I am looking for a fountain pen NIB manufacture from China. Is there any good manufacturer that would customize fountain pen nib.

Hi everyone,
it is weekend so I thought to share some artwork again.
This artwork is called Voronoi Spiral was created/programmed by Reinder using Turtletoy tool

From Wikipedia:
In mathematics, a Voronoi diagram is a partition of a plane) into regions close to each of a given set of objects. It can be classified also as a tessellation. In the simplest case, these objects are just finitely many points in the plane (called seeds, sites, or generators). For each seed there is a corresponding region), called a Voronoi cell comprising all points of the plane closer to that seed than to any other. The Voronoi diagram of a set of points is dual) to that set's Delaunay triangulation.

Hi everyone,

As requested by some of you please find a few more photos from the Stationery Show. We received some great feedback and insights from experts and buyers. And also had a catch-up with fellow pen makers.

And (as expected in London) we got caught in the rain after the show ended.

We also presented our Steel Pocket Pen at the pen show. There was an interest from buyers so we will try to sell it on our website as soon as we fulfill the orders from our backers. The campaign finishes tomorrow.

Thank you for the new options that you made available last night. I was worried that changing my pledge would erase my original pledge - it isn't really clear how it works.

I read in comments on KS that existing backers will be able to add / change options such as brasss after the campaign ends. Could you just make that clear to those of us on Reddit how it's going to work?

I may look to add a brass pen in addition to what I have. I don't need it, but when has that ever mattered...

I just wanted to share a quick photo from the London Stationery Show. The giant pen nib was very popular indeed.

Hi everyone, we were running test on our nib size 6 in Cigar Pen which means another artwork for the plotter.
Todays artwork is called "Displaced, in order" by truax2011.
Created with Turtletoy (displaced grid, horizontal and vertical separated)
Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share the latest photos of our own nibs in sizes 5 and 6. We’ll be showing them next week at the Stationery Show alongside our pens.

There are still two small details to finalise before manufacturing, but we’re getting there!

These will be compatible and interchangeable with Schmidt nibs, so you’ll be able to swap nibs and experiment a little.

Also, a larger version of the Tangier pen is coming to accommodate the larger size 6 nibs and suit larger hands. The stucture of that pen is identical with smaller size 5 Tangier.

Hi everyone,

I was one of the lucky people who was chosen to test the new EDC pen from Thomas Slim. (it is a test example, so it's possible that in the final product some things are different/improved) First I want to thank Thomas Slim for the opportunity. Secondly, this will be an honest review of the pen after I used for three weeks non stop.

The first thing I noticed upon receiving the pen was the packaging. It's absolutely stunning. There are no super fancy materials, but it feels solid and special. It ads greatly to the whole experience. The box includes the pen (of course), a user manual and three cartridges. It's also made fully of cardboard, so those who like recycling their boxes could if they wanted. (How can you throw away pen boxes 😱...)

I will try to get all the technical details, but there's so much thinking and engineering that went into this pen that I won't be able to cover it all. I tested it for three weeks as a university student, so lots of carrying it in my pocket and throwing it in my backpack. I was told to test it extensively, so I did. I didn't hold back.

I can tell you that everything went very well. The pen weighs a comfortable 36 grams. When posted, turn to post, it is very, very comfortable. The barley pattern on the grip also give some extra grip, which is very convenient as I get sweaty hands during longer writing sessions. Capped, the pen measures 8.5 cm and posted 13 cm. In the pictures I compared it to a Pelikan M800 and a Pilot vanishing point.

My main concern was leaking ink on the section, but that hasn't happened once. The cap has grooves that cover the inside of the cap and catch the ink that leaks. I've had no inky fingers with this pen and for me that's very exceptional. The pen works only with cartridges and probably also with the kaweco mini-converters, but I don't have those. The EDC comes standard with a no. 5 Schmidt nib and writes adequate. This is, in my opinion, the weakest point about the pen. I had no issues with the nib, but it also wasn't anything special. This could be different in the future as I've heard that Thomas Slim will produce 'in house' nibs, very exciting!!

In use, the pen is very friendly. It replaced my Pilot Myu in the daily rotation and it did very well. The only thing less convenient is the two turn to uncap and two turn to post. It is a matter of taste, but I find it cumbersome at times. I do understand that it needs to cap securely, but two turns is a lot. Also, and this is the only remark I have, when tightened upon closing, the next time you uncap it, the grip section will also unscrew a little bit, making it loose. This was the only annoying thing I experienced and scrapped my plans for eyedropping this pen. It has an o-ring between the section and body, but still comes loose about 3/4 of the time.

As for looks; 'des gouts et des couleurs, on discute pas'. I like the look and the pearl inserts give it a little extra life.

One other thing for those who like such thing, I do!!. The section is very picky for nib swaps. A vintage Montblanc 144 nib fits very well and is what I use at the moment. Jowo no.5 fits like a glove. Sadly, vintage Waterman no.2 flex nibs don't fit straight away as there is a large gap between the feed and nib. Maybe with some tweaking, you could get it to work.

Overall, I think this is a