Penbbs 456 First Impressions

[Karmachanic]

It looks awesome. I haven't purchased a Penbbs because they don't have a stub standard, but maybe I should reconsider.

 

I have a Bock 1.1 standing by awaiting the arrival of the pen

[jekostas]

For those of you who missed out on the first batch, keep your eyes peeled on the Penbbs Etsy page because a new batch of colors will be released within the next few days. They've already gone on sale on Taobao.

 

Colors include Autumn, Southshore, Smog, Koi, and that glow in the dark one as well as at least one other.

 

Meh. I didn't need all that money, anyways.

[truthpil]

More good news...

 

Unlike the 308, the 456 has enough headroom in the cap for nib swaps.

 

Mine is now sporting a juicy Knox #6 OB and writing fine.

 

Edited November 3, 2018 by TruthPil

[Honeybadgers]

Good to hear, I got tipped off to the etsy store for penbbs having some (they still have a few now) and I have two on order.

[truthpil]

I've noticed that with the wet Knox OB nib I will get ink starvation after a few lines if I don't unscrew the back cap. As soon as I do that flow is restored. I didn't have that problem with the original nib but might have if I had written more at one time. I don't think it's a defect, just a vac thing.

[Honeybadgers]

That means the pen has an ink shutoff. Not all vacs do, but most do. You need to unscrew the tail of all japanese eyedroppers, both VAC TWSBI's, and any power filler visconti if you want more than a few lines. The upside is that you can take the pen on a plane without worry. The downside is that you have to unscrew the tail a tiny bit. Personally, I just leave all my vac fillers unscrewed unless I'm flying with them (and the only one that I would dare take to an airport is my vac mini and now this pen once I get it)

[Driften]

From pictures of the clear model it looked like there was a small reservoir ahead of where the plunger seals like a double power filler on a Visconti. From what you experienced it's sealing the back of the feed like a TWSBI or Pilot 823. Guess I will know more when I get mine today.

[Driften]

With mine in hand and inked up I find it does have a separate reservoir at the back of the feed. You need to hold it tip down with the plunger unscrewed and tap a little to get it to fill up. Which is just what I have seen in videos with the Visconti double power filler. Once you screw the plunger back down the ink from the reservoir will not flow back to the main reservoir in the body. You could just leave the plunger unscrewed all the time but doing this way there should never be burping issues.

 

Overall I am liking the pen! I do think I will swap the nib for a Jowo B, but I could live with the included nib. It's smooth and has good flow and a 0.40mm line width.

 

The dark transparent blue is really nice.

[fountainpen51]

Will the feed have good ink flow for a flex?

[Honeybadgers]

I really doubt it.

[truthpil]

Will the feed have good ink flow for a flex?

 

Definitely not. Flow is moderate with a wet broad nib, so I could see it easily railroading after a few words with a flex nib.

[Driften]

On more experiments the pen works best if the plunger is backed off like on the TWSBI Vac or Pilot 823, so no big deal for me.

[truthpil]

Thanks, Driften for the low-down on how this vac system works! Now I know what's going on with that little ink chamber that would empty out whenever the plunger was screwed down haha. I have always avoided vacs because of needing to back off the plunger for prolonged writing sessions, but I'm finding that it isn't as annoying as I had thought.

 

Given the ink shut-off option and the little reservoir, I'm even more impressed that such a complex pen could be had for this price!

The design is well thought-out and well executed.

[Honeybadgers]

I had the same initial hesitation, Pil. But after I got my first VAC700R, I learned that it's just one more little "ritual" of writing that I enjoy, and has since become my favorite filling mechanism (I'm waiting for my 823 with an FA nib with baited breath as I speak) And the fact that it can be shut off for travel while still having enough ink to write a few sentences without the need to unscrew, is kind of the best of all worlds.

 

Also, vac fillers tend to be the most "dry-out" proof since they have the double seal of a cap and piston seal.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[Karmachanic]

The nib has the classic Penbbs slight bend to it which can actually make a little bit of line variation, what I would call "semi-architect." Downstrokes are about 0.5mm while sidestrokes can vary from 0.3 to 0.8 depending on the writing angle. Ink fly increases with pressure, but there's nothing in the way of flex.

 

I'll attempt to make this characteristic a bit more definite/crisper. I have a Bock stub in mind for this pen so no worries if I mangle it.

[penzel_washinkton]

For the experienced vac users, does the plunger needs to be unscrewed until the point the plunger is able to move up and down or just a little few turns (not tightly screwed)?

[truthpil]

I had the same initial hesitation, Pil. But after I got my first VAC700R, I learned that it's just one more little "ritual" of writing that I enjoy, and has since become my favorite filling mechanism (I'm waiting for my 823 with an FA nib with baited breath as I speak) And the fact that it can be shut off for travel while still having enough ink to write a few sentences without the need to unscrew, is kind of the best of all worlds.

 

Also, vac fillers tend to be the most "dry-out" proof since they have the double seal of a cap and piston seal.

 

That's a good way of looking at it. You're right that a good part of the joy of this hobby, as is also the case with things like pipe smoking or black powder shooting (two hobbies you wouldn't want to do at the same time for risk of blowing yourself up haha), really is the ritual that others might consider to be just a hassle.

 

My wife must think I'm crazy constantly cleaning pens and fussing with nibs that don't write the way I want, but it's part of the fun.

[Karmachanic]

For the experienced vac users, does the plunger needs to be unscrewed until the point the plunger is able to move up and down or just a little few turns (not tightly screwed)?

1.5-2mm gap betwee the barrel and knob should do it. Try it like that. If the ink flow dries up, try another turn.

[lowks]

Good to read mostly positives about this one, got two on their way to me.

[penzel_washinkton]

1.5-2mm gap betwee the barrel and knob should do it. Try it like that. If the ink flow dries up, try another turn.

 

All right, thanks for the information!