Hey! Great video! Thanks for the trouble shooting! I find when I’ve changed the nib to a new one to get it working quicker, turn the piston cartridge to flood the ink feed slightly gets it working a treat.
It is very important to mention that before anyone attempts to do this, you also need to consider the difference between using India Ink and fountain pen ink. India ink should never ever be used in a fountain pen, which is why the dip pen is necessary. However there is Carbon Ink by Platinum that will work similarly, but I am not entirely sure how it will perform with this nib.
I was ripping paper with the sharpness of this nib, so I used some micro mesh and made some adjustments and it's still "sharp" in relative terms, but I can write now without scoring the sheet. I also opened the feed channel, and heated the feed to form it to the nib shape, which tightened it up against the nib and gave me more control over the flow. Love this idea. Still think dip pens are better for this, but, this is a great hack to get the best of both worlds.
Chris, you are having ink flow issues because the Noodler's Black ink (with catfish illustration) you're using is not wet enough. I had this problem as well. When I switched to a wetter ink like the iroshizuku take-sumi (black) I got a continuous flow of ink through the pen and G nib.
@@marka.200 How did you trim it? I've been thinking about this and increasing the feed top-channel slightly with an exacto so that more ink flows steadily.
So happy to see you got this to work. I didn't realize the nib would rust. Just took mine apart and yeah.... it's nasty. Thanks for the heads up about that. 👍🏼
Yea after I had trouble with it, your advice really helped me out. The water did the trick! But yea I would flush it out often just to keep the life of it a little longer.
Unless you widen the feed channel you might as well just stick to dip pens. But modifying that feed channel makes this entire modification complete. Even for fast writing.
Remove the nib and feed at the same time. Grip top and bottom, then pull. To get the G nib to fit, use a 5/16 inch drill bit as a form, and a hammer to widen the sides of the nib, checking after a few hit to see if it fits the feed. You don't have to make it fit the drill bit, which is larger than the feed. Install the Gnib and feed as a single unit. I gave up when you started using your fingers trying to squeeze the smaller nib onto the feed.
It's the other way round. You need to get the feed to fit the Zebra G nib. Heating the nib softens the plastic of the feed. You can then mould the feed to the curvature of the nib.
I just broke mine. Brand new. Not even inked yet. Snapped at the base of the feeder fins. ... Tried hot water. Tried cold in the freezer. ... Oi... Can't it be pushed out from the inside?
It's just sad to me that people are paying hundreds of dollars for nibs and vintage pens for "Flex" when people can do it at home for like 3 bucks at the art store and is likely way more durable even if you sacrifice smoothness over the paper
Yea there are definitely cheap alternatives, but I think what they are really paying for is the build quality and reliability of the more expensive pen.
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. I've tried both versions (the one shown in this video and an Osmia Supra 74 from the 1930s) and I can tell there's no comparison. This solution works great, especially considering the cost, but it has nothing to do with how those pens were made. Just consider that the pen I'm using is almost one hundred years old and works still perfectly fine, would you hope as much for this one? I don't think so.
@@vhimeras8030 I mean, a titanium g-nib + jinhao body would probably last you a very long time. Debatably far longer than your osmia supra, since your supra already is 90 years old and possibly much closer to the end of its lifespan. The jinhao body is aluminum, titanium nibs don't rust + last forever, and the only cheap part is the converter, but jinhao uses a standard international converter, so you can pick one of those up from anywhere whenever it breaks for 25 cents. The jinhao is far more worth it imo, especially considering that its so much more durable as well (if you drop it, no biggie. You can put it in heat, put it in the freezer, leave it soaking in hot water, whatever).
Can you define "often"? How often should you clean the nib? Great video. I was trying to change my nib and was getting frustrated. Your tips answer my problems!
Thank you so much for uploading and sharing! Great video, I really enjoyed it. I had the same problem with the zebra g getting stuck in my Jinhao. I finally got it out after soaking it in hot water.
Hi Chris G! I like this video. I use the Zebra G nib for writing. It is wonderful! Anyways I would like to see you do some ink reviews and paper for fountain pens reviews. Also including india inks too as I use them for writing, drawing, and painting. Just some suggestions...Thanks!
Thanks for the suggestion Dean, I have a few types of in on hand I could speak on in future videos. I’ll definitely make not of that. Thanks for the suggestion.
are there any good extra fine or fine nibs on ebay or aliexpress which work with Jinhao x450 or x750? I want to buy this pen for daily writing or notes taking at university but its ink consumption is crazy as I've seen in the videos and at this time I can't get that specific Goulet nib so please help a little.
Rafe Dsouza yea I can understand. It took me a while before I could get mine secured in correctly too. Had to heat up the nib to make it a little more flexible.
alexander neumeister a waterproof is is an ink that will not run or smudge when water is rubbed over it. But the type of paper plays a roll in how the ink will act. A couple waterproof inks are Noodlers Bulletproof Black, and Carbon Ink. These can be used with fountain pens, but do not put Indian ink in your pens. Hope this helped!
