Which Pen Do You Have Your Fpr #6 Ultraflex Nib + Ebonite Feed Hanging Out In?

[Detman101]

  On 12/7/2020 at 5:21 AM, peroride said:

Nice mod on the PenBBS 355 😀 Did the FPR ebonite feed work or stayed with PenBBS plastic?

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Thank you
The FPR Ebonite Feed is far too short for Penbbs pens...I tried.
I actually used the FNF Ebonite Unit created specifically for Penbbs pens.
Comes with a sweet ebonite feed and ebonite housing that fits into Penbbs pens perfectly.
Ink flow is perfect, nib fitting is perfect, Flex is perfect...couldn't ask for more.
Well...a gold flex nib...but I'm working on that hehe.

Edited December 7, 2020 by Detman101
clarity

[peroride]

  On 12/7/2020 at 1:47 PM, Detman101 said:

Thank you
The FPR Ebonite Feed is far too short for Penbbs pens...I tried.
I actually used the FNF Ebonite Unit created specifically for Penbbs pens.
Comes with a sweet ebonite feed and ebonite housing that fits into Penbbs pens perfectly.
Ink flow is perfect, nib fitting is perfect, Flex is perfect...couldn't ask for more.
Well...a gold flex nib...but I'm working on that hehe.

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Excellent!

 

Glad to know that FNF worked ☺️ I have mine with Jowo #6 and it was so hard to friction fit that its permanent. So at least I can report FNF + Jowo #6 works in the PenBBS models too.

 

My Himalaya v2 2nd converter leaked and eyedroppering only blotted ink so inspired by your trial, I did give the FPR feed a try but should have read your reply first.

 

In short, it was a no go. 😬

The FPR UltraFlex #6 feed and nib fit the PenBBS housing and both nibs and feed were the same length sans the converter nipple. I was hoping that since the Model 487 and 355 were non-converter fillers that it would work but unfortunately the feed would only last half a page then hard stop and shaking and rewetting the nib grew tiresome. It could be just the feed but looking at the empty housing nipple probably means it needs that long feed intake of the FNF or PenBBS that the FPR feed does not have to maintain ink flow 😖

 

Side note: On the bright side, I managed to fix the dry skippy Fine nib on the 355. Perhaps in handing I got the tines to loosen up and now I enjoy the Fine mini-fude on the 355 without having to press so hard!😅

 

[Detman101]

  On 12/8/2020 at 7:12 AM, peroride said:

 

Excellent!

 

Glad to know that FNF worked ☺️ I have mine with Jowo #6 and it was so hard to friction fit that its permanent. So at least I can report FNF + Jowo #6 works in the PenBBS models too.

 

My Himalaya v2 2nd converter leaked and eyedroppering only blotted ink so inspired by your trial, I did give the FPR feed a try but should have read your reply first.

 

In short, it was a no go. 😬

The FPR UltraFlex #6 feed and nib fit the PenBBS housing and both nibs and feed were the same length sans the converter nipple. I was hoping that since the Model 487 and 355 were non-converter fillers that it would work but unfortunately the feed would only last half a page then hard stop and shaking and rewetting the nib grew tiresome. It could be just the feed but looking at the empty housing nipple probably means it needs that long feed intake of the FNF or PenBBS that the FPR feed does not have to maintain ink flow 😖

 

Side note: On the bright side, I managed to fix the dry skippy Fine nib on the 355. Perhaps in handing I got the tines to loosen up and now I enjoy the Fine mini-fude on the 355 without having to press so hard!😅

 

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(Whoa...your 355 looks SWEET man!! That brown white and black is just beautiful with the snowflake pattern. I have green ink in mine so I get a teal white and emerald tone with snowflake pattern. I'll get the "Cloud" 355 next!)

Hah! You did the same thing I did with my Penbbs-487!!! I tried to fit the FPR feed and FPR Ultraflex nib into the Penbbs housing and it reacted the same way your pen did. Blotchy...then it wouldn't write at all.
I've heard that "Kanwrite" in India sells the loooong ebonite feeds that FNF also uses for their Penbbs Nib Unit. But the wait on products from Kanwrite is close to 1.5 months. I ordered a set of their Steel Ultra-Flex nibs just to try them out and didn't receive them til almost 1.5 months later. Good value though...if you can stand the wait.
I also tried taking one of the Penbbs clear housings and cutting the nipple portion of it off to allow more ink to flow through the housing onto the feed. At first, it was a disaster because I tried to use the FPR ebonite feed with it and that feed doesn't fit into the Penbbs in a way that allows proper ink flow. The feed either fits into the housing fully-in and forms a complete seal at the rear of the housing where the feed meets up with it...causing no ink to flow. OR...if you leave a little space so that the ink can flow...it doesn't regulate the air/ink flow and you will have ink dripping everywhere.

I wound up modifying a stock Penbbs plastic feed with a deeper channel and opened up 2 breather channels and the 487 flex writes like a champ now. I call it the sleeper cause it almost looks stock but flex-writes like a beast.

