Mb 149 Full Flex Nib!

[stevlight]

Fantastic! Encouraging me to draw again...would love to see your story boxes when they're done.

 

I should have pics of the production versions in late January--I will post pics.

 

How many fills did it take to do this drawing?

 

3 or 4 I can not remember.

[jgrasty]

Fabulous nib and amazing artwork. Thanks for sharing!

[Dave149]

What a fantastic drawings! Thank you for brightening up my evening.

Great nib too

[talkinghead]

I doubt the nib has been rolled around the feed - I think the photos just make it look that way. Besides, if this is an older 149 with the skinny 14k/c nib, it would be thinner anyways wouldn't it?

 

Agreed, that it may just be an optical illusion on this picture, though I disagree with your second sentence. The difference in the nibs typically is from just below the breather hole and up...hence the conversations we have here regarding "broad shoulders", "long tines" etc. The body/tail of the nibs of this era are generally the same width. I have changed out/switched many many nibs of 60-70-80's #149's and they are generally the same width/length from mid body down through the tail.

 

Maybe Richard Binder can comment, if he sees this thread.

 

Rick

[Barry Gabay]

Hi Steve,

 

What beautiful work! Your art becomes more and more remarkable with each new drawing. Congratulations on being featured at the toy show. What a wonderful accomplishment for you. Glad you are receiving more wide-spread attention for your work.

 

Richard's work on your nib makes many of us anxious to try such a nib.

 

Congratulations again on your recent accomplishments.

See you soon,

Barry

[hari317]

how would that (curving the body of the nib around the feed more) help the flexibility of the nib for a mechanical/physics stand point?

 

My conjecture: With a flat nib, you will mostly only lift the tines away from the feed when downward pressure is applied to the section for flex. With more arching, the tines will lift as well as spread like a scissor for more line variation. I have been doing some rudimentary experimentation with 40mm steel nibs for fun. also from what little i have seen of the few full flex waterman's nibs that i have, they have no shoulder flare in the nib at all and the nibs are nicely arched.

[georges zaslavsky]

congrats on a stunning pen and on stunning drawings

[fountainpende]

Wow !!! Great drawings and highly interesting nib !

[reprieve]

That nib is a total work of art. Not to mention your drawing. I love looking at these photos (I've been back to this thread at least three times just to admire the pictures). Thanks for posting!

[stevlight]

That nib is a total work of art. Not to mention your drawing. I love looking at these photos (I've been back to this thread at least three times just to admire the pictures). Thanks for posting!

 

If you go to Flickr you can see alot more drawings--just not with that nib but with other fountain pens.

[reprieve]

That nib is a total work of art. Not to mention your drawing. I love looking at these photos (I've been back to this thread at least three times just to admire the pictures). Thanks for posting!

 

If you go to Flickr you can see alot more drawings--just not with that nib but with other fountain pens.

 

I have your Flickr page bookmarked. Great stuff!

[leod]

wow! beautiful drawing but not a fan of the nib look.

i was wondering how did you get those details until i saw that size of the paper

[stevlight]

wow! beautiful drawing but not a fan of the nib look.

 

It is not for everyone--I personally think it looks cool and stealthy BUT I also just use my pens as tools so I do not care what they look like.

[johnkim424]

This is a great thread. I also had my MB 149 modified by adding flex to the nib. I considered Richard Binder, Greg Minuskin and John Mottishaw. In the end I went with John Mottishaw, based on previous dealings with him. He is in my opinion, one of the greatest nibmeister of our time. It, however takes about 6 months to get the pen back unless you want to pay double for his services. I sent it out in June and got it back in November. When I initially got the pen back, it had some ink flow problems but John sorted it out painlessly. Now it is writing like it should without any skipping. I have seen Greg's flex modification and this is the first time I have seen Richard's flex modification. John adds flex to the nib without shaving the shoulder off the nib. Unlike Greg or Richard, John's modification retains stock shape of the nib. His flex mod is springy and smooth with nice gradual flex and resistance when writing with the pen. Ink flow of course had to be increased from stock but the ebonite feed has no problems handling the task. As much as I like flexible nibs, the modification is not as good as "wet noodle" Waterman nibs. This however is to be expected. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get a chance.

[johnkim424]

The nib has to be 14C or 14K in order to qualify for flex modification. The pen also has to have ebonite feed due to ink flow requirements. I guess you can have any size nib to add flex but IMHO, optimal nib size would be fine or extra fine. Here are pictures of John Mottishaw's flex modification on my Montblanc 149. I sent him rather stiff, 14C tri-tone, extra fine nib with ebonite feed. As you can see in the first picture pens are early, first generation resin 149. The nib sizes are extra fine, oblique double broad and double braod. Only the first one, extra fine nib had the flex modification done.

[watch_art]

WOW. That's COOL.

 

I'm wondering if this was done with a buff/felt wheel with an aggressive abrasive compound rubbed in and used to remove some metal from the bottom of the nib.

Edited December 22, 2011 by watch_art

[leod]

The nib has to be 14C or 14K in order to qualify for flex modification. The pen also has to have ebonite feed due to ink flow requirements. I guess you can have any size nib to add flex but IMHO, optimal nib size would be fine or extra fine. Here are pictures of John Mottishaw's flex modification on my Montblanc 149. I sent him rather stiff, 14C tri-tone, extra fine nib with ebonite feed. As you can see in the first picture pens are early, first generation resin 149. The nib sizes are extra fine, oblique double broad and double braod. Only the first one, extra fine nib had the flex modification done.

 

very nice mod and retaining the look of the nib

[stevlight]

John adds flex to the nib without shaving the shoulder off the nib.

 

OH, did I not mention that I have a flex 149 nib from John? It is a great nib but a little less flexy then Richard's. I think after working with Richard for so long that he made a nib that really responds to the way I draw. John does amazing work and has made a 4B 149 nib that I use for big drawings all the time--as well as some other drawing nibs of mine. John's flex 149 is wonderful just does not get as much use as Richard's. If you want flex but do not want to change the look of the nib go with John--If you want a 149 nib that is made for drawing go with Richard's.

[Richard]

I've explained in at least one other thread what I do to add flex to a nib, and why I do it. Here it is again:

 

Trim the sides of the tine to lower the shoulders. This makes the nib respond more like a vintage flexie than it would if I just left the original shape. Without this trimming, the tines flex only in the area toward the tip, and that is not how a vintage flexie works.

 

Remove material from the underside. This makes the nib more flexible.

 

Redefine the crosswise arch to increase the tine spread for given amount of pressure.

 

Retemper the area where underside material has been removed, to make the flexibility more precise and to increase the safety margin a little.

 

Regrind the tip to a more vintage-like contour.

 

Modify the feed as required for the additional flow a flexie needs.

[stevlight]

I've explained in at least one other thread what I do to add flex to a nib, and why I do it. Here it is again:

 

Trim the sides of the tine to lower the shoulders. This makes the nib respond more like a vintage flexie than it would if I just left the original shape. Without this trimming, the tines flex only in the area toward the tip, and that is not how a vintage flexie works.

 

Remove material from the underside. This makes the nib more flexible.

 

Redefine the crosswise arch to increase the tine spread for given amount of pressure.

 

Retemper the area where underside material has been removed, to make the flexibility more precise and to increase the safety margin a little.

 

Regrind the tip to a more vintage-like contour.

 

Modify the feed as required for the additional flow a flexie needs.

 

 

 

Thank you Richard--this explains why this nib feels more like a vintage flex and is amazing to draw with.