Noodler´s Ahab - Ease My Flex Mod

[Drone]

Look at the first post in this thread for a schematic drawing that tries to show where you need to cut the Ahab's feed fins for additional flow:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/279978-tool-to-modify-ebonite-nibs-suggestions-please/

 

I cut first closer to the tip of the nib, but just before where the feed begins to taper. Also, if I cut on the bottom of the feed, I usually cut on the top also, at least when making my first cut. Then I move further back away from the tip of the nib (closer to the section) if I need to make more cuts. Some prefer to start cuts closer to the section. YMMV.

 

 

[tokikanno]

Thx to scully012 and Drone for these nice & clear answers.

 

I'll give it a try soon

Edited July 13, 2015 by tokikanno

[tokikanno]

I've applied the modification on my feed and was satisfied with the result.

I've opened the first 2 fins to the central feed channel, the feed is pretty wet now.

 

The chance of railroading lowered about 10~15%, and when railroading happened, the feed recovered fast then before.

 

But I don't know if I should continue open the other fins, because when I I tapped my nib on the paper, sometimes a big drop of ink will exceed.

 

 

[Mathematics Teacher]

This is a great thread - I have an Ahab in Pearl, and have been able to adjust the nib and feed so that it writes well most of the time, but was definitely disappointed in the flex requiring too much pressure. It has been out of my rotation for a couple months, and I honestly did not expect it to ever get used again, but I think I will pull it out and try the EMF mod in the next few weeks.

 

I will take some pics as I go in case I need some feedback.

[Thier.]

  On 7/17/2015 at 4:08 PM, Mathematics Teacher said:

This is a great thread - I have an Ahab in Pearl, and have been able to adjust the nib and feed so that it writes well most of the time, but was definitely disappointed in the flex requiring too much pressure. It has been out of my rotation for a couple months, and I honestly did not expect it to ever get used again, but I think I will pull it out and try the EMF mod in the next few weeks.

 

I will take some pics as I go in case I need some feedback.

 

Exactly same here !!!!!

[pepsiplease69]

I went to Home Depot and bought me a Dremel tool for $50 to try this out for myself.

 

I'm quite happy with this (originally not so) spectacular nib.

 

 

 

 

I admit I could have done a cleaner job but I'm not a jeweler by trade...

 

 

And the final result is that I can go on for pages and pages without any flex-fatigue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I originally started with the converter that came with the Ahab, but then I switched to an eyedropper fill for want of additional flow.

 

Trying out with Waterman black here, seems to flow well and doesn't smudge. I think I'm pretty happy with this ink, I had passed it up for dead long time ago.

[Tas]

  On 7/28/2015 at 2:27 PM, pepsiplease69 said:

 

Trying out with Waterman black here, seems to flow well and doesn't smudge. I think I'm pretty happy with this ink, I had passed it up for dead long time ago.

 

Excellent!

 

Waterman Black has tamed my Noodler's pens. A lovely if rather underrated ink.

[TeaHive]

Looking great!! I just bought several more Noodler's pens that are in need of some EMFing. It's such a fantastic mod, I do it to all of the nibs that go in my Ahabs.

[pepsiplease69]

Sorry about the photos, they seem a bit heavily doctored and poorly lit.

 

I need to take all of the photos from the bathroom sink where I get the most flattering lighting.

 

Regarding the use of the dremel. I'm not sure if it will kick up dust and filings from grinding the nib.

 

Do I need to wear a mask and protective eyewear before I go in for the grind (as if I'm preparing for battle), or am I being too paranoid.

[Sinistral1]

If you are grinding or filing metal it's best to wear eye protection and a mask if you are concerned, as well as doing the work in a well ventilated area. Safety first!

[pepsiplease69]

Okay so my love-affair with this Ahab has evolved further.

 

I still see the occasional railroading, but I'm telling myself I need to move slower. If I make a particularly long swell, like the lowercase letter 'f' then I need to slow down to let the feed catch up.

 

I remember somewhere Nathan Tardiff mentioned you can make your own overfeed with a piece of Scotch tape that you stick over the ink channel and it draws the ink out to the tip of the tines.

 

I've tried doing that but I'm not really sure whether it has helped.

 

I've got Waterman Black in there, and I've converted the Ahab to an eyedropper filler to help with the flow. The ink level is down to 1/3rd of full capacity, so at some point it should start giving me the ink burping (in this case I want it to burp a little, I can use the surplus flow of ink)

 

I'm very close to yanking the feed out and using an x-acto knife to deepen the ink channel on the feed.

 

How are others dealing with that?

[TeaHive]

Whenever I get a new Ahab, this is my process:

 

1. Yank feed and nib.
2. Get rid of the breather tube.
3. Widen and deepen the top feed channel with an X-Acto knife.
4. Carve all fin vents to meet BOTH top and bottom channels.
5. E.M.F. the nib if using it for flex. (Sometimes I put in a different #6 nib.)
6. Wash nib and feed by using an old toothbrush and toothpaste.
7. Wash the rest of the pen with dish soap and water.
8. Reassemble without getting skin oils on the nib (paper towel comes in handy).
9. Heat set the nib and feed.
10. Wipe water from the nib, fill with ink.
11. Write.

So far, this has left me with all properly working, non-ink-starved Ahabs while writing at a moderate pace. No need for a tape overfeed.

[pepsiplease69]

  On 8/11/2015 at 7:53 PM, TeaHive said:

Whenever I get a new Ahab, this is my process:

 

• Yank feed and nib.
• Get rid of the breather tube.
• Widen and deepen the top feed channel with an X-Acto knife.
• Carve all fin vents to meet BOTH top and bottom channels.
• E.M.F. the nib if using it for flex. (Sometimes I put in a different #6 nib.)
• Wash nib and feed by using an old toothbrush and toothpaste.
• Wash the rest of the pen with dish soap and water.
• Reassemble without getting skin oils on the nib (paper towel comes in handy).
• Heat set the nib and feed.
• Wipe water from the nib, fill with ink.
• Write.

