What Is Your Best Frankenpen?

[beboy]

I think I might be too much like Dr. Frankenstein. >_> I just seem to enjoy the act of frankenpenning (yes, new verb).

 

Just finished a new Frankenpen: Rosetta Napoleon II Lemon Ice with a #5 Edison feed and collar, with a 1947 standard Parker Vacumatic 14k semi-flex fine nib. I call it "Limoncello."

 

 

 

 

 

In the process, I discovered that a standard Parker Vacumatic nib WILL fit in a Pilot Penmanship (so I assume it will fit a Prera as well), but the feed can't keep up with flex. So if you have a hard Vacumatic nib without a home, Pilot is an option. Also an option, TWSBI 540/580 and Edison Pearlette and other smaller Edison models. The TWSBI and Edison feeds are able to keep up with this here semi-flexer. Annnnd anything that holds a #5 nib should be able to hold one. Had some success with this nib being in a Desiderata section, but it didn't quite seat deeply enough to properly flex, though straight writing was fine and deliciously wet.

The only Vacumatic I own is a 1945 Standard one with a firm nib, and I am going to give it to my mother for her 70th Birthday. But now, knowing that the nib fits most Jowo and Bock #5 feed + housing, I want to get a flexible Vac nib. These seems quite difficult to find though (not the Vacumatic nibs, but the flexible ones); maybe I'll have better chance with a Canadian or UK nib.

[Bklyn]

I don't usually purposely Do Frankenpens.

 

But I did this one.

 

 

(Sorry for the lousy pic.)

 

I really like the Vac 51 Sterling cap. I don't really care for Vac 51's.

 

So I found a Midnight Blue Aero with a Vac Sterling cap on the bay for less than the cap alone was worth.

 

He shoots! He scores!

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Wow. I wish I had a handwriting like that. I was changed over from a lefty to a righty as a kid so I only print. My script is abysmal. If I had a handwriting like that, I would never put the pen down.

 

Bklyn

[Bklyn]

I am new to this so I must ask. Is a frankenpen anything with a nib that writes well and does not leak?

 

Bklyn

[Sailor Kenshin]

Wow. I wish I had a handwriting like that. I was changed over from a lefty to a righty as a kid so I only print. My script is abysmal. If I had a handwriting like that, I would never put the pen down.

 

Bklyn

O noz.

 

They tried doing that to me. They failed. Muahahaaaa.

 

Oh...Frankenpens are cobbled together from this nib and that body and the other cap, not necessarily related. They are then subjected to lightning, and the maker shouts, 'It's ALIVE!'

Edited April 27, 2015 by Sailor Kenshin

[amberleadavis]

I am new to this so I must ask. Is a frankenpen anything with a nib that writes well and does not leak?

 

Bklyn

It's when you take two (or more) dead pens to make one or more working pens.

[Bklyn]

I guess that a lot of us did that at some point. We have a particular pen on which we like the nib but not the body, and another one where we find the body nice but the nib is not meeting our expectations. If one fits on the other, the calculation is easy to make it, the evil Frankenpen!

 

Please tell me, what is your favorite Frankenpen?

 

Mine is this one, a cheap Pentel Tradio with a Graf von Faber Castell Intuition nib. It follows me everywhere

I LOVE that pen.

 

Bklyn

[Bklyn]

I have quite a few Frankenpens.

 

There's more than one contender for "the best" but this pre-war Osmia 226 with large English Jewel nib is very successful:

 

 

Here's a PItman's College pen with a simple modification of a Swan feed to make it work properly!

 

 

Cob

Wow. That is a GREAT looking Pen.

 

Bklyn

[Bklyn]

 

This one was not cheap, but it is my favorite in my collection: An unbranded Tibaldi Impero body fitted with a vintage Omas 557 nib and ebonite feed -- a deliciously wet and flexible combination.

 

Tibaldi Impero 1.JPG

Tibaldi Impero 2.JPG

Tibaldi Impero 3.JPG

 

If anybody out there has heard of Tom Westerich of Penboard.de, he is a kind man -- generous with his time and knowledge. I spent a day learning from him to repair some of my pens. Near the end of the day, he showed me a collection of unbranded Tibaldi Impero bodies that he had come across years earlier. I fell in love with the celluloid, so he fitted one of my 1940's Omas nibs on the body for me. I later changed the vintage nib to another Omas nib -- this one a two-tone, 14K nib from a 557. Very flexible, but much more controllable than the wet noodle Tom had originally fit on the pen for me.

