Trying To Do The Ahab Extra Flex Mod, Pen Dries Out

[Fabienne]

heat set the feed this evening. It was a great idea but the problem of rr-ing still exists. Alas. I did think the feed was OK with the nib but it does not hurt to try. next up: I have needle files coming and so I will be widening the channels in the feed a bit. Little by little I think is the idea. We shall see.

[Pterodactylus]

Breather tube already removed?

Tried some other inks?

 

Keep us updated.

[Fabienne]

Yes, the breather tube is out and so far i have tried Tanzanite and Salix (wet and dry). Not bad but could be better.

 

Ptero, after all your surgeries, does the pen write well now, or do you get the occasional skip/RR?

Edited January 11, 2014 by Fabienne

[Pterodactylus]

Overall It's ok.

 

I don't have any skipping.

But sometimes I still have some railroading.

 

When I start writing it is ok for a couple of lines, some time it starts railroading again, especially when I write faster and when I use it's full flex capabilities, then it seems that the feed still can't keep 100% up.

 

When I wait a minute (or squeeze the piston a bit down) it is ok again (until it gets to less ink again).

 

It is also dependent how much ink is in it.

It perform less good when the the piston is completely full or almost empty.

It seems to perform best with a about 0.5 - 0.75 filled piston for me.

 

My ink channel is already really deep, and when I shake the pen heavily it drips, so I don't want to make it even deeper.

Maybe to cut out an additional fin would fix it.

 

Currently I'm to lazy to tinker around with it again to get rid of the last remaining railroading (I can live with its current state )

[conib]

And I'm totally with Ptero on the matter of spare nibs and feeds being available for the Noodler's. From a commercial POV I can see why not, but I think it holds a lot of folks back who might otherwise have a flex pen they could be actually happy with. It's a terrible shame.

 

+1.

 

Every once in a while, when I get a Goulet newsletter say, I think about buying a Konrad. I'll put one in my cart (a clear demonstrator or an acrylic) and then after a bit of thought about the Ease My Flex mod, I check to see whether they've started offering just the flex nibs, or a flex nib + feed set, for the Konrad, in case of foul-ups on my part. Then, when I see that they don't offer the spares, I don't end up buying the pen.

 

This just happened again last week; I ended up purchasing some ink samples, some paper, and a Carbon Pen, but the Konrad (acrylic this time) didn't make it through checkout.

 

At this point I'm trying to get a vintage 50's Pelikan moderate flex nib for my m200 Demonstrator

 

[yes, I went with another vendor for the m200, who had a posted we'll-exchange-if-arrives-damaged policy and could provide the unplated "I" nib I wanted. It arrived in great shape. Trista @ Pen Boutique rocks!]

 

and when that Pelikan 50's moderate flex nib happens, maybe I'll stop thinking about Noodler's as an option.

 

On the other hand, KrazyIvan's post has got me looking into the Creeper ... KrazyIvan, did you do the Ease My Flex mod on your Creeper?

 

-- Constance

[c4bb0ose]

Just a question, for those who have both serwex and noodlers pens, are the feeds interchangeable? because an option could be to grab a spare feed from FPR along with a few pens if thats your thing.

[Pterodactylus]

The FPR nib is much smaller than the Noodler's Ahab nib.

 

The FPR nib seems to be (at least for me) of lower quality than the Noodler's nib. (I wrote a few words about it in the EMF thread).

 

 

I use the FPR nib currently in a Serwex MB.

Honestly this pen is not worth the money, didn't thought that I would say this some time, but the construction quality is much better on the Noodler's pens.

 

When it came to me the silver ring (on the section above the nib just fall off even I did not used it once.

Glued it in place again.

The inner cap catches the nib.

It is a slip on cap, and when you rotate the cap when it is on the pen it will twist the nib.

Also when uncap it be careful when you are used to screw on caps.

The inner cap also catches the nib easily when you close the pen, be careful to insert the pen careful each time you close it.

The section threads and the barrel threads doesn't fit really together.

The section threads are conical and fit into the barrel threads only the last quarter of a turn.

After some use (only a couple of weeks) the barrel does not screw on the section anymore (observed this on my pen and read it several times, fixed it at least for now as I covered the threads on the section with super glue to make the diameter larger again and "cut" the windings with the metal barrel threads again before the super glue really hardened on the section... But caution you can easily glue it together forever).

 

The feed is a little plastic feed and I did not manage to modify it to keep up (has to squeeze ink into the feed ever 2-4 lines)

 

So my recommendation is not to buy a Serwex MB, overall it's a crappy (but nice looking) pen with several very severe construction flaws.

 

 

Despite after aligning, regrinding and smoothing of the FPR nib and EMF treatment the nib is a very very nice easy full flex nib.

So if a nice body, with a (ebonite) feed which can be modified to support the flex, can be found for the FPR EMF nib and you are not afraid tinker around with the nib, the FPR flex nib is a nice opportunity.

 

In its factory default state it is stiffer than the Ahab nib (also in default state).

Edited January 13, 2014 by Pterodactylus

[grainweevil]

 

On the other hand, KrazyIvan's post has got me looking into the Creeper ... KrazyIvan, did you do the Ease My Flex mod on your Creeper?

