Hello - Newbie from NC - Where to Buy?

[mprasad]

Hello from NC! I'm fairly new to fountain pens, although I've had a couple for many years. I mostly use dip pens. I'm in search of a "wet noodle" that would give me a similar look to my very flexible dip pen nibs. (I know the inks are different - I have fountain pen inks separate from dip pen inks.) I altered an inexpensive Jinhao fountain pen with a Zebra G nib - which does work, sort of... the problem is that the ink flow can't keep up, so writing is super slow. You can see a sample of my test here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BiFY2b7AYnN/ I would really like to find a Waterman 52 with an extra fine wet noodle nib, in good shape (I don't care so much about scratches on the body, I am most interested in the writing), for a reasonable price. I would very much appreciate help in locating where I could purchase one. It would be treated very well. I have Sheaffer fountain pens that are over 25 years old and work look/like new. Thank you for reading, and any help you may provide! - Mary

[carlos.q]

First of all welcome to FPG! :welcome:

Another alternative you could consider are modern pens specifically designed for flexible dip pen nibs. This vendor makes them but at the moment has none in stock: https://www.desideratapens.com/pens/

[Chrissy]

Welcome. :)

I suggest you might try placing a Want to Buy ad (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/9-Want-to-Buy-or-Trade) in the Classifieds forum

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell. Seriously by the seller as much or more than the pen. There are only perhaps two dozen sellers that honestly have a clue what a flexible nib pen is.

[Ron Z]

Waterman pens from the 1920s +/_ are known for their flexible nibs. Not always, but much more common than with some other brands like Sheaffer. You often find Waterman 52 (black chased hard rubber) pens are quite common, and can still be found at reasonable prices. Look for long and one might say narrow tines VS short tines which make for a stiffer nib. Early Conklins and Wahl Eversharp pens (again around the 20s) also can be found with flexible nibs. Not to say that Sheaffer's don't - just that they are more on the uncommon side of the scale.

Watch Ebay, and watch the classifieds/sales pages on pen boards. There has been a pen show in Raleigh for the past 15 -20 years or so, which would be a good place to look at and test pens for flex. It was called off last year because of Covid. I don't think that any one is making plans for one just yet. The hotel for the last 2-3 years was near the Crabtree Valley Mall where 70 and I-400 cross. Watch the pen boards for announcements.

[mizgeorge]

The zebra g/cheap modern pen variation works better if you change the feed - either to an ebonite one, or by increasing the size of the channels to help keep the flow up. But you're still stuck with having to change nib pretty often - sometimes in just hours (depending on the ink).

FNF and FPR have some decent modern flex options, or you could modify an nib on a noodler ahab or similar, but nothing's ever going to come close to either using a dip pen or vintage flex, which is increasingly hard to find as sellers have jumped on the concept and are over-flexing just about every nib made before the 70's and putting their prices up as a consequence. Many of these end up sprung and broken or useless, and it makes me wince to see some of them.

Even then, you still won't really replicate the XXF to BBBBB results you can get with a dip pen.

I can't be trusted with dip pens (I make far too much mess and an open ink bottle is a very bad idea for me!), so I keep looking, and my best results so far have been an FPR ultraflex and a heavily modified Ahab. Which is probably more than good enough for someone who's rubbish at calligraphy, especially flexi stuff, to start with - though I do have fun trying!

And welcome from me too :)

[mprasad]

First of all welcome to FPG! :welcome:

Another alternative you could consider are modern pens specifically designed for flexible dip pen nibs. This vendor makes them but at the moment has none in stock: https://www.desideratapens.com/pens/

Thank you! I will add it to my list of places to look.

[mprasad]

Welcome. :)

I suggest you might try placing a Want to Buy ad (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/9-Want-to-Buy-or-Trade) in the Classifieds forum

Thank you! I may just do that. Although I am reading more articles about other flex pens (and some mentioned by people here) so I may broaden my search. If I don't find anything in a reasonable amount of time I may try to post an WTB ad.

[mprasad]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell. Seriously by the seller as much or more than the pen. There are only perhaps two dozen sellers that honestly have a clue what a flexible nib pen is.

Would you recommend some? I would appreciate it!

[mprasad]

Waterman pens from the 1920s +/_ are known for their flexible nibs. Not always, but much more common than with some other brands like Sheaffer. You often find Waterman 52 (black chased hard rubber) pens are quite common, and can still be found at reasonable prices. Look for long and one might say narrow tines VS short tines which make for a stiffer nib. Early Conklins and Wahl Eversharp pens (again around the 20s) also can be found with flexible nibs. Not to say that Sheaffer's don't - just that they are more on the uncommon side of the scale.

