Flexible Fountain Pens

This is an introduction to the wonderful, frustrating, and often expensive world of flexible fountain pens. These pens have bendy nibs that allow for line variation, something taken for granted by those accustomed to using dip pens, but few and far between in the fountain pen universe.

Here are flex pens that I recommend:

Noodler's Ahab (or Conrad): Excellent starter flex pen, made even better with a ultra-flex-nib from Fountain Pen Revolution.

TWSBI 580 AL with a #5.5 ultra flex nib from Fountain Pen Revolution: For some reason the feed on the TWSBI pen keeps up perfectly with additional ink needs of the flexible feed. A perfect combo.

Pilot Falcon: This pen is a bit pricy (usually around 150) bucks, but it's a very smooth, reliable pen for drawing, with just enough flex to keep things interesting.

Vintage flex pens are a giant topic that I'm not really qualified to discuss. but here are some pens that I've purchased after much research that have proven to be excellent, durable performers.

Montblanc 342 G: This Pen has a similar flex as the Pilot Falcon, but runs a little drier, which I like. It has a built in piston and a little ink window, which are very useful. And even though this a fancy Montblanc, it's an entry level model that is affordable. Just make sure you get the one with G after 342, indicating that it has a gold nib.

Waterman 52: This commonly available pen is one of the best flex-pens out there, but is usually subject to bidding wars on Ebay, which can drive up the price. The only drawback is that they're antiques. I really feel the need to be careful with them, which is not what you want in a studio tool. Furthermore, they have antiquated filling systems that use rubber ink sacs, making them difficult to clean and maintain. This pen is a relatively recent purchase and works great, but I imagine that at some point I will have to take it to some specialist to have it serviced (which will probably be costly).

Wahl Gold Seal: This is another commonly available, very flexible and smooth pen. Same drawbacks as the Waterman, however. These are old pens from the 20's, and I feel uncomfortable taking them out of my studio, which is really the whole point of having fountain pens in the first place.

[bluwasabi]

Thank you for the TWSBI trick! That looks like a great middle option.

[BreakSpace]

Marc, thank you very much for this introduction tutorial, after countless Youtube videos on the same subject, this one was most helpful.

[__mader__]

The only video that showcases the problem from a practical point of view! thanks.

[unice]

Your video prompted me to try swapping my FPR ultraflex nib out of the pen it came with and I'm super happy with the results! Thank you, I was having issues with inconsistent ink delivery and contemplating spending much more money on another pen.

[maxgainz]

for the 912FA you can get replacement feeds for like 20, - that make it an amazing pen. Or use different ink, the platinum carbon ink is so wet that I use the standard feed with it (I have both the 2 and 3 slit upgrade feed too)

[alex_montoya]

Thanks for the vid, that was hugely informative.

[Brosephus]

I LOVE your waterman 52! Its old, it looks cool, its got character, its got a history.... Ohhhh man... im inspired to save up my money and get one. Thanks for the video!!!

[MrCabimero]

I have the Fountain Pen Revolution Jaipur V2 with the ultraflex nib and an ebonite feed. They recently upgraded the feed and it is amazing. They are inexpensive, write very well and a joy to use. I have no connection financial or otherwise to the company but tout this brand because of how good it is and because of the excellent customer service from the owner, Kevin. You can’t beat the price.

[yokobery]

I found that Kaweco Perkeo takes FPR #5.5 flex nib. I enjoy this combination. I didn’t know TWSBI and FPR #5.5 combo. Thank you for the great 💡 idea.

[RyanKirbyInks]

First off, great channel! There aren't enough channels that discuss fountain pens for drawing.

One thing I'd recommend you try out is have a FPR Ultraflex reground to an XXF or Needlepoint. The result is very similar to a G-pen or Gillott 404. I personally did mine to an XXF and keep it in a Noodlers Kondrad with the stock Noodlers feed (the FPR feeds flood with ink to the point of burping), and it's become my go-to pen for sketching.

[johnrdoe]

This subject courses a lot of interest, I have recently bought a Fountain pen Revolution a Himalayer 2 with an ultra flex nib, faultless I now think that F P R has very much got there act together.Thanks for the video from England.

[Michael.Chapman]

0:33 I'd say the main reason I want line width variation via nib flex is: it's the way the most elegant cursive ever seen on the planet was created, in the eras of the quill, and subsequently the steel dip pen, introduced ca 1850 by Joseph Gillot. Good cursive disappeared due to the explosion of the fountain pen from ca 1890--modern manufacturers have let us down tremendously. Appreciated the great info in your welcome review :-)

[lessoos]

Probably one of the best comparison videos of flex pens on the net. Thanks. Quick question: Is it normal to still experience some hard stops on the Pilot 912 after replacing the feed from Flexible Nib? thanks

[neilpiper]

I have a Pilot Custom heritage 912 with the fa super flex nib with the cutaways on, which was excellent for 2 to 3 years until I dropped it onto the nib.
I am going to the London Pen show to give it to a penmeister to get it fixed. I miss using it. It cost me £150 from a Hong Kong supplier. I'd buy another in a heartbeat if I can't get it fixed, and then take more care.
The Con 70 converter holds a lot of ink and plastic feed is fine.
I have a vintage made in 1950s England Conway Stewart 84 with a gold fine stub flex nib in green and black celluloid cracked ice finish.
I bought it for £40 on ebay from a private seller in the UK. It is a beautiful writer and looks beautiful.
For drawing I use a Platinum Desk pen with carbon ink cartridges. The ink is waterproof so I can use a watercolour paint wash over it.

[__mader__]

@marc, Two new pens, compared to the release date of this video, are the "blue dew" pen and the "the good blue" R615 pen.

[ALwinDigital]

I've gotten FPR Ultra Flex nibs (#6 steel duo tone) to work in an Asvine pen from Amazon. Unfortunately the Asvine pens come with plastic feeds that I need to modify by cutting a deeper channel for increased ink flow. Asvine sells replacement nib+feed units on Amazon so I purchased a couple of spare. I've ordered Ebonite feeds from FPR and waiting for them to come, to see if I can mod an Ebonite feed to fit into the Asvine. I am using the Asvine V200.

I also have a Magna Carta Mag 600, I want to keep the original plastic/Ebonite body of the Magna Carta in pristine condition so I took out the nib and put it in another Asvine V200, also with a modified plastic feed. I had flow problems with the Magna Carta Mag 600 nib in the original body even after heat setting the Ebonite feed, and wasn't happy with the ink capacity of the included converter, so now the original parts aside from the nib are in their box.

Cheap but very nice looking pen bodies with flexible nibs.

[ValerieHayes]

Do you have any plans to review any Osprey pens? They have a variety of nib options, including flex and architect, which I’m curious about. I’d never even heard of an architect nib before.

[tamarahulaton]

Great video. What size pen nib from Pen Revolution will fit the Ahab and will 5.5 fit an TWSBi Eco or will it only fit the 580? Thanks. :)

[MrAndrew]

Why does everyone overlook the Noodlers Triple Tail? Very hard to beat for line variation.

[Occupant]

All of your pen comparison videos are a great resource. Is the FPR ultra flex nib in the TWSBI pen extra-fine or fine?