A cheap and effective flex pen option: #6 Ultraflex nib paired with a JInhao X750 fountain pen

[@deanandreoli1975]

Agreed. When Im drawing, Im so focussed on my lines that the feel of whatever is in my hand is only peripheral. That's not to say I don't enjoy the feel of some pens more than other, but only that the size, shape, weight of a writing instrument never deters me. It's all about that line, baby.

[@mkompan]

I think writers are much more fickle when it comes to pen weight and balance, perhaps because in writing the pen angle and position doesn't change, which can lead to fatigue. When drawing, I find myself constantly shifting my grip, changing angles, etc. which is perhaps why I don't care about potential ergonomic problems.

[@HumbleBearcat]

@@mkompan In my case I'm better off with the fude; thank you for saving my time and money. But I do want to try out the najinata style nib on a cheap pen, can you recommend any that would create line variation in both horizontal and vertical strokes?

[@CliftonBullard]

really enjoying your channel! i got here via flex nibs, but am inspired by your drawing tutorials. reminds me of a slower more human internet :) thanks for the wonderful videos!

[@mkompan]

Thank you, Clifton! Yes there is something retro about just sharing info without thumping music or a million jump cuts.

[@fabian.corpas]

Thanks!

[@mkompan]

Thank you!

[@ad6449]

Thank you for this video on an interesting topic.

[@mkompan]

You’re welcome!

[@sunnymoondog]

Thank you!

[@mkompan]

You’re welcome!

[@thuntz29]

I think a pen that you are not scared of losing it’s one that will be with you longer (unless there’s a pandemic and we’re all stuck inside)

[@mkompan]

Not that my expensive pens ever leave the house, but you eventually get used to carrying them with you. When I first got into fountain pens the idea of spending over a $100 on one sounded insane. Now I try not to buy cheap pens. It's a little bit like advice for the wardrobe. Better to have a few quality pieces of clothing than a wardrobe filled with cheap stuff that looks bad after a few weeks.

[@TheMarioMan247]

These look really good for the money! I know you say these can fit in the x450 and x750, but would these ultraflex nibs fit in a x159 or x950? i often see the x750 compared to these 2.

[@mkompan]

These are surprisingly good for the price. The old version of the X159 (the metallic one) and the x950 will work. It’s a tight fit, so get yourself a rubber grip.

[@TheMarioMan247]

@@mkompan thanks for that, i'll pull the trigger soon and get both

[@TheMarioMan247]

@@mkompan *Update*: after getting the nib and feed to line up properly on the *new (plastic)* x159, the FPR 6 NIB works well enough with the overly generous feed. The feed mostly keeps up and the nib can be used to,say, 80 percent of it's flex; great for deciding if you have enough flex, want more flex, or don't want flex at all. (Although the original stock Jinhao #8 nib was nice, smooth and bouncy, very pleasant with some solid line variation.) However, i have heard horror stories of people *ruining* their nibs after repeated removal and re-entry, and since have bought a Noodler's Ahab and use the x159 with the stock nib. Would you recommend the Ahab with or without the tiny, plastic breather tube?

[@mkompan]

@@TheMarioMan247 I’m surprised to hear that it will fit on the new x159, since the feed is a different size. I’m definitely going to try it. 80 percent is what you’re going to get in most pens. I’ve come the conclusion that the nib itself is the cause of the problems. The Ahab is the pen that works best with the ultraflex. I destroyed that little tube in mine a long time ago, with no change in performance, and feel confident in saying that it doesn’t do much.

[@TheMarioMan247]

@@mkompan Alright, thanks again. NO stress if i lose the little tube.

[@matiasdiaz3808]

I bought a pack of 5 Jinhao X750 and nibs from FPR, tried to replace 4 of them with mediom, fine and broad nibs. Failed with two, the other were a great success. I didn't try to install a ultraflex nib. I think it could be more fragile than the normal ones. I also bought the Himalaya V2 with the ultraflex nib already installed and filled it with Robert Oster Hearth of Gold. It writes amazing, i totally recommend it. It's price was about $50. They sell cheaper pens with this nib installed.

[@mkompan]

Sadly, as much as I wanted to like FPR pens I've had bad experiences with them. I bought two Himalaya V2's (with supposedly improved longer feeds) and neither worked. I've been hearing recently that they're better now, so perhaps it's time to reevaluate. If that's truly the case I'll be overjoyed, because the ultraflex nib is just awesome.

[@matiasdiaz3808]

@@mkompan Oh that's a shame. In my case, even the free eye droper pen that came as a gift writes fine. I bought them one month ago by the way.

[@bradcruise6291]

Agreed. Pen people are from the finer things club(remember The office sitcom) artist not only can adapt, were just better at everything, if we want to be copperplate writer we just do it, paint a portrait....hold my beer

[@mkompan]

Don’t ask us to build a bridge or set a broken limb, but when it comes to holding sticks of different widths and weights we have no equal. :)

[@sushanart]

😆🩷👍

[@HumbleBearcat]

Thanks for your video. May I know does the line variation in both horizontal and vertical strokes or is it just in the vertical strokes?