Watch Ebay, and watch the classifieds/sales pages on pen boards. There has been a pen show in Raleigh for the past 15 -20 years or so, which would be a good place to look at and test pens for flex. It was called off last year because of Covid. I don't think that any one is making plans for one just yet. The hotel for the last 2-3 years was near the Crabtree Valley Mall where 70 and I-400 cross. Watch the pen boards for announcements.

Thank you for the information! I might have to try the pen show (it would be my first!). Would you happen to know the name of it? If not, I'll do a search. Thanks again!

[FredRydr]

http://www.trianglepenshow.com

[mprasad]

The zebra g/cheap modern pen variation works better if you change the feed - either to an ebonite one, or by increasing the size of the channels to help keep the flow up. But you're still stuck with having to change nib pretty often - sometimes in just hours (depending on the ink).

FNF and FPR have some decent modern flex options, or you could modify an nib on a noodler ahab or similar, but nothing's ever going to come close to either using a dip pen or vintage flex, which is increasingly hard to find as sellers have jumped on the concept and are over-flexing just about every nib made before the 70's and putting their prices up as a consequence. Many of these end up sprung and broken or useless, and it makes me wince to see some of them.

Even then, you still won't really replicate the XXF to BBBBB results you can get with a dip pen.

I can't be trusted with dip pens (I make far too much mess and an open ink bottle is a very bad idea for me!), so I keep looking, and my best results so far have been an FPR ultraflex and a heavily modified Ahab. Which is probably more than good enough for someone who's rubbish at calligraphy, especially flexi stuff, to start with - though I do have fun trying!

And welcome from me too :)

Thank you! I don't expect a vintage pen to flex quite as much as my Brause 66EF but I hope to improve upon my Pilot Elabo with EF gold nib. I do like the Elabo but it has a very subtle variation.

[mprasad]

http://www.trianglepenshow.com

Thank you!!

[Turquoise]

Since you're in the US, if you want to look for a vintage Waterman, two reputable dealers I'd recommend would be Peyton Street Pens https://www.peytonstreetpens.com and David Nishimura https://vintagepens.com. Both usually have an extensive inventory of a variety of vintage/collectible pens, restore and condition the pens prior to sale, and include a guarantee. Check out other brands besides Waterman (which tend to be more expensive) -- both of these sites usually provide a picture of writing samples and you can search the inventory by flex nib as a characteristic.

If you liked the altered Jinhao fountain pen with the Zebra G nib, you might want to check out Fountain Pen Revolution. They make both flex and ultra-flex nibs and ebonite feeds that can definitely keep up with ink flow and are pretty smooth writers with good line variation: https://fprevolutionusa.com The nibs can be had on any of their pens, so you might want to try an inexpensive one and get the ultra-flex to see if it works for you.

HTH!

[mprasad]

Since you're in the US, if you want to look for a vintage Waterman, two reputable dealers I'd recommend would be Peyton Street Pens https://www.peytonstreetpens.com and David Nishimura https://vintagepens.com. Both usually have an extensive inventory of a variety of vintage/collectible pens, restore and condition the pens prior to sale, and include a guarantee. Check out other brands besides Waterman (which tend to be more expensive) -- both of these sites usually provide a picture of writing samples and you can search the inventory by flex nib as a characteristic.

If you liked the altered Jinhao fountain pen with the Zebra G nib, you might want to check out Fountain Pen Revolution. They make both flex and ultra-flex nibs and ebonite feeds that can definitely keep up with ink flow and are pretty smooth writers with good line variation: https://fprevolutionusa.com The nibs can be had on any of their pens, so you might want to try an inexpensive one and get the ultra-flex to see if it works for you.

HTH!

Thank you for all the information! I will check them all out!

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell. Seriously by the seller as much or more than the pen. There are only perhaps two dozen sellers that honestly have a clue what a flexible nib pen is.

Would you recommend some? I would appreciate it!

Several have been mentioned but also Mauricio Aguilar (http://www.vintagepen.net/)

[FredRydr]

Several have been mentioned but also Mauricio Aguilar (http://www.vintagepen.net/)
Ah yes. I suggest contacting Mauricio and not rely only on his website. In that vein, also Rob Morrison. (http://www.vintagewriting.com) Rob doesn't keep his webpage up-to-date since he moves back and forth between two locations, but you should contact him. He always has flex pens, sometimes listing them on eBay as VintageWriting. (http://www.ebaystores.com/VintageWriting)

Of course, if the vaccine clears the way for the pen shows, those are the places to try and buy.

[Wahl]

:welcome: