# Standard Fountain Pen Nib Kits



## The Falcons Quill

So i have been selling at shows and have sold many of the PSI based fountain pens knowing they are difficult to replace the nib as they are non standard sizes, and this is disclosed to the customer of course. 

I was looking to delve further down the rabbit hole of fountain pens and show better for useful pens that fit the fountain pens users need better.

Im looking for inexpensive kits $10-15 per kit, that use standard size #5 or #6 nibs to allow for better customer satisfaction and allow me to advise them or provide a better nib to start.

Any help would be great.

*I have read that you can upgraded get sections for the Jr. Gent II but they may not take the standard nibs to start.


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## mikemitchell357

I was hoping someone would have some answers on this, are some of the other sources (Berea, for instance) a better place to find kits with replaceable nibs?)


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## Gregory Hardy

Beaufort Ink - Phil sells Bock #5 nibs with feed that thread into many of the kits.  Reach out to him - he's a very helpful man.


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## magpens

I am going to subscribe to this thread because I am interested in subject but not experienced .


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## Jontello

I agree about Beaufort ink. They have great kits and they do sell kit compatible bock nibs for their pens. The price is the only thing. The question was 10-15 dollar kits. The kits are over 20 usd and then you will need to add the cost of the nib. You are probably looking at 35-40 dollar cost. Great setup but you will pay for it. 

I would also recommend any dayacom fountain pen kits with a number 6 nib. Dayacom uses jowo nibs wich are very well known. These kits run from 15+. You can order nibs from fpnibs.com and they have all kinds of finished. But you are looking at $10 for the additional nib. You will have to remember to add that cost to your sale. But once you start customizing fountain pens for customers you are going to need to know how to tune the nibs and trouble shoot simple issues that they might have. I would recommend first making yourself one of the pens and learning as much as you can about them. 

Hope this helps.


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## Rachgard

I’m going to be looking in to this as well. 


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## Mr Vic

A lot of the newer kits are a #6 these days. Craft Supply USA has few selections for #5 and #6 nibs and Goulet Pens has a range of #6 for nib size and finish. Ernie over at Beartooth Woods has a lot of different nib section compatible with current kits so you can make a roller ball into a fountain pen. There are some other sites that escape me at the moment. Will post when I remember them.

https://www.gouletpens.com/replacement-nibs/c/294

https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/search?term=nib

Bear Tooth Woods - Refills / Nibs / Ink Pumps

Legal disclaimer. . . I'm not associated with any of these vendors nor can I be held liable for how much you spend upon perusing their site.


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## Pierre---

For #5 nibs, I like Vail (Bear Tooth Woods) and Jr Gent II (CS USA) because I know I can upgrade them with Bock nibs sold by Beaufort Inks, from steel to 18 K gold, and most important in several sizes. You only have to unscrew the section with original IPG, and screw the Bock in place. 
I think a lot of other kits fit, check on B I site. 

For #6 nibs, I once made a few Blingless Harvest from Timberbits. A bit harder to change nibs though. 

My experience is that 4 Bock nibs out of 5 need tuning off the box, at least adjusting tines. As Jontello just said, upgrading is a learning.


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## More4dan

Pierre--- said:


> For #5 nibs, I like Vail (Bear Tooth Woods) and Jr Gent II (CS USA) because I know I can upgrade them with Bock nibs sold by Beaufort Inks, from steel to 18 K gold, and most important in several sizes. You only have to unscrew the section with original IPG, and screw the Bock in place.
> I think a lot of other kits fit, check on B I site.
> 
> For #6 nibs, I once made a few Blingless Harvest from Timberbits. A bit harder to change nibs though.
> 
> My experience is that 4 Bock nibs out of 5 need tuning off the box, at least adjusting tines. As Jontello just said, upgrading is a learning.





I’ve had similar experience having to Tune the Bock nibs. Very smooth when done. I’ve had better luck with JOWO out of the box. Very similar results once tuned. The #5 Bock feed leads to  longer front section than the JOWO too. 


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## Mr Vic

With a bit of effort I think most low end nibs can be tuned to write pretty darn good. You expect more from a higher end kit/component because you pay more. Qualty inspection and tuning is better on the higher end stuff. The lower end - yup there's a nib. I've had $100+ fountain pens write terrible until tuned up and a kit pen from a PITH write beautiful out of the package.


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## More4dan

Mr Vic said:


> With a bit of effort I think most low end nibs can be tuned to write pretty darn good. You expect more from a higher end kit/component because you pay more. Qualty inspection and tuning is better on the higher end stuff. The lower end - yup there's a nib. I've had $100+ fountain pens write terrible until tuned up and a kit pen from a PITH write beautiful out of the package.





I couldn’t agree more, depends on what your time is worth though. I’ve spent 2-3 hours getting some to write good. I’ve had a disposable pilot FP that was amazingly smooth out of the box. The biggest downside I’ve come against is I couldn’t change from the Medium nib (closer to a broad actually) to a fine or extra fine one when dealing with the PSI #5.5 nib size. 