You have to try to make the nib a little flexible. (Before I say this be warned that these methods could completely screw up your nib. Be careful.) Id say put the nib in some really hot water then try. If that does not work then maybe put it in the freezer for a while then try. Hope this helps!
You can buy them, and they do work but as you need to mould the feed to the tighter circumference of the nib, it's a fiddly job. Douglas Rathbun's channel has a video on how he did his, and its much more detailed than this.
If it gets stuck, take the nib, feed, and grip section into the freezer. The metal will "shrink" and give you enough wiggle room to slip it off.
Tocará ensayar, porque en realidad ya dañe el feed tratando de extraer el Zebra G de la pluma.
This comment could have helped me 5 nibs before lol
You are a lifesaver!! I tried before watch this video and ran into exact same problems.
Thank you!
Hey! Great video! Thanks for the trouble shooting! I find when I’ve changed the nib to a new one to get it working quicker, turn the piston cartridge to flood the ink feed slightly gets it working a treat.
It is very important to mention that before anyone attempts to do this, you also need to consider the difference between using India Ink and fountain pen ink. India ink should never ever be used in a fountain pen, which is why the dip pen is necessary. However there is Carbon Ink by Platinum that will work similarly, but I am not entirely sure how it will perform with this nib.
I was ripping paper with the sharpness of this nib, so I used some micro mesh and made some adjustments and it's still "sharp" in relative terms, but I can write now without scoring the sheet. I also opened the feed channel, and heated the feed to form it to the nib shape, which tightened it up against the nib and gave me more control over the flow. Love this idea. Still think dip pens are better for this, but, this is a great hack to get the best of both worlds.
Chris, you are having ink flow issues because the Noodler's Black ink (with catfish illustration) you're using is not wet enough. I had this problem as well. When I switched to a wetter ink like the iroshizuku take-sumi (black) I got a continuous flow of ink through the pen and G nib.
I have good luck with Platinum Carbon ink, though I also trimmed my feed slightly with an Xacto.
@@marka.200 How did you trim it?
I've been thinking about this and increasing the feed top-channel slightly with an exacto so that more ink flows steadily.
So happy to see you got this to work. I didn't realize the nib would rust. Just took mine apart and yeah.... it's nasty. Thanks for the heads up about that. 👍🏼
Yea after I had trouble with it, your advice really helped me out. The water did the trick! But yea I would flush it out often just to keep the life of it a little longer.
There's a titanium version of the Zebra G nib. It's a little more expensive, but still very affordable. No rust issues.
@@jasonfoux6740 Titanium version lasts twice as long before wearing out, but costs about three times as much. Pick your poison.
Starts at 4:42
Thank you! This was the best vid I've seen regarding the conversion!!!
Unless you widen the feed channel you might as well just stick to dip pens. But modifying that feed channel makes this entire modification complete. Even for fast writing.
Very good explanation that will prevent me from having the same troubles changing the nib. Thank you!
Your welcome! Glad it helped you out.
Remove the nib and feed at the same time. Grip top and bottom, then pull.
To get the G nib to fit, use a 5/16 inch drill bit as a form, and a hammer to widen the sides of the nib, checking after a few hit to see if it fits the feed. You don't have to make it fit the drill bit, which is larger than the feed.
Install the Gnib and feed as a single unit.
I gave up when you started using your fingers trying to squeeze the smaller nib onto the feed.
I broke one with a hammer following another one, thank you so much for the water trick, I should've thought of that
I know this video is 3 years old, but it just helped me today:).
Thats beautiful. Happy this still helps!
Came for the pen, stayed for the AE86. Great choice👌🏻
To fix the flow issues take a xacto knife and deepen the ink channel some. Do not widen the channel only deepen it.
Thanks so much for this, I’m going to try this out! The Nikki G nib is my favourite dip pen nib and I would love the fountain pen option!
you mean Nikko.
Thank you for helping me get this efin nib out
Very helpful, thanks. It never occurred to me the nib would rust. Good advice.
Great video very informative
You could use heat to get the nib to fit, but you would need to make it red hot. Hot water does nothing to the steel.
It's the other way round. You need to get the feed to fit the Zebra G nib. Heating the nib softens the plastic of the feed. You can then mould the feed to the curvature of the nib.
@@BigHenFor I´d rather take a file to do that. I guess that´s more precise than melting the plastic
I just broke mine. Brand new. Not even inked yet. Snapped at the base of the feeder fins. ... Tried hot water. Tried cold in the freezer. ... Oi...
Can't it be pushed out from the inside?
Freezer didn't work?
@@ytskt No. ... I bought another pen, and the feeder came out very easily.
Thank you very much for showing the whole process - it was very helpful to see it!
It's just sad to me that people are paying hundreds of dollars for nibs and vintage pens for "Flex" when people can do it at home for like 3 bucks at the art store and is likely way more durable even if you sacrifice smoothness over the paper
Yea there are definitely cheap alternatives, but I think what they are really paying for is the build quality and reliability of the more expensive pen.
