Let's See Those Vintage Nibs On Your Conid Bulkfillers!

[pavoni]

That is awesome, Pavoni! Your handwriting is lovely too. The uppercase "P" is especially nice, IMO.

 

Many thanks rpsyed. Writing with such long tines takes a little getting used because it feels as though I am holding the pen much higher up the shaft than I am used to. However, I am very much looking forward to practicing and getting it right.

 

As you might imagine, this special nib has bags of character but demands to be respected. Simply placing the nib on paper and using just its own weight (literally no downward pressure from me) the capillary action is such as to deliver a fine and consistent line (not too wet not too dry) at any speed . Flexing those long thin tines however, requires much more thought and is carried out at a strictly pedestrian pace. Such long tines will not be rushed, at least not yet!

 

I am punished with wide railroading if I flex too quickly. The ink simply needs time to catch up with any speedy demand on the nib. However, when I allow time for the ink to catch up, the nib generously accommodates my every wish and delivers a deliciously wide wet line and then shows off with a snap-back which is immediate. A really great nib.

 

Perhaps a better or bigger feed will enable me to flex at a quicker pace! I can't set this original Bulkfiller feed any higher/closer to the tip of the nib, otherwise I get flooding. I have spent hours tweaking the nib and feed and now I feel I probably have it as best I can. I may send it off to Francis to see if he can work some of his magic and rustle up a custom feed that will match the leggy tines of this particular nib. That said, I am currently happy with what I am getting and, whilst it feels like I am holding the pen so much higher away from the paper than I am used to, the results, particularly when I match the necessary rhythm (like changing gears) for this nib, are nothing short of spectacular. Like I say, much like writing with one of my dip nibs but with my grip further up the shaft.

 

Thank you again for your kind comments.

 

Pavoni.

Edited April 26, 2015 by pavoni

[hanryy]

I just received my slimline bulkfiller yesterday. I have already fitted a vintage flex nib (waterman ideal no.5) to it

 

I will report back soon with pictures!

[hanryy]

 

Adapting this vintage waterman no 5 ideal nib was actually quite painless. Just some slight modifications to the bock feed and I was up and running in less than an hour. I can already tell this is a pen that will stay a daily user for many years to come.

[pavoni]

Great work hanryy. Feels great being able to put one's preferred nib into the excellent Bulkfiller doesn't it

 

I have two Waterman #5 nibs. I found the one that came from my Waterman's 55 pen fitted perfectly without the need for adjustment. I found my other Waterman's #5 Ideal nib too small for the bock nib unit housing. Really pleased you got yours to fit and thank you for sharing.

 

Hopefully, your excellent example will encourage others to experiment so that we might build up a mini database of those vintage nibs that are known to work.

 

As for me, I will soon have an update on my Bulkfiller, which I eventually sent back to the wonderful Francis Goossens to see if he could get the best nib-feed-housing fit for the nib I am currently trying. If this comes out as I suspect it will, then I already have a larger nib on route which should hopefully fit a Kingsize Bulkfiller.

 

Pavoni.

[mongrelnomad]

Great work hanryy. Feels great being able to put one's preferred nib into the excellent Bulkfiller doesn't it

 

I have two Waterman #5 nibs. I found the one that came from my Waterman's 55 pen fitted perfectly without the need for adjustment. I found my other Waterman's #5 Ideal nib too small for the bock nib unit housing. Really pleased you got yours to fit and thank you for sharing.

 

Hopefully, your excellent example will encourage others to experiment so that we might build up a mini database of those vintage nibs that are known to work.

 

As for me, I will soon have an update on my Bulkfiller, which I eventually sent back to the wonderful Francis Goossens to see if he could get the best nib-feed-housing fit for the nib I am currently trying. If this comes out as I suspect it will, then I already have a larger nib on route which should hopefully fit a Kingsize Bulkfiller.

 

Pavoni.

Congratulation Hanryy...

 

And with my 14k 149 nib being fitted to a Kingsize as we speak, the repository will keep growing

[hanryy]

Thank you both Pavoni and Mongrelnomad for the kind words. Just a bit of emphasis, but the Slimline model has the smaller Bock no.5 size nib units. Hence your no.5 nib being too small for your case.

 

Nonetheless your 149 nib and other large nibs will hopefully look beautifully. I Hope you post pictures when you get that worked out! If I ever pick up a regular or kingsized bulkfiller I have some large nibs I would definitely be trying to outfit.

[Doug C]

This thread is driving me crazy. I am (not) patiently waiting for my first Conid (Slimline) that was just shipped a couple of days ago.

[nibbling]

This is possibly the best advertisement for a conid! I am now plotting a purchase.

[dcpritch]

I ordered the Minimalstica+ and have been using it nonstop since it arrived several weeks ago - a fantastic pen in every respect. I also had ideas about using a stub nib and have something pretty cool to show, only it'll be a few days until I can upload photos. I think you'll like it!