At this point, I'm not sure if there is a better feed replacement for the Penbbs pens other than the "Flexible Nib Factory" unit. I've been buying them up every chance I get because I love Penbbs-355 pens and plan to get at least 2 more.
I think I will trade my Penbbs-456 for a 355 if I get the chance. I never use it since I got my 355 and 487.

[peroride]

  On 12/8/2020 at 1:53 PM, Detman101 said:

he feed either fits into the housing fully-in and forms a complete seal at the rear of the housing where the feed meets up with it...causing no ink to flow. OR...if you leave a little space so that the ink can flow...it doesn't regulate the air/ink flow and you will have ink dripping everywhere.

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Bingo! 👋 right on the money, your assessment makes total sense!  The odd thing is my FPR Jaipur v2 with same UltraFlex is such a better pen than my Himalaya v2s that i guess that full piston over cc flow matters and yet when eyedroppering Himalaya, burp city and back to heat setting.

 

But it's great to have choices with PenBBS nib swapping fun like the other cool one with a Platinum nib. So folks can go full pen or just the nib and feed when FPR has a sale. Adding PenBBS + FNF feed (FPR and Jowo nibs) is aces as your mod shows. Such a great time to get into pens with all these mix and match options!!✍️🤓

[Mech-for-i]

I put mine on a PenBBS 323, and use the PenBBS stock feed modded for wetter flow , work well and work fine for me , I plan on getting a couple more and put them on a couple Jinhao

[Detman101]

  On 12/9/2020 at 3:18 AM, peroride said:

Bingo! 👋 right on the money, your assessment makes total sense!  The odd thing is my FPR Jaipur v2 with same UltraFlex is such a better pen than my Himalaya v2s that i guess that full piston over cc flow matters and yet when eyedroppering Himalaya, burp city and back to heat setting.

 

But it's great to have choices with PenBBS nib swapping fun like the other cool one with a Platinum nib. So folks can go full pen or just the nib and feed when FPR has a sale. Adding PenBBS + FNF feed (FPR and Jowo nibs) is aces as your mod shows. Such a great time to get into pens with all these mix and match options!!✍️🤓

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Oof...the Himalaya (version 1 or 2) is just inferior to the Jaipur-V2. If I ever buy an FPR fountain pen, it will be the Jaipur-V2. FPR pens would be soooooo perfect if they could just stop the leaks from the section. I don't know what causes it, but I've seen too many people complain that after a few months, the section on their pen no longer maintains it's integrity. Sad to see...that company has gotten everything else right, from nibs to feeds to inks to design and offerings.

The himalaya suffers from burping when eyedroppering it because of the FPR feed...I know this to be a fact. The feed does not seal off enough of the nib from the rest of the pen and when your hand heats up the pen, it causes expansion and consequently....burping. I think that if they just made their feeds a little bit thicker so that they really fit into the section super tight, that would alleviate the burping. They could also switch their ebonite formulation/source to whatever/whoever it is that FNF uses.

The FNF ebonite feeds expand when soaked in ink...kind of like a sponge...so that when you first put the feed in the pen, the pen may write very wet. But let the pen sit for 15-20 minutes and the feed will swell slightly after absorbing a little ink and seal off any areas where it fit loosely. And if you ever have trouble fitting a feed into a section, all you have to do is rinse it off and let it sit to air out for about 30 minutes...it will shrink a little and allow placement in the section without being too tight. Then when it gets inked...it swells up to full size.
I love that about FNF feeds and housings, Joey Grasty is a freaking genius!!

[BlueJ]

I have an FPR #6 Ultraflex in the Jowo-compatible ebonite housing with ebonite feed as supplied by Flexible Nib Factory, currently screwed into an ASA Patriot, an ebonite c/c pen. The "snap back" is not as good as, say, a Zebra G dip nib, but the flex performance is otherwise similar and, as someone else noted, far smoother than an untipped dip nib. There is also of course the convenience of a fountain pen with good flow as opposed to dipping. The Patriot is a very comfortable medium-large pen and overall it is a good combination.

[Detman101]

  On 12/9/2020 at 5:32 PM, BlueJ said:

I have an FPR #6 Ultraflex in the Jowo-compatible ebonite housing with ebonite feed as supplied by Flexible Nib Factory, currently screwed into an ASA Patriot, an ebonite c/c pen. The "snap back" is not as good as, say, a Zebra G dip nib, but the flex performance is otherwise similar and, as someone else noted, far smoother than an untipped dip nib. There is also of course the convenience of a fountain pen with good flow as opposed to dipping. The Patriot is a very comfortable medium-large pen and overall it is a good combination.

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Nice!! I wanted to have an ASA-Crystal made but changed my mind when I discovered Penbbs-355 and their shutoff valves. That Crystal still lures me though...

[Detman101]

Anyone else know what the profile on the FPR nibs is considered?
It can't be the same as "Click" and "Kanwrite" nibs as these other indian-made nibs seem to be rounder and thicker.