Question about Hongdian N7 replacement nib and nib unit

[Ardakilic]

Hello,

 

I own a Hongdian N7 fountain pen with fine nib. I want to have a medium nib on my Hongdian N7.

 

I experimented replacing the nib to a medium variant:

 

Firstly, I tried my spare Jinhao #6 and Moonman #6 nibs on the N7 feed and unit, but they are a bit long, so the nib dries after a little usage. The cap also hardly closes, but at least it closes.

 

I tried my no name #6 nib which I got from IDK where, possibly a Jowo one which I got years ago, but it got bent after I closed the cap.

 

Then going on, I bought some Noodlers #6 steel nibs in hopes for it'd fit, but it's too wide to even fit into the unit.

 

After that, due to some videos and search engine results, I got some Wingsung 699 #6 medium steel nibs, and now sadly the nib is a little bit short instead , so in the nib unit, the nib is moving while typing, which was annoying.

 

Finally, while I tried to tinker the nib unit to find the best combination, and I force fitted #6 Jinhao feed (which is a little bit longer than Hongdian n7 feed) along with the Wingsung 699 nib, and it worked nicely for a day.

 

However, it was becoming too dry. I wanted to flush the nib clean so I tried to pull it, but the Jinhao feed inside the N7 unit broke inside 

 

So to find the replacement, I want to buy a nib unit that'd fit Hongdian N7, but I don't know the exact number. There's #26, #32, #33.5 size nib units in Aliexpress, which is confusing. I tried asking sellers the correct size, and they don't know.

 

Is there a medium nib and unit that'd work with Hongdian N7 directly? If so, what should I pick? If not, at least to restore the pen to initial state, what size nib unit should I pick?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Shanghai Knife Dude]

i believe all HD #6 in 32.5mm total length. 

other makers #6 are all 35mm in length. 

solution1: source a Hongdian #6 medium.

solution2: grind your thing until you happy. 

 

[A Smug Dill]

18 minutes ago, Shanghai Knife Dude said:

i believe all HD #6 in 32.5mm total length. 

 

No, HongDian makes number 32, number 33.5, and number 35 nibs. You can actually filter, or more accurately select by preset categories of, pen models listed in HongDian's official store on Taobao by the nib size number.

 

(Never mind the tick and the cross, I posted that in reply to @Ardakilic on Reddit where he/she asked the same question. Just see the navigation panel on the left in the screenshot.)

 

[Ardakilic]

Thank you for the replies @A Smug Dill and @Shanghai Knife Dude. Just to be on the safe side, I got both #32 and #33.5 feeds back then. At least I can use the incompatible ones' nibs on my other pens. I'm currently hunting for Penbbs #6 spare nibs, which may fit both with size, but I could not find it in Aliexpress. 

[Dan Carmell]

3 hours ago, Ardakilic said:

Thank you for the replies @A Smug Dill and @Shanghai Knife Dude. Just to be on the safe side, I got both #32 and #33.5 feeds back then. At least I can use the incompatible ones' nibs on my other pens. I'm currently hunting for Penbbs #6 spare nibs, which may fit both with size, but I could not find it in Aliexpress. 

PenBBS has a store on Etsy that sells their #6 nibs. 

[Ardakilic]

@Dan Carmell It seems that they sell the replacement nibs as 353 with a acrylic vial, like a keychain, to milk up the price and markup, right?

 

Also, are they all #6? They have different numberings, such as no4 and no15, but all look same size from the photos, which that felt confusing.

 

Edit: I guess they are. PenBBS Etsy store is too expensive since they are gold variants. I'll buy a steel cheaper version which is 1/10th of the price for me from one of the Aliexpress vendors. I will grab a medium round one from the batch, and see whether it'll fit, then I'll go from there.

[Dan Carmell]

43 minutes ago, Ardakilic said:

@Dan Carmell It seems that they sell the replacement nibs as 353 with a acrylic vial, like a keychain, to milk up the price and markup, right?

 

Also, are they all #6? They have different numberings, such as no4 and no15, but all look same size from the photos, which that felt confusing.

 

Edit: I guess they are. PenBBS Etsy store is too expensive since they are gold variants. I'll buy a steel cheaper version which is 1/10th of the price for me from one of the Aliexpress vendors. I will grab a medium round one from the batch, and see whether it'll fit, then I'll go from there.

