Titanium Bock 250

[mrzas]

Hi guys, I'm thinking about buying Namisu Nova but I'm not sure if it's worth getting a titanium nib. Has anybody got feedback on ti Bock 250 nibs ?

[Tas]

Head over heels with mine!!

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/304684-kickstarter-namisu-nova-with-titanium-ef-nib/?fromsearch=1

Edited March 4, 2016 by Tas

[Jamerelbe]

I've got a F nib that came with my Namisu Nexus (the predecessor to the Nova). Mine is fairly wet, and lays down a fine-to-medium line. It's springier than a steel nib, but not designed to flex. The feedback on the nib is different too - hard to describe how, it seems "grittier" but not unpleasant. I'm not sure what to advise: I really like the nib, and am glad to have one - but for the price, would hesitate before investing in another...

[Feanaaro]

I have a titanium nib (EF, which really is not that Extra-Fine in my opinion), and while the nib is ok, I don't think it's worth the premium over the steel nib.

[mrzas]

Has anybody tried a medium ti nib ?

[dkc]

I have an EF and an F Bock 250 Ti. They give impressive, easy line variation but I get scared to push it for fear of springing the tines. My personal writing impression is that while they are smooth, wet writers, they sound weirdly scratchy. The best word I'd use to describe the experience is pliable and not spring. Sorry if that sounds vague but it's hard to describe. Can't be ham-fisted with these nibs.

 

I do enjoy them, but I have a hard time recommending it as an all purpose nib. Although titanium is a rough and tough metal, this nib is more for delicate, fine writing in my opinion.

[Pendel]

I have a Nova with a Bock 250 Titan nib, and at first it did not work well, unless I wrote very delicately with almost no pressure. Without belaboring the story, let me fast forward and say that after changing the curvature of the nib and hacking an Ahab feed to create one that fits Bock housing and follows the mid 20-th century design, I now have an absolutely fantastic set up in the Namisu. Truly love it, and it writes a lot like a vintage semiflex, but with a slightly different feel on paper. It goes fast, it goes slow, it goes narrow and it goes wide, with not too much pressure. Quite fab!

 

 

:-)

[twomartoe]

Got my titanium nova 2days ago. It had a ti M nib. Love the feel of this pen. Nib out of the box wasnt great for me. It was squeaking(like scratching on a chalkboard) and overly wet in my view. I dont have a gold nib pen, this was very flexy compared to my other pens with steel nib.

 

Disassembled it, clean, did the micro meshing bit, move the tines closer and bent the nib slightly forward. Its now just a little wetter that my diplomat aero M nib (no adjustment, very nice out of box). Bock ti M out of box felt very broad for me. No squeaking. Will railroad more than before. Maybe, I can do something with the feed to increase the flow. I'm open to ideas.

 

Cavet, I'm very new to fountain pens. 4 pens in my loot. Went mental for fountain pens in just 2 weeks. Jinhao on the way.

[Pendel]

I would advise not bending "the nib slightly forward" any further. Tinkering with the tines can very quickly destroy the nib.

 

The way the Ti nib flexes makes it quite different from the vintage nibs and more like the modern soft and "added flex cut-out" nibs. A lot of the flex happens near the breather hole and the whole nib bends off the feed too close to the section.

 

One way to alleviate this is to make the boxy cross-sectional geometry of the nib into a more circular one. The Ti nib is quite flat on top, and so I used a Nakamura nib block (http://vintagepensblog.blogspot.com/2015/10/nib-blocks-for-all.html) and a home-made burnisher to make the nib more cylindrical. It was hard going, since "titanium" does not "flow" the way gold does, but with patience, using a brass shim liner I was able to get there. The cylindrical geometry moves the flex area forward towards the tines.

 

The next step was to create a feed that would provide enough flow for the flexy nib. I have not come across any standard Bock or JoWo plastic feeds that can do that. I had to create my own hard rubber feed to do the job. Since plastic feeds are acid etched to create proper surface for ink to flow on, they are not easy to modify.

 

I believe that there is at least one CNC master miller out there who has developed hard rubber feeds that can work in Bock and JoWo housing (ex. jgrasty on Instagram), but these are not widely available as of yet. I make mine by hand out of the Ahab hard rubber feeds using parts from some vintage feeds as well.

 

Best wishes,

 

Pendel

Edited April 8, 2016 by Pendel

[twomartoe]

Good tip. I see your point. (combo pun)

 

I just ordered some ebonite feeds from fountainpenrevolution for experimentation. Dont think it'll fit the bock #6 though.

 

fpnibs.com Seem to sell a 18k nib #6 with ebonite. Looks like a resonable $92 usd.

 

But I'm ok with the bock Ti nib for now. Its smooth no skipping no hard starts. But it did take the better part of a day to fix it.

Edited April 8, 2016 by twomartoe

[Pendel]

Yes, I did notice that JoWo has both #6 and #8 ebonite units included with ebonite feeds at FPNibs. I do not believe these feeders will fit Bock units without some mod. I wonder if one can buy just the feeder without the nib somehow and see what mod is needed. Should not be much. My hacked feeds cost me about $15 in raw materials. The tools are extra, but these are my toys! It is the labor that was substantial (but enjoyable!) for the mod process.

[twomartoe]

i was looking at how the titanium nib was reacting in normal writing under a magnifying glass. It was very soft and would open and contract when changing directions with normal pressure, more than my diplomat aero steel nib (very apparent under magnifier 5x).

 

I wonder if gold nibs behaves similarly.

Edited April 9, 2016 by twomartoe

[Pendel]

Yup, these nibs have a unique behavior, but with the change to the geometry and a feed that keeps up, these make fabulous writers.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Pendel

[Prithwijit]

Has anybody tried a medium ti nib ?

 

Hi,

 

I have a stock Bock 250 Titanium with medium tip fitted on to a custom Fosfor Heather. It is by far one of the best nibs in my collection so long as writing pleasure is involved.

 

Regards,

 

Prithwijit