PenBBS 309 Piston Filler Fountain Pen Review, Nib Tuning and Nib Swap

[@timmarshall4881]

Yes indeed. I repeat my real respect and liking for the PenBBS quality and joy they give me and I think others also. I’m glad that you emphasise this again Doug. Best to all. Tim Marshall

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you, Tim! It is like a great secret. You want everyone to know, but you don’t want to let the secret out so millions of people will spoil it! LOL

[@agradoville]

Attention to detail! Wouldn’t expect anything less from an old drafting teacher. Great review and Instruction for us fountain pen noobs. Fascinating ink bottle and genius design. Love it. Sharp looking pen here. Starting to really like the PenBBS line of pens. Something for everyone and with your reviews I always know which ones to look closer at and which ones to shy away from. Thank you for that.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Much appreciated! :D

[@chrisrap52]

I 've had many 308s for a while. No matter what I did piston would stick after a day on most of them. I disassembled, thoroughly cleaned & greased, still got stuck. My theory is that the position turns on the rod, which allows you to reassemble & have piston fully move without having to align threads like on a Pelikan. As you've seen with 492 these positions can stick. I keep piston down 1/2 turn so I always pull it up before pushing it down. This frees the position & it moves easily after that for a day. Some owners have frozen the piston on the rod to fix this. I suggest a Dark Paint for your enjoyment, Smog style with very dark veins, not white.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thanks, Chris! I enjoyed your 355 (improved) video review very much. And thanks for the shout-out! :) After tinkering with the 309 for a couple weeks now, I found the very solution you mention where I keep the piston with travel room backwards to unlock it. The 492 can spin (as you demonstrated) and the 355 (old style) just requires a soft touch with turning the rod into the piston. I've looked at dark paint before. Very interesting finish.

[@AdamGoodson]

PenBBS just posted up the 308 in Smog!!! It looks so awesome! I had to get it! And then I came here to comment about it and to let everyone know about it!

[@InkquiringMinds]

Awesome! Thanks, Sam! I've got a 309 in Smog.

[@AdamGoodson]

@@InkquiringMinds the 309 looks freaking awesome but as I know PENBBS, they will take their time making more Blue Galaxy Resin pens for a while. But I will settle for a Smog! It made me pretty excited

[@santauxia]

Great tutorial, very much appreciated.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Glad it was helpful!

[@merlinuwe1]

One of your best videos.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Wow, thanks!

[@JoelTurrell]

Prof.Fill, I feel duty-bound to call to your attention that a Montblanc Meisterstuck 146 or 149 can be easily opened from either end of the barrel to service the piston. Now, it is true that you will need to purchase a different tool for each end of the barrel, at a cost of at least $50 each, and that you must expect to destroy beyond repair the first two pens upon which you hone your talents. Can anything beat the thrill of this experience? Perhaps dropping your Leica M3 into Lake Champlain.

[@ichirofakename]

I dropped my Widelux F8 on the sidewalk on the Boulevard Saint-Germain.

[@danielste-marie779]

Joel, years ago I used to do magnet fishing in Lake Champlain never found a camera though.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Back in 1979, I was running across the street with my Minolta XD-11 and 200mm tele lens slung over one shoulder. Half way across the street the strap broke and I was in a sprint, so it dropped and hit my foot just as I was taking a long stride and I drop-kicked it about 20 feet across the road. It was scraped up but worked fine until I sold it to get my Nikon D7100 just a few years back.

[@InkquiringMinds]

LOL. How many magnets did you catch?

[@InkquiringMinds]

Ugh! Been there.