 

Although not a wet noodle, the nib is very flexible. It took a body with as huge an ink capacity as this Tibaldi Impero body to keep up with the nib and ebonite feed combination: I have to refill it once a week just to keep up with it. Here's a short writing sample:

Tibaldi Impero 4.JPG

 

I am MADLY in love with this pen. (Where in your house do you keep it. (You can trust me...heh heh...)

[Bklyn]

A Pilot "best in the world" flexible nib attached to an old platignum pen. I either bought it broken for the nib a couple of years back, or I broke the section trying to get it out, probably the latter

I am a bit new to this. Can you tell me what a Pilot "best in the world" flexible nib might be?

 

Best,

 

Bklyn

[Bklyn]

I have a Jinhao 159, which has all the grace and elegance of a T-55 tank. It cost $0.01 with another $9.99 for delivery. The nib, feed and cartridge converter have all been replaced with Schmidt good and the nib tuned by Tim Girdler. Now writes like a dream.

I have been fascinated by this pen for quite a while.

 

I am wondering, is the pen MB 149 size or there about?

 

Does it post well?

 

Love your thoughts on that.

 

Best,

 

Bklyn

[Bklyn]

This little piggy:

 

A Taccia Savanna fitted with a Crown #3 dip pen nib.

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=relevance&user_id=12835893%40N03&text=taccia&view_all=1

 

In a word, WOW

[Bklyn]

I have this early sixties MB 149 with a wahl-eversharp nib, i got it like this and hope some day to find the right nib.

 

 

Love it.

[bui501]

The Desiderata pens with their generous feeds lend themselves well to frankenization using modern and vintage dip nibs. Among the latter, the No.4 sizes seem to fit best. This is an L Jackson & Co No.4. In terms of line variation, it's less impressive than the default steel Zebra G nib, but it has a softer flex, plus it's tipped so smoother on the page, and being gold it won't corrode like the Zebra G.

 

http://i.imgur.com/QJVlo2w.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/nI5h9k5.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/NDp5tPJ.jpg

Wow! the pen is beautiful, but I LOVE the look of that nib!!!

[bui501]

I have this early sixties MB 149 with a wahl-eversharp nib, i got it like this and hope some day to find the right nib.

 

 

I think your pen looks great as-is with that nib, but if you're looking for a Montblanc nib, martiniauctions.com has montblanc 149 nibs (under "spare parts" category) and Tom Westrich at penboard.de has all types of nibs old and new.

[bui501]

I am MADLY in love with this pen. (Where in your house do you keep it. (You can trust me...heh heh...)

I sleep with the pen under my pillow -- but only when I'm not writing with it :-P

[Monorelojero]

 

I did the exact same match and I really love it!

 

 

(Sorry for the lousy pic.)

 

I really like the Vac 51 Sterling cap. I don't really care for Vac 51's.

 

So I found a Midnight Blue Aero with a Vac Sterling cap on the bay for less than the cap alone was worth.

 

He shoots! He scores!

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Edited May 10, 2015 by Monorelojero

[farmdogfan]

I think your pen looks great as-is with that nib, but if you're looking for a Montblanc nib, martiniauctions.com has montblanc 149 nibs (under "spare parts" category) and Tom Westrich at penboard.de has all types of nibs old and new.

Thanks, and thanks for the tip, i don´t want to spend more on a nib than the pen cost me, so for the time being i´m just using it as it is.

 

Love it.

Thank you.

[beboy]

Another little experiment: Parker Jotter fountain pen with a Waterman's Ideal 14k flex nib from the 1920s...

I had to modify a little the feed (hear: with a knife, nothing gentle) to fit the nib in, but it works fine

 

[00Photo]

This TWSBI Vac700 with a Waterman Hundred Year Pen nib is pretty stellar.

[ethernautrix]

This TWSBI Vac700 with a Waterman Hundred Year Pen nib is pretty stellar.

 

 

That is brilliant!