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etoyoc
September 21st, 2012, 05:01 AM
When FPR (fountain pen revolution) announced that their flex nibs were available I placed an order for a set of the flex and medium nibs. The nibs finally came in last night.

I immediately tried putting one of the nibs in my Serwex MB, but the nib was too thin and it just wouldn't friction fit. Oh well, I guess I can't mimic Doc Brown on that pen. Next, I tried putting the nibs in some other Serwex pens. They fit well and made a vast improvement over the original nibs. Then I looked at the remaining flex nib that didn't fit in the MB and one thought popped in my mind.... TWSBI....

Yes, the FPR flex nibs definately fit in the TWSBI 530/540 nib units. At first the pen was writing so fine without pressure that I figured that I would have to do some doctoring to make the pen work with the nib. But, it was late and I was up way too early in the AM the previous night, so I decided to just let the pen be.

I picked it up this morning, and was quite impressed! I don't have any skill with a flex, and my writing is terrible. However, I was rewarded with a pen that was writing in a nice fine line that could flex well beyond anything I would need. I didn't need to hack the feed, I didn't need to get out a set of knives and scrapers. It just worked.


Pen: TWSBI 540
Nib: FPR flex nib
Ink: Diamine Syrah
Paper: Norcom journal (made in Brazil) wide ruled (still have many of these after stocking up when they were $0.25 per journal two years ago on back to school deals.
1224

Will this make me a flex convert? No, I just don't have the hand writing to make flex something that I will add; however, I enjoy playing with flex when I am doodling and messing around.

earthdawn
September 21st, 2012, 06:57 AM
I just got my Serwex MB with a flex nib already on it from Kevin yesterday !!!.. Well now I am going to go remove the nib and swap it out on my TWSBI 540. So much for almost ink free fingers!

Thanks for sharing that. Looks like you got a lot of flex there. In MB the flex is nice but not that drastic. The tip of the feed sits pretty close to the end of the nib and may be taking away from its full flex abilities.

Like they say.... you never know till you try !

KrazyIvan
September 21st, 2012, 08:42 AM
Nice. I have been thinking about those flex nibs ever since Doc Brown did his Serwex MB review. :)

earthdawn
September 21st, 2012, 09:07 AM
Well I am back....

Of course both pens were full of ink and now... well forget it I look ridiculous !

BUT ... It works... and it works well. The Flex nib is certainly not as smooth as a TWSBI but it is smooth enough to not scratch around the paper and man you can get some good Flex yet keep a nice thin line if you want.

Thanks for the tip.... I have to scrub my fingers again.

goldiesdad
September 21st, 2012, 10:49 AM
I ordered a flex nib in one of their pens and the nib arrived bent. It appears the cap on the pen bends the nib ... reminds me in design on the Noodlers pens ...

earthdawn
September 21st, 2012, 10:55 AM
It is easy to bend the nib against the inner liner of the cap if is is not capped properly. Just make sure you line the cap up before snapping it on. If you put it on at an angle the nib can get caught on the inner liner.

Stephen talks about it in his review

http://youtu.be/WS30qdNImO8

manoeuver
September 23rd, 2012, 11:49 AM
I've got 2 shipments of FPR pens on the way. Flexies galore. waiting....

Chi Town
September 24th, 2012, 12:31 PM
Can I jump in here and ask; where do you find these nibs? And How do I order one?

Thanks,
Mike

KrazyIvan
September 24th, 2012, 01:23 PM
Can I jump in here and ask; where do you find these nibs? And How do I order one?

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, try www.fountainpenrevolution.com

earthdawn
September 24th, 2012, 08:49 PM
My Serwex MB...

Grrrrr...

I love mine and the flex is awesome BUT !!!

I jammed it into the cap without pay attention. Well this is what I get for it...

I just ordered 2 more nibs though

etoyoc
September 25th, 2012, 10:58 AM
Ouch! That is one my main complaints about the Serwex MB.

After using the 540 for an hour of continuous grading, I had to swap to a different pen. The feed just couldn't keep up if I used flex for any amount of time. Yes, I used flex on the scores for the students.... However, the nibs work well with the non MB model Serwex pens that I have tried them in.

donnamcm
November 25th, 2012, 03:52 PM
Did you just put the flex nib on top of the Twisbi feed? Or does the Serwex Flex nib and feed both fit into the Twisbi. Thanks.

earthdawn
November 25th, 2012, 09:05 PM
Did you just put the flex nib on top of the Twisbi feed? Or does the Serwex Flex nib and feed both fit into the Twisbi. Thanks.

Flex nib over the TWSBI feed.

Works like a charm !

picautomaton
November 26th, 2012, 02:29 AM
I have three FPR flex nibs and will try one in my TWSBI 530,

donnamcm
November 26th, 2012, 06:41 AM
:):) Thank you Earthdawn, I will do it now---so excited!

ddustinn
November 26th, 2012, 11:38 AM
Ugh, I thought I was the first person to discover this! (Maybe I was, I can't remember which day I figured it out...)

I did it a little differently: my FPR nib was a little tight with the TWSBI feed, so I used the feed that came with my Serwex 162 in the TWSBI housing. It's not the feed that normally comes with the 162, but it also doesn't seem to be the feed that comes with the MB (I don't have an MB, I am only judging from pictures.)

15071508

I don't find the FPR nib to be less smooth than the TWSBI F nib I have. Definitely not as smooth as the B, but that's hard to compete with.

This is a beautiful combination.:clap2:

duende
November 26th, 2012, 12:36 PM
Brilliant!

manoeuver
November 26th, 2012, 03:36 PM
tried this today with some of my spare parts. worked ok but was very drippy (might work better in a whole pen I should think.)
great idea!

donnamcm
November 29th, 2012, 08:16 PM
Did it, love it, drawing with it!!!!!! Thanks soooooooooo much. Right now, IMHO, this is one of the best solutions for artists!!!!! And for nooooooo money!!!!

anomalogue
December 19th, 2012, 04:41 PM
I did it, too. It works fantastically well. Thanks!

manoeuver
December 20th, 2012, 07:19 AM
Noticed a big gap twixt the nib and feed. Got freaked out. The stub's back on there.

caribbean_skye
December 23rd, 2012, 07:24 PM
Thanks for letting us know. I'm starting my Christmas/Bday pen/ink buying list and FPR is on my list of websites to hit. I guess now it means I'm slanted a little more towards Serwex.

Juha_Antero
June 1st, 2016, 06:34 AM
[...] Yes, the FPR flex nibs definately fit in the TWSBI 530/540 nib units. At first the pen was writing so fine without pressure that I figured that I would have to do some doctoring to make the pen work with the nib. But, it was late and I was up way too early in the AM the previous night, so I decided to just let the pen be.

I picked it up this morning, and was quite impressed! I don't have any skill with a flex, and my writing is terrible. However, I was rewarded with a pen that was writing in a nice fine line that could flex well beyond anything I would need. I didn't need to hack the feed, I didn't need to get out a set of knives and scrapers. It just worked.


Pen: TWSBI 540
Nib: FPR flex nib
Ink: Diamine Syrah
Paper: Norcom journal (made in Brazil) wide ruled (still have many of these after stocking up when they were $0.25 per journal two years ago on back to school deals.

[...]

Hi, I'm so late into the game..

I've fiddled with FP:s and Zebra G nib into Jinhao hacks (not satisfactory), but not inclined to spend too much on vintage pens with flex nibs. Then spotted this thread.
Since I already like TWSBI pens, so might as well test FPR flex with one of them. Seems like 580 has replaced 540.

Is the 580 nib unit the same as 540? Anyone done it?

Rgs, Juha