How To Fit A Manga G Nib Into A Noodler's Ahab

[TeaHive]

I have no idea about how to make an ink drier.. Maybe let the bottle sit out for a couple days to evaporate a bit? Or mix it with J. Herbin Stormy Grey. My new solution with a trouble ink is to mix in some Stormy Grey, lol.

 

I was thinking more about this, and I remembered that one can use gum arabic to make your own blackberry ink. This adds viscosity, so one might be able to do that with a fountain pen ink. Though I have no idea just how viscous this would make an ink, and cannot recommend putting it in any fountain pen. Especially not an expensive or irreplaceable one. But it might be okay for "tinker pens," such as this.

 

If I ever get my hands on some gum arabic, I might give it a try!

 

As for my Noodler hack's status, still working wonderfully! The nib is still making fine lines, not scratchy or too blunted yet, and mostly free of corrosion after 12 days. I currently have Iroshizuku Syo-ro in it, and no major issues. A couple gushes when the pen was held vertically with the nib pointing down. But holding it at a normal writing angle has worked just fine. It seems a bit wetter than Diamine and Noodler's inks, neither of which have had any gushing. It seems to work better with this ink when the converter is less full.

 

J Herbin Stormy Grey seemed at times to be too wet, and other times a hard starter that dried up mid-stroke. The ink itself is probably as wet as the other plain inks I have, but the gold particles may have built up on the feed to cause some of the drying issues. I didn't want to play around with it too much because.. yea, Stormy Grey. But gods, is it gorgeous!

 

I'll have some more pictures up soon!

[Algester]

I dont feel the viscosity of the ink with Gum Arabic but I feel if your going to use a feed it might outright kill the flow it's fine without a feed I can go on writing for a few words but yeesh the dry time is immense

[TeaHive]

More pictures! A little trouble, as stated, with the J. Herbin Stormy Grey. Even without the smoothest, crispiest lines, it looks amazing.

 

 

And the Iroshizuku Syo-ro worked nicely after the converter was not quite so full.

 

^My "grocery" list, hah!

[Miz Black Crow]

Excuse me, have you seen my bottom jaw? It fell off somewhere around the first photo....

 

Also I like your shopping list.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Miz Black Crow

[TeaHive]

Thanks! I like the second photo of the Stormy Grey, with the figure-eights where that gold is just spreading out toward the edge of the page. Such flow!! This ink, man... this ink.

[PrestoTenebroso]

Thanks! I like the second photo of the Stormy Grey, with the figure-eights where that gold is just spreading out toward the edge of the page. Such flow!! This ink, man... this ink.

Yeah, it's pretty much serotonin in a glass phial.

 

Excuse me, have you seen my bottom jaw? It fell off somewhere around the first photo....

 

Also I like your shopping list.

:-)

[TeaHive]

Sailor Jentle Peach pictures! Just look at those swells.. mm. And I couldn't resist a bonus picture showing the ink itself after being dabbed on a paper towel. The color separation looks like a watermelon slice! Yum!

 

[gbb]

Just out of curiosity, teahive, can you still use the ahab nib w the hacked feed? If not, do noodlers now sel extra feeds? Will order some zebras anyway, great idea.

[gbb]

Oh, and whats that notebook youre using?

[TeaHive]

Haven't tried using the Noodler's flex nib with the hacked feed yet, mostly because I have other Ahabs to use if I wish. But I'll try it out soon and relay the results!

 

The paper is in a Clairefontaine French-Ruled notebook.

[TeaHive]

The results are in! You can still use the Noodler's flex nib with the hacked feed.

 

[TeaHive]

A little update:

 

I finally had to trade out nibs last night. So one Zebra G nib, constantly in the pen and in contact with ink, lasted from December 16th to January 9th. To be honest, it likely would have lasted longer, as the tines and body were still in good condition with minor corrosion. The tip, however, was worn out from my near-constant use! It was no longer making hairlines, but more of a fine line. And a scratchy one at that.