[@mkompan]

My pleasure. These pen types can only create line variation on the down -strokes. For horizontal lines you have to turn the pen.

[@daytonagreg8765]

I’m pretty sure I understand but if I try the x750 flex pen option I just need my x750 & the #6 ultra flex nib from FPR, right? … Not the “FEED” as well from FPR? I wanted to try the low budget option. Sorry to bother you. Thank you so much for making other artists aware of these options. 🙏

[@mkompan]

That’s correct. Use the original Jinhao feed. And you’re very welcome!

[@danmagoo]

I really like that pen and the UltraFlex nib, and was hoping to manage what you show here, but I've had limited success: So far I've ruined 3 nibs that got their tines spread-open by the process of inserting them into the Jinhao X750 (and one that works "OK", but only by not pushing the nib in as far as it really should be, so the flow is not great). I'm using the feeds that came in the pens, and helping the insertion with just a bit of silicon grease -- but the nib's times still begin to split-apart by the time the nib & feed are properly in place. Do you have any tips or tricks to share about doing this?

[@mkompan]

Sorry to hear that you're having problems! There is a sweet spot where the nib needs to sit on the feed. The top of the feed needs to be .5mm below the tip of the nib. Perhaps you're pushing the the nib in too deep? While pulling the nib out is sometimes a little difficult, putting it back in shouldn't be. Be careful about putting silicone grease on the feed as it can prevent proper ink flow. BTW, you might be able to fix those nibs if the only issue is that the tines are not making contact. Just gently cross the tines over each other a few times.

[@danmagoo]

@@mkompan Thanks for the tips! I will give it another try. The good thing about this, is that at worst, I am not breaking anything very expensive, and I am learning as I go along. Thanks again.

[@stargazer1359]

Hello Marc, the Jinhao you have here is the X750....if I can see clearly. Not the 450

[@mkompan]

Wow, you're right! Thanks for catching that. But this nib will work in both pens.

[@stargazer1359]

@@mkompan reason I noticed is because I really like the 450, not a fan of the 750. But good to know....tell me about these gold JoWo nibs?

[@mkompan]

@@stargazer1359 Here's a demo of a gold Jowo nib with a semi-flex customization: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnKwYZmvrNVkkM0

[@stargazer1359]

BTW, your work is lovely. 💜🕊

[@mkompan]

@@stargazer1359 thank you! :)

[@LexLoofah]

Hi Ik I'm a little late to the party but is there a better combo for a similar/slightly higher price? Or would something like that nib with twsbi eco work? If you do happen to see this and really I appreciate it, I've been obsessively researching for hours but seems hard to find a low/mid price flex for a noob that doesn't require a bunch of messing about.

[@mkompan]

Never too late to the party. Fountain Pen Revolution sells decently priced pens that are fitted with this nib and are designed to work with it. No messing about required.

[@LexLoofah]

@@mkompan thanks for taking the time to reply. Yes I was looking at the jaipur v2 or himalaya v2 but saw endless people online saying how they had so many problems and had to do a load of tinkering and going back forth getting help from fpr etc it scared me off. For a noob the reddit/ online community make it a very confusing process.

[@mkompan]

@@LexLoofah glad to help. The #6 ultra flex is a tricky nib, and usually some adjusting is required in the form of heat-setting, and even then it sometimes runs into problems. Their #5.5 size nib works better, however, is only slightly less flexible and fits into a large variety of pens, including the excellent TWSBI 580. That’s my recommendation if you want avoid FPR pens (which can suffer from poor QC).

[@joentell]

Do you like this combo better than the TWSBI 580 with the 5.5 FPR UltraFlex? What differences have you noticed?

[@mkompan]

Hi Joe. There's not much of difference between these two nibs. The line width without pressure is about the same, but the #6 has more flex to it, opening up to about 1mm vs .75mm in 5.5. I really like both nibs, but the X750 is a heavy, clunky pen so I much prefer the TWSBI 580 setup.

[@joentell]

@@mkompan understood! Thank you. I think you're onto something with these videos. I just ordered some stuff thanks to your discovery!

[@ryokan9120]

Hi, have you ever tried fitting these nibs into a Duke pen?

[@mkompan]

No I haven't. Do any of them use #6 nibs?

[@ryokan9120]

@@mkompan Hi, 2 of my Duke pens use #6 nibs, but I've never tried to take the plastic feeds out as I'm worried I might damage them. I suppose the correct question would have been, do the nibs fit onto the Duke plastic feeds? When I bought my Duke pens, they came with 2 interchangeable nibs (a Fude and a normal writing nib) but the nibs were in the screw-on grip housing, so I never had to detach the nibs or the feeds.

[@mkompan]

@@ryokan9120 in some pens the nibs are glued into the housing unit and can’t be taken apart, so I wouldn’t try to force it. And it varies even within the brand with some models having removable nibs and some not.

[@ryokan9120]

@@mkompan Thanks for the advice! What I love about Jinhao pens is how easy it is to change the nibs without any worry of damage. Also, I have some Jinhao 159s with a variety of nibs including Fude and those 159s are solid brass and built to last an eternity. Thanks once again for uploading these helpful videos!

[@jasongpereira]

Marc is there another number 6 nib fountain pen that will fit in fpr nib. I've tried the twsbi 700 and it hasn't worked properly. I was thinking of the jinhao but the converter is a real turn off as the flex nib drains a lot of ink. So I'm looking for something with a higher ink capacity.

[@mkompan]

The best option seems to be the Noodler’s Ahab. Not the nicest pen, but it has great ink capacity and an ebonite feed. I’ve heard of people successfully putting FPR’s into their Conklin pens.

[@jasongpereira]

@@mkompan Thanks, I'll get the noodler ahab and maybe the konrad too.

[@hambo8773]

Ultraflexes are way too expensive to get in Australian any alternatives?

[@mkompan]

Try looking up Kanwrite ultraflex nibs. They look very similar to the ones from FPR and might be more obtainable in your part of the world.

[@hambo8773]

@@mkompan I changed my mind slightly, I’ve been doing art for a long time and inking a bunch and I have experiences with dip pens and a fountain pen. Do you think an ef kakuno, f twsbi eco and m twsbi swipe would serve me well with platinum carbon ink?

[@mkompan]

@@hambo8773 Those pen/ink combos should serve you very well. Pilot steel nibs are very stiff, but are very smooth and great for putting down consistent lines. The nibs on TWSBI's are very high quality, but also have a bit more spiring in them, so you can tease out a little bit of line variation with pressure.

[@hambo8773]

@@mkompan do you have any other suggestions for pens or have I made a good choice?

[@mkompan]

@@hambo8773 The TWSBI Eco is my all time favorite pen, and though I don't have a Kakuno, it has the same nib as the Pilot Metropolitan, which is fantastic. I think you've made some very good choices and in that price range, you can't do better. To get something better requires a significant jump in price, the Pilot Custom 74 SF.

[@justinw9260]

I'm not sure how you got yours to work without railroading. I tried the same combination using wet inks and it railroads and skips every time. The feed will need opening up probably.

[@mkompan]

Mine just work, and this is something I’ve done multiple times. The feed can widened, but giving the feed a slight bend upward helps it keep contact with the nib when it’s being flexed. I have a tutorial on this, and it consistently improves performance: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKvYiINmodKHjsUsi=UkcnfQY4onIZoKlt

[@ameliabuns4058]

my for #6 doesn't go in :(

[@mkompan]

It’s not an easy fit. A piece of rubber from an bicycle inner tube helps.

[@false-set]

Has anyone tried using the FPR feed with the nib?

[@mkompan]

Are you asking if you can put an FPR feed into a X750? They are slightly thicker and don't fit. There's no need to however, since the X750 feed keeps up perfectly well.

[@false-set]

@@mkompan I was. Thank you kindly for your reply. I bought the feed and nib package just because I don’t know what I’m doing yet lol.

[@chopsticks51]

Thank you for asking this question, you saved me from making the same mistake!

[@ImperatorMundi1]

Hi, you would benefit from setting your camera to manual focus, so it doesn't hunt. Unless you record with a phone. Good videos, otherwise. Many thanks

[@mkompan]

Thanks Grzegorz. I’ve been doing that in my more recent videos.

[@chriscourtney3713]

Like nobody noticed you toss the checkered pen off to the side and grab a different one and start writing with it....

[@mkompan]

So, you’re suggesting what, that I faked the video? The checkered pen was un-inked to show the the nib replacement. The other pen was ready to go for the demo. Both are X750’s with the same nib.

[@grahamparr3933]

Not available in the UK.

[@sushanart]

😇🩷🙏🙌

[@stevehuffman7453]

So the FPR Ultra Flex nib actually flexes? My Noodlers "Flex" Nibs* (2) and Omni "Flex" nib* (*note quotes) sure dont. They both flex about as readily and easily as a normal non-flexing nib; at least not without a LOT of pressure. Considerably more pressure than you would normally use when writing or drawing, and their recovery back to unflexed is very slow. In short, both are a waste of time and funds.🤬😡😡

[@mkompan]

It really does and works great in an Ahab.Noodlers nibs are pretty disappointing, and based on reviews I haven't even bothered with those "omni-flex" nibs.

[@manecobeirao]

Meu dileto amigo, sua introdução é muito longa, é necessário ter um caminhão de paciência para esperar até o colega começar a desenhar. As pessoas hoje no século 21 não tem tempo a perder. Perdoe a minha franqueza mas é a pura realidade. Reveja seu comportamento. Se é que não deseja ser inconveniente. Cordiais saudações artísticas. ( from Brazil )

[@mkompan]

Thank you for your polite comment, Joao. However, my channel is not commercial, and I'm not interested in appealing to those with limited 21st century attention spans. Art takes patience. If you're trying to learn, you have to be patient with yourself and the people you're learning from. For those without the "truckload of patience," there are plenty of other videos with thumping music, bright animations, and more frenetic pacing.

[@chopsticks51]

If anything this video got down to business straightaway??