FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Future Products

  • When will your gold flexible nibs become available? We are prototyping our gold nibs and finishing up the production line. We don’t have a firm date for release to market. First to market will be a flexible nib for Pelikan M2xx/4xx/6xx/7xx pens, followed by JoWo #6 and Bock 250.
  • What type of flexible nibs will you make? We plan to make gold flexible nibs in two styles. The first, the artist nib, will emulate the writing performance of the Wahl Eversharp adjustable nib with the nib set for full flexibility. The second, the calligraphy nib, will emulate the performance of a Zebra G dip nib. We will also offer steel flexible nibs, but these nibs will not be manufactured by Flexible Nib Factory.
  • When will replacement feeds for the Pilot 912 / 742 FA be available? These replacement feeds are now available as 912E and 912EN.
  • What are your plans for <insert favorite nib here>? We have a long list of upcoming products. In no particular order: Pelikan M1000 feed and collar; Bock 250 feed and housing; JoWo #6 and Zebra G in PenBBS; Zebra G in Conklin; Bock #8 feed and housing; Pelikan M800, M400, and M300 feed and collar; JoWo #6 and Zebra G in TSWBI 700R; Conklin Omniflex feed and housing.
  • Can you make an ebonite feed for <insert favorite nib here>? We have discontinued custom feed work for modern nibs, other than the ones listed in the previous question. We will continue to make custom feeds/housings/collars for vintage flexible nibs.
  • Can you make a housing for <insert favorite nib here>? We accept work on a time allowed basis to put an existing nib and feed into NON-CONVERTER Bock 250, Bock 380, JoWo #6 and PenBBS. The price is generally $50 for the CNC program, plus $12-15 for each housing, plus shipping. We will manufacture the custom housing at the same time as we make another product of that type, to save machine setup time. Generally, we make housings about every other week, and we can generally support a new custom design every other week. On occasion, if we feel the housing would be interesting to a broad market, we will waive the design fee, and make it a standard product. Please give us your ideas.

Miscellaneous

  • Can we stop by for a visit? Unfortunately, the answer is no. We are not setup for visitors. We don’t have a receptionist, a lobby, or even a conference room. This is a manufacturing business and it is a dirty and smelly place. There are photos on our Instagram if you are curious about our equipment and product development.
  • Do you offer volume pricing? Yes, contact us for details.
  • Can I help you test one of your new product? Quite possibly yes. We generally put out calls for alpha/beta testing of our products via our Instagram account. If you have the skills and the pens, then you can probably help out.
  • I have a cool idea for a product! Excellent, contact us. We are always interested in new product ideas; the bulk of our products are from customer requests. We can’t guarantee we will make the product, but we will certainly consider any and all ideas you may have.
  • Can you modify/grind/make flexible my nib? Unfortunately, no. We don’t offer any nibmeister services, nor do we make or sell fountain pens.
  • Can you repair my pen? Sorry, no, we don’t repair pens.
  • Can you provide a mechanical drawing for <insert product>? In general, no. Most of the products we make don’t actually have mechanical drawings or 3D models. They exist only as parameter lists in a C program that is used to generate G-code programs for our CNC machines.