 

Now I just need to get my hands on a titanium-coated Zebra G (or ten). I guess I know what I'll be ordering in the near future!

[Miz Black Crow]

TeaHive, would you be willing to post a shootout between the Ahab-G pen and that Mercury you bought? Because I would love to see that. (Actually, come to think of it, do they behave any differently?)

[TeaHive]

I actually wrote with both of them last night, and they're pretty much exactly the same, hah! They use the same nib, after all. BUT the Desiderata's feed fits more snugly with the G nib in its section, and it keeps up better when you're flexing heavily. With the nib fully cleaned and properly aligned/placed, I have no railroading. At. All. I can flex the tines out to 4mm no problem. Any more, and I think you'd risk snapping the tines, so that's the width fully flexed.

 

The hacked Noodler's feed needs to be heat-set, and doesn't always keep up when you're doing the big ol' lines. And if you have a wet ink, it'll sometimes just blob out on the page. I can safely flex this one out, without skipping or railroading, to about 3mm, sometimes 3.5mm if the ink is friendly. (Diamine and Noodler's has worked best for me so far. I still need to try the new bottle of Platinum Carbon Black, and some DeAtramentis samples I got in. Plus, I still need to try out some dip inks.)

 

As far as using dip inks (and pigmented inks) goes, I would feel comfortable testing them with a hacked Noodler's pen, as they're easy to take apart and fully clean. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing so in a Desiderata because 1: mine is made of wood, and I don't want to risk staining. EVER. 2: Pierre mentions in the manual that it doesn't really work for very long anyway, without needing to constantly clean the nib/feed/section. 3: the nib and feed are wedged pretty firmly into the section, so it's inconvenient to be constantly cleaning it all out.

 

But I'll definitely post some pictures of the pens' writing next to each other. Heck, I'll even throw the Ackerman pump pen into the mix! (Which seems to flow a bit too much, by the way. No thin hairlines there.)

Edited January 10, 2015 by TeaHive

[Miz Black Crow]

Iiiiiinteresting. 4mm is a LOT of flex! Thanks! As for the feed keeping up, I've seen the video Pierre posted--amazing! I kind of didn't believe my eyes, but if TeaHive says it, thus it is so. (Video: Skip to 2:15 for the flex porn).

 

Another question: have you tried the J. Herbin Bouquet D'Antan in the Desiderata yet? I'm curious, given the issues you had with the Noodler's feed.

[PrestoTenebroso]

It warms my heart to hear about people reading manuals!

[TeaHive]

That Bouquet D'Antan... pfft. I mixed it with some other inks, so I can't try it by itself. And I won't be buying more, that's for sure. I do have other J. Herbin standard inks, though, and already tried Vert Reseda. It didn't flow out and make a mess like the Bouquet, but it's still pretty wet, and thus is pretty feathery in a flex pen. (That's the picture I shared in the "What are you waiting on in the mail?" thread.)

[TeaHive]

It warms my heart to hear about people reading manuals!

 

Hah!! I like to be informed, what can I say.

[TeaHive]

Alrighty, just sat down to do a quick comparison of the three modern flex pens with a G nib. The Ackerman pump pen, my Noodler's hack, and the Desiderata. All have well-behaved Diamine inks in them: Graphite, Indigo, and Wild Strawberry. And I just noticed that I still misspelled "consistent" at the bottom. Damn it all. At any rate, they are all fairly comparable in terms of line range, because they're all the same nib.

 

Ackerman Pros:

1. The model I used has a removable reservoir/cartridge, so it's easy to fill to the max with a syringe or dropper.
2. Sizable ink capacity for this type (an older model sent to me by Linda. The Gen 8 Junior I have, you can just forget about).
3. Not limited to just fountain pen inks. If it flows, it goes.