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. I've tried both versions (the one shown in this video and an Osmia Supra 74 from the 1930s) and I can tell there's no comparison. This solution works great, especially considering the cost, but it has nothing to do with how those pens were made. Just consider that the pen I'm using is almost one hundred years old and works still perfectly fine, would you hope as much for this one? I don't think so.
@@vhimeras8030 I mean, a titanium g-nib + jinhao body would probably last you a very long time. Debatably far longer than your osmia supra, since your supra already is 90 years old and possibly much closer to the end of its lifespan. The jinhao body is aluminum, titanium nibs don't rust + last forever, and the only cheap part is the converter, but jinhao uses a standard international converter, so you can pick one of those up from anywhere whenever it breaks for 25 cents. The jinhao is far more worth it imo, especially considering that its so much more durable as well (if you drop it, no biggie. You can put it in heat, put it in the freezer, leave it soaking in hot water, whatever).
Can you define "often"? How often should you clean the nib? Great video. I was trying to change my nib and was getting frustrated. Your tips answer my problems!
Thank you so much for uploading and sharing! Great video, I really enjoyed it. I had the same problem with the zebra g getting stuck in my Jinhao. I finally got it out after soaking it in hot water.
nice video man, good work
Hi Chris G! I like this video. I use the Zebra G nib for writing. It is wonderful! Anyways I would like to see you do some ink reviews and paper for fountain pens reviews. Also including india inks too as I use them for writing, drawing, and painting. Just some suggestions...Thanks!
Thanks for the suggestion Dean, I have a few types of in on hand I could speak on in future videos. I’ll definitely make not of that. Thanks for the suggestion.
try using a mini irwin quickgrip instead, that works very well for me
are there any good extra fine or fine nibs on ebay or aliexpress which work with Jinhao x450 or x750? I want to buy this pen for daily writing or notes taking at university but its ink consumption is crazy as I've seen in the videos and at this time I can't get that specific Goulet nib so please help a little.
Thanks for this demo , using Waterford ink and getting a really great flow
I am using Waterford serenity blue and do have some flow issues
Can this be done with the X450? Are there any pens that have adapters for quill nibs?
Yes.
Bless you fam. Thank you for this video
Apparently that nib is used for calligraphy more than anime
Do you feel like it’s scratchy?
Yes it is definitely scratchy. I mean its not really made to be used in this way, so its just a part of it I guess
Hachi-roku! Nice
I have an x450 but nib just won't fit in there it keeps getting stuck in the grip section
Rafe Dsouza yea I can understand. It took me a while before I could get mine secured in correctly too. Had to heat up the nib to make it a little more flexible.
I've seen others suggest slightly flattening the proximal or stack end of the nib just a bit, up to just before the "G" on the nib. Try it?
hello. thanks for the video. it is a waterproof-ink?
alexander neumeister a waterproof is is an ink that will not run or smudge when water is rubbed over it. But the type of paper plays a roll in how the ink will act. A couple waterproof inks are Noodlers Bulletproof Black, and Carbon Ink. These can be used with fountain pens, but do not put Indian ink in your pens. Hope this helped!
I read the comment wrong haha... yea it's waterproof.
thanks and many hellos from dresden, germany
got mine yesterday. doesnt work...T___T
X750 I think
Os sites das canetas são muito fracos, a Caneta Zebra G, não tem nos quatro sites que compro as canetas. Só tem o básico
is the g nib a size 5 or 6?
Joshua Rodriguez-Ruiz 6
Where can I buy a Titanium nib??
Ebay, aliexpress, amazon or your local artshop might carry them.
I bought mine online from John Neal.
Hi 👋🏻 any tips to put all the system back inside please my nib don’t want to get inside only the black part does 😓
You have to try to make the nib a little flexible. (Before I say this be warned that these methods could completely screw up your nib. Be careful.) Id say put the nib in some really hot water then try. If that does not work then maybe put it in the freezer for a while then try. Hope this helps!
Please rate for me ink flow :) 10/?
I'd give it a 4. A lot of railroading. Can't hold a steady flow if you flex the nib too much or move too quickly. Also very scratchy.
looks like the jinhao 159
Michael Vargo no the 159 is a screw cap while this is a snap on cap
No it's not the 159. The 159 is a much larger, classic cigar shape and doesn't come in a stainless steel finish.
X750
You filled the pen wrong your ment to put the converter on then fill it through the nib/feed wile submerging it till the ink touches the grip
Lachy McLeod yeah it was improper technique, but his results were the same as if he had done it correctly.
Why can’t I fill the converter before putting it into the pen, just like a cartridge?
jinhao X750, 18kgp
Is that an AE86 on the top left corner?
Why mod it when you can buy one ALREADY done correctly on eBay. The ZG nib is not the same size as #6 nib or feed.
There is a reason why you cannot buy these things: they DON’T WORK. Stick to dip pens (and India inks).
You can buy them, and they do work but as you need to mould the feed to the tighter circumference of the nib, it's a fiddly job. Douglas Rathbun's channel has a video on how he did his, and its much more detailed than this.