Saw 5 Jinhoa pen nibs, feeds and converters advertised on Ebay for $11.19 for the lot shipped (From China, of course). Didn't use the converters so I don't know how good they are, they do look, good.
Decided at that price I could afford them to try some things I wouldn't try doing with expensive nib assemblies.
Here is what resulted, cost minimal at 2 bucks (just used the feeds and nibs and I figure the converters have to be worth 50 cents or so so I figured the feed and nib cost at 69 cents). Used a couple scrap homemade blanks that were cutffs (from a reject batch at that) so I figured they had to be worth somewhere around a buck thirty or so even if they are somersetting I should have just tossed in the trash to start with (the reason it's so short - 4.25 inches capped, 5 inches posted- that's all the scrap I had to work with that matched).
I have to admit I didn't expect much from these feeds and nibs and am absolutely astounded with how well they work and write. So far I have had an instant and perfect start after 1, 2, 5, 12, and 24 hours of non use while stored upright. Absolutely perfect. As for writing, I can't think of anything to do to them that could possibly jmake them any better, they write at least as well as some expensive commercial pens I have (actually better), velvety smooth on simple copy paper, instant6 start, wet enough to be a perfect flow for any writing speed but not so wet as to cause bleed through or slow drying (using Noodlers Azure Blue ink which has given me problems in some other pens). I'm impressed by them, highly impressed, although I don't know if I just got an outstanding selection of them and can't testify about quality control (sometimes lacking in Chinese stuff).
FWIW, you need nothing but 6.3 and 6.5 mm drill bits to make these, and drill tap and die for whatever cap threads you decide on, which makes them a very inexpensive way for someone to get into kitless FP's if they are on a tight budget and don't want to spend a lot up front to see if they like the kitless approach. I suppose you could make the cap a friction fit easily enough and make it even less expensive to try.
Made this as a disposable since it just has ink poured into the pen body prior to inserting the nib and feed but I suppose it could be a dropper fill easily enough if you wanted to pull the nib and feed out and refill it (this one has a full eye dropper of ink in it so that won't be needed for a long time).
No clip on this one, I was thin king about putting one on but was only making the pen to try the nib/feed so I just left it without one. roughly turned, sanded through 600 and put on a buffer which leaves a rather mediocre finish but good enough for something I didn't really want to do other than try out. Total time about 30 minutes.
Sorry for the poor photography, something I obviously have to work on someday.
Decided at that price I could afford them to try some things I wouldn't try doing with expensive nib assemblies.
Here is what resulted, cost minimal at 2 bucks (just used the feeds and nibs and I figure the converters have to be worth 50 cents or so so I figured the feed and nib cost at 69 cents). Used a couple scrap homemade blanks that were cutffs (from a reject batch at that) so I figured they had to be worth somewhere around a buck thirty or so even if they are somersetting I should have just tossed in the trash to start with (the reason it's so short - 4.25 inches capped, 5 inches posted- that's all the scrap I had to work with that matched).
I have to admit I didn't expect much from these feeds and nibs and am absolutely astounded with how well they work and write. So far I have had an instant and perfect start after 1, 2, 5, 12, and 24 hours of non use while stored upright. Absolutely perfect. As for writing, I can't think of anything to do to them that could possibly jmake them any better, they write at least as well as some expensive commercial pens I have (actually better), velvety smooth on simple copy paper, instant6 start, wet enough to be a perfect flow for any writing speed but not so wet as to cause bleed through or slow drying (using Noodlers Azure Blue ink which has given me problems in some other pens). I'm impressed by them, highly impressed, although I don't know if I just got an outstanding selection of them and can't testify about quality control (sometimes lacking in Chinese stuff).
FWIW, you need nothing but 6.3 and 6.5 mm drill bits to make these, and drill tap and die for whatever cap threads you decide on, which makes them a very inexpensive way for someone to get into kitless FP's if they are on a tight budget and don't want to spend a lot up front to see if they like the kitless approach. I suppose you could make the cap a friction fit easily enough and make it even less expensive to try.
Made this as a disposable since it just has ink poured into the pen body prior to inserting the nib and feed but I suppose it could be a dropper fill easily enough if you wanted to pull the nib and feed out and refill it (this one has a full eye dropper of ink in it so that won't be needed for a long time).
No clip on this one, I was thin king about putting one on but was only making the pen to try the nib/feed so I just left it without one. roughly turned, sanded through 600 and put on a buffer which leaves a rather mediocre finish but good enough for something I didn't really want to do other than try out. Total time about 30 minutes.
Sorry for the poor photography, something I obviously have to work on someday.
thank you.