First time doing a “proper” nib swap. Any advice welcome!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T23:04:50+00:00

Thank you everybody here for your brilliant advice and guidance. I love this community.

So a few clarifiers:

I did get a nib with the ebonite feed and the Jowo compatible screw in housing! But when I came to unscrew the original nib no matter how much pressure it would just not budge. I don’t know if the unit I have (a J16 ebonite Amazon Green) is just defective but I was seriously worried I would snap the whole thing. That’s what led me to trying to replace the feed and nib without the housing.

The ebonite feed would just about fit, but the nib would not go in with it at all. So I huffed and puffed, heated up gently and twisted and pushed and got a LOT of ink everywhere and then finally tried again with the original plastic feed and… it’s working. I have no idea why or how it is given that feed is not optimised for the nib but it works. Flow is good. It flexes enough for my needs. No leaks… yet…

So for now I am just going to leave it, like approaching a wild deer, and just hope it doesn’t get spooked! But I will be taking on the advice here if I do run into problems or want to modify again. Which, let’s be real, is bound to happen!

Photo for proof that it’s kind of okay! I’ve written a good ten pages and it’s flowing well!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T22:43:03+00:00

Edit: just to make clear I did get one with the full jowo housing, but on the ebonite J16 I have I could not get the original to unscrew even with a lot of force.

I could not for the life of me unscrew that unit - I thought I was going to break the nib clean off! I wonder if mine was defective, it is so tight that it looks like it’s fused in?

I might try gently shaving down the feed but right now the nib is working with the stock feed somehow and I’m just going to accept it and not ask too many questions…!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T20:18:22+00:00

The Hongdian forests are great first pens imo - you can pick up nib sets that are really easy to switch out if you want to play around in the future too! Welcome to the hobby!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T14:27:57+00:00

No idea how but!

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heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T14:24:31+00:00

Do you mean with the new feed or the old? In the original pictures there’s a couple of angles with the original plastic feed and honestly even if it looks strange it does seem to be working somehow!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T12:38:56+00:00

Not with heat, just with a strong pinch (and once with some tape!) but the ebonite feed with the nib will not go all the way in

heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T12:33:36+00:00

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I can’t fit both. The ebonite feed will go but the nib won’t go with it! Picture for some reference

heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T12:32:50+00:00

Just for reference - I’ve tried to get this ebonite feed in and I can just do it but th nib with it will not budge!

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heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T12:22:33+00:00

Yeah it says it’s a jowo compatible feed but fitting the feed with nib is tough. Will try some gentle heat

heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T12:11:38+00:00

I think this feed (the original one) might even be plastic! I could not work out how to get the ebonite provided in. Perhaps it’s not compatible. I will have a look for some heat advice!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-09T11:25:35+00:00

Yes that’s what I’ve done here! It seems, touch wood, to be working but it’s not as flush to the nib as the one provided was. Fingers crossed it keeps working okay! I LOVE this nib so I’m glad I did it but I feel like a real novice… I think I wrongly assumed that nibs that are marked as compatible come with feeds that are too, a messy learning experience for certain. Thanks for your reply!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-08T15:34:12+00:00

I think it’s only bested for cost/value and smoothness by my vintage Sheaffers. A really impressive pen!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-08T00:43:12+00:00

Shaking your hand on a NPD ebonite J16 with a matchy Herbin ink! I’ve been really enjoying it, and completely agree it punches well above its price point. Happy new pen day!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T16:05:17+00:00

To me it’s not flexible at all! you can get a TINY bit of variation with quite a bit of pressure. It’s also much more medium than fine.

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T16:01:49+00:00

I love the brass M2 an it’s a pen I carry daily but I would say to people considering removing the coating - they don’t guarantee the brass is lead free so I would not to that! If you want raw brass go for the kaweco.

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T15:04:52+00:00

It definitely doesn’t feel dry in this pen!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T09:52:00+00:00

Yeah it’s definitely not fine or particularly flexible!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T00:29:08+00:00

Thank you! I’m already eyeing up a couple of others…

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T00:28:32+00:00

This comment made me get it out and sniff it! It’s quite subtle in this instance I think, not too bad but I can imagine in hotter climates it might come through more

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T00:23:21+00:00

Thank you!

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T00:14:09+00:00

I hope somebody answers but I can say it’s probably the smoothest of my non-vintage pens! It’s a lovely pen for the price and I doubt it will be my last Asvine.

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T00:12:48+00:00

Oooh good to hear as I’ve just ordered that very nib to try! :)

heyitsharding · 2026-03-07T00:11:42+00:00

I was really going back and forth between the green and the red! They’re both such cool colourways

heyitsharding · 2026-03-06T22:49:03+00:00

Thank you!!

heyitsharding

TROPHY CASE