Twsbi Bock Nib Interchangeability Question

[Mafia Geek]

Hi FPN,

 

I'm looking to make a chimera of a pen. I REALLY like the idea of the TWSBI 540, I like the demonstrator and that they can be completely taken apart to clean etc. The nib I haven't used, though I gather it write quite well, but have come to REALLY like Pilot gold nibs. My question is whether the Pilot #5 nibs will fit the Bock feeds of the newer TWSBI pens. I'm thinking of getting a custom adjusted Pilot Custom 74 nib from nibs.com and putting it into the TWSBI pen. I've seen a few posts discussing the ability to change out the nib with Pelikan and Pilot nibs, but it looked like that was all with the Schmidt feeds and not the Bock ones.

 

So here's my question, will Pilot #5 nibs fit the feed and feed unit of the newer TWSBI 540 Bock nib units? If not are they any similar nibs that will fit it?

 

Thanks for any help.

[P.A.R.]

If I'm not mistaken, the newer TWSBI 540s use a #6 nib, and I seem to recall having seen a few members post that the Knox K35 nibs from xfountainpens.com will work. I use them in my Noodler's Ahabs and like them quite a bit. You can get a three pack for $18 or the full six size set for $36 (free shipping on both.)

[Uncle Red]

If Nibs.com is going to tune the Pilot nib for you maybe they'll switch the nib over for you. Email and ask. You're probably in uncharted water here so let s know what happens.

BTW, you are aware of the Pilot Custom 92 piston filler with the #5 gold nib, yes?

[Jimmy James]

I think the 540 uses a #5 and the 700 uses the #6, fwiw.

[trhall]

I suggest reading @jde's excellent post on Peaceable Writer about her PiloTWSBI, as it covers the newer Bock feeds.

 

My post was using the original feed, but I've also tried the new Bock feeds as well. They write slightly wetter for me, but Julie didn't notice much difference.

 

p.s. - When you said chimera, I wondered if you had read @iosepus' post? It is what got me started down the PiloTWSBI path. Love the pen!

[jde]

If I'm not mistaken, the newer TWSBI 540s use a #6 nib, and I seem to recall having seen a few members post that the Knox K35 nibs from xfountainpens.com will work. I use them in my Noodler's Ahabs and like them quite a bit. You can get a three pack for $18 or the full six size set for $36 (free shipping on both.)

 

 

As Jimmy James has indicated in this thread, the TWSBI 540 takes the #5 nib. Both @trhall and I are using the #5 successfully in our TWSBIs. My TWSBI has the Bock feed. I've tried 'em both (Schmidt & Bock w/Pilot #5 in TWSBI) and either is fine. Just remember that YMMV.

 

Although you are going to the bother of getting a "custom adjusted nib?" Don't know if the adjustment will transfer without Nibs doing that for you, if they even will. Dunno. Just my 2cents. An adjustment isn't just to a nib. It is to the nib with its feed. I would expect something to be lost in translation there.

 

And has trhall indicates: losepus gets all the credit for paving the way with the Pilot nib swapped into TWSBI 540.

Edited June 18, 2012 by jde

[Bruno Taut]

Thanks, jde.

 

However, I must say that I worked only on the Twsbi 530. And it seems that the feeds of the 530 and the 540 are not the same, or at lest that is the case in my Twsbi pens (2 units of the 530, 1 of the 540). I need to work on this, but it seems that size 5 Pilot nibs do not easily fit in the 540. Again, these are preliminary results.

 

This pictures shows a Pilot 5 nib in a Tswbi 530.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-roZEI9mYAmQ/TW5ZDqh01tI/AAAAAAAABdE/VOlFl0ly2i0/s1600/IMG_4905-blog-WM.jpg

 

Cheers,

 

Iosepus

[jde]

Thanks, jde.

 

However, I must say that I worked only on the Twsbi 530. And it seems that the feeds of the 530 and the 540 are not the same, or at lest that is the case in my Twsbi pens (2 units of the 530, 1 of the 540). I need to work on this, but it seems that size 5 Pilot nibs do not easily fit in the 540. Again, these are preliminary results.