[@Claudia_CG_Garza]

I just got a 309 and found this video helpful! I got mine for the beautiful body (51SF Pink Ice) and not for the F nib because I am a Broad nib lover! Now, I have a few questions - can I put any #6 nib in it? Does PenBBS make a broad nib? and #2 - the grease that came with my TWSBI is NOT cutting it as far as getting the piston to move smoothly. What kind of silicone grease do I need to buy? I am very sorry if these questions seem stupid but I am VERY new to the wonderful world of fountain pens and I am trying to learn as much as I can as quickly as possible. Thanks in advance for any help and advice that anyone can give me.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Hi Claudia. You have to use the same feed and collar that came with the 309. Pull the Penbbs nib and insert the #6 replacement. The 309 has a good amount of cap clearance so you should be okay. Penbbs does NOT has a broad nib but they do have some very interesting calligraphy nibs. As to the silicone grease, you might need something with a little more viscosity than the TWSBI. I use silicone oil that is made for lubricating treadmills for pistons. You can get it at most hardware stores and on Amazon. tinyurl.com/4p5wxevb

[@Claudia_CG_Garza]

@@InkquiringMinds - THANK YOU *very* much for your quick and helpful response! I greatly appreciate it!

[@beemrb]

Great video Doug, thank you. Happy holidays!

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thanks, Beemrb1 Beemrb!

[@ichirofakename]

Slightly Off Topic: Can you recommend a Spark Plug Gap Tool? Specifically, is a .005" smallest blade small enough, or would a .0015" be useful. For working on making nibs wetter. TIA.

[@InkquiringMinds]

I’ve never used more than .002, .003, .004, .005

[@houghwhite411]

Looks like a nicely designed pen, From the scale from one to no, which worthwhile pen would you recommend me to look at?

[@InkquiringMinds]

Are you talking Penbbs? Because there are literally thousands of brands and models and types of pens out there. In Penbbs, for a pen that will take a good deal of ink, like the 309, I would recomment the 456 vacuum-filler as Penbbs' best model.

[@Kenjiro5775]

I think Ranga of India competes well with PenBBS. Came back to say I really appreciated the tuning you showed in this video.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you, Kenjiro5775!

[@Seefood73]

Lovely as ever. I love those PenBBS cuties. I never went for a 309 because I have other piston fillers, but it did set a standard in serviceability that I was disappointed when other pens could not compete with. The other day I actually tried to clean a cheap-O Indian pen from FPR (I think it's an old version of the Indus), expecting to screw it out all the way and be left with the individual parts in my hands. I ended up discovering that most of the barrel was actually two barrels glued together, one slipping inside the other, which both meant I had to glue it back after the cleaning (Bondic worked very decently) plus I knew now why the inner cylinder was so thin, and that I'll never try cleaning the inside again (so lots of extra grease went in there). I doubt they will stop making piston pens altogether, it's a very popular mechanism. I bet they make a new version or a replacement.

[@InkquiringMinds]

I feel your FPR pain. I'm guessing that the new Penbbs 487 will be a magnetic piston filler and will replace the 309.

[@Seefood73]

@@InkquiringMinds well, my 492 has not left China yet, if the tracking is to be trusted (it's not) so I'm trying to postpone judgement on the magnetic piston idea, seeing Chris' issues with it and yours. Is it a legit option or a one-off novelty really?

[@InkquiringMinds]

@@Seefood73 Time will tell. If the 492 IS a limited edition then we won't see them again. Beini mentioned on Instagram that the new 487 will involve a "magnetic filling system". So, there's that.

[@stephanfeinen3923]

Hi Doug, I have a 309 and it also has the stuck-piston-syndrom. Next time it's empty I'll apply some silicon grease and then we'll see. I also have a Moonman M800 (in purple). I had to open the tines a little bit with the brass sheet as it was very dry and suffered from ink starvation. After that procedure it writes perfectly and I'm so impressed with the pen that I'm seriously considering buying one of its ancestors, the Leonardo Momento Zero 8-) Their version has a gorgous non-translucent material in a turquoise color that Moonman doesn't offer.