Usually they also have steel nibs as well, but the inventory fluctuates over time. Those other numbers (4, 15) are nib width numbers, not nib numbers like a #6 sized nib. PenBBS offers multiple nib grinds; 4 and 15 are differently ground long knife nibs. They offer at least 4 western type grinds: Fine, XF, Medium, and a special Fine they developed for Chinese characters. 
 

$115 for a #6 14K nib is actually low, if you shop around, but quite high if you just want a steel nib!

 

Given the relatively low prices of their gold and steel nibs, that key charm housing is more a gimmick than a way to up the price. PenBBS has real fan-boys and girls and they love those nib charms! I think PenBBS has a more devoted fan base than most pens, perhaps because it started as a user group and really focused on making their users happy. 
 

Seems they are aiming more at the high end now, with some really gorgeous engraved nibs and a forthcoming pen with a #8 nib. 
 

Try AliExpress and search for ‘PenBBS nibs.’  If it says Fine, that is the special Chinese Fine. If it says ‘round’ F or EF, that’s Western style. Price is around $12. Good luck! 

[A Smug Dill]

32 minutes ago, Dan Carmell said:

Those other numbers (4, 15) are nib width numbers,

 

Actually, they're style numbers for the Calligraphy nib series. There is no mathematical or sequential logic to the numbering that I know of.

 

 

[Ardakilic]

@Dan Carmell Thank you for the extended reply. Indeed, $115 for a #6 14k nib is decent, but I'm not even sure that this nib will fit my into my N7. Also, as you mentioned, a steel nib is more than enough for me for the time being. If it fits and I like the overall experience of the pen, maybe I'll upgrade to a golden one.

 

@A Smug Dill Thank you for the confirmation and the thread link. Now I can buy with an ease of mind.

 

Thank you both for your replies! Much appreciated, really!

 

 

For the time being, I got the following nib, in hopes that it'll fit into the pen with the unit or the nib only:

 

It's a round medium with a beautiful engraving.

 

 

Currently, I ordered #32, #33.5 Hongdian units and this, I just need to wait and see how it'll go.

 

I'll update here after I received the packages. I hope at least one of these would fit into the pen, or I'll have a lot of spares 😅

[Dan Carmell]

1 hour ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Actually, they're style numbers for the Calligraphy nib series. There is no mathematical or sequential logic to the numbering that I know of.

 

 

Yes, yours is a better term!

 

Have you played with any of their Calligraphy nibs? So many variations on one style!

[Ardakilic]

Hello again,

 

Just received the nibs.

 

I can say that both #32 and #35 fits into the pen and the cap closes, but of course the #32 is a bit shorter, by the looks I can say it's the exact nib that I'm looking for. The colour is golden, but I'll  try to swap nibs. Worst case I'll use metal polish to remove the golden coating.

 

I also received PenBBS 353, the nib is beautiful, also the unit has o-rings and all, but the nib unit does not fit into the housing. 

 

I'll try to fit the 353's nib into one of the #32 nib units and see how it'll go.

[Ardakilic]

OK. Here's what I did so far:

 

• Both #32 and #35 nib units fit into Hongdian N7.
• PenBBS 353 nib is beautiful, but too long. It does not fit into the nib unit due to its curve.
• N7's stock nib does not fit into #32 nib unit, due to its curve.
• WingSung 699 nib fits, but it's more like a 33.5 nib and gets dry after a while
• For the time being I'm stuck with #32 fine golden nibs. One of the nibs' tipping is rather bold, closer to medium, so I'll use it.
  • I'll polish the gold coating of the nib to make it silver and use like this on my black pen.

 

I'll keep on looking for a decent Hongdian #32 medium nib and unit, please let me know if you have encountered any.

[A Smug Dill]

3 hours ago, Ardakilic said:

WingSung 699 nib fits, but it's more like a 33.5 nib

 

It should be closer to being 32mm long than 33.5mm long. 

 

[Ardakilic]

Another update:

 

I tried a couple of combinations with 699 nib and nib unit and feed combo. Now it writes as a decent M writer. I'll settle with this one.

 

Thanks again,