Best everday flex character for my writing if I decide to step up to $300 level?

[Christopher Godfrey]

<Who is this Joey fellow and where do we find him?>

 

As I wrote above, amberleadavis, Joey Grasty is the proprietor of the Flexible Nib Factory and doing business with him is a pleasure.  No photos really necessary or enlightening, because, apart from an ordinary-looking feed, there is nothing much at which to look.  There are pix on his website, when you go into his stock items page.  If you go this route, then it is not necessary to replace the tiny collar that comes <out> with your Pilot feed.  It <can> go in with it; but Joey advised me that the replacement feed had been designed to work perfectly adequately <without> -- so mine works without that collar and has never leaked.  This is such a worthwhile modification!

[amberleadavis]

On 1/28/2022 at 5:29 PM, Christopher Godfrey said:

<Who is this Joey fellow and where do we find him?>

 

As I wrote above, amberleadavis, Joey Grasty is the proprietor of the Flexible Nib Factory and doing business with him is a pleasure.  No photos really necessary or enlightening, because, apart from an ordinary-looking feed, there is nothing much at which to look.  There are pix on his website, when you go into his stock items page.  If you go this route, then it is not necessary to replace the tiny collar that comes <out> with your Pilot feed.  It <can> go in with it; but Joey advised me that the replacement feed had been designed to work perfectly adequately <without> -- so mine works without that collar and has never leaked.  This is such a worthwhile modification!

 

 

Thank you!

 

BTW, if you use an "@" symbol infront of the name of the FPN user, the user will receive a notice of the post.

[jonathan7007]

On 1/28/2022 at 5:29 PM, Christopher Godfrey said:

it is not necessary to replace the tiny collar that comes <out> with your Pilot feed.  It <can> go in with it; but Joey advised me that the replacement feed had been designed to work perfectly adequately <without> -- so mine works without that collar and has never leaked. 

 

@Christopher Godfrey

 

@Christopher Godfrey, Thank you for posting this detail about the experience swapping the feed. Perhaps there is a similar and also unneeded collar on the Pilot 912 (FA-equipped) section.

 

The first 912 that arrived had a small but serious scuff at the top of the cap and has gone back. Next try is still in the US postal system. However, Joey (Flexible Nib Factory) had already sent me that 3-channel feed so that's waiting here for its mail-order bride.

 

[jonathan7007]

The border I crossed to invest in a new Pilot 912 (FA) left me in new territory - way more choice. Pelikan 140s were appealing for: reliability, flexible nibs with interesting grinds, wet flow, sort-of-reasonable (it now seemed) pricing. There were a lot of them sold 50s/60s, which helps for choices.

 

So, now I've truly jumped into a deeper "end" and looking for second "big leap" pen. I am having trouble waiting for all this fun to arrive.

 

If any of you are Pelikan 140/400(same era) users, I'm going to seek another part of the FPN forums to ask some Pelikan questions there and would appreciate a couple of clarifications.

 

I haven't abandoned the siren that called me to this new land; on Monday the replacement Pilot 912 arrives and I will put it to quick use on running projects and correspondence.

[Christopher Godfrey]

@jonathan: I look forwards to hearing more about your 912 once you have performed the micro-surgery!  As for your last post: go to the Pelikan forum and seek there.  You'll find masses of help, I assure you.  They are a friendly bunch.  I have 100s, 400s and 400NNs -- all rugged, daily users and perfectly suitable for all the writing you can throw at them!  The 400 series hold a ton of ink, too -- and easy to find, as you have evidently already discovered -- there's very little difference between the 140s and the 400s, except that they are generally a bit cheaper.

[jonathan7007]

22 hours ago, Christopher Godfrey said:

@jonathan: I look forwards to hearing more about your 912 once you have performed the micro-surgery!

 

@Christopher Godfrey My investment will be worthwhile, and I am learning quirks of grip and rotation specific to the nib's construction. So far this nib resists upward movement, though. Usually that motion is a connector stroke in cursive and it's jarring so far. Your nib isn't exactly where you wanted to be drop into the next character.
Ink formulations make a difference that can be felt: lubricated kon-peki has been the smoothest when moving the nib upwards on paper. I hope the range of ink choice is not too narrow. (I have tried three blue inks so far.)

 

I returned to many of the FA videos I had watched. I listened closely to the nibs pictured. My impression is that my specific nib is noisier moving upward than what I have seen. I am well aware that microphone placement, post-processing, YouTube compression, et al, will affect what I see on screen and may not offer a good comparison tool.

 

Positive side! Joy in the dance of the tines on the downstrokes. The three-channel FPN feed is able to keep up 95% of the time. Could be wetter. I was surprised it wasn't. (I did wash all the pen components.) Again, this whole combo is new to me. I have a sample of one as reference.

 

I have no doubt that this pen and replacement feed can do the swirlies most YouTube reviewers perform.  I am looking for benefits to correspondence, paragraphs. 

