I have been making Frankenpens from old nibs meant for dipping and fountain pen nibs from another era. This is my idea of fun. I love the Jinhao X750 and X450 because of the ease of changing the #6 sized nibs to modify the pen. Noodler's Ahab is a fun pen for tinkering also.
The pens from left to right are Jinhao X450 red with lines, 5 in the middle are all Jinhao X750, and the one on the right is Noodler's Ahab Arizona.
The silver colored Jinhao has a Barion Pen Co. Vintage nib. I did this frankenpen just this week. It flexes well in this pen. I'm sure there are better flexing nibs but I enjoy this one. I was lucky to get 20 of these to replace them like the G nibs. They will surely corrode over time. I applied a magnet to it and it is just steel or an alloy of steel. I like the fine line when no pressure is applied. I did have a few drops of ink come out when I first filled it and will probably need to seat it more deeply in the pen.
The cut in the side of the nib is what I believe helps with the flex.
The nib has #67 on it and a rectangular breather hole.
My Ahab has a Kurtz Bros. Aluminum
Rapid Writer nib. I posted a video of it on youtube here
I don't know if it is because it has some aluminum in it or how it is shaped but this nib really does a good job at flexing. I have had a bit of problems with the piston in it being hard to move. But I just went to the mail and got out my brand new Noodler's 308 cartridges for the Ahab. I am so eager to try them too. I am not a real fan of eyedropper pens because they tend to leak on my artwork. So I was not willing to eyedropper a flex pen. Maybe if it was free? I just don't get eyedroppers holding more ink, because you have to keep them full to keep them from burping. Also Noodler's cartridges are not to be tossed out. You refill them to protect the environment.
3 of my Jinhao pens have Zebra Comic G nibs. I really don't have a lot to say about G nibs, since so many people already have reviewed them. I would like to try some of the other brands of G nibs besides Zebra eventually. But I have been able to obtain really nice nibs for under a dollar each. I like the idea that I can do something different and it doesn't cost a lot of money. 
Next, I show my copper colored Jinhao X750 with a vintage nib made by the
National Aniline and Chemical Company back around 1917. I thought it would flex but
no it is stiff as a nail. I used a Dremel to sand the feed till it fits the nib
and slips into the section. The cap barely fits after putting this sword in the
pen. The length of the nib doesn't really make it flex. It could be altered but I only have one or two of each nib for experiments. I'm on the fence about taking a Dremel to the nib and giving it flex. I like super fine lines and always have. That quest for the finest line but without the hassle of technical pens is what got me into this fountain pen thing. I really don't care to collect pens or the monetary value of pens. I care about how the pen works for me. Plus they look pretty cool.
I hurriedly swapped converters in my pens and almost ruined a whole page. I had Noodler's Lexington Gray in one and Nikita Red in the other. I learned from this to use a scratch pad when doing art, so I won't accidentally apply the wrong color to my art. I really like the ink mixture and will use it completely. It is black with a hint of red in it.
That leads me to when I first started acquiring the pens, I intended to match inks to the pens. That don't work for me exactly how I had planned. Some inks like some pens more no matter what I do. I could wrap tape around the pens but that just takes away from the look of the pen. Scratch pad seems to be the best solution. I have a video of this pen on youtube too.
I got the feed in deep enough to put the converter back in the pen. I wasn't sure the feed was supposed to be this far out of the pen but the cap fits and there is no leaking. I decided to photograph it so I could remember how I did it for later. I wish this nib would last forever and was even copper colored to match the pen. I tried to stick a magnet to it and it won't take it. I'm not sure of the alloy.
The other really fun thing I love to do is find out about the company names I read on these vintage nibs. The history of these nibs is so rich. I just love learning about the people who made and used these items. It makes me feel like I'm in a time machine when I am drawing with these pen nibs.
I have been working on some of the pages in my Strathmore mixed media Journal. The paper is so thick and really takes all my pens with no feathering at all. I get so excited trying all the pens and inks, I just can't stay focused on one page at a time. So I just use what i have inked and work between pages.
This one ran me into a new situation. I didn't have any brown fountain pen ink and started trying to mix my own. That is certainly a lesson in mixing inks for sure. But I really need to do some work on it. The sky has some UV inks in it I made myself. I have a blacklight flashlight I can use to look at it in the dark. It's pretty interesting.
This is just an experimental page that I started with the Parallel pens I have. I'm wondering how I would finish it into a single piece.
Thank you for looking at my blog.
