How to make an overfeed for an #6 FPR Ultraflex nib (and make it work much, much better).
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2024
- In this video, I show you a very simple way to significantly improve the performance of #6 Ultraflex Nib. A favorite of many for its extreme flexibility and affordability, it nevertheless suffers from a significant fault: it's an ink hog that no feed can possibly keep up with.
There's a simple, completely reversible fix however, requiring a canned beverage and about 5 minutes of your time. Prepare to be blown away.
Many thanks to Michael Stevens, who posted a photo of his beer can overfeeds on the Facebook group Flexy Fountain pens, spurring me to do my own exploration.
I broke a piece off of a hacksaw blade that has about 4 teeth intact. I cleaned the sharp edges on the piece of blade where I broke it off the full blade. I took a little piece of wooded dowel rod 1/4” in diameter and cut a slot in one end with the bigger piece of hacksaw blade then super glued the piece of hacksaw blade into it so the blade teeth stuck out the side as much as possible. Basically I made a miniature pull saw. A hacksaw blade is about the right width to slightly widen the ebonite feed in the FPR pens and deepen them. You don’t have to cut the feed very much. A little material removal makes a big difference. So go slowly and test regularly. This will work on the Noodler’s pens as well. The good thing about modifying the feed is that it’s permanent and not as fiddlie as another piece of metal on the pen. You can also use the little pull saw to open the air channels on the feed. But go easy and use a very light hand. If you open up the air channels too much, you can use a little rubber cement to block them off or to restrict air flow.
Widening the ink channel is also a very good way to go, and something I do frequently. The good thing about the overfeed is that it doesn’t make the pen write wetter.
Decided to give 5.5 for another chance also ordered a housing so I can combine my two favorites the fa nib and opus 88 and now this video comes out so sure enough next mission order fpr size 6 and rip apart all my soda and pens
That FA/Opus 88 switch sounds great. Sigh, if only Pilot sold their nibs separately.
@@mkompan yeah that’s the one thing I’m debating with myself since I paid so much for the pen and the ebonite feed I feel like I have to keep it together but other hand I really like the opus body
I want to thank you for making this video because you've saved me money. I had an old dip flex pen that I cleaned up that wasn't holding much ink and needed constant re-dipping, so I took a beer can out of the recycling, cut it up, and wham! A delightful dip pen that holds lottssss of ink! Thanks again!! Cheers!
You're welcome! This overfeed has lots of applications. I'm now looking to see if they can be made from a sturdier material, such as stainless steel.
@@mkompan I was wondering the same thing. In some US hardware stores you can buy shim stock, usually brass, but also in stainless sometimes. If really desperate for steel (?stainless?) stock, a feeler gauge set might work, too.
@@fr.marklichtenstein8892My only concern with stainless steel is being able to shape it. Perhaps brass might be easier to work with.
@@mkompan Ink pH varies widely, I've done some testing on that. pH is only one factor in ink degradation of pens and pen sacs, however. When it comes to metal parts pH could be a serious issue with both aluminum (basic is v. problematic) and brass. Brass is (usually) an alloy between copper and zinc. Zinc and Aluminum are both pretty reactive metals. Zinc is more affected by acids than aluminum. Stainless is not stainproof either, not like glass, but it has much higher corrosion resistance. For the cost of the aluminum (essentially free plus time) it may not be worth worrying about---replace it when you need to. On the other hand, if you can find thin stainless you ought to be able to work with it.
@@fr.marklichtenstein8892 Thank you for that info. Chemistry is not my strength, and I hadn't considered that aluminum is reactive to certain acids. I have noticed corrosion on my overfeeds (that looked like dried ink at first), It's not a big problem since they're easy to make, but I will look into stainless steel, if for no other reason than to make an update to this video.
I put a #5 Flex nib on my Pilot Metropolitan. I carved out the plastic nib and added this over piece from an aluminum can and it works much better. Thanks for this great tip.
Glad it worked for you!
This worked quite well for me on a Himalaya V2. Huge improvement. Thank you!
You are welcome!
You should put a tutorial on how to make a flex nib from a plastic bottle. I think they will go well together.
Are they worth making? I’ve never seen anyone using one.
You ROCK!!
I wish I'd known this so long ago. Quite a few pens that would have been saved.
Ah well...the future is bright! Brighter now, thanks to you!