Product Questions

  • What is the difference between the J6E and J6EF? The J6E is designed to be used in pens that use a cartridge converter. The J6EF is designed to allow use of JoWo #6 nibs in some common Indian made eyedropper pens that use a 1/4″ (6.3mm) feed and are friction fit into the section of the pen. The J6E and J6EF are not interchangeable, though they both are designed for JoWo #6 nibs.
  • When I tried to unscrew my J6E / J6ER / J6A nib assembly from my pen, the nib and feed came out, but not the housing. How can I get the housing out of my pen? The easiest way is with a gage pin (plug gage) that can be purchased off Amazon for about $3. The size you need for J6E and J6ER is 0.245″; for J6A, 0.247″. Simply insert the gage pin into the housing so it is firmly embedded, then turn counter clockwise, and the housing will unscrew very easily. You can often do this with a wooden pencil as well, just cut off the lead before you insert it into the housing. The best way to avoid this problem is to avoid over tightening the nib assembly when you screw it into the pen.
  • Can I use <insert favorite nib here> with the J6E / J6ER / J6A? Probably not, though there are some exceptions. The problem is three fold: one, is the expected diameter of the feed that nib uses 6mm in diameter; second, is the thickness of the base of the nib the same thickness as a JoWo #6 nib; and finally, is the tip curvature of the nib the same as JoWo #6. If the answer to all three of these questions is yes, then the nib may fit, otherwise it won’t. The one possible exception is if the diameter and thickness of the nib is the same as the JoWo nib, then it is possible to heat set the J6E / J6ER feed to fit the nib. The J6A feed can’t be heat set.
  • Can I use any size #15 nib with the 743 series of Pilot FA replacement feeds? The 743 series feeds are designed specifically for the FA nib, but other size 15 nibs that use the same feed will generally work with the other nib types. One exception is the music (MU) nib, which won’t work, as it uses a different feed design. Please note that the 743 series feeds may make your nib wetter than you may prefer. For nibs other than FA, you will probably want the 2 slit design (743EN/743ENR) rather than the 3 slit design.
  • When I use one of your products, the nib is too wet / blobs / leaks. First, make sure that the nib and feed are fully installed into the housing and they are not loose. If not, take out the nib and feed and reinstall. In general, if you install a nib / feed into one of our housings and your pen is too wet, blobs ink, or leaks, this means there is a path back to the ink reservoir (cartridge, cartridge converter, barrel of pen for eyedropper) outside of the nib assembly. For a cartridge converter product used with a cartridge converter, the most likely cause is the cartridge converter seal around the tip of the converter (that fits on the nipple of the nib assembly) is too loose and lets air into the reservoir and causes the leak or blob. Replace the cartridge converter with a new one. For an eyedropper pen or other type of pen such as a vacuum filler or piston filler, there are two places to look for an air leak. One is at the threads between the housing and the section (the part of the pen that the nib assembly screws into) and the second is where the section screws into the barrel (the barrel holds the ink). This thread is where most problems occur with air leaks on a eyedropper. If your eyedropper has an o-ring here, then make sure it is in place. If your pen uses o-rings in the section or between the barrel and the section, make sure these are in place. If you still have problems, you can use food-grade silicone grease on the threads to stop air leaks. A less common problem is the housing has a hairline crack in it; if this is the case, the housing can be returned for a replacement under warranty.

Ordering and Shipping

  • Will I get a tracking number? Yes, we send a shipping notice when the order is shipped. Be sure to whitelist sales AT flexiblenib DOT com to be sure you will receive our order acknowledgments and shipping notices.
  • Why did my order fail? The most common cause of order problems is an incomplete shipping address. For orders outside the USA, be sure to fill out your city, province/state/suburb, and postal code (for counties that use them). DHL Express requires a phone number and you won’t see DHL Express quotes without one. The other most frequent cause of order failure, for customers outside the USA, is your credit card company or bank has excluded USA transactions. You may need to contact them to pre-authorize charges in the USA.
  • For some reason, I can’t order on your website. How can I place an order? If you are unable to use our website to order our products, please contact us with the items you wish to order, and your location in the world, and we will send you a PayPal invoice and ship upon payment. You don’t need a PayPal account to pay a PayPal invoice, just a credit card.
  • Do you ship to <country>? Almost certainly, yes, we ship to nearly every country on the planet. The exceptions, as far as I know, are Syria, North Korea, and Iran, which are embargoed by the US government. Please note that all tariffs, VAT, and other import taxes are the responsibility of the buyer, as we have no contractual relations with any country outside of the USA.
  • What is the expected delivery time for shipments DHL Worldwide Express Service? For Canada, 2 days, for the UK, 2-3 days, for Europe 2-3 days, for HK 4 days, for Australia 4 days, for China 4 days, all other locations 4 days.
  • What is the expected delivery time for USPS Priority Express International? 6-12 days worldwide.