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View Full Version : WTB - Vintage Flex - XF / Fine nib, under $200 (inc postage)



WirlWind
February 15th, 2014, 04:09 AM
Apparently I'm not meant to have a nice flex pen.

The money I had set aside are now going into the "Don't want to end up on the streets" fund.

Well, maybe next year.

PeppWaves03
February 15th, 2014, 02:58 PM
Why not hang out on Greg minuskins site?

WirlWind
February 15th, 2014, 04:01 PM
Why not hang out on Greg minuskins site?

Pretty much because of this - "(SOLD IN 8 MINUTES, 19 SECONDS WITH 3 INQUIRIES)"

Plus I'm Australian, so his business hours are likely to be when I'm not around to mash refresh.

dogfishhead
February 15th, 2014, 05:37 PM
I'll have to check shipping rates. I could put a good nib on a pen body that's in only so-so cosmetic shape. Not sure if I can cover shipping though.

WirlWind
February 15th, 2014, 05:45 PM
I'll have to check shipping rates. I could put a good nib on a pen body that's in only so-so cosmetic shape. Not sure if I can cover shipping though.

If it writes well (and, as mentioned in the main post, as long as it works / has all its bits. No eunuch pens :P ) , I'd include the postage in whatever price we agreed upon. It would be unreasonable to make the person sending cover the costs :P

PeppWaves03
February 15th, 2014, 06:26 PM
I have actually emailed minuskin in the past and have him exactly what I wanted and my budget and he emailed me with thinks in his queue that would work. I don't make any money off sending you to greg, just a very satisfied customer

WirlWind
February 15th, 2014, 06:36 PM
I have actually emailed minuskin in the past and have him exactly what I wanted and my budget and he emailed me with thinks in his queue that would work. I don't make any money off sending you to greg, just a very satisfied customer

I actually considered sending him an email earlier asking him to save the next EF / F - BBB he gets in for me, but I wasn't sure if he would do that or not. Seemed kind of pretentious to my mind.

But hey, if he'll actually do that, I'll send him an email and see what he's got lying around and I might get lucky :)

::EDIT::

Sadly, he responded with "First come first serve".

I've got a nice conklin on ebay that has 24 hours left and I'll hopefully win, but I'm still open to offers between now and then if anyone has anything :)

dogfishhead
February 16th, 2014, 05:22 AM
I have a waterman 52 woodgrain I could put a nib on. The body and imprints are faded, and it's got some dings on it. I have 2 nibs I think you would be happy with, but I would need to know how light of a hand you write with. One is just a bit firmer than the other, better if you have a bit of pressure on your writing.

It looks like it would come to 200 shipped with tracking. I need an exact address to be sure. Pm me if you're interested, I'll get some pictures together and a writing sample.

WirlWind
February 28th, 2014, 06:42 AM
Just updated the thread.

Seems dogfish has vanished. I've assumed that he was hit by a falling toilet seat from space, so I'm currently in the process of claiming back the money in hopes that my next offer will work out.

I won't be doing deals with anyone not in double digits this time methinks.

00Photo
February 28th, 2014, 07:39 AM
This sounds like what you're after, you just have to clean it REALLY good as it has manufacturing gunk in it from 1930.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131128152102?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2661&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Here's what the writing looks like:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7290/12689020243_bd84464ab3_o.jpg

Crazyorange
February 28th, 2014, 07:59 AM
I recommend Bella pens on the fountain network. I've bought pens from David and he was a top notch seller. Very responsive. He told me I can ask for anything and he can put it together for me. I'm currently saving for a flex pen. I recommend you contact him and see what you can get.

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/classifieds/item/25410-early-sheaffers/

WirlWind
February 28th, 2014, 08:25 PM
This sounds like what you're after, you just have to clean it REALLY good as it has manufacturing gunk in it from 1930.

Howdy mate,

Hard to tell line variation on lined paper. Would it be comfortable hitting at least 2mm? I'm looking for something versatile for both every day writing (I write pretty small, hence trying for an EF / F nib) but I also need it for sketching and larger, more pronounced forms of writing.

From here, it looks similar to another pen I have (in terms of writing) which is a Waterman Stalwart with EF semi-flex Canadian "ideal" 2a.