Thanks! I'm so glad you down this video useful.
This is an amazing idea. I really hope this goes into production
I wish so too!
Great idea. Stacked nibs like Sailor's Emperor or Cross nibs. Headed to the store now. My Opus 88 Jazz with an FPR ultraflex nib and FPnibs ebonite feed worked great for a while then after a week or so started railroading. I thought it might be the ink but maybe the nib conformed closer to the feed over time. You have put a lot of work and thought into flex. It's appreciated.
Thank you, James. I was thinking of getting the Opus 88/FPR/FPnibs combo, so it's disappointing to hear that you're having problems with it. Have you tried heat setting the ebonite feed?
@@mkompan No, but I will, just after trying the overfeed. Should be an interesting evening this week.
Flushed the pen and heatset the feed. All is good. Very wet, not sure if I want it any wetter. 30 - 1" double to triple broad lines in 30 seconds. May try overfeed tomorrow. Pilot Take Sumi ink.
@@jamesmiddleton2856 that’s great to hear. I’ll be ordering an ebonite feed from FPnibs as soon as their store reopens in September.
Good to see another fellow opus modifer!I'm currently having an opus 88 koloro with a vintage waterman 52 heat set with fpnibs ebonite feed and it's currently keeping up well.
I took a spare Noodlers triple tail feed that I got from Noodlers. I bought a triple tail to play with, but I had to write to noodlers because the original ebonite feed was a bit dry and cracked inside the rails of the triple rail feed. So they sent me a complete new section, feed and nib! So i cleaned up the original feed without hesitation...and I ended up putting it in a FPR pen with this style nib, but the pure gold version. It solved everything and hasn't railroaded since. This is an excellent video, that I can do with my cheaper flex pens that I like to play around with. Iam a full time professional artist and i have always wondered about these overfeeds, because i own a very large collect of flex nib pens. Thank you very much for this, and have a good one 👍
Good idea! The feeds on the triple tail are very generous with ink flow, I’ll have to try using with the FPR ultra flex. How does the gold version compare with the steel? I’ve been thinking about getting one, but have been hesitating because I haven’t seen any reviews of it.
Awesome, I’ll have to make one or two. Thanks for the vid!
You’re welcome!
Wow! That's a great invention
Thanks for this.
I have a very fast writing speed, I can make any pen ink starved I write so fast at times. Fountain pen, rollerball, ballpoint, even the fineliner type markers have problems keeping up, XF nibs ebonite feeds and adjusted to be wet as possible still struggle. So this is going to be so much help, no more having to swap pens while they recover during a manic writing session.
Your welcome! Goodness, you sound like maniac. :)
Great video!
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
I can’t wait to come home after work and try again, that cream coloured Jinhao you’re using in the video, I got it after watching another video of yours and after trying and testing it with the #6 FPR Ultra-Flex nib I gave up because regardless of the ink there was no ink reaching the the tip, so I was thinking maybe the design of the nibs or the Jinhao has changed over time. This will be my last resort. Thank you so much for always providing so much help!
You’re welcome! The FPR/Jinhao set up is tricky, and you have to get the feed and nib alignment just right to get it to work. The overfeed helps a lot, however.
Too cool. Some day when I'm feeling adventurous and/or bored, I'll put one in my FPR Ultraflex, currently sitting in the drawer. Thanks.
It is pretty cool. It's not often that you come upon such a simple fountain pen hack that actually works.
Woaw, this is very interesting, thanks a lot ! I will try this soon :-)))
You’re welcome!
Best info out there on youtube for anyone who wants to step up their flex game 😃.
Btw I have done a similar thing before by sticking a piece of cello tape onto a pilot FA nib before. Fairly unsightly 😅but the flow is nuts
Thank you! If you haven’t bought an ebonite feed for your Pilot FA from the flexible nib factory, do so post haste.
@@mkompan It finally arrived. It works wonderfully and I haven't even heat set it. I don't have to prime it or stick on a piece of tape anymore. It just works!
@@kanck7909 congrats! With that feed there’s really no more reliable flex pen. No tinkering, no priming, no drying out, railroading, dripping, etc.
Interesting video I've seen this done a few different ways this one seems more permanent than the tape method.
I came to another solution to increase flow but may look into this as it would save some fiddling each fill.
