An Easy Hack For Plastic Fountain Pen Feeds That Improves Their Performance in Flex Pens

Рет қаралды 9,386

2 жыл бұрын

In this video I show you a hack that you can do in under 30 seconds that will improve how well a plastic feed will perform in a flex pen.

Пікірлер: 27

@carlprescott7062 Жыл бұрын

I'm very impressed with this hack! I overdid it a bit at first but eventually got it dialed in and it works quite well.

@mkompan Жыл бұрын

Glad it worked for you!

@NOURALSAMA 18 күн бұрын

that works with my new gold nib.. and the writing by using the back side was ink flow earier than the front which makes me thought about the feeder contacting the nib..

@mkompan 18 күн бұрын

Glad it worked for you!

@MrG0CE Жыл бұрын

THIS YT CHANNEL IS GOLD !

@mkompan Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@forgotMyUsername100 2 жыл бұрын

I've done this kind of heat-setting on plastic feeds & it definitely helps with my flex nibs :)

@mkompan 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for letting me know!. it's good to know I'm not some weird outlier out here. :)

@jims3363 Жыл бұрын

I've just done this to a TWSBI diamond 580 1.1mm stub nib and it now works perfectly with my FPR gold ultraflex nib. Did 2 cycles of 20 seconds, near boiling water. Decent amount of force applied to the bend in the second cycle, but the result was still hardly visible to the naked eye, if at all. 10/10 tip.

@mkompan Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the confirmation! I’m glad you found this little trick useful.

@f-ms7vs 3 ай бұрын

This works amazingly well!!! Thank you so much. I generally reserve my ultraflex for pens with ebonite feeds (I use a Kanwrite Emperor that has a unique ebonite feed with a hole drilled through the center for about half down the feed and then turns up and connects back to the feeder channel sending copious amounts of ink to the nib. This ensures a very generous flow and almost never railroads. The pen is a bit bulky and ungainly to draw with and I prefer lightweight pens that allow easy dexterity while drawing) In India, companies like Kanwrite and Click, apart from utraflex nibs make something called 'semiflex' nibs. I enjoy this subtle effect and drama in lineweight. But found plastic feeds of my lighter pens simply don't keep up. It's an annoying interruption when your mind is focusing on the illustration you're making one second and then you're sitting, shaking your pen vigorously to get the flow back to the tines the next. I tried the hack you suggested. I wasnt exactly sure whether I bent it too little or too much or even if i bent it all 😂. Put it back in the pen and it puts lines down like a relapsed addict! I absolutely love it! Ordered 4 flex nibs for my other pens immediately 😂 Thank you so much. Your videos are a treasure trove of knowledge, insight, history, art and just overall a delight to watch.

@mkompan 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment! I'm so glad this worked out for you. I did this hack just yesterday, when I paired a lovely gold vintage semi-flex nib with a Kaweco Sport. It's really amazing the difference this little adjustment makes.

@atelierthhun1165 2 жыл бұрын

I completely agree with your diagnosis. However before I attack my pen that fits the criteria and has flow problems can I ask some dumb questions? How far down the feed should one attempt to bend it ? And how slight is a slight bend in degrees of deformation in your experience? As an artist whose enthusiasm usually outweighs their delicacy I'm a bit nervous about attempting this without further instruction. Many thanks as ever.

@mkompan 2 жыл бұрын

I think starting the bend about 5mm from the tip is about right. The bend should be very slight, no more than 1mm, since if the feed presses too hard against the tines, they will split. I think the risk of doing damage is minimal. If it doesn't improve performance, you can just straighten the feed again.

@atelierthhun1165 2 жыл бұрын

Many thanks for your kind reply. I now feel far more confident about successfully attempting this hack. Your channel is a constant source of help, inspiration and information.

@LordWhatever 2 жыл бұрын

Certainly will try this with one of my several Jinhao pens.

@mkompan 2 жыл бұрын

Great! Let me know how it turns out.

@catherinehubbard1167 7 ай бұрын

Very interesting and plausible analysis! I’m guessing that the “Anti-railroading” ink additive from Fountain Pen Revolution reduces the likelihood of that liquid bridge of ink between nib and feed rupturing under flex. I just checked the FPR site and learned that in addition to their nibs, they sell both plastic and ebonite feeds in a range of sizes, some marked as being for flex nibs. Little cost, so experimentation with them is an option.

@mkompan 7 ай бұрын

Thank you. That additive probably increases surface tension, but could have negative side effects, such as longer drying time (which for a wet flex nib is already considerable). I'll have to try it. As for the feeds, I'll have to try those as well, especially the one that's Jowo compatible.

@catherinehubbard1167 7 ай бұрын

@@mkompan : I’m looking forward to learning whatever you are able to work out in your further flex experiments. There’s a place for artful mystery, but I’d like to see more of it removed from flex fountain pen nibs.

@michaelramone229 Жыл бұрын

Was it difficult to install the FPR nib in the 580? I’d love to try and fit a ultra flex or flex FPR nib in mine. Any Chance of a video on the process?

@mkompan Жыл бұрын

It's very easy. Just pop the original out, and replace it with the FPR #5.5. Here's tutorial on it: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o7qDaMyer9eXfnk.html

@erwinb3412 11 ай бұрын

Buy an ebonite rod . Rasp to the diameter of the hole in the pen front . Cutaway the front lower part so that the feed is a triangle viewed from the side . Cut a feed line at the top . Place in with the nib on top in the front of the pen and heat-treat it in boiling water . You just made your own ebonite feed .

@mkompan 11 ай бұрын

Yes, but first extract latex from a rubber tree, vulcanize it into ebonite, then extrude it into rods. :)