The Ultimate Modern VS. Vintage Flex Fountain Pen Comparison

Please join me in a detailed comparison of the performance of the modern vs. vintage flex fountain pens. I compare the modern Magna Carta Mag 600, Montblanc 146 Solitaire against the vintage Waterman 452, Conklin Endura, and Eversharp pocket flex pen. Enjoy, and please do not hesitate to leave me a feedback.

[@omeryehezkely3096]

You can take the Mag 600 nib unit and transfer it to any Jowo based fountain pen.

[@Shak-MD]

Thanks for this great tip. I had tried this, and instead of the unit twisting off, the whole nib/feed came out [nice QC]. After your comment, I warmed it up in water and twisted it off ;) :) Now it is resting in the Kyuseda Kakari with a titanic ink reserve!! This is the best thing ever :) :) Thank you :)

[@omeryehezkely3096]

@@Shak-MD I'm glad it was helpful:) Keep your excellent videos coming 👍

[@djnelsonjr]

Great demonstration and pen selection. I do want to suggest you have a look at Fountain Pen Revolution's Ashoka with an Ultra Flex nib. I just got one in 100% ebonite. It has the size and shape of an MB 146 and vintage feel of the material. The nib is very soft and responsive, even comfortable for everyday writing. Gold nib upgrades are available for around $145 but I ordered the pen as I described for around $50. That's $Fifty, 5-0 dollars. I discovered affordable luxury and wanted to share.

[@vnikyt]

Got that ultraflex nib on a Himalaya V1 during a sale over a year ago. Was my first flex nib+pen and I got 2 of them in Himalayas (different colors). Can't afford any fancy flex pens right now but was obsessed at the time with the loveliness of flex writing and wanted one. Must admit that the FPR ultraflex made me fall out of love with flex nibs pretty quickly. The scratchiness when writing thin, the amount of pressure you have to apply to get a fat line, and I use Tomoe River paper for 95% of my writing, the railroading despite using a wet ink, the frequent adjusting while writing--it all just eroded my desire to learn the kind of handlettering. Do you have any hints for me re the FPR ultraflex, to get a better writing experience? I did use Rhodia paper and premium copier paper to practice, but it was just not pleasant writing at all

[@Shak-MD]

Great suggestion! I should check out the Ashoka.

[@AndrewWertheimer]

Nice demonstration of the power of flex pens along with caveats of priming and ink selections. Happy writing.

[@Shak-MD]

Thanks.

[@Plhmel561]

Beautiful vintage Conklin and Waterman. I have four vintage Wahl Eversharp fountain pens. 3 Skylines and a Streamline. One of the Skylines is a flex nib. Great fountain pens. Great review and comparison!

[@Shak-MD]

Thank you. Those are amazing pens. I have an Eversharp Doric in the works. With adjustable nib- I'll be sure to show it off. Such an awesome nib.

[@FountainPenNews]

Oh wooowwwww. I'm racing to hunt for waterman nibs! I have a vintage pilot eyedropper a bunch of fountain pen revolution flex nibs but now I have a new mission. Thank you!!

[@Shak-MD]

Hi get'm., worth the hunt.

[@forgotMyUsername100]

Thanks for the comparison! I've been eyeing the mag600 for a while. Your audio is rather quiet, and when I played the next video I had to turn it down like 6 notches.

[@Shak-MD]

Thanks. Sorry for the audio. I will have to do something to up the volume ..

[@laythalghaba5035]

Hi just don't include the music, I'd much rather hear you!

[@Shak-MD]

@laythalghaba5035 Thanks, I greatly appreciated the feedback.

[@KentFilleman-it8vp]

It is easy to replace the sac in a vintage Waterman’s lever filler.

[@Shak-MD]

I have to learn the skill 😀

[@inkflexibilities5399]

Hi Shak, the Magna Carta mag 600 actually uses jowo #6 nib unit, so you can easily screw it in any Jowo sticks of your choice ☺️

[@Shak-MD]

That would be Nice I tried to just pull the nib...it didn't dit anywhere..

[@inkflexibilities5399]

@@Shak-MD The nib unit of mine just came unscrewed when I twisted it. Maybe the nib unit in yours was glued in the thread? But yeah, the feed and housing are proprietary, the thread turns out to be a Jowo #6 nib unit.

[@Shak-MD]

@inkflexibilities5399 mine didnt turn 😞

[@Shak-MD]

UPdate----I heated the section hear melting point [not really], and soaked it...I was able to pull it off. Now it is in the Kakari!! What a tank of ink. This is the best thing now!