It’s semi permanent. I’ve found that the aluminum corrodes over time, depending on the PH of the ink. I would take the over feed out between uses, or just replace them once in a while.
@@mkompan I could see that, aluminum can cause problems in liquid cooling loops for computers if there are other metals in the loop through galvanic corrosion.
Could potentially use a brass shim but that could also corrode depending on the grade.
I was thinking of trying some thin plastic off a clamshell package.
I spent so long adjusting my Noodlers Ahab and couldn't get it to work right. I cleaned it and put it away with plans on ordering a new feed and nib from FPR but one overfeed and strip of tape later it *seems* to be better.
The Noodler's experience can frustrating, but don't bother with the FPR feeds, because the Ahab feed actually works better.
@@mkompan even the Flex feed? It looks like a canal! (part of my dealings with the Ahab was scraping some material out of the ink channel)
@@christopherridge3900 the canal on the Ahab feed is already deeper than the FPR feed.
Well done! Superb! I am actually waiting to receive the Himalaya v2with ultraflex! Asi like fast writing ,my fear is always the railroading! For sure I'll try your trick, thank you so much! A question how do you do the feed heating trick? I knew only to cut a larger chanel in the feed
Thanks! There are lots of tutorials out there on heat setting. Here's a good one from Fountain Pen Revolution: czcams.com/video/u7xG5535d68/video.html
@@mkompan thank you!
Great video! Have you ever tried your overfeed idea on a Noodlers Triple Tail? Mine is a great pen but I can't really use it to full potential because the feed just can't keep up.
Thank you Doug. I haven’t tried with the Triple Tail, because I haven’t had issues with the feed. The nib is in a housing unit which will make inserting the overfeed more difficult. It should work in theory however. Love your channel (especially your folding pen Ahab video). Just subscribed.
Just ordered at FPR :)
Which pens do you recommend for pairing with the ultra flex no 6 nib? Do you have some videos about it? Thank you very much for your advice. Loving your content
Thank you! To my mind the best pen for the FPR Ultraflex is the Noodler’s Ahab.
Thanks for posting this.
Perhaps this has been addressed and I missed it: I use my Jaipur V2 with the ultra flex for drawing and adore the line variation. I never struggle with railroading but burping and pooling is enough of an issue that I'm kinda over using it at all.
Will this assist with that issue?
Cheers.
You’re welcome. The overfeed doesn’t really address burping or dripping. Those issues can sometimes be resolved by heat setting, which helps the alignment between the feed and nib. Look for videos on how to do this (there’s one made by Kevin of FPR).
Hi, Just wanted to ask if sanding the aluminium is needed? I made a second overfeed without sanding it and its working even better than my first after some adjustments and I don't want to mess it up by taking it out and sanding, thanks.
I sanded the overfeed for aesthetics, and to help it fit into tight housings. The guy I learned this from didn't sand his, not should you if it's working for you. Aluminum corrodes over time (depending on the Ph level of the ink), and perhaps leaving the plastic coating will help the overfeed last longer.
This is great !!
Thank you Guillame!
@@mkompan Your nice channel inspired me to order a bunch of Jinhao and several nibs, I'm going to have some fun in the next weeks modding them in flexy franken pen :)
@@Kliffot Glad to inspire you, Guillame! Let me know how it goes.
@@mkompan Just finished a Jinhao 159 with a Noodler flex nib. Tried it first in a pen holder, wow stiff nib indeed.
Thought it would be easier to mod on the Jinhao. I adapted the curve with pliyer, the tail was then too wide, so I "shaved" the side with a dremel. Still not good, it still gets stuck, the steel is just too thick. So again dremel, shaved half the lengh of the nib to make it thinner. I also grinded the shoulder like the FPR ultraflex and deepened the two main channel of the feed.
Okay now it fits perfectly... and hurra it works great !! Didn't have to heat set or add an overfeed, the flow is perfect with my tweaked Epson pigmented ink. The flex is much better but still on the firm side, I could grind more to get more flex but I think it's okay as it is, that pen is mainly for drawing. Some firmness gives more feedback and precision on the lines variation I think, and i'm happy of the control I have on the very fine lines.
Lots of work but i'm glad it's a sucess :)
@@Kliffot Nice Guillaume! Noodlers nibs are fun to play with. I've added additional flex by narrowing the shoulders, and making the cut-outs larger, and it works quite well. BTW, those FPR ultraflex nibs are made by company in India called Kanwrite. I don't know if it's true elsewhere, but in the US you can buy them on a number of sites for considerably less than the FPR price.