 

This pictures shows a Pilot 5 nib in a Tswbi 530.

 

Cheers,

 

Iosepus

 

Very good, Bruno. Thanks for the correction on your nib swap!

 

The feeds are clearly different between the 530 and 540. However, it's not my experience that the Pilot #5 nibs "do not easily fit in the 540." No issues over here w/my 540 and Pilot #5.

 

@trhall prefers the 530 feed w/his combination Pilot #5 EF and TWSBI. He says the combo is dryer.

 

I have tried both feeds w/my Pilot #5 SF, and am using the 540 feed as I see no discernible difference in flow with my TWSBI which is a Sapphire 540. But I am also using a Pilot #5 SF, not an F or an EF. So I've no doubt that when trhall says the 530 is dryer, that may be truer than my experience which saw no difference. That is, the type of Pilot #5 (EF, F, M, SF, etc) may make all the difference to ink flow. But fitting the nib to either feed was the same for me.

 

Personally I feel in the realm of nib swapping it is difficult to say definitively what works and what doesn't based on a handful of our experiences. There's a reason we write, "YMMV," eh? (To paraphrase someone wiser than moi: the nib that works is the one that came with your pen.)

 

Photos below of my 540 TWSBI and Pilot #5 SF nib. The pen is in regular rotation for intensive writing sessions.

Edited June 22, 2012 by jde

[trhall]

Thanks again to @iosepus for blazing the trail on this. I keep mentioning him, but then people try to attribute the Chimera (or, as I call it, PiloTWSBI) to me.

 

@trhall prefers the 530 feed w/his combination Pilot #5 EF and TWSBI. He says the combo is dryer.

 

I have tried both feeds w/my Pilot #5 SF, and am using the 540 feed as I see no discernible difference in flow with my TWSBI which is a Sapphire 540. But I am also using a Pilot #5 SF, not an F or an EF. So I've no doubt that when trhall says the 530 is dryer, that may be truer than my experience which saw no difference. That is, the type of Pilot #5 (EF, F, M, SF, etc) may make all the difference to ink flow. But fitting the nib to either feed was the same for me.

 

I happen to have a Pilot #5 EF nib in two of mine (I have my Diamond 540 ROC (with old style feed, like the 530 has) and a newer, smoke Diamond 540). I really do prefer the old style feed because it does write drier for me. But then again, I want a VERY fine line, and therefore even a small difference is noticeable. I believe TWSBI said they switched to a newer feed (and nib) because the in-house feeds will keep up with the broader nibs better.

 

I have a MUCH easier time putting the #5 nib on the older feed, but it also sits well with the newer feeds. I just had to do a better job of placing the nib on the feed. (It took more trial and error.)

[saskia_madding]

i spent a ton of time and many nerves were wracked while I did this. The #74 nib DID NOT fit easily into my 540. It was so tight and I really had trouble getting it seated right. I was worried about forcing it and tried many different ways of doing it, but eventually it snapped in and now it is a wonderful combination! I'm still testing it out and maybe one day I'll take it apart and try it with a different feed, but so far, so good.

[saskia_madding]

Well, it didn't work out. I was using one of the newer feeds, with the split up the middle, and it kept hard starting at the beginning of every few words, even with no pausing for the ink to dry out in the nib. With a LOT of effort, I got the nib out of that set up and with way more effort, I got it onto a TWSBI with an older feed. I'm going to ink it up and try it out tonight, but I'm hopeful. If this doesn't work, I'm just going to buy a Custom 74.

[swanjun]

Well, it didn't work out. I was using one of the newer feeds, with the split up the middle, and it kept hard starting at the beginning of every few words, even with no pausing for the ink to dry out in the nib. With a LOT of effort, I got the nib out of that set up and with way more effort, I got it onto a TWSBI with an older feed. I'm going to ink it up and try it out tonight, but I'm hopeful. If this doesn't work, I'm just going to buy a Custom 74.

 

If you don't mind a solid-colored one, they're not expensive on Amazon. I got a very pretty-looking dark blue one for $77, I think.