection for the Penbbs 456 in the sherry material and have it inked with a Diamine red. I do not find it difficult to clean. Swapping nibs is simple, though I find the Penbbs nibs to be competitive with others. Medium is as wide as they get, but other no. 6 nibs fit, and you can also easily and reversibly hack other flex or italic nibs into them. Penbbs offers parts packs at a reasonable price. The 456 is a nicely crafted, high-value pen.  

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Hua Hong Blue Belter | Penbbs 456 | Stationery | ASA Nauka in Dartmoor and Ebonite | ASA Azaadi | ASA Bheeshma | ASA Halwa | Ranga Model 8 and 8b | Ranga Emperor

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Thank you Bobje! That’s the one is in my basket. I still haven’t decided. I just made a bit of a impulsive purchase so it might need to wait until next month. 
 

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1 hour ago, bobje said:

I share your affection for the Penbbs 456 in the sherry material and have it inked with a Diamine red. I do not find it difficult to clean. Swapping nibs is simple, though I find the Penbbs nibs to be competitive with others. Medium is as wide as they get, but other no. 6 nibs fit, and you can also easily and reversibly hack other flex or italic nibs into them. Penbbs offers parts packs at a reasonable price. The 456 is a nicely crafted, high-value pen.  

 

 

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Well my friends, I couldn’t resist and bought it. The 456 in Sherry with a RF nib. I also got one of their spare parts as you guys recommended. I was looking at FP revolution nibs for a flex and/or a stub but shipping is a bit much right now for just two nibs + taxes... But I have heard changing nibs in this penbbs is a nightmare anyway. Maybe when I’m a bit more dexterous pulling pens apart. 
 

 

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6 hours ago, InkNsap said:

But I have heard changing nibs in this penbbs is a nightmare anyway.

 

Hmmm, does the PenBBS 456 use a different nib-and-feed housing from that used in the 308, 309, 355, etc. (excluding those models such as the 494 which uses physically smaller nibs)?

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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I have no idea. All I hear is flimsy feed... but I got the spare parts bc apparently you can ‘create’ a new section from the parts with another nib. That was my thinking 🤔 

again I’m very new to FP. This is my first vac filler... unless you count a Wing Sung 601 which I dare not take apart (mine didn’t come with the little plastic tool to remove the metallic parts in the barrel) 

 

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6 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Hmmm, does the PenBBS 456 use a different nib-and-feed housing from that used in the 308, 309, 355, etc. (excluding those models such as the 494 which uses physically smaller nibs)?

 

 

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7 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Hmmm, does the PenBBS 456 use a different nib-and-feed housing from that used in the 308, 309, 355, etc. (excluding those models such as the 494 which uses physically smaller nibs)?

They all use the same PenBBS nib unit 

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53 minutes ago, InkNsap said:

I have no idea. All I hear is flimsy feed... but I got the spare parts bc apparently you can ‘create’ a new section from the parts with another nib. That was my thinking 🤔 

again I’m very new to FP. This is my first vac filler... unless you count a Wing Sung 601 which I dare not take apart (mine didn’t come with the little plastic tool to remove the metallic parts in the barrel) 

 

 

 

With the parts pack and a nib you can made a full nib unit out of them, then it's just screwing off the factory fitted one then screw on your own. Silicone grease for better sealing against ink pollution advised especially on demo pen like the Sherry 

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On 1/24/2021 at 7:06 AM, InkNsap said:

But I have heard changing nibs in this penbbs is a nightmare anyway.

 

That depends on how you go about doing it. The nib and feed, together with the plastic housing unit that holds them together, can be unscrewed and removed from the gripping section easily, and a replacement assembly screwed on in its place.

 

PenBBS itself offers spare nib units (in different width grades and styles) as retail products, supplied in pendant-like containers made of the same fancy acrylics as some of its pens, that can be easily screwed into place as replacement into the section.

 

I bought a couple of those spare nib units, as well as built a bunch of them myself using what's in the OEM spare parts pack and Nemosine (EF, F, 0.6 Stub, 0.8 Stub and 1.1 Stub) nibs. They're all on standby at the moment.

 

On 1/24/2021 at 7:23 PM, InkNsap said:

All I hear is flimsy feed...

 

It's not so much that the factory-fitted feeds on PenBBS pens — including the 308, 309, 355, and I presume the 456 too — are flimsy, but that the design of the feed is that the thin fins on its underside are apt to get bent, crushed or broken if you (inadvertently) apply force on them while trying to gain purchase in order to pull the nib and feed from their housing.

 

You can expect to irreversibly damage the original feed if you try/want to only swap out the nib — as in just that curved piece of metal — that sits on top of it. It's quite likely that you'll also cause the original collar to crack while doing so.

 

So, it's a ‘nightmare’ for the unaware user who attempts to pull the original nib out, and put a different nib into the pen with which to write, without building separate and fully self-contained nib-feed-housing units for the different nibs he/she wants to use in the PenBBS pen. Trying to avoid the expense, inconvenience and/or (possibly quite long) delivery lead times in sourcing spare feeds and housing will, in all likelihood, result in pain and frustration.

 

On 1/24/2021 at 7:23 PM, InkNsap said:

but I got the spare parts bc apparently you can ‘create’ a new section from the parts with another nib.

 

Then you should have no problem; although you won't create a new section, but merely replace the removable innards of the original gripping section on the pen.

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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