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## Pierre---

I agree with Mr Vic : "most low end nibs can be tuned to write pretty darn good"
So, if you are on the cheap side, CS USA and Bear tooth woods,  the two links given by Mr Vic, are the ones, if you can find the color  and size your client wants. But it will still be the same Chinese nib of  poor quality that at least can write smoothly with a good tuning.


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## Bryguy

I really like the El Grande  section. You can buy just the section, you don't have to buy the whole kit. also check out - http://content.penturners.org/library/general_reference/fp_nib_replacement.pdf


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## Texasshipagent

jowo no 5 or no 6 nib units are best, can get the correct tap sizes and drilling instructions in some of the kitless pen white papers on this site best by Sean Newton, frankly the pen kit nibs are pretty low quality, but with some tuning even a cheap nib can be improved , provided a nib is correctly tuned, otherwise failure to write is a symptom of ink feed, sometimes you can make adjustments to the feed other times a different ink with better lubricious properties make work better, standard short cartridges require a good feed, where say a large capacity pen has more volume and can flow ink better , it’s all about fluid dynamics , hence some people enjoy tinkering with them, others not and best to stick to rollers and ball points , not for everyone  


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## jennera

We are new to fountain pens and had a request from a potential customer for a fountain pen with a fine tip.

The two kits we are going to try are Classic Elite 2 and the New Series.  Would it be possible to replace the nib on the nib housing of these kits one of the 6 mm Jowo fine tip nibs?  

I'm not sure the correct terms for the different components and am trying to learn.  I would like to know options before I start ordering things and trying to pull the nibs out of things incorrectly.  If I find out the customer is experienced in changing the nibs and this is possible, then I will probably order the nib and have him teach me to change it.

Thanks!


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## chrisk

A tutorial (by Roy Robaldo) one can find in the library for changing nibs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZLJKkn3FOU


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## jennera

chrisk said:


> A tutorial (by Roy Robaldo) one can find in the library for changing nibs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZLJKkn3FOU


Super! I just finished reading a couple of the tutorials in PDF from the library that answered many questions and concerns.

Thanks for the link to the video!

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## Dieseldoc

*Fountian Pen nibs*

What is the preference for use the   
Bock or  Jowo nib.
What about the size  #5 or #6.

Getting stared in making kit-less FP.

Thanks for the  guidance.

Charlie


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## duncsuss

Dieseldoc said:


> What is the preference for use the
> Bock or  Jowo nib.
> What about the size  #5 or #6.
> 
> Getting stared in making kit-less FP.
> 
> Thanks for the  guidance.
> 
> Charlie



#5 or #6 comes down to customer preference -- some like a smaller pen that looks better with a smaller nib, some like a larger pen that looks better with a larger nib.

Most of the pens I make now are #6 -- but I sometimes get a request for #5.

Pick one and run with it for a while.

Same goes for JoWo versus Bock -- just pick one and go with it until a customer asks you to make the other (and is willing to pay enough for the pen that you recoup the cost of the tap on it).


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## More4dan

My limited experience with both nib manufacturers, I prefer the JOWO over the Bock. When tuned they both are great but the last few Bock nibs have required the most time to get to write correctly with ink feeding issues. The Bock#5 feed is also longer than the JOWO requiring a longer section and cap. The JOWO #5 thread I believe is also the same as the Schmidt feeds and rollerball converter.  


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## Pierre---

#5 or #6 is a matter of personal preference. Usually, my clients prefer #6, don't know why. 
Jowo or Bock is also a matter of personal user preference, both are German and ten times better than the Chinese IPG. Plating choice is larger at Jowo's, and 18k nibs are cheaper.  As a maker, my experience is that Bock often needs adjustments, and Jowo more rarely does.


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## corgicoupe

Mr Vic said:


> A lot of the newer kits are a #6 these days. Craft Supply USA has few selections for #5 and #6 nibs and Goulet Pens has a range of #6 for nib size and finish. Ernie over at Beartooth Woods has a lot of different nib section compatible with current kits so you can make a roller ball into a fountain pen. There are some other sites that escape me at the moment. Will post when I remember them.
> 
> https://www.gouletpens.com/replacement-nibs/c/294
> 
> https://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/search?term=nib
> 
> Bear Tooth Woods - Refills / Nibs / Ink Pumps
> 
> Legal disclaimer. . . I'm not associated with any of these vendors nor can I be held liable for how much you spend upon perusing their site.





Pierre--- said:


> #5 or #6 is a matter of personal preference. Usually, my clients prefer #6, don't know why.
> Jowo or Bock is also a matter of personal user preference, both are German and ten times better than the Chinese IPG. Plating choice is larger at Jowo's, and 18k nibs are cheaper.  As a maker, my experience is that Bock often needs adjustments, and Jowo more rarely does.



I don't sell, but rather give them to family and friends. I've made several of the Jr Gents from Craft Supply and purchased a Fine nib to replace the Middle on one I kept for myself, but I don't know who makes their nibs.

I prefer the Lazerlinez kits because they are stainless steel, made in USA,  and I've met Constant, who makes the components. He orders the nibs and converters from Schmidt.


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