Noodlers Flex Nib Needlepoint Regrind

[sheldon1936]

I recently spent a few hours working on my good ole' ebonite Noodlers Konrad. I hadn't used this pen for quite a while and wanted to spice things up a bit. The changes I made (and highly recommend) are as follows:

 

1) the "easy my flex" mod, were you grind a portion off the sides of the nib as seen in the picture.

 

2) I doubled the depth/width of the feed channel, which managed to eliminate almost all railroading except on very aggressive downstrokes. and

 

3) I reground the tip to an XXXF needlepoint. I don't know how to measure the actual degree of fineness I achieved with this grind, but ill tell you it is so sharp that I may just use it to sew some new underpants.

 

I don't by any means consider myself an experienced nib-alter-er-er, but it wasn't too difficult to shave the sides and smooth the tip with 8000, 12000 and 16000 grit polishing sandpaper.

 

Anyways, here are some pictures of my work (and first attempt calligraphy); please comment if you have any questions, suggestions or have tried the same thing during your nib-related adventures. Enjoy.

 

 

[D B Holtz]

Nice work! I'm going to try this! My one suggestion: xylography instead of Xerox.

 

DB

[discopig]

That is really cool. Have you thought about doing the ease my flex mod to make the nib easier to flex? A XXXF nib with (near) full flex in such a cheap pen would be amazing.

Edited March 26, 2014 by discopig

[sheldon1936]

That is really cool. Have you thought about doing the ease my flex mod to make the nib easier to flex? A XXXF nib with (near) full flex in such a cheap pen would be amazing.

Yeah, that was the first thing I did actually, and after the regrind it takes just a little more effort to flex than most dip nibs (A new gillott 303 was what I compared it to). Its bliss i tell you.

[pokermon]

Very nice! What method did you use to deepen the feed channel? Razor blade or something else?

[linearM]

One place you might go to find the width of your line is Richards Pens. Look for his Stroke Width Chart.

 

You got some very good results with your efforts.

[Tasmith]

Awesome!

[sheldon1936]

Very nice! What method did you use to deepen the feed channel? Razor blade or something else?

I scraped the edges down with a razor sharp swiss army knife, and removed the one set of fins near the tip. It seemed to encourage ink to flow to the tines even when they're spread quite wide. It doesn't write too wet however when doing normal cursive so it still performs well on more feathering-prone paper, despite the added scratchiness.

[Fabienne]

I am going to have to get out the micromesh and go at the tip of my Ahab, too. I like it but it's a bit too broad and to get it down to needle point would be a dream. You just used the 8000-12000-16000 to polish (grind) down either side of the tip of the nib? Did it take long (as the nib it steel).

[fledermaus89]

I am definitely trying this out with my Ahab. The beauty of Noodlers pens is that it's cheap enough that reward after a successful modification outweighs the loss in case of failure.

[CrimsonM]

Can you explain in more detail how you ground down the nib? Technique, etc.

[sheldon1936]

I attached small ~1cm Dremel fine sanding drum to a high rpm drill and carefully ground down the sides and bottom of the nib. I taped the nib tines together so that they wouldn't slip over one another, allowing me to get the sharp needlepoint nib.

 

Also I compared the hairlines I can achieve with this nib to a micro pen with a 0.2mm tip, and this nib was a little finer. I'm tempted to do this to some other cheap nibs sitting in the old pen box, I'll post the technique I use when I do so.

[Abner C. Kemp]

You should sell these. I'd buy one.

[Fabienne]

Me 2.

[jelly]

That is terrifyingly sharp and fine, well done! Do you think the technique would be much different if I were to try this on a gold (14ct) nib?

[lahlahlaw]

Fine work!!

[sheldon1936]

That is terrifyingly sharp and fine, well done! Do you think the technique would be much different if I were to try this on a gold (14ct) nib?

I can imagine a gold nib would wear down faster than the steel I used. And with the tools I used, even steel wore down quite quickly. Maybe try it on a cheaper more robust steel nib before risking the safety of a more expensive 14k gold one first. I also have a vintage 14k Pick Pen Co. pen that flexes easily but writes too broad for my taste. hmmmmm...

[jelly]

I don't have a grinding wheel, would it be infeasible to just use something like this? 1800 -> 2400 -> 4000 -> 12000 grit sanding stick

[sheldon1936]

I personally would recommend some sort of spinning power tool just to save time, but it would probably be possible by hand if you are patient. Just remember to check your work under pristine lighting conditions and if possible a powerful magnifying glass. You don't want one razor sharp tine to end up even a fraction longer than the other; that would make upstrokes a scratchy mess. And remember that whats gone is gone...

[PrestoTenebroso]

Oh man! I love threads like this! I'm working on a low cost option for terrific flex right now, and it would really help me out if you could take a few minutes to give me some insight on your flex pen thoughts. That's a link to a survey that will help me guide my parameters. I think you'll all like the results once I'm done.