Nibs that already have flex are easier to add additional flex to than nibs that have no flex at all. I would love to learn how to flex mod steel Jowo nibs. Perhaps that will be my next project.
I really appreciate your ingenuity in maximizing the output of the FPR Ultraflex nib using an overfeed that you made yourself.
The overfeed idea reminds me of the suggestion that Nathan Tardiff, himeself, offered. He suggested that the user affix a piece of clear plastic tape over the nib. Not pretty, Mr. Tardiff said, but effective. Have you tried that technique?
Thank you! It’s not my idea however, just something I picked up
and developed from someone in Facebook group (and gave him credit).
I watch Nathan’s channel and have seen the tape trick. It’s definitely faster and probably puts les stress on the pen, but I find that it doesn’t work quite as well.
Thank you for that last comment, adding to my need for information.
Marc, I've found that a little roll of stainless steel foil is the best material so far. It is a bit thinner, and needs no abrasion. You can make many overfeeds from the roll. I ordered mine from Amazon.
Thanks Michael! I’ll look into it
(and perhaps make an update to this video). Incidentally have you seen the flex mods made by Flexpiriments? He just sent me one of his nibs. It’s pretty rough, but works super well.
No, I haven't seen those Flexpiriment mods, unless he's the guy on flexy fountain pens who makes those hugely flexible arrow-cuts in the nibs. I'll do some searches. :). @@mkompan
@@mikestevens6800 yes, same guy!
1:26 You mentioned that the Noddler's Ahab does a better job at keeping up the flow but what about the Konrad? I have a Konrad and a FPR U.flex nib. I have tried fitting the nib in the Konrad but it seems the inner shape of the section and the feed makes the tines spread out a tiny bit permanently. Maybe I pushed the nib in too deep or I could have heat set it. Although, I didn't continue trying and luckily I bent the nib back into shape. Did you not have the same problem with Ahab?
With all Noodler’s pens It’s a question of adjusting, but it does sound like the nib is too deep. Heat setting is necessary for the pen to work well. The Ahab is a better fit for the FPR nib, but the Konrad should work fine.
In one of your other videos you recommended replacing the nib in an Ahab pen with an ultra flex nib from FPR. I did that and found that and i was disappointed to discover that unless I drew or wrote very slowly it would railroad. I just found this video on making an overfeed and I'm going to try making one. I don't understand the mechanics of how the overfeed provides more ink when it just sits on top of the nib. Would you please explain how this works to provide more ink?
A few things to try before making an over feed: adjust the nib and feed so that the feed is as close to the tip of the nib without getting in the way. Then heat set the feed using hot water. There are plenty of tutorials on how to do that on CZcams, including one by the owner of FPR. Also, try a few different inks, since performance will vary greatly. The pen should work very well without the use of the over-feed, which should only be used if you’re one of flex-fanatics that want to really push the nib. As for how the overfeed works, I think it does two things: it keeps a droplet of ink on top of nib, providing extra flow. It also keeps slight pressure on tip, preventing it from lifting off the feed too much, breaking the flow of ink.
the issue is that my nib won't fit in with the thickness added, in the x750, and it's super hard to get it in
the silicone ring looks funny but works, maybe I'll just... use a bit of glue!
It is a tight fit. I would avoid glue. You can use a little strip of clear tape, which has a similar effect.
Did you get your idea from Fountain Pen Network - experiment with flex discussion - duckbillclinton's overfeed mod photos?
This idea came from Michael Stevens, who posted some photos of his makeshift feeds on a Facebook group called Flexy Fountain Pens. I don't know where he got his inspiration, but this isn't exactly rocket science, and I'm sure many people have come up with similar designs
Have you tried this with the Noodle's Triple Tail?
My Triple Tail works just fine, so no I haven't.
Does the aluminum rust after a while and is the aluminum a tight fit? Also, which one do you think the mod works best with, Ahab or Himalayan? Is t
It does corrode over time, but it depends on the ink. My advice is to take out the overfeed after using it. It’s tight enough not to fall out, and is easy to remove from the Ahab and the Himalaya. I prefer the Ahab, as it already has better flow.
