A different way to add flexiness to your Noodlers flex nibs!

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Pterodactylus posted a great DIY thread on how to add flex to your Noodler's flex nibs here:

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/fo...mod/?p=2607667

I do find it requires a tremendous amount of force to get my Ahab to flex. After looking at his how to and then looking at dip pens I decided to try something a bit different. I started a doodle on one of my scribble sheets.



I decided to try to add some small slits along the shoulders of the nib like a dip pen with my Benchmade knives.



It took quite a bit of effort as cutting steel with a knife, even with a CPM-M4 blade, is not very easy. I wound up holding the nib between my knees, placing the knife in the correct spot, then striking the knife with a large hammer. This worked very well and I only needed one box of band aids to stop the bleeding from my knees. The pen now writes flexy with MUCH less effort. I did have to do a bit of nib tine realignment and smoothing as the hammer is not a precision instrument. Both the tines and my knees received a few errant blows. The doctor said I will probably be able to walk again in about a month. It was TOTALLY worth it though, as the writing samples prove:





I'm not a metallurgist so i'm not quite sure what happened, but somehow during the cutting process the nib got very hot and changed colors. It turned two colors and upon closer inspection with a loupe it apparently changed into 23k Palladium.



I hope this was helpful and helps everyone who is having problems flexing their Noodler's Pens.