Faber-Castell Nibs Interchangeability And Replacement

[MichalK]

Hi,

 

I was looking for this information both on FPN and other sources, added some experiments and this is what I maneged to put together:

 

1) Faber-castell eMotion, ambition, loom, basic, and (!!!) GRIP use same size nibs.

 

2) I am ready to bet they are exactly the same nibs.

 

3) The nib is #5. I made sure just puting both JOWO and BOCK #5 nib into GRIP, LOOM and ambition.

 

4) For some of those pens (eMotion and Ambition for sure) there are nib units avalible. Basicly it is nib, feed and whole section, so must be matched to pen model and sometimes version (ie all black eMotions)

 

 

5) those nib units pricing is absurd. In UK its 33 GBP for Ambition and 38 GBP for eMotion. If you section and feed is OK, there is no sense buying them.

 

6) !!! The cheapest way to buy nibs for all those pens: buy #5 steel nib (a don't know about US but in EU and UK there are some vendors with Jowo and Bock nibs available. (btw: Schmids are actually Jowo or Bock with Schmid feed and housing.). Cost of such nib is around 8 to 10 euro.

 

7) second cheapest way - but more fun and you get another pen "free" - you buy Faber-Castell GRIP pen Take the nib out, put on eMotion. Grip pens start from 15 euro (a grabbed one in the local stationery shop for 60 PLN which is even cheper).

 

 

 

8) Nibs are friction fit. in GRIP the feed is very basic, very long and quite fragile. There are no grooves in the housing to position the nib, so lenght of feed prevents leakage. But position nib on feed is easy - you will feel it, nibs just "jumps" in place.

 

9) eMotion and Ambition feeds are better, but I'm not sure they are interchangeable. But I think they are. I will check it and let you know. Feeds are much better, and positioning the nib with feed is also easy. THER ARE grooves inthe housing for the nib - just make sure the nib fits. Puting it back require almost no force.

 

Well thats it I will try to check Ondoro and Essentio - but I don't expect any differences.

 

(BTW: nibs, and whoie nib units on Graf von Faber-Castell Classic, Guilloche, and Anello are also interchangeable. Only difference is colour.

 

 

 

 

[MichalK]

And to present why I did this research - needed inexpensive nib to practice grinding

Nib (probably its Jowo or Bock) from Faber-Castell GRIP, transplanted to my very old e-Motion, and ground to stub.

 

[MuddyWaters]

That looks like a nice grind job.... But you are brave to try that on an expensive and very good Faber Castell nib. Why not on one of those characterless jovo replacement nibs?

[MichalK]

That looks like a nice grind job.... But you are brave to try that on an expensive and very good Faber Castell nib. Why not on one of those characterless jovo replacement nibs?

 

Well - actually it was not expensive - it was cheaper then jowo. Now, I've just ground another FC nib from F to EF/UEF, and trying to make it smoother. It is OK, but I know it can be better. I'll show it once finished. And writing samples of both FC nibs and some jinhao #6 I started with. Next week I'll try to setup my dremel "station" for grinding - it's gonna be fun

[hbondar]

Michal -

 

Thank you for your post.

 

So are you saying that the Faber-Castell nib and feed are friction fit into the Ambition nib unit, and I can pull them out and replace the nib?

 

I have a #5 Goulet steel 1.4mm Stub nib that I want to put onto the Ambition, and I have tried to pull the FC #5 Fine nib and feed out of the nib unit housing, but it won't budge.

 

Do I just need to try harder? Any suggestions on the best way to get them out?

 

Thanks very much!

 

H

Edited June 2, 2019 by hbondar

[FPcollection]

Michal -

 

Thank you for your post.

 

So are you saying that the Faber-Castell nib and feed are friction fit into the Ambition nib unit, and I can pull them out and replace the nib?

 

I have a #5 Goulet steel 1.4mm Stub nib that I want to put onto the Ambition, and I have tried to pull the FC #5 Fine nib and feed out of the nib unit housing, but it won't budge.

 

Do I just need to try harder? Any suggestions on the best way to get them out?

 

Thanks very much!

 

H

 

Hi,

I was just able to pull off the nib and feed, off the collar (housing unit) of my FC Emotion quite easily. Well, I had been writing with this pen for a week now, and hence the pen was inked up when I did the maneuver,gripping the nib and feed firmly between the index finger and thumb.

Having the nib and feed well lubricated by the ink could have made the difference, and I did not mind getting my fingers inky

Alternatively, you could even keep the nib unit soaked in water overnight before attempting to remove the nib and feed out of the housing- sometimes, dried up ink around the nib and feed on the portion inside the collar may obstruct easy removal of these parts.

For better reference, you can watch sbrebrown's Youtube video "Disassembly Line Faber Castell E-Motion" - it was helpful to me at least and it is only 2 mins and 49 secs.

By the way, the Ondoro, E-Motion & Ambition all have the same nib, feed and housing assembly.

Hope the information helps!

- SS

Edited June 21, 2019 by FPcollection

[Guettaby]

Thank you MichalK for all the precious informations .

I'm a huge fan of 1.1 mm stub nibs , I wanted to try Faber Castell's famous smoothness , and I've just discovered there is a 1.1 mm nib section newly released for the Grip model .

 

As I like my thursty stubs on a big ink capacity FP (Exluded cartridges or converters), do you think that this nib can go without any problem with an eyedropper like the moonman m2 ? What's about the feed ?

