# El Toro/ El Presidente Nib Replacement



## BigguyZ (Nov 29, 2010)

OK, so I have a fountain pen user who just bought this great El Presidente fountain pen from me (El Presidente with an El Toro fron section).  He likes the stock nib well enough, but he has an old Parker with a 18k nib that he likes a lot as well.  

He wants an 18K nib for his new pen, but I know that the "large" size nibs that Lou and others sell do not fit the El Presidente.  

Is there anywhere that has a nib that will fit?  How are nibs sized/ denoted, and what size is the El Presidente?  Is there a chance that an old used pen nib would fit?

Thanks!
Travis


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## BigguyZ (Dec 1, 2010)

Really?  So there's no expert willing to advise on nib sizes?  Are nibs in general proprietarily sized, or are there standards?


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## JimMc7 (Dec 1, 2010)

I've never used an El Toro kit but in case this helps....photo shows dimensions of the small & large Heritance (r) SF nibs. Length is tip-tip and width is at the widest part of the nib. Of the pens I've done: The "small" fits Jr Gents, Jr Statesmans and Barons. The "large" fits Cambridge pens.


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## ldb2000 (Dec 1, 2010)

There are many different sized nibs available but as far as I know of there are only 2 sizes used in any of the kit pens , #5 and #6 . #5 is the small sized nibs used in Barons and other kits that use the small nib and the #6 nibs fit the El Grande and other kits that use the large sized nibs . 
Measure the size of the current nib from tip to base and wing tip to wing tip and compare these to those two sizes . Post those sizes here and maybe someone can help . I have several different sized vintage nibs and can compare those . Also measure the thickness at the base where it goes into the feed since there are some differences there as well .


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## bitshird (Dec 1, 2010)

Butch, on some of the last Cambridge FP's I did I couldn't use the #6 nibs they have a wide deep notch in the top of the feed, and the nib is thicker than the Heritance #6, possibly the El Toro front sections done the same way??


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## ldb2000 (Dec 1, 2010)

It very well could be , that is why I asked about the thickness of the nib as well . These sizes are supposed to be standardized but with the quality control that is used by some of these companies , they may not be making these parts to a standard spec . If they are not following the German standards there may not be any higher quality replacements available which would mean that each nib will have to be worked to change the characteristics of the nibs on these pens . I would think that either Lou , Anthony or Brian are much more qualified to comment on this then me , I hope one of them chime in with some answers .


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## PenMan1 (Dec 1, 2010)

bitshird said:


> Butch, on some of the last Cambridge FP's I did I couldn't use the #6 nibs they have a wide deep notch in the top of the feed, and the nib is thicker than the Heritance #6, possibly the El Toro front sections done the same way??



Thanks for the heads up, Ken! I am delivering two Cambridge Ultras tomorrow. I took advantage of Exotics Heritance "buy up" deal. I'll check first thing in the morning to insure that the nibs do fit the feed!


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## BigguyZ (Dec 2, 2010)

bitshird said:


> Butch, on some of the last Cambridge FP's I did I couldn't use the #6 nibs they have a wide deep notch in the top of the feed, and the nib is thicker than the Heritance #6, possibly the El Toro front sections done the same way??



I can't check the original nib, as the pens (with the stock nib) is now with the customer...

But that describes my issue.  The Heritance nibs just won't fit snugly in the feed/holder.  I can slide a Heritance nib in and out without any resistance at all.  So it seems that the tickness/ width of the El Toro/ El Presidente are larger than the standard #6 nibs.


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## ldb2000 (Dec 2, 2010)

One other thing that can be tried is if someone has a nib/feed from Lou or Anthony , try changing both the nib and feed into the holder from the pen instead of just the nib . It could be that the feed is smaller not the nib .


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## BRobbins629 (Dec 2, 2010)

Here's a comment from Lou in another thread - same topic.

"I just worked on an El Toro and find that it is not the nib that is the problem, but the feed. It is a 5.8 mm instead of the more common 6 mm. I have the feeds for sale if you want to send me a private message. "


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