[@InkquiringMinds]

I bit the bullet on a Leonardo Officina Italiana Momento Zero Blue Hawaii just this week. :D

[@misswoodhouse5720]

Happy Birthday for when or if I missed your birthday. One day I have to write you a letter, I just posted Chris's letter off on friday from Australia. I hope it gets to him quickly. PS. great pen I never had this on my list. My latest is a Fine Writing International when it arrives :)

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you, Ethel!

[@Johan-vk5yd]

Nice video! The fantastic resin should of course have been named ”Smaug”! Cool! Did you ever try widening tines ever so gently with your finger-nails, by lifting each tine near the shoulders? Your guitar nails reminds me of the nails of a japanese nib master, so you should do fine! You might also want to try the same manipulation done in reverse, to make your ”ruined” nib dry up again. (You need to have the nib without the feed when doing it). I hope the feed has not been damaged in the flossing process demonstrated, so that may be the cause of malfunction. Normally the slit of the feed doesn’t reach all the way to the tip of the feed. A blade- gauge is quite hard and sharp and could create a front breech in the slit. In that case you only need to change the feed to rescue the pen.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you, Johan! That's good information. The feed was definitely not the problem. I was over-zealous with the shim and made a V in the front of the tipping material. I doubt it can be reclaimed. But I have another on the way... long long way.

[@Seefood73]

@@InkquiringMinds it can definitely be repaired. If you want to see how badly nibs can get mutilated and still get fixed there is a horror show in the repairs section of nibs.com. don't go there on a full stomach.

[@Johan-vk5yd]

Douglas Rathbun I see! Sorry I didn’t connect the picture, with your description. My lack of attention! OdE made a video about solving such a problem, though. I have had luck using tweezers, but using an anti-theft shim folded over from the outside of the tine is a safer method. As he demonstrated.

[@greatlakescruiser5720]

Wow! Now that was a nice gift. Waiting on my color to come up before I get another Penbbs, but I have two Moonmans (Moonmen?) on the way.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Wonderful!

[@WhatIInk]

Great, informative video.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks, Alan!

[@PickwickTurtle]

I am going to be doing my first pen review some time in the next week or so and 100% I am going to say “Super Fill” now that you have issued a challenge. COME AT ME BRO!! 🤣

[@InkquiringMinds]

Please do! Good on ya!

[@ichirofakename]

You've sold me on the Waverlyesque nib. I went to Etsy and looked at all the 308's, 309's and replacement nibs, and I couldn't detect any upturned nibs. Shopping for this thing is a Baffling Ordeal. Any advice?

[@FrankenBeanzzz]

Anything on the Etsy store listed as Fine or F is the Waverly nib. The round (normal) nibs are listed as REF, RF and RM.

[@ichirofakename]

@@FrankenBeanzzz I thank you.

[@InkquiringMinds]

I see you have one on the way! That's terrific!

[@Adriel-ze6lw]

Imagine, Sir Douglas here doing an all Blue ink review, i.e. every single Blue Ink that he has on his shelves and in drawers And by all Blues, I mean every Blue 👏🌑

[@InkquiringMinds]

Wow! You don’t ask much Adriel! LOL

[@licheenut]

Thank you! So educational!!

[@InkquiringMinds]

Glad it was helpful!

[@pntm2006]

The 309 is the first PenBBS I fell in love with. When I saw the Galaxy 309 in Beini's IG, the urge to have that pen was so high. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get that batch of 309 and got the Infinite instead. The piston issue is disappointing but I was thankful I got exposed to PenBBS through the 309

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you, Priya!

[@bethanyrich2944]

Felling a bit jipped....no musical intro. As always so much info. It is reassuring to see you dismantle a pen so others can troubleshoot or fix problems that do not come with instructions for guidence. Happy birthday!

[@InkquiringMinds]

LOL My apologizes Bethany! The video was already 37 minutes long! And 50% of viewers switch away when I begin with music. I’ll still do them but not as often. :)

[@FrankenBeanzzz]

The 309 is a good pen. This was a good video. I wish PenBBS would throw a broad nib in the mix.