 

Here is the stub : https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B07SCPGQX8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A133OFJ608QHN0&psc=1

 

Thanks

Edited June 28, 2019 by Guettaby

[hbondar]

Mint -

 

Thanks very much for your helpful info, especially the reference to sbebrown's YouTube video "Disassembly Line Faber Castell E-Motion"

 

That video confirmed beyond all doubts that the Ambition nib/feed are friction fit into the grip.

 

I was able to remove the FC nib and replace it with the Goulet #5 steel 1.4 mm stub nib.

 

Now, the combination of the wonderfully tactile pearwood barrel and the italic/cursive nib have turned this into the "just what I always wanted pen" ... ! I just love it.

 

Best regards,

 

H

[Safari_Camo]

I've changed my original nib with a TWSBI 530 F nib and writes amazingly perfect.

[Guettaby]

I have a question , can I put a faber castell nib on a Kaco Edge fountain pen ?

 

Thanks

[FPcollection]

I have a question , can I put a faber castell nib on a Kaco Edge fountain pen ?

 

Thanks

You should be, given that the Kaco Edge pen has a standard no. 5 nib.

[Guettaby]

You should be, given that the Kaco Edge pen has a standard no. 5 nib.

 

Thanks for the advice !

[Twister292]

FC and GvFC mostly use Bock no.5 nibs

[Guettaby]

FC and GvFC mostly use Bock no.5 nibs

 

DO you mean that they dont made their own nibs ? They are all a customized Bock's nibs ?

[dapprman]

FC and GvFC mostly use Bock no.5 nibs

Nope - for one they use JoWo (FC I think) and the other Bock (GvFC) - both made to their own specifications, theses are not stock rebranded generic nibs.

[dapprman]

BTW - thought the Grip used the same nib as the WritINK? if so then it's not the same as for the other FC pens as it's slightly smaller.

[Addertooth]

Thank you for posting this MichalK,

My workhorse pen which is kept on my lanyard is a Parquet E-Motion. Early on, I re-contoured the belly of the nib to make it even smoother (after it took a nosedive), (why do pens always hit the floor tip first?), and it is an amazingly smooth writer, at the expense of losing some character (horizontal and vertical lines are the same width). It is the pen I hand the ball-point folks to see how little pressure, and how smooth a fountain pen can be. The most common reaction is "whoooooOooww", or "I barely have to even touch the paper and it writes!". Most people's experience with fountain pens are limited to bargain bin office store pens, which frequently disappoint. I hardly blame them for their bias.

[mrhr]

 

Hi,

I was just able to pull off the nib and feed, off the collar (housing unit) of my FC Emotion quite easily. Well, I had been writing with this pen for a week now, and hence the pen was inked up when I did the maneuver,gripping the nib and feed firmly between the index finger and thumb.

Having the nib and feed well lubricated by the ink could have made the difference, and I did not mind getting my fingers inky

Alternatively, you could even keep the nib unit soaked in water overnight before attempting to remove the nib and feed out of the housing- sometimes, dried up ink around the nib and feed on the portion inside the collar may obstruct easy removal of these parts.

For better reference, you can watch sbrebrown's Youtube video "Disassembly Line Faber Castell E-Motion" - it was helpful to me at least and it is only 2 mins and 49 secs.

By the way, the Ondoro, E-Motion & Ambition all have the same nib, feed and housing assembly.

Hope the information helps!

- SS

I tried pullingthe nib out but couldn't. tried with the rubber grip, soaking itin warm water and nothing

got a #5 jowo nib, exchanged the housing unit. fits well but the cap didn't snap into place, went back to the old nib

[WriteBros]

On 1/28/2019 at 10:07 AM, MichalK said:

1) Faber-castell eMotion, ambition, loom, basic, and (!!!) GRIP use same size nibs.

 

4) For some of those pens (eMotion and Ambition for sure) there are nib units avalible. Basicly it is nib, feed and whole section, so must be matched to pen model and sometimes version (ie all black eMotions)

 

7) second cheapest way - but more fun and you get another pen "free" - you buy Faber-Castell GRIP pen Take the nib out, put on eMotion. Grip pens start from 15 euro (a grabbed one in the local stationery shop for 60 PLN which is even cheper).

 

9) eMotion and Ambition feeds are better, but I'm not sure they are interchangeable. But I think they are. I will check it and let you know. Feeds are much better, and positioning the nib with feed is also easy. THER ARE grooves inthe housing for the nib - just make sure the nib fits. Puting it back require almost no force.

 

(BTW: nibs, and whoie nib units on Graf von Faber-Castell Classic, Guilloche, and Anello are also interchangeable. Only difference is colour.

 

Thank you for this research, @MichalK. It is quite helpful. I am hoping for a bit of clarification, if you can help. Am I to understand from your post that the Classic (and the Guilloche and Anello) will work with the collar from the GRIP, eMotion, and Ambition? Or is it GRIP, eMotion, and Ambition in one group and Classic, Guilloche, and Anello in a second group?

 

The reason I ask I that I received a second-hand Classic from my father in law. I have been unable to resolve the leak issue for a few weeks now, so I finally pulled the nib and feed. In doing so, I found the collar/housing (I believe that's the correct name for that part of the nib unit) that mates the feed/nib to the grip section to be badly cracked. It is both wasteful and expensive to purchase an entire new nib unit when the nib and feed are perfectly fine.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited December 26, 2020 by WriteBros

[MuddyWaters]

The author of the op might of had an older version of the grip. The current grip and hexo use a nib that is different than the one on the loom, essentio, ondoro, ambition and e-motion, the last five of which use the same excellent nib. 

 

I'm not saying the grip nib wouldn't fit (I don't know) I'm just saying they're not identical.