So far, this has left me with all properly working, non-ink-starved Ahabs while writing at a moderate pace. No need for a tape overfeed.

Thanks for that.

 

I still have the breather tube in there, I'll remove that. I need to work on the fins next, but maybe first I'll broaden and deepen the top channel.

 

I think the flow is nearly there, just with maybe some of the smaller tweaks will do the trick

[Shubhranshu Das]

Okay.... To find a grinder... Thanks this is worth trying ... I have re started to use my Ahab... Gave up due to the struggle to get line variation ... After much practise I am getting more variation with less pressure and better control, but this hack may help

Thanks, appreciate you sharing this

[Benpiggy]

I recently start using Ahab again. I noted there is a lot of ink in the feed - when I touch the feed, there are ink all over my finger. Slight shaking of the pen, ink also comes out easily.

 

Not sure if the nib/feed is loose when friction fit with the pen.

 

It become quite messy to use.

 

Any information would be appreciated.

 

Cheers.

[thibault]

been a lurker for a bit, first time posting here. i thought i'd share my experience with this mod as it really helped me making my ahab useful

some info on the process: i used a dremmel with a round metal head. it took me about an hour to get both sides right. maybe my tools were less appropriate for the job than OP's. in the original post, a cut-in of about 10mm long is suggested. i found this to be a bit too long for my particular pen. if i want the nib to fit snugly into the barrel, i have to put part of the incision into the barrel. this doesn't harm the pen or the mod, but it makes the nib very hard to take out as it snags on the plastic that is holding it in place. i also think it will wear out the plastic over time if i take the nib out too often. other than that, every measurement was perfect.

getting the flow right is tricky. at first i needed to more flow so i opened a channel in the feed. (i didn't need it when the pen was unmodded) now the pen actually flows too much. on a lot of papers i get a lot of feathering of the ink. so i have to be careful how i use it now. the strange thing is that even though the flow is plenty, every now and then the pen does railroad when i really put it to the test. this might be due to my technique rather than the pen. you can see in my writing sample that i'm still a novice at flex writing.

 

here's a writing sample. i only noticed i spelled Quink wrong after i took the picture...

http://i.imgur.com/9atwfOT.jpg

[Brooks MT]

One way to reduce ink flow is to modify the ink. Adding distilled/deionized water to ink dilutes the surfactants that the maker adds to the ink. This will reduce flow by making the ink "less wet". Goulet Pens says up to 10% dilution won't change the ink too much. I use 50% dilution, myself (with Noodler inks). I like the shading that this dilution gives. I have not used Parker blue-black Quink. You'll have to experiment to see if this helps, and if so, what % dilution gives you the combination of ink properties you prefer. Those little ink vials that Goulet Pen sells, with screw-on tops, are handy for experimenting with inks. You don't want to modify the whole bottle of ink until you have figured out exactly what to do, of course. I never mod the whole bottle, since I like using unmodified ink in some of my pens.

 

You can also fill in some of the fins to reduce flow. I prefer to use wax as the fill-in material. It can be removed more easily than silicon grease. As you probably know, 1/2 of the fins on Noodler pens are not actually connected to the ink channel. This was deliberate; Nathan Tardiff felt that the pen user should modify his/her pen to please themselves. Look at the fins under a hand lens to see which ones are connected to the channel - it'd be useless to fill in the ones that aren't even connected :-)

 

I'm not sure why your nib is chewing up the plastic. It should not do that. Perhaps you need to deburr the ground edges. I always have to deburr when using a grindstone on my nibs, and a metal cutter would likely leave an even bigger burr than the stones. I use 400 or 600 grit wet or dry sandpaper (used wet) for deburring.

 

Hope this helps

Edited December 9, 2015 by Brooks MT

[Fabienne]

  On 8/11/2015 at 7:53 PM, TeaHive said:

Whenever I get a new Ahab, this is my process:

 

1. Yank feed and nib.
2. Get rid of the breather tube.
3. Widen and deepen the top feed channel with an X-Acto knife.
4. Carve all fin vents to meet BOTH top and bottom channels.
5. E.M.F. the nib if using it for flex. (Sometimes I put in a different #6 nib.)
6. Wash nib and feed by using an old toothbrush and toothpaste.
7. Wash the rest of the pen with dish soap and water.
8. Reassemble without getting skin oils on the nib (paper towel comes in handy).
9. Heat set the nib and feed.
10. Wipe water from the nib, fill with ink.
11. Write.

So far, this has left me with all properly working, non-ink-starved Ahabs while writing at a moderate pace. No need for a tape overfeed.

 

Great line of action here. I am a bit shaky about #4, #5-I am not familiar with what E.M.F.is, the rest is real clear. Can you expand on #4 and #5. If you could provide video, photos, or drawings that would really be helpful. I don't want to make you work harder but I am really impressed with your list of things you do and the results. Thanks.

[alaskazimm]

  On 12/10/2015 at 3:43 AM, Fabienne said:

 

I am a bit shaky about #4, #5-I am not familiar with what E.M.F.is, the rest is real clear. . .Thanks.

 

E.M.F. = Ease My Flex is a mod to the nib to make flexing easier. See the first post in this thread for the 'how to".

Edited December 10, 2015 by alaskazimm

[Fabienne]

Oh, I haven't looked at this so long that EMF has become alien to me. I was doing it at the beginning.