Titanium Nib From Bock

[phisgr]

Greetings FPN,

I feel compelled to write a review for the titanium nib to express my gratitude to Mr. Bock for giving me the nib.

The nib is now fitted in a Muji fountain pen. You can refer to this review for the pen itself. I love its minimalistic design and the appropriate weight and size. The original nib performs well, but I find it a bit boring so I tried to change the nib after I knew it's a generic one. I bought a Bock EF steel nib a few months ago. It is very nice but it is gold plated and does not look attractive with the aluminium barrel.

 

http://i.imgur.com/etVje.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/eynFW.jpg

I took out the nib and switched it.

 

http://i.imgur.com/O0u7L.jpg

Beautiful nib.

Note that the feed in the nib unit is longer and I used the original one. I did not align it well before I took the picture.

 

Performance (9/10)

http://i.imgur.com/HQNkA.jpg

Smooth, no starting problem, simply what one expects from Bock.

Max thickness about 1mm, one mark lost as I am comparing it to vintage nibs.

 

Conclusion

I hope to see the titanium nibs available in retail, as well as in the TWSBIs!

[rockydoggy]

Fascinating . . . . I have one of these Muji pens and I think it's been inked continuously for well over a decade now. It's a very reliable, sturdy, and comfortable pen--one of my favorites. Like you, I have no complaints at all about the stock nib (a wettish medium); it never occurred to me to switch it out. Some questions: What size Bock nib fits the Muji? Do you have a sense of how much the titanium nib will cost when it becomes available?

[phisgr]

You can check the dimensions here.

It is #180.

 

I did not have much idea about the price, this post helps.

[ink mixer]

Please pardon my ignorance, but would it be possible to order a titanium nib that would fit a TWSBI?

[phisgr]

Stipula has pens with titanium nibs and you can buy their nib units. These nibs probably fit the Vac 700(correct me if I am wrong). This is the only way of ordering I know.

 

Why don't we let speedy know the demand of titanium nibs, so that we can get them easily and with the TWSBI logo? In this post he mentioned the titanium nibs.

Edited April 29, 2012 by phisgr

[tenney]

So, a Bock #180 Titan just fits right into the Muji pen? Wow! For a $10-15 pen, that's great.

[phisgr]

So, a Bock #180 Titan just fits right into the Muji pen? Wow! For a $10-15 pen, that's great.

Yes, the titanium nib even matches the pen better than the original shiny nib.

However, getting the nib may be difficult. Gladly I am lucky enough.

[tenney]

Ok, I'll bite... Why is it so difficult to get? How does one get that nib?

[phisgr]

Ok, I'll bite... Why is it so difficult to get? How does one get that nib?

It is difficult to get as it is not available in retail. (Yes, I am Captain Obvious.)

The (shown) demand of it is not high enough, probably.

 

I sent an email asking how can I get it. After she knew I am from Hong Kong, she told me Mr. Bock would give me a sample when he is in HK for the gifts and premium fair.

 

Some pen turners have the titanium nibs, perhaps you can ask if they can sell one to you, but I cannot be sure.

[fabrimedeiros]

If Im not wrong, Vac700 has number #6 size nibs. If Twsbi could bring these Ti nibs for Vac 700, no doubt I would bought one. However, because #6 are big nibs, I supose it will cost over $100 (only the nib)

[tenney]

It is difficult to get as it is not available in retail. (Yes, I am Captain Obvious.)

I figured that was it, but then I wasn't sure. You'd think that someone would retail Bock nibs... Do you believe that the Titanium nib will actually be flexible enough to be a flex nib?

[phisgr]

It is difficult to get as it is not available in retail. (Yes, I am Captain Obvious.)

I figured that was it, but then I wasn't sure. You'd think that someone would retail Bock nibs... Do you believe that the Titanium nib will actually be flexible enough to be a flex nib?

Bock nibs are available in pen turning stores, but I have yet to find one that supplies titanium nibs.

And about the flexibility, the max thickness is 1mm, the same as my symphony 913 from terim. Perhaps this is only semiflex to some, but I'd say it is expressive enough.

[Daemos]

I have a stipula founain pen with a their Titaninum flex nib...it must be my favourite pen, if I could get a similar nib in a vanishing point it would IMO be close to my ideal fountain pen.