 

Cons:

1. The nib and feed are stuck in the metal collar they're seated in (for the pen I used above.) So when this nib wears out or gets clogged, the pen is just done.
2. It's too wet a writer. Uses up more ink than it should, and you have to pump often to keep it going after flexing depletes all that ink from the nib.
3. It's a miracle if you get a pen on time, or at all.
4. Quality on these pens is really inconsistent.
5. If you have large hands or long fingers, the pen is pretty slim, so it's uncomfortable for sustained use.

 

Noodler's Hack Pros:

1. Sizable ink capacity.
2. Easy to fill by using the plunger converter (or with a syringe if you have ink samples!)
3. Largest grip of the three pens, so it's comfortable for my fellow long-fingered persons.
4. Easiest to take apart for cleaning and maintenance.
5. Inexpensive to modify compared to buying a Desiderata.

 

Cons:

1. You need to tinker/modify/heat-set the nib and feed. So it's not ready to use out of box for flexing.
2. Even after my tinkering, the feed doesn't quite keep up all the with heavy flexing. Moderate flexing, it works just fine.
3. Touchy with wet inks. They will often blob or run right out of the pen while you write.

Some "if" factors:

1. You might be able to use dip inks and other wet mediums (like thinned acrylic or gouache), due to the ease of cleaning, so long as it is regularly maintained. Untested as of yet.
2. You can likely use it as an eyedropper with the G nib, though I'm not sure if/how it would affect flow. Untested as of yet.

 

Desiderata Mercury Pros:

 

1. Most attractive of the three pens!
2. Easy to fill by squeezing the sac filler or using a syringe in the case of ink samples or for maxing the sac's capacity (just don't poke the sac!)
3. The feed provides the most consistent flow, even with the flex maxed out.
4. Fairly easy to take apart and clean, the nib and feed are just more tightly in the section than the Noodler's hack. Might take some patience and a rubber gripper.
5. Comfortable to hold, the grip is just slightly smaller than the Noodler's Ahab.

Some "if" factors:

 

1. The Daedalus versions are more affordable than the wooden Mercury, but still more expensive than Noodler's Ahabs or standard Konrads. Ebonite and acrylic versions are comparable in price.
2. You might be able to turn the Daedalus into an eyedropper. I'm pretty sure you can, but not sure how such a capacity would affect flow.

 

Cons:

 

1. Most expensive option. (But definitely worth it, as it's handmade and you get excellent customer service.)
2. You can't turn the wooden pen into an eyedropper.
3. Fountain pen inks only.
4. It can take some time to find the correct placement of nib and feed within the section. I'd only count this as a con because they seat very firmly, and it's not convenient to pull them out and fiddle with it until you get it right. The Noodler's hacked feed and nib are much easier to pull out and replace.

 

 

Whew! What a list. I will say I was reaching for the cons on the Desiderata. They seem pretty minor to me, when you consider other factors. Like, do you really need to turn it into an eyedropper? Do you need to use dip inks, when waterproof fountain pen inks are available? So yea, reaching there. But I thought it worth to note, as the Ackerman can readily take other mediums, and the Noodler's is a maybe on that front.

 

So overall, my impressions are:

 

Ackerman: I can't recommend these pens. They're cheap for a reason--poor quality control, and worse customer service. You might get a pen that works in a timely fashion, or you might not get one at all and have to get a refund. It's not worth the gamble or frustration. Get a pack of dip nibs and a pen body instead.

 

Noodler's hack: Perfect for the artist or tinkerer. Both of which I am, so I might be a bit biased. But I'd say it's a good middle-of-the-road option weighing expense against ability to flex. You have to work for it a bit more, but you save money.

 

Desiderata: Perfect for the writer who doesn't like to tinker much, designed to work out of the box. While the most expensive, it also works the most consistently.

Edited January 10, 2015 by TeaHive

[Miz Black Crow]

:wub: :wub:

 

Five of those isn't enough, but more than that would get obnoxious.

 

Thanks for the shootout! It's really amazing to look at 3 pens with the exact same nib and get such radically different results!

 

As if I wasn't already saving up for a Desiderata of one kind or another.... *sigh* Now if only my car hadn't gotten towed this morning....