 

I am trying to find a vintage Pelikan with the right nib (OM, hopefully with wet flex to allow a full speed cursive and ease of motion in any direction on paper. It will be interesting to compare the full experience of the two. Anecdotes about 50s, 60s, Pelikans show I can't be absolutely sure I'll have a semi flex nib. We'll see. I like writing with obliques. I've made a couple for myself from different starter nibs...

 

 

[Christopher Godfrey]

Very interesting, Jonathan.  Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

Should you ever feel like spending a bit more moolah, the Pelikan M600 comes with 14kt nib and, if you buy from Indy-Pen-Dance, then they will customize your nib to taste -- protégés of Richard Binder, they are, and I hear good things about their work.  Richard Binder told us that the M600 is his choice among the family (for the nib) and he would not work on (ie, try to make more flexy) 18kt nibs -- but he would gladly work on the 14s...

[jonathan7007]

@Christopher GodfreyI'll keep learning about this unit...

 

I'm also actively looking for a Pelikan 140 or 400nn with interesting nib. 

 

I tried heat setting the FA and its aftermarket three-channel nib. Interesting: made it slightly less reliable for "starting" and a little more likely to railroad. Weird, that. If these difficulties persist I will talk to Goulet about their fostering an examination by Pilot USA - it Pilot provides that sort of hands-on evaluation. Of course, I'll have to put back the stock feed.

 

But I don't want to be hasty.

 

Trying Tsuki-yo right now, Not a fan of the color but I had it on hand. Kon-peki performance (in upstrokes) seemed OK. Just OK.

 

Paper choice not an issue: I'm using MiquelRius notebook that's great for fountain pen nibs and ink.

 

Jonathan

[Christopher Godfrey]

@jonathan: I did nothing whatsoever to the new FNF ebonite feed for my FA nib.  It needed nothing in the way of adjustment at all and worked splendidly from the get-go.  The nib/feed fit seemed perfect straightaway...perhaps you might simply find it easier to get a replacement feed from Joey Grasty?  The feeds are, after all, so affordable.

 

Good luck, Jonathan!  Let us know of progress.

[monologion]

On 1/20/2022 at 11:40 PM, mizgeorge said:

What ^^ said. I fitted a three channel version to my custom 912 FA and it transformed it. 

Completely agree. Pilot FA nib with an ebonite feeder is perfect. For everyday writing you would be fine with the two-channel one; I guess the three-channel one is intended for calligraphy.

[Honeybadgers]

I wouldn't push an FA nib more than a broad line regularly. If you really want to flex, get a vintage pen. 

 

Modern flex nibs honestly all suck, and not because they don't flex enough - they aren't ground FINELY enough. So the F nib on an FA feels wide already, making the flex way less dramatic.

 

It's all about variation, not max width. Get a flexible-ish nib and have it ground finer. Like a #10 pilot FA and have it ground by Gena salorino to an EF or needlepoint for $40.

[jonathan7007]

So far the most annoying characteristic of my particular nib unit is its resistance to upwards movement. I know why - it was not designed to do that for its intended audience/market - so I am seeing how I can adjust. I the adjustment is too disruptive I'll have to move on.

I am not trying for huge show-off "pretty" flex. Nibmeisters could make the range greater for this one nib but that wouldn't serve me well for cards and letters to friends.

Another element of this nib's performance: very fussy about ink choice. Better with Pilot ink but still not easy with those that I have tried. For other inks I have tried hard starting, starving, inconsistency - not good. I have a fair number of inks to try here but it's less fun to have a modern pen that is so sensitive and limiting for color choice.

 

I am not generally a complainer. I did what homework I could with no pen retail or shows where I live. And trying this very interesting nib has been gratifying in some moments.  I'll now devote more resources and experimentation to older pens.

[A Smug Dill]

4 hours ago, Honeybadgers said:

It's all about variation, not max width. Get a flexible-ish nib and have it ground finer. Like a #10 pilot FA and have it ground by Gena salorino to an EF or needlepoint for $40.

[Honeybadgers]

0.65 felt a little uncomfortable pressure wise on my EF falcon when it was stock. That was slow, careful writing.

 

I think 0.5 was a more "reasonable" amount of pressure. After I had it modified with a needlepoint + flex, a 0.10-0.8 was much easier.

[sidthecat]

Contrarian that I am, if I had three bills to throw in the street, I'd throw it at a restored Waterman or Mabie Todd of known nib qualities. 

[jonathan7007]

3 hours ago, sidthecat said:

Contrarian that I am, if I had three bills to throw in the street, I'd throw it at a restored Waterman or Mabie Todd of known nib qualities. 

Sid, <grin> Your avatar accurately portrays "throw three bills in the street"...

 

Ah, yes, the feeling of a well-balanced pen... watching the characters emerge under the movement of the nib on paper... saturated colors jumping off the white paper... the smell of ink in the morning...

 

This hobby is like needing to meet your "doctor" out on the corner...

 

 

[jonathan7007]

OK, OK, yes, I need to report back what my over-the-cliff journey caused. Nearly ready to do that. I have at least one more thing in transit.

 

"Having fun here. Will send pictures."

 

Laters!