[@forgotMyUsername100]

Have you tried eyedroppering the Mag600? A lot of converter pens have trouble with flow. I've been eyeing the mag600 for a few months now, everyone seems to really like the nib & I'm wondering if I should get one to nib-swap or see if Magna Carta puts it on another model.

[@Shak-MD]

I have eyedropped it. It works like a charm...but it is not what the rep necessarily recommends. Hardik from Magna carta said he had not tried it. I can confirm it works great. As for nib swap...it doesnt fit over feed or my p36 asvine, jinhao 9019, majohn c4....not a good swapper..lol.

[@forgotMyUsername100]

@@Shak-MD oof, I had assumed it was standard #6. Thanks for the heads up! You're a nib swapping hero.

[@Shak-MD]

Based on others' comments it is. Mine was just stuck and wasn't unscrewing. I was able to unscrew it with some negotiation [heat etc]. I have it on the very awesome Kyuseda Kakari pen now :)

[@wolf_ceit_witch]

I really want to find a Waterman #5 flex nib for one of my 9019 pens. I have a custom Flex on one of them, but would love to have a vintage on one. Do you know off hand if the Waterman #2 is the same size as the #6 because I can see if I can put that on the 9016 -- I found a flex #2 for $12.

[@Shak-MD]

#2 is tiny. It is closer to Jinhao 82 In size...more like Kaweco sport. It will not fit 9016.

[@wolf_ceit_witch]

@@Shak-MD Ah... Do you know which is close to #6 and thank you for responding

[@OctavianTeodorescu]

Awesome video! Thank you! Where did you buy the waterman nib you've put in Jinhao?

[@Shak-MD]

Thanks! I got it from a friend in Vancouver. You can find some on pen shows, also on ebay sometimes. Best to call up or link up with a vintage pen dealer. They are relatively well priced.

[@adurgh]

How do I obtain a Jenhow with a flexi waterman nib? As for the Mag 600, you mentioned it’s too soft so that means it’s not as responsive as a vintage flex nib; but yet you say it’s the closest to vintage flex?

[@Shak-MD]

I got the Waterman nib from a friend who deals with vintage pens in Vancouver. You can find them in the pen shows, or on ebay. It needed a bit negotiating with the Jinhao to fit over the feed, but it works great :)

[@karthikeyanbhaskaran5417]

I tried the Jinterman with a #5 Ideal nib. In my case the nib feels a bit short though and not as robust as it appears in your experiment.. like, it works for me too.. But if I want, I can slide the nib off. Did you have this issue?

[@Shak-MD]

I can also slide the nib off with a good tug. But it seems pretty secure. I did have to splay the nib open a bit before it fitting securely. It works great, and tbh, is the best of both worlds. Congratulations, and enjoy.

[@karthikeyanbhaskaran5417]

@@Shak-MD Thank you!

[@karthikeyanbhaskaran5417]

I did another swap of the 5 Ideal nib to a Navhalur Original+. Snug fit, vac-filler barrel.. I expect this should work also on the Asvine Vac filler as they look very similar.

[@laythalghaba5035]

I'd like to buy the conklin, what's the nib called?

[@Shak-MD]

I know it as Vintage Conklin Endura. Hope you find one. I love it. ❤️

[@Sago18]

Can we not put the FPR 14 k #6 Flex nib to work on JINHAO 9019? How about putting the Mag 600 nib on the same pen!?

[@Shak-MD]

I have not tried fpr. But Mag 600 did not fit.

[@forgotMyUsername100]

I put the FPR steel ultra-flex on the 9019 -- it fits and appears to have good feed-contact, but has been fussy for me. I thought the feed was dry, but Shak-md shows it working great with that vintage flex nib. So maybe I just need to fiddle with it more, I haven't heat-set yet.

[@tbayless8324]

I had to put the nib and feed in real hot water to get all the junk that floated out of it. At first it backed up on me and had ink all over my hands and the pen. Works great now and when you put it back together apply silicone grease to the threads to prevent ink from leaking. @@forgotMyUsername100

[@teensymarie]

"It's the worst converter in the history of converters." No pulled-punches detected. 😂

[@Shak-MD]

I meant it in the nicest way 😀. I finally put the nib in a worthy pen 😀

[@teensymarie]

Truly. I hope they take the feedback and make this the best it can be. It was just funny. 😅