[pavoni]

Great news dcpritch. These Conid pens really do have to be experienced to be properly appreciated don't they!

 

Really looking forward to seeing your Minimalstica+ wearing a stub nib. In the meantime, I ought to have pictures of mine, albeit from the other end of the nib spectrum, to share with you guys soon.

 

Pavoni.

[pavoni]

Did I tell you guys that I got my pen back from Francis?

 

 

Essentially, given the size of this nib, Francis enlarged the nib housing base to 6.2mm and widened the ink groove in the feed from 0.15 to 0.20mm, to ensure sufficient ink during flexing! He's done a super job.

 

Thank you Francis.

 

Pavoni.

[playtime]

wow - a conid with a stunner of a flex nib!

[fountainbel]

Dear Pavoni,

What a beautiful writing example, congratulations !

Glad to read the feed can deliver enough ink so it keeps up during flexing now.

This nib really is amazing ,I've enjoyed helping you out.

Enjoy !

Kind regards,

Francis

 

 

Did I tell you guys that I got my pen back from Francis?

Essentially, given the size of this nib, Francis enlarged the nib housing base to 6.2mm and widened the ink groove in the feed from 0.15 to 0.20mm, to ensure sufficient ink during flexing! He's done a super job.

 

Thank you Francis.

 

Pavoni.

[BMG]

Wow! Beautiful nib, Pavoni, and beautiful work, Francis!

[dcpritch]

I have been using my Minimalistica+ Bulkfiller for over a month. I just finished the second fill - it takes FOREVER to use all the ink in this pen! - and I can't say enough good things about what Francis and Werner have created with this model.

 

I own one of the original First Production Run Bulkfillers made by Conid and have been on the Francis/Werner/Conid bandwagon from the beginning. My FPR Demonstrator is fitted with a Titanium nib that was ground by Francis to a wonderful stub; if you have seen some of my other posts and threads you will know I am a fan of stubs. Here's a pic of the FPR Demonstrator:

 

 

For the Minimalistica, I chose an unmodified steel M nib which I've used for a month. It is the smoothest steel nib I have ever written with, a statement based on 25+ years of using fountain pens and many hundreds of pens. The steel nib reminds me very much of the glassy smoothness of a perfectly tuned Sailor gold nib, if that helps anyone with a comparison. It has absolutely no tooth in any position and has never failed to start and write perfectly, despite at times having been unused for several days.

 

Besides the nib, the pen itself is a marvel. I has heft but is not heavy, it is tough, the cap seats perfectly and comes off easily, but only when you want it to, the clip fits over fabrics thick and thin and never comes loose, and of course the filling system is a well documented achievement of modern engineering. I have carried my Minimalistica with me in varied circumstances from board meetings, Mexican restaurants, court appearances (I am a lawyer), days in the woods cutting timber, and long school bus rides with the local high school tennis team, which I help coach. It always seems like the perfect pen for the situation, no matter what that might be: It can be inauspicious and yet is elegant enough, with gravitas, to look the part of a "real pen". Can you tell I like it?

 

Oops, I guess this sort of turned into a review - I'll have to post more elsewhere, I suppose. What I began to say at the beginning was that after a month of writing with an unmodified nib, I began longing for one of my stubs, so I took one of my favorite Bexley stubs and put it into the sleeve in replacement of Conid's stock steel nib. I didn't do anything to modify the feed and have found it keeps up just fine, even with the demands of a wet writing stub. I know its not a vintage nib as per the OP's request, but of all the pens I have with stub nibs it is perhaps the easiest one to remove, plus this Bexley stub is one of my faves. And, it has enough masking on the face of the nib to help it blend reasonably with the titanium hardware on the Conid. Here are some pics:

 

 

Oh, and an unsolicited shout-out for Sailor Maruzen Eternal Blue, my new favorite blue ink. I love it!

[BMG]

Oh, and an unsolicited shout-out for Sailor Maruzen Eternal Blue, my new favorite blue ink. I love it!

 

Sorry for the slight détournement, but are some Sailor and Maruzen inks the same? I ask because I have both Maruzen Athena Sepia and Sailor Doyou and, by golly, I can't see much of a difference between them. Your note above suggests that that may be the case.

[dcpritch]

The way I understand it, Sailor makes proprietary inks for certain shops such as Maruzen and Kingdom Note in much the same way (as I see it) that Noodler's has made inks exclusive to certain shops such as Dromgooles in Texas.

[BMG]

Many thanks, dcpritch, for your reply + links.

[mongrelnomad]

So hold on... non-standard nib (OK, not vintage, but still... who are we to judge if it's your own personal uber-nib?) and a Sailor LE?!?!?! I think you're my new favourite person...

Edited May 21, 2015 by mongrelnomad

[Doug C]

I just got mine and I am not convinced that I need another nib on this pen. It seems perfect as is.....(but I could be wrong...).