Advice on nibs UK

[Keezly]

Hi, I would be grateful for advice please: i bought an Italix Deacons Doodle fountain pen and it was worse than the cheap Chinese pens when it came to writing. I have taken the nib out and managed to damage the feed in doing so. I want to buy a new feed and nib.  I have a Baoer 388 pen and the nib and feed from that fit the Italix.  Would anyone know if this is a standard size 5 and if so where in the UK can I buy size 5 nibs and feeds at a reasonable price?  I am looking to buy a fine point nib.

 

Many thanks,

Kerry

[Karmachanic]

Beaufort sells Bock only. Italix pens use Jowo nibs. The closest place I know of is in Spain

[Keezly]

5 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

Beaufort sells Bock only. Italix pens use Jowo nibs. The closest place I know of is in Spain

Thank you for your input. The Deacons Doodle apparently doesn't have that type of nib as it is only a cheap pen: £12.99. 

[Karmachanic]

Then search ebay and/or aliexpress for Jinhao nibs and feeds. Nibs and feeds separately.

[mizgeorge]

Try Loft Pens - they sell the Baoer (and countless other Chinese pens) and should have a nib and feed combo that will work for you. Not all are listed on either their shop or ebay store - you might have to drop them an email.

[Aysedasi]

I'm surprised that you had a bad nib in an Italix.  Did you buy it direct from Mr. Pen?    Mind you, the Deacon's Doodle is (I believe) their cheapest offering.  They sell a number of other very good pens with a wide range of nibs and nib adjustments available.  

[Keezly]

3 hours ago, Aysedasi said:

I'm surprised that you had a bad nib in an Italix.  Did you buy it direct from Mr. Pen?    Mind you, the Deacon's Doodle is (I believe) their cheapest offering.  They sell a number of other very good pens with a wide range of nibs and nib adjustments available.  

Yes, I bought direct from Mr Pen. I have two of them and they looked identical, but one writes very wet and the other, the one I have removed the nib from, stopped and started all the time.  Both nibs looked identical even under a loupe, so no idea why there was an issue with one.  Both were very scratchy nibs and not pleasant to write with. They were worse quality nib wise than the cheap Chinese pens.  I contacted them first about getting a new feed and nib for the pen, but he just said they don't supply them as they are a cheap pen.

[Keezly]

3 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

Try Loft Pens - they sell the Baoer (and countless other Chinese pens) and should have a nib and feed combo that will work for you. Not all are listed on either their shop or ebay store - you might have to drop them an email.

Thanks for that suggestion. I will  take a look.

[Keezly]

5 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

Then search ebay and/or aliexpress for Jinhao nibs and feeds. Nibs and feeds separately.

Thanks for the input. I will have a look.

[Aysedasi]

20 hours ago, Keezly said:

Yes, I bought direct from Mr Pen. I have two of them and they looked identical, but one writes very wet and the other, the one I have removed the nib from, stopped and started all the time.  Both nibs looked identical even under a loupe, so no idea why there was an issue with one.  Both were very scratchy nibs and not pleasant to write with. They were worse quality nib wise than the cheap Chinese pens.  I contacted them first about getting a new feed and nib for the pen, but he just said they don't supply them as they are a cheap pen.

 

OK, that's disappointing.  I've bought 3-4 Italix pens and a couple of nib units from Mr Pen and they've always been great out of the box.  I've also found them pretty helpful with advice (and the return of a nib which I got wrong).  But I guess they use cheap nibs in the lowest cost pens.  

[twigletzone]

On 1/26/2021 at 5:44 PM, Keezly said:

Yes, I bought direct from Mr Pen. I have two of them and they looked identical, but one writes very wet and the other, the one I have removed the nib from, stopped and started all the time.  Both nibs looked identical even under a loupe, so no idea why there was an issue with one.  Both were very scratchy nibs and not pleasant to write with. They were worse quality nib wise than the cheap Chinese pens.  I contacted them first about getting a new feed and nib for the pen, but he just said they don't supply them as they are a cheap pen.

 

I recently bought a Deacon's Doodle too (as well as a Freshman's Notator). The Deacon (cursive italic) is VERY dry, to the point where I'm consdering returning it for some tweaking - unless I decide to keep it as a pen to use with super soggy inks like Diamine Sargasso Sea. I wouldn't call it scratchy but it does have some character as a writing experience, I suspect if I looked at it with a loupe I'd see a bit of unevenness to the tipping. The italic I got in the Freshman's Notator has none of the same problem at all, it's lovely.

[Keezly]

25 minutes ago, twigletzone said:

 

I recently bought a Deacon's Doodle too (as well as a Freshman's Notator). The Deacon (cursive italic) is VERY dry, to the point where I'm consdering returning it for some tweaking - unless I decide to keep it as a pen to use with super soggy inks like Diamine Sargasso Sea. I wouldn't call it scratchy but it does have some character as a writing experience, I suspect if I looked at it with a loupe I'd see a bit of unevenness to the tipping. The italic I got in the Freshman's Notator has none of the same problem at all, it's lovely.

Mine pens were both cursive italics as well and looking at other posts online I found that others had issues with this pen. Under a loop both of my pens looked identical, but behaved very differently: one too wet, the other wouldn't flow. Nothing appeared to be amiss with the tips of either.

[twigletzone]

24 minutes ago, Keezly said:

Mine pens were both cursive italics as well and looking at other posts online I found that others had issues with this pen. Under a loop both of my pens looked identical, but behaved very differently: one too wet, the other wouldn't flow. Nothing appeared to be amiss with the tips of either.

Well flow isn't necessarily just about the nib - it has to do with the shape of the feed and how the nib and feed are adjusted against each other and fitted into the section, too. Even flushing my deacon gives a noticeably slower rate of throughput than any other pen I own. As I said I'm cosidering asking him to tweak the flow a bit, I'm just giving the pen a chance with Sargasso Sea first because I really love the ink but it's incredibly badly behaved and I have no other pens that will write with it at all, let alone reliably.

[Keezly]

27 minutes ago, twigletzone said:

Well flow isn't necessarily just about the nib - it has to do with the shape of the feed and how the nib and feed are adjusted against each other and fitted into the section, too. Even flushing my deacon gives a noticeably slower rate of throughput than any other pen I own. As I said I'm cosidering asking him to tweak the flow a bit, I'm just giving the pen a chance with Sargasso Sea first because I really love the ink but it's incredibly badly behaved and I have no other pens that will write with it at all, let alone reliably.

I love your rat by the way!

[sandy101]

I had a Captain's Commission with poor ink flow.

 

I removed the nib, took a toothbrush to the feed, and presto I had a completely different pen.

 

I think there is a video on how to do this on Mr Pens's website. 

[Keezly]

22 minutes ago, sandy101 said:

I had a Captain's Commission with poor ink flow.

 

I removed the nib, took a toothbrush to the feed, and presto I had a completely different pen.

 

I think there is a video on how to do this on Mr Pens's website. 

Unfortunately, the nib and feed were so difficult to get out I damaged both, but thanks for the tip in case I have the problem again.

[twigletzone]

3 hours ago, Keezly said:

I love your rat by the way!

Thankyou I thought it was my Fingermouse but he wasn't a dumbo, and the coat colour isn't right either. I think I must have liberated it from somewhere on the internet!