I recommend Bella pens on the fountain network. I've bought pens from David and he was a top notch seller. Very responsive. He told me I can ask for anything and he can put it together for me. I'm currently saving for a flex pen. I recommend you contact him and see what you can get.

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/classifieds/item/25410-early-sheaffers/

Cheers, I'll send him off a PM and see if he has a spare beat-up old pen he can transplant a sexy nib onto.

Jon Szanto
February 28th, 2014, 08:39 PM
Would it be comfortable hitting at least 2mm? I'm looking for something versatile for both every day writing (I write pretty small, hence trying for an EF / F nib) but I also need it for sketching and larger, more pronounced forms of writing.

Are you absolutely certain of the above? Because most any nib that I've written with that can spread to 2.0mm, draw hairlines, and snap back with the speed necessary for good writing control is NOT the same nib I'm going to be using for "everyday writing". At some point, you are going to give up one side or the other: either less flexibility (at least to those degrees) so you can write quickly and evenly for normal writing, or you are going to have to allow your daily penmanship to not be constantly uniform.

Some of the nibs I've seen closest to achieving your goal are Moore "Maniflex" nibs, not all of which were very flexible. A couple I have manage to give me quite good variation in line width while holding a pretty firm, standard line if I put no pressure on. That said, they don't go down to an XF, hairline standard, but are more in line with vintage Pelikan flexible nibs from the 1950's, just a tad stiffer.

Best of luck. I'd be curious if you find anything that can do that, espcially on that budget.

WirlWind
February 28th, 2014, 09:08 PM
Would it be comfortable hitting at least 2mm? I'm looking for something versatile for both every day writing (I write pretty small, hence trying for an EF / F nib) but I also need it for sketching and larger, more pronounced forms of writing.

Are you absolutely certain of the above? Because most any nib that I've written with that can spread to 2.0mm, draw hairlines, and snap back with the speed necessary for good writing control is NOT the same nib I'm going to be using for "everyday writing". At some point, you are going to give up one side or the other: either less flexibility (at least to those degrees) so you can write quickly and evenly for normal writing, or you are going to have to allow your daily penmanship to not be constantly uniform.

Some of the nibs I've seen closest to achieving your goal are Moore "Maniflex" nibs, not all of which were very flexible. A couple I have manage to give me quite good variation in line width while holding a pretty firm, standard line if I put no pressure on. That said, they don't go down to an XF, hairline standard, but are more in line with vintage Pelikan flexible nibs from the 1950's, just a tad stiffer.

Best of luck. I'd be curious if you find anything that can do that, espcially on that budget.


So far, the closest I've seen was a Conklin 1910's era crescent filler. It was a little on the medium side of fine (around .30), but it was hard enough to write with a soft hand and it went to about 2.8mm

Hairlines aren't exactly a must, (not like a legit hairline) but I gave 0.25 as a starting base. A little thicker won't worry me so much.

Last time I had a few offers that met this criteria for $200 (one I took but got burned on, the other I talked down to 200 including postage and decided to not take it), though the nib was closer to a F than an EF, but it also flexed well past 2mm.

As for the Maniflex nibs, from what I've heard, they tend to have issues with the nib material being prone to cracking.

I might just have to keep an eye out on Minuskin's page, as he often has pens that come close to meeting my criteria.

Jon Szanto
February 28th, 2014, 09:16 PM
So far, the closest I've seen was a Conklin 1910's era circle filler (forgot what it's actually called, but you push the circular bar)
Those are the Conklin "Crescent" fillers. Nice pens, great nibs. I have a Conklin ringtop from the 30's that does what you describe.

The Moore nibs do sometimes have cracks, often at the base. I've probably been a bit lucky (latest bit of luck shown here (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/2378-What-is-your-latest-pen-acquisition?p=68655&viewfull=1#post68655)). And yeah, Greg M. might be your best bet. I still have a hard time picturing any of these nibs being in constant daily use as opposed to more florid handwriting, but I'm always open to seeing new things. Have fun!

WirlWind
February 28th, 2014, 10:30 PM
So far, the closest I've seen was a Conklin 1910's era circle filler (forgot what it's actually called, but you push the circular bar)
Those are the Conklin "Crescent" fillers. Nice pens, great nibs. I have a Conklin ringtop from the 30's that does what you describe.

