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Thanks to Mr. Joey Grasty at the Flexible Nib Factory LLC, my Pilot Custom 743 with a semi-flexible #15 FA nib now has an Ebonite feed. Finally, the almost perfect modern fountain pen is complete! (No thanks to Pilot though.) These feeds are expertly designed and milled right here in the USA. Two feed color choices are offered, black and red. Both versions are Ebonite. The black version cost me $25 USD plus a few bucks for USPS CONUS shipping. I chose the black version over the red because when it comes to a classic style pen like the 743, attending a black-tie Formal wearing a red tie - is not in good taste. But then again, I can see where the $40 red version would be fun as a conversation starter. The feeds are available in 2-slit and 3-slit versions, with the 3-slit offering more ink flow. I chose to go with the 2-slit version given the ink I normally use in my 743 flows pretty well as it is. This is in-line with the suggestions on the Flexible Nib Factory Web page. Here is a link to their Pilot 743 FA Replacement Feed page: https://flexiblenib.com/store/standard-replacement-feeds/pilot-743-fa-replacement-feed/ I received the new feed in a small plastic vial similar to an ink sample vial but smaller. The vial was enclosed in a small padded envelope. The packaging was effective yet frugal. Image Link: https://i.imgur.com/1GuNW4o.jpg Top: The Pilot 743 FA Nib on the new black Ebonite feed. Bottom: The bare plastic 743 factory feed. The Ebonite feed is opaque. The factory plastic feed was originally transparent with a matte finish, but here it is a bit stained from long-term contact with Pilot/Namiki Blue ink. My apologies for the poor cell-phone picture quality. It was a simple job to swap out the original plastic feed. If you are experienced with this process, it will take you ten or fifteen minutes once you have all the parts arranged before you. What follows is a step by step procedure of what I did, and how it came out... Note: Use this information at your own risk and keep in-mind, Pilot doesn't sell spare parts to end users. Read the instructions and notes completely through at least once before starting work. My example Pilot 743 pen was purchased direct from Japan three years ago. I do not know if later versions of the 743 are constructed differently. 1. Clean the new feed thoroughly with a dilute solution of warm soapy water and a soft toothbrush. This is just in case there are any left-over machining oils on the feed. (Ink is mostly water, oil and water don't mix.) My feed looked perfectly clean straight out of the package, but looks are deceptive when it comes to cleanliness and fountain pen parts. 2. Empty the pen of ink and unscrew the section from the barrel, then remove the converter or cartridge from the section. 3. Grip the nib and feed with two fingers on the top and bottom of the feed where it meets the section. Do not touch the nib-point or crush the feed fins. Pull the original feed and nib together straight out from the section. Do not twist or try to unscrew it. There are no flat-spots or keyways in the section to guide the feed and nib in or out. 4. Make sure to remove the clear rubber seal-washer from the back of the feed. If the seal-washer didn't come out with the feed, then fish it out of the section with a toothpick. Don't scratch the inside of the section. Don't loose the seal-washer! 5. Thoroughly clean the nib, feed, seal-washer, and section. 6. Transfer the nib to the new Ebonite feed making sure the two tabs on the back of the nib and the two flat spots on the sides of the feed mate up properly (see the picture above). The two parts just lay on top of each other, there should be no force involved. 7. Put the clear seal-washer back on the end of the feed making sure the necked-down (narrower) end of the rubber seal is pointing towards the feed stem (see the picture above). 8. Push the nib, feed, and seal assembly back into the section. Do not use force. When the end of the feed hits the bottom of the section and the seal-washer is properly seated, you will feel it. (Note, this is how my pen behaved. I cannot comment on other Pilot 743 pens.) If you cannot tell when the feed bottoms-out in the section, then there's probably something wrong. A likely culprit is the rubber seal-washer, it may be backwards or it is not seating properly inside the section. 9. Reassemble the rest of the pen, ink it, and most importantly - have fun with it! Important Note: Out of an abundance of caution, before I re-installed the nib I took an extra step and inserted the feed into the section with the seal-washer but without the nib. Then with the feed and seal-washer properly seated inside the section I counted the number of feed fins left exposed above the end of the section (in my case the number was 13). Finally I inserted the feed and seal with the nib and made sure the same number of feed fins were left exposed. Doing this ensures the rubber seal is seated properly inside the section when you are done. After installing the new feed my 743/FA and CON70 converter inked with Pilot/Namiki Blue wrote straight away. Now I have noticeably better ink flow and reserve. Compared with the original plastic feed, I can flex faster and longer before the nib starves. In-fact on good quality virgin (no recycled content) 80gsm office bond I have to go flex-crazy in order to get railroading or hard starts. Again, this is using my favorite ink - Pilot/Namiki Blue. The new feed fits the nib and pen perfectly. The end of the new feed does not hit the paper when I am flexing the nib. Note, the flat sections on the rear of the feed that receive the tabs at the back of the nib allow for a little movement of the nib in and out of the section (at least mine do). This allows for a small amount of flow tuning by pushing or pulling the nib in or out of the section. However, I just left my nib pushed all the way back. Now to be fair, my stock 743 was a pretty good flex performer to begin with. But I don't think there was anything special about my particular pen. Experience taught me to use sensible combinations of ink and paper that would support the ink flow needed with flex writing given the pen had a crummy sub-optimal plastic feed. Now, the Ebonite feed just makes a pretty good pen much better. The Obligatory Bad Writing Sample: This is Pilot/Namiki Blue on a $0.49 (on sale with member card) Walgreens Wexford brand 80 sheet (160 pages) Composition Notebook.The notebook really isn't too bad given the price! The paper is highly absorbent so showing flex is tough, yet oddly it still doesn't feather and there's almost no show-through. If you're in Walgreens pick one up. I think they sell for $1.25 or $1.50 if you don't have a member card. Image Link: https://i.imgur.com/Ut0Z0vm.jpg If you own a Pilot 742 or 912 pen with the smaller #10 FA semi-flex nib, at my writing time according to hints on the Flexible Nib Factory Web site there may be an Ebonite feed in your future too. Keep an eye on their Web site and Blog. For those of you with the Pilot 823 piston-fill pen: These new Ebonite feeds for the 743 will fit your pen too. Both the 823 and 743 pens use the same Pilot #15 size nibs and feeds. However for reasons known only to Pilot, unlike the 743 pen you are normally not permitted to buy the 823 with the semi-flexible FA nib (yeah, I know about Tokyo Pen Shop Quill too). So there really isn't much reason to replace the feed on your 823 - unless you have a doner FA nib floating around somewhere. My conclusion: If you own a Pilot 743 with an FA nib, this is a must have modification. Just Do-It! Where to find the Flexible Nib Factory LLC: Flexible Nib Factory LLC 1448 Halsey Way #114 Carrollton, Texas 75007 USA +1-214-945-3299 https://flexiblenib.com Author's Disclaimer: Other than as a retail customer I have no affiliation with the Flexible Nib Factory LLC.