 

 

Not KrazyIvan (Just plain Crazy), but I've just done a Creaper myself, and it's very similar to doing the FPR nib. i.e. Small and fiddly, but absolutely do-able. I've yet to find the happy match of feed/nib position and ink to make it sing, but it certainly flexes plenty now.

 

As to the "What if I ruin the nib?" hesitation, I entirely understand but realised two things that made me brave. One, I bought it as a flex pen and it's no use to me if it doesn't, so better to try and maybe fail than definitely have a pen that I hardly use because it doesn't do what I want it to. Secondly, you can get other nibs to replace it. Maybe not flex (Although does the FPR nib fit the Creaper? That could potentially be an option. I'll check that*) but at least you won't necessarily have completely written off the investment in the pen, however small.

 

But it would still be better if we could buy spares rather than hunt for workarounds. Sigh.

 

Cheers, Al

 

*ETA: And... it doesn't. Ah well.

Edited January 13, 2014 by grainweevil

[Pterodactylus]

 

As to the "What if I ruin the nib?" hesitation, I entirely understand but realised two things that made me brave. One, I bought it as a flex pen and it's no use to me if it doesn't, so better to try and maybe fail than definitely have a pen that I hardly use because it doesn't do what I want it to.

 

True, couldn't agree more!

 

Sometimes when you work you also destroy something, but this is part of the learning process.

 

I'm not afraid that sometimes something fails, there is no improvement without trying something new out (and also no fun doing or at least trying it).

[Fabienne]

Right now I am waiting on the arrival of the needle files and I am going to try opening up the mid channel and some of the rear channels as well in the feed. Watch_Art had an interesting idea there. Moar later. I am still getting rr-ing. It's just fine if I don't try to flex. It acts like it's not getting enough ink through the feed.

[Pterodactylus]

You are right I also think this is the root cause, the ink does not come fast enough down the feed to support the nib.

Great that you try watch_art's idea!

 

Keep us updated

[KrazyIvan]

 

+1.

 

Every once in a while, when I get a Goulet newsletter say, I think about buying a Konrad. I'll put one in my cart (a clear demonstrator or an acrylic) and then after a bit of thought about the Ease My Flex mod, I check to see whether they've started offering just the flex nibs, or a flex nib + feed set, for the Konrad, in case of foul-ups on my part. Then, when I see that they don't offer the spares, I don't end up buying the pen.

 

This just happened again last week; I ended up purchasing some ink samples, some paper, and a Carbon Pen, but the Konrad (acrylic this time) didn't make it through checkout.

 

At this point I'm trying to get a vintage 50's Pelikan moderate flex nib for my m200 Demonstrator

 

[yes, I went with another vendor for the m200, who had a posted we'll-exchange-if-arrives-damaged policy and could provide the unplated "I" nib I wanted. It arrived in great shape. Trista @ Pen Boutique rocks!]

 

and when that Pelikan 50's moderate flex nib happens, maybe I'll stop thinking about Noodler's as an option.

 

On the other hand, KrazyIvan's post has got me looking into the Creeper ... KrazyIvan, did you do the Ease My Flex mod on your Creeper?

 

-- Constance

 

I have not attempted the nib mod as of yet.

[Fabienne]

I just modded nib#2 on an Ahab pearl colored pen. I have to wait to open the feed, and the nib is pretty scratchy at the moment (it looks like one tine is slightly higher than the other). But this time I did a "Pendleton Brown" type of mod so we will see if it is more flexy and/or less railroady.

[conib]

I just modded nib#2 on an Ahab pearl colored pen. I have to wait to open the feed, and the nib is pretty scratchy at the moment (it looks like one tine is slightly higher than the other). But this time I did a "Pendleton Brown" type of mod so we will see if it is more flexy and/or less railroady.

 

What does a "Pendleton Brown" mod look like?

[Fabienne]

Search for it on this forum. I know there are a bunch of images to look at. Briefly, they have less taken off the nib in general.

[conib]

Do you mean you've done his "angel wings"? With the two added cuts into the shoulders of the nib (in addition to an EMF-like mod), like in the image below?

 

http://www.thebackyardwatercolorist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Pendleton-nib.jpg

 

[Fabienne]

Ah no added cuts. i haven't seen those.

[KrazyIvan]

Ah no added cuts. i haven't seen those.

 

That is what I was referring to originally. Mr. Brown also thins the metal by going over the entire nib surface with what I think is the metal stone bit.

 

This is the original version I think, before he added the additional cuts but shows what I mean about thinning the metal. I do see that his feed is a lot more exposed.

 

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab272/pendletonII/February%20Faves%202012/f2290bfe.jpg

Edited January 14, 2014 by KrazyIvan

[KrazyIvan]

Here is a video of earthdawn using the second version with 4 cuts in the nib plus the angel wings. A close up of the nib is at the 2:00 mark:

 

Edited January 14, 2014 by KrazyIvan

[Pterodactylus]

Seems to be an italic grind.

 

Personally I do not like the chafed style of the nib.

Looks like a coin surface after somebody lost it on the motorway and 100s of cars rolled over it.