[Feanaaro]

Sorry to resuscitate this old thread, but it's quite about the only place I found where this specific topic was being discussed. I also have a Muji pen and I love it, but the nib is way too broad for me, and I would very much like to swap it with something finer. Does anyone know if/where/how it would be now possible to buy a replacement compatible nib.

I tried to search for quite a while, but as I said this seem the only place (that I am able to find) where the thing has been discussed with some depth.

 

Thanks!

[bostonfin]

Conidpen.com sells the titanium nib units in their web store or at least they use to for the bulk filler. I have 3 of them 2 fine and one medium. They are smooth writers with a nice fine line for sure. When I purchased them with my pen I believe they were 45 usd plus shipping.

[arran]

I have 2 F Titanium nibs in my 2 first Conid bulkfillers and very satisfied with them

They are fine and smooth writers

These put a line that is finer than my last acquired pelikan 101 with XF nib

[Drone]

Hi Feanaaro,

 

First of all...

 

I don't know what size nib the Muji pen uses but if a Bock Titanium mono nib fits, it is a good chance it is a No.6 (6mm) 250 nib. See here:

 

http://www.peter-bock.com/content/e4/e894/index_eng.html

 

250 Mono

Large nib in classic design.

- Shoulder width: 8.6 mm*
- Overall length: 35.0 mm*
- Recommended ink feeder: Ø 6.0 mm

 

Both gold-tone plated steel and steel Bock nibs are pretty easy to find at pen making supply stores. Here is one that stocks fine and extra-fine nibs::

 

http://www.classicnib.com/index.php/bock-nibs2/bock

 

AFAIK the Bock Titanium nibs are next to impossible to buy alone. (Anyone have any URLs? I couldn't find them on the Conid site,)

 

But as luck would have it, recently I was looking at a crowd-funded Titanium fountain pen, the "Namisu Nexus Minimal". While the Nexus Minimal pen didn't especially interest me (no clip), I saw on their Web site they are taking pre-orders for stand-alone Bock 250 Titanium "Triple System" nib units in Fine and Medium. Each nib unit is GBP25 ($40). before shipping.

 

I bookmarked the link to the Namisu nib-unit pre-order page:

 

http://www.namisu.com/collections/nexus-minimal-fountain-pen

 

If you want to use the nib alone without the nib unit, I am sure the nib can be pulled out (and re-inserted).

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the Bock 250 Titanium nib unit scraped from the Namisu Web page. The shiny nib is a steel nib, the dull nib is the titanium nib..

 

 

 

Let us know how you come out in your Muji pen nib search.

 

Good Luck, David

Edited October 31, 2014 by Drone

[Feanaaro]

Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated.

I'm still not entirely clear on what to do, but just to make myself (at least) clear: even if I wrote in this thread, because it was the only one I could find where nib swapping for the Muji was discussed, I am not looking specifically for a titanium or a Bock nib, just for any nib which would fit and be finer than the one included with the pen.

 

Also, has someone ever seen a guide on how to disassemble and re-assemble the muji pen's nib? I get this must be super simple for you people, but I am new here, and never actually disassembled a nib by myself.

 

Addendum: I found this place http://www.indy-pen-dance.com/cart.php which has the Bock, and they are a little cheaper than elsewhere (cheaper shipping too), and they have the 250 6mm in stock. However, the original poster mentioned that the nib was a 180, which should be 5mm (and it's not in stock at that place).

Edited November 1, 2014 by Feanaaro

[bostonfin]

40 for that nib unit is a sweet deal I'm going to pre order a few more the conid web store appears to be down I can't access it either.

[Drone]

Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated.

I'm still not entirely clear on what to do, but just to make myself (at least) clear: even if I wrote in this thread, because it was the only one I could find where nib swapping for the Muji was discussed, I am not looking specifically for a titanium or a Bock nib, just for any nib which would fit and be finer than the one included with the pen.

 

Also, has someone ever seen a guide on how to disassemble and re-assemble the muji pen's nib? I get this must be super simple for you people, but I am new here, and never actually disassembled a nib by myself.

 

Addendum: I found this place http://www.indy-pen-dance.com/cart.php which has the Bock, and they are a little cheaper than elsewhere (cheaper shipping too), and they have the 250 6mm in stock. However, the original poster mentioned that the nib was a 180, which should be 5mm (and it's not in stock at that place).

