After a cascade of failures of our Mazak lathe, the repairs are complete and custom work will resume on April 5.
Thanks for your patience.
Category: News
FPR Ultra Flex Nib Units
We have teamed up with Fountain Pen Revolution to provide an ebonite feed for the excellent FPR Ultra Flex nibs. These are available in three types: 14k gold, two tone, and silver.
Shown below is a writing sample.
New DHL Worldwide Express Rates
Due to a large number of packages going missing, we will no longer offer USPS First Class International service. Fortunately, DHL has provided a very competitive rate for 2-4 day service worldwide at a slight upcharge from the USPS First Class International rate. We will continue to offer USPS Priority Mail International, 6-12 days worldwide.
If you should select USPS Priority Mail International, we will check to see if DHL Express would be cheaper. If it is, we will refund the difference, unless you specifically tell us in a note on the order not to use that service. We will not change the method of shipping if USPS Priority Mail International is cheaper, as it is in rare cases.
ZT7E Discontinued
We have discontinued the ZT7E as the new design of the TSWBI 700R pen does not have a removable nib assembly, and thus, the ZT7E will not fit the pen.
Zebra G Design Review
We are undergoing a design review of the Zebra G products and expect to complete it this week. In the interim, all Zebra G orders are suspended except for ZT7E.
Update: We have found a defect in recent manufactured Z6E housings. If you have a problem with leaks or Zebra G nibs that don’t conform well to the feed, then contact us for a replacement Z6E housing.
We found no defects in Z6EX and ZB6E products, so these are now back in stock for purchase.
We will remake the following housings: ZMM6EX, ZT5E, ZP6EX, ZBEX6E, and ZC6E.
Update 2: We have remanufactured Z6E housings and the part is back in stock.
Update 3: We have remanufactured ZMM6EX and ZT5E housings and are back in stock.
Update 4: We have remanufactured ZBEX6E and ZC6E housings.
Update 5: All Zebra G products are back in stock except ZP6EX; we will remake the housings this week.
Update 6: All Zebra G products are back in stock. ZT7E is discontinued.
Email difficulties
Due to irrational blocking of flexiblenib.com emails by some larger email providers such as Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail, etc., I have added a temporary email address flexiblenibfactory AT gmail DOT com until I can resolve this problem with my ISP (it is probably not their fault).
These larger email providers are attempting to monopolize email services in the guise of spam prevention. You can be sure the utterly useless and corrupt US government will do nothing to stop them.
Production Resumed After Move
We have resumed production after moving into a larger facility. After the move, we found a hydraulic leak in the lathe due to a hydraulic fluid pump used to return hydraulic fluid back to the hydraulic tank from the sub spindle. Though the problem is not fully resolved, a workaround has been found enabling production to begin again. Production was down for about a month, which is why many items are out of stock.
We hope to have the website fully restocked by the end of April. We will apprise all volume customers of the shipping schedules for their orders in about a week’s time. Custom work will resume when the website is fully stocked.
We have ordered a Citizen L12X Swiss lathe which will allow higher volume production and lower lead times. The highest volume parts will be placed on this new machine and lower volume, custom work, and new product development will be done on the Mazak. The new machine will be in place by the end of the year, but we are hopeful that delivery can be pulled in.
Factory Move Update
The factory move is complete. While restoring the machine I use to make feeds, housings, and collars, I discovered a hydraulic leak, so we are down until the leak can be repaired. I would estimate a week before I will be back into production.
I will not be able to make more of the out of stock products until the machine is repaired, so please be patient.
I hope to resume custom work in mid-April and have most or all of the outstanding custom work done by the end of that month.
I am about to order a second machine for making feeds, housings, and collars, but this machine won’t be online until June at the earliest. At that time, lead times will drop significantly and I will be able to create new products, including a line of housings with non-standard converters to allow use of converters with Pilot, Sailor, Platinum, and other nibs instead of being limited to non-converter pens as with current products for these nibs.
Please note our new address, which can be found on the Contact Us page.
Shipping Update
Due to large increases by the USPS, we have had to move to an actual cost + $0.25 for all shipments worldwide. The flat rates we used to provide are no longer offered except for the flat rate FedEx 2nd Day service in the USA.
We hope that the increased shipping costs will not deter you from ordering.
Factory Update
The factory remains shutdown due to illness since December 30. We don’t know at present as to when we will be able to restart operations and begin to restock out of stock parts such as the J6E, Z6E, S6E-XF, SB6E-XF, 912EN, and 912E.
Thank you for your patience.
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