@@mkompan Thank you for the response. Also, is your favorite flex pen combo still the Opus 88 with the custom FPnibs nib? Thinking of saving up for one of them.
@@singingtree9862 It is! The #6 with the Opus 88 demonstrator is wonderful, but the #5 semi-flex combined with an Opus 88 Picnic is also great and the cheaper option..
@@mkompan Looking forward to getting one myself with the nib you recommended.
Which works better, the Ahab and over feed or the fpr Himalaya and over feed?
The Ahab works a touch better.
Have you ever considered or tried something like this on a Pilot FA?
I wouldn’t try this on an expensive pen. The best way to improve flow on the 912FA is to order an ebonite replacement feed from the Flexible Nib Factory.
@@mkompan thanks - my hesitation as well but was curious none the less. Thank you!
Could you link the silicone rings you used?
I can’t sorry. I have so many of them lying around from various projects that I don’t know where they came from.
This is interesting. So the Noodler's Ahab standard Ebonite feed is better than the extended Ebonite feed from FPR that was designed for their Ultra Flex nib!?
If I known this I would have bought the Ahab and not the Himalaya V2!
The Noodlers feeds have deeper channels, which provide better flow, but FPR has supposedly made improvements to their feeds, so I’m
not sure this still the case.
@@mkompan Interesting. Got my Himalaya V2 a couple of years ago.
Has anyone tried this in a jinhao 100?
The noodles ahab words with the FPR ultra flex?
Yes, and very well.
Amazing. So good to know. Which other pens does it work well on? I saw that it works on the jinhao pens...which I don't love.
Any others that I'm missing?
Awesome video btw.
@@zollyclaman thanks! This seems to work with pens with friction fit nibs (as opposed to with housing units). I’ve had success with all of the TWSBI pens.
Why does the overfeed work?
I’m sure there’s a better, more technical explanation, but the over feed makes contact with the tip of the nib, allowing ink to pool there. This provides a little extra ink when you’re flexing the nib.
While the instructions are splendid and the final product looking well-made, making an overfeed from aluminum is a wasted effort, as it will quickly corrode when in contact with most inks. I recommend instead (and much easily) to cut out a piece of thin plastic, which will last indefinitely, and performs much better due to the inherent flexibility.
You're absolutely right about the corrosion, which is why I remove the over feed after use and clean them. And you can make a bunch of these in a few minutes. I haven't been able to recreate the shape with plastic. Perhaps one can find a thin sheet of steel that might work (though it will also be harder to work with).
@@mkompan Of course, I should have mentioned that with proper maintenance the aluminum feed would last much longer.
I've tried making it work with a piece of steel before, but the steel (at least the one I ground up) made it difficult to flex.
When I refer to plastic, I really mean something like a thick piece of tape. It has to be thick enough to spring back to the nib's shape, but thin enough to fit above the nib. They are really easy to make as all you need to do is just cut them out with scissors.
There is a CZcams channel called Flexperiments from whom I've copied the technique to make extremely flexible steel nibs, and all he does is stick a piece of duct tape on the overside of the nib, and it works extremely well, but the downside is that it is not aesthetically pleasing.
@@VSSFantastic and how do you attach them to the nib? The one advantage of aluminum is that it’s super thin and you can sharpen the edge so that it can slip into the grip section.
Funny you should mention Flexperiments because the guy just sent me one of his nibs to try. It works surprisingly well, though the amount of ink it puts down is ridiculous. I’ll be doing a review of it soon.
@@mkompan I just wedge them under the grip section just like I would with the aluminum one. The plastic I am using is maybe just a bit thinner than what you would use in a lamination machine. It does depend on the pen, though.
Regarding Flexperiments, I have to say that I am disappointed that I have spent a few good years collecting vintage flexible fountain pens, only now to discover that his kind of modification beats even a Pink #7 Waterman nib. Not only is the line variation and softness out of this world, but I have tuned my nib so that it writes smooth, too, which is something you just DO NOT get with modern attempts at having flex pens (Zebra G hacks, BlueDew flex pens, Osprey, $175 Regalia nibs?!, etc...)
The thing does not run out of ink, either. Unlike Flexperiments, I used a laser cutter to get a much more precise cut, both for the nib and the plastic overfeed cutout. You're right, it drops an obscene amount of ink, but the funny thing is, unlike all the other flex pens I've had, it NEVER overflows and starts burping. It's almost like magic.