 

OK Feanaaro,

 

I found this post by FPN user "zap210" from 22 June 2014 that has an example of a nib-swap on a Muji fountain pen (top-most post):

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/268826-some-nib-swaps-and-a-jif/

 

In the post with the Muji swap the zap210 says, "This one, a Muji, was done about a week ago. I had three Bock 76 titanium broad nibs and thought I would see how the Bock performed."

 

So the indication is that a Bock 076 nib fits in the Muji pen.

 

If we trust what the zap210 says about his/her Muji nib swap, then he is using a Bock 076 nib which is a No.5 nib, not a No.6. (A modern No.5 nib fits on a feed with a radius of 5mm, a No.6 nib fits on a 6mm radius feed.) As you pointed out, the Original Poster in this thread also said the No.5 nib fits in the Muji pen. So we have two sources of confirmation that the nib is a No.5 size Bock.

 

Look at this link below for all the common Bock nib types:

 

http://www.peter-bock.com/content/e4/e894/index_eng.html

 

From the Bock site (link above) we see this about the 076 nib:

 

076 Mono

- Shoulder width: 8.8 mm*

- Overall length: 26.5 mm*

- Recommended ink feeder: Ø 5.0 mm

- Material: high-alloy steel / gold / titanium**

 

So, the 076 nib is in-fact a No.5 (5mm) nib.

 

I am familiar with Indy Pen-Dance - they are good people. But as you noted, they do not have stock for the Bock No.5 nibs. Also, they do not offer the extra-fine nib option.

 

I chose the nib vendor who's link I provided in my previous post specifically because they supply BOTH the "Fine" and the "Extra-Fine" Bock nibs - and you stated you wanted a finer nib for your pen, but not how fine. Also, both sizes are offered in the gold-plated and polished steel nib versions, I'm not sure which you want for your Muji.

 

The question now becomes, does the nib alone swap into the Muji pen or do you need the "triple" Feed, Housing, and Nib together which make-up a "Nib-Unit"?

 

I will stick my neck out and say you probably just need the nib alone to swap into the Muji pen. But I may be wrong. You can buy the whole nib-unit just in case you have to swap the feed too, or maybe the whole nib-unit screws into the Muji pen. The price difference for the nib alone and the whole nib-unit is only $7 USD. So maybe buy the whole nib-unit just in-case?

 

Here are the links to the (example) Extra-Fine gold-plated Bock 5mm nib alone and the matching whole nib-unit. The price for the nib is the same as Indy Pen-Dance, but I did not compare the shipping cost.

 

The non gold-plated nib is available as well in fine or extra-fine, but the stock indicator shows low or no stock. So be sure to ask about available stock before buying!

 

Bock No.5 gold-plated extra-fine $11.50 each:

 

http://www.classicnib.com/index.php/bock-nibs2/bock/bock56mm-polished-extra-fine-650-745-746-detail

 

Bock No.5 gold-plated extra-fine nib-unit $18.50 each:

 

http://www.classicnib.com/index.php/bock-nibs2/bock/5-mm-complete-triple132-detail

 

To be absolutely sure, here is what I recommend you do:

 

1. Go to the post in the first link at the top of this message and send the Original Poster (zap210) who swapped his Muji nib a Personal Message asking exactly how he did the nib swap. Did he have a nib alone or did he swap a whole nib unit?

 

2. Do the same thing by contacting the OP in this thread who swapped his Muji nib.

 

3. If you cannot get in contact with either person who actually swapped a muji nib, then post a question in the First Stop area here on the FPN and ask specifically about swapping the Muji Nib. Someone will probably reply with the information you need.

 

Even if nobody tells you exactly how to swap the Muji nib, Based on the post in this thread and zap210's post and picture, I bet that if you just buy a No.5 Bock nib alone, it will probably swap into the Muji pen OK.

 

As far as "How" to swap the nib, a video is worth a thousand words. Watch the video at the link below by Brian Goulet on swapping the nib on a Monteverde pen. Your Muji pen should be the same or very similar.

 

I hope I have been of some help. Post back here and tell us how your Muji pen adventure comes out.

 

Best Regards, David

 

Here's the Nib Swapping Video:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KxlG-SgoqzM