The Moore nibs do sometimes have cracks, often at the base. I've probably been a bit lucky (latest bit of luck shown here (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/2378-What-is-your-latest-pen-acquisition?p=68655&viewfull=1#post68655)). And yeah, Greg M. might be your best bet. I still have a hard time picturing any of these nibs being in constant daily use as opposed to more florid handwriting, but I'm always open to seeing new things. Have fun!

Cheers.

I remembered shortly after posting that it was the Crescent filler I was thinking of, but you must have caught my comment as I was editing it ;)

As for daily use, it won't literally be every single day, hours on end. I suppose that was maybe the wrong term. I'd be using it for notes during class, which might be a few pages in a week + scribbling random drawings when I get bored etc. I would like to think that would be do-able with a light touch and the proper grip.

Basically, just not a wet noodle should be fine, as I'm already able to write notes well enough with my rather soft #2a Canadian Ideal nib. It's actually quite nice, considering I spent $48 on it ;) It just doesn't open up very far and the feed has issues keeping up sometimes (I really ought to flush it with ammonia mix...)

I actually got first dibs on one of Mr Minuskin's pen offerings the other day (Was a gold filled Wahl, I think) that had some really nice line variation, but he wanted immediate payment and had 7 other people asking about it within minutes of posting lol. I (very sadly) had to tell him to offer it to the next person in the list.

Jon Szanto
February 28th, 2014, 10:41 PM
Well, that's a bummer (about Greg). Get that money set aside in a shoebox so you can pounce! :)

For what you are trying to do, seems like a Namiki Falcon would be a good bet. I'm not sure how you would get a vintage pen - which one assumes would be a lever-filler, since you don't want eyedropper - to either hold enough ink for a day in class, or an easy way to refill while at school. You should be able to get a Falcon <200 and could use cartridges while doing all this. I just picked one up, and it came two days ago. I'm used to vintage flex pens, but I have to say, this is one hell of a pen that goes pretty far (if not all the way) to what you are looking for.

Or wait for Greg. Stock the refrigerator, though, it could be a long wait... :)

WirlWind
February 28th, 2014, 10:51 PM
Well, that's a bummer (about Greg). Get that money set aside in a shoebox so you can pounce! :)

For what you are trying to do, seems like a Namiki Falcon would be a good bet. I'm not sure how you would get a vintage pen - which one assumes would be a lever-filler, since you don't want eyedropper - to either hold enough ink for a day in class, or an easy way to refill while at school. You should be able to get a Falcon <200 and could use cartridges while doing all this. I just picked one up, and it came two days ago. I'm used to vintage flex pens, but I have to say, this is one hell of a pen that goes pretty far (if not all the way) to what you are looking for.

Or wait for Greg. Stock the refrigerator, though, it could be a long wait... :)

From what I've heard, though, the Falcon is basically just a soft, semi flex.

I already have a Waterman Stalwart with #2a Canadian Ideal nib that's EF - B. It spreads its legs with the slightest of touches, but I'm still able to do faster writing with it due to light hands. The only thing it's missing is line variation, because it's such a tiny nib.

When I take notes with it (It's a level filler btw), it has plenty enough ink for the day as the line is an EF when I write with it, with a tiny hint of some line variation. Also, the pen pretty much just sits in my hand and it writes under its own weight. So even with a full-flex nib, I'm fairly sure I'd be able to take a few pages of notes with it. The rest of the ink would probably go on random doodling between classes and during boring bits etc :P

Remember, these pens were used as daily writers back then, so if they can do it, I can too.

Oh, and I said I'd prefer not to get an eyedropper, but would be willing to take one if it was a good deal (or some silicone grease was thrown in :P)

Jon Szanto
February 28th, 2014, 11:02 PM
Remember, these pens were used as daily writers back then, so if they can do it, I can too.
Indeed. I also factor into the mix that life didn't move at the breakneck speed it does today. ;)

Well, sorry that the Falcon, un-modded, won't suit your needs. I like the look of that Scottish pen if you are open to ED as a solution (wish I hadn't spent the next few month's pen budget already). Well, you have your work cut out for you, but the hunt is pretty fun in and of itself...

WirlWind
March 1st, 2014, 03:54 AM
Updated thread,

Just found out I'm being kicked out, so the money's going towards not ending up on the streets. Woohoo.