[@InkquiringMinds]

But putting a Bock or Jowo broad into the pen is fairly simple.

[@FrankenBeanzzz]

@@InkquiringMinds Yeah, that's how I run them now for the most part. At this point it's one of the Bobby Mediums or a Nemosine broad or 0.8mm stub installed before I even ink up the pen.

[@cjs_hobbies]

Akkerman chose that name because, Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967 .

[@InkquiringMinds]

Well that’s cool! Good thing I slipped in 5 seconds of “I’m Your Venus” then! :D

[@cjs_hobbies]

@@InkquiringMinds Btw Flossing the feed is also a good idea on dry pens.

[@InkquiringMinds]

CJsHobbies Indeed! But I use an Xacto blade for that.

[@jamerelbe]

Another great review, Doug - too bad I'm still waiting for my 355! [International delivery to Australia is really constipated right now...]

[@InkquiringMinds]

You and me both!

[@stargazer1359]

Sir Doug, those shelves are really filling up back there....BTW, the photo of the young lady reminds me of Rita Hayworth.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you Stacy! I just told my red-headed bride that and she says you just made her day! :)

[@licheenut]

I thought it WAS Rita Hayworth!

[@robertreid7221]

Is it a bird? Is it a plane ? No it's Super Doug and he'll give your pen a bitchin' fill. Brilliant vid Maestro 🤘. ✌❤

[@InkquiringMinds]

LOL! Thanks Robert!

[@ichirofakename]

My 308, inspired by this review, arrived yesterday, in less than a month, from China. I'm not sure why all the excitement over the waverly nib. It seems to be a mini-fude, without the full range of a fullsized fude. Not that that is a bad thing - still useful, just not that unique.

[@InkquiringMinds]

That's exactly what the Waverly is - a mini-fude. I just love the feel of that upturned nib on the page. It must fit my writing angle perfectly.

[@Detman101]

Beauuuutiful!

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@knifenoob5411]

Thx for vid

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you, Knife Noob!

[@Scouzeboy]

Greetings from Australia. What happening to your vocal introductions? Great review as usual. The only problem with this pen is if I bought this as a novice, I would have no idea of how to make the pen work and I would be very unhappy. But despite seeing your A1 video I wouldn't buy one. May I invite you to check out Just Turnings on FB that guy is a great penmeister. I have bought 11 pens from him and currently have my third Emporer being made by him. He is an artisan. He hand makes fountain pens from about $40 Aust - $200. Thanks for your tip on the shimming using a engineering tool. I'll adopt that if you don't mind. Love your style Doug. Keep em coming.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you, Scouzeboy! This video was already 37 minutes long. Plus the fact that I lose 50% of my audience when I open with music instead of getting right to the review. I'll continue putting musical intros together, but just not every video. I'm glad you enjoyed them! And thanks for the info on Just Turnings!

[@Scouzeboy]

@@InkquiringMinds It was a great video Doug I learned something. I may even look at PPBS too they must do converter pens too. Inspiring.

[@InkquiringMinds]

@@Scouzeboy Yes, most of their pens are converters but you can take the converter out and eyedropper them.

[@Lowkster]

Penbbs - agile fountain pen makers

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you, The Lowkster!

[@thomasvn]

"Floss your nib." sounds a little dirty. I think it would look great on a T-shirt.

[@InkquiringMinds]

LOL I like it!! That’s now my idea! ;)

[@Brunkvic]

they look nice but the nibs dont excite me. when i buy a pen its all about the nib for me

[@InkquiringMinds]

Thank you, Brunkvic!

[@BC7Bill]

Nice review. Gone on Etsy. 🙁 Oh well.

[@InkquiringMinds]

Yeah the Smog 309 hasn’t been available for a while. This was a gift from a friend.

[@sushanart]

😇🩵🙏🙌

[@March22012]

Ha ha...”smogging pen”...my friends will never understand!

[@InkquiringMinds]

LOL What friends do? "Pens? Seriously dude!"