Twsbi Diamond 530 With A Pelikan Nib

[Malcy]

I have never been very happy with the nib in my Diamond 530. It is an M, but seems fairly mean with the ink and I prefer broad nibs anyway.

 

I saw Speedy remove the Diamond 530 nib from it's nib unit in a post a while ago. Today I saw a post from Watch Art showing how to remove the nib from a Pelikan nib unit. Having recently moved house, I came across an unused Pelikan M200 broad nib that I had forgotten about years ago.

 

Putting two and two together, I wondered if the Pelikan nib would fit the TWSBI nib unit and it does. It is a perfect fit and seems to write beautifully smoothly with a nice wet line. Use will tell if the flow drops off over an extended writing period like happened with the TWSBI nib but at the moment I'm really happy.

 

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5712628/Images/Pel-TWSBI.jpg

[atypical]

Very interesting. Well done

 

It makes me wonder whether or not a complete Pelikan nib unit could somehow be fitted in the TWSBI section.

[Malcy]

Very interesting. Well done

 

It makes me wonder whether or not a complete Pelikan nib unit could somehow be fitted in the TWSBI section.

 

No it can't. The diameter of the Pelikan unit including the collar is a nice snug fit. However, the thing that holds the section of the pen onto the barrel is the thread at the base of the TWSBI nib unit which screws into the barrel. This means that there is nothing to hold section and barrel together if the whole Pelikan nib unit is inserted.

[Surnia]

If the M200 nibs fit, doesn't that open up the entire lineup of Richard Binder's nibs for the TWSBI using this feed....

[Basset]

If the TWSBI allowed one to screw in Pelikan nib units, I think its sales would take off like a jet plane...

[saskia_madding]

Okay, this is the best news EVER. I must have a Pelikan nib lying around somewhere. Thanks!

[dnb]

I don't know if you have to go that far. I tweaked mine to be a terrific writer, one of my best, in fact. I smoothed on 3 micron mylar sheet then finished off with a paper bag. Then because it was a bit dryer than I wanted, I took the mylar abrasive and flossed the slit until I got my desired wettness. It is a wide EF not, but boy, is it sweet!

[watch_art]

YES!!! Great work. That means every 200-400 pel nib ever will fit this pen. Very cool.

 

Glad my doodles were of service.

[freewheelingvagabond]

If the TWSBI allowed one to screw in Pelikan nib units, I think its sales would take off like a jet plane...

 

 

Not sure, why do you think so?

[watch_art]

A pen cheaper than pelikan that takes pel nibs. i think it'd be a hot item, too.

[inkpenguin]

What makes this exciting is that the TWSBI becomes the foremost pen for modding and cool hacks.

[mori45]

If the TWSBI allowed one to screw in Pelikan nib units, I think its sales would take off like a jet plane...

 

 

Not sure, why do you think so?

 

 

One of the reasons I, and I'm certain many others enjoy Pelikans is because of their amazing nibs. If I can put a 14k Pelikan nib on a $40 demonstrator approximately the size of an M800 that I can service myself, I think I've come out like a bandit. To put it in perspective, a clear M800 demonstrator costs about $400, and a 14k M800 nib about $250, if you can find them. Or you could get a TWSBI and a 14k Pelikan nib for a small fraction of the price. Don't get me wrong, I love my Pelikans, but this discovery is enough for me to get off the fence on the TWSBI issue.

 

On a separate note, can anyone who has a TWSBI comment on the likelihood that an M600 nib might fit as well? I would imagine it would be closer to the size of the Schmidt nib, so the pen doesn't look like a huge man in a tiny hat.

 

 

Thanks Malcy for an awesome post!

Edited November 28, 2010 by mori45

[Malcy]

If the TWSBI allowed one to screw in Pelikan nib units, I think its sales would take off like a jet plane...

 

 

Not sure, why do you think so?

 

 

One of the reasons I, and I'm certain many others enjoy Pelikans is because of their amazing nibs. If I can put a 14k Pelikan nib on a $40 demonstrator approximately the size of an M800 that I can service myself, I think I've come out like a bandit. To put it in perspective, a clear M800 demonstrator costs about $400, and a 14k M800 nib about $250, if you can find them. Or you could get a TWSBI and a 14k Pelikan nib for a small fraction of the price. Don't get me wrong, I love my Pelikans, but this discovery is enough for me to get off the fence on the TWSBI issue.

 

On a separate note, can anyone who has a TWSBI comment on the likelihood that an M600 nib might fit as well? I would imagine it would be closer to the size of the Schmidt nib, so the pen doesn't look like a huge man in a tiny hat.

 

 

Thanks Malcy for an awesome post!

 

From what I can see, the rear half of the M200 nibs seem to have the same dimensions which is why it is a drop in but the front of the Pelikan nib is not as wide. However, that doesn't matter as it is outside the nib unit housing. If the latter part of the M600 nib shares these dimensions then it will probably fit the nib holder. I think that it may as the M600 nib unit fits the M400. Where there may be a problem is the length of the nib as the TWSBI nib gets close to the top of the inner cap and the Pelikan unit similarly only has one or two mm clearance.

[mori45]

From what I can see, the rear half of the M200 nibs seem to have the same dimensions which is why it is a drop in but the front of the Pelikan nib is not as wide. However, that doesn't matter as it is outside the nib unit housing. If the latter part of the M600 nib shares these dimensions then it will probably fit the nib holder. I think that it may as the M600 nib unit fits the M400. Where there may be a problem is the length of the nib as the TWSBI nib gets close to the top of the inner cap and the Pelikan unit similarly only has one or two mm clearance.

 

 

That was precisely my concern--I just check Richard Binder's site where there are photos of nibs of all sizes and it looks like they are only slightly larger than the M200 nibs. My guess is that since the M6xx feed is shorter, one might be able to set the nib back a bit on the TWSBI feed to allow for its accommodation.

[mahkie]

If the TWSBI allowed one to screw in Pelikan nib units, I think its sales would take off like a jet plane...

 

Speedy was really thinking about this, but told me he was pretty worried about getting sued in the event that he did this.

[GavH]

This is really top news, a BB Pelikan nib on a TWSBI would keep me happy for a long time!

[Malcy]

This is really top news, a BB Pelikan nib on a TWSBI would keep me happy for a long time!

 

I thought about pulling the BB out of my M400 but I am happy with the steel B for now as it is working so well.

[SilentK]

Very nice news indeed! Right now I'm going to run my TWSBI out of ink as fast as I can so that I can make sure I'm able to easily remove the nib and feed. If that goes well, I've got a feeling I will be considering ordering a m200 nib from Richard Binder sometime! Is there anything that is really tricky about this? Just plug and play, right?

 

Also, just so I'm clear on the removing of the pelikan nib, all I need to do is put the nib unit on a knock-out block and hit the end of the feed a good swing of a hammer?

Edited November 28, 2010 by SilentK

[fabrimedeiros]

This is really top news, a BB Pelikan nib on a TWSBI would keep me happy for a long time!

 

I thought about pulling the BB out of my M400 but I am happy with the steel B for now as it is working so well.

 

+2

 

Edited: We need to see if the feeder flow is enough to does not skipping.

Edited November 28, 2010 by fabrimedeiros

[duende]

Sweet hack! Makes me wonder about something. I have noticed that some scribes like to interchange nibs with the Twsbi. Why? Do you do this with your other pens? It is a nice technical challenge, but I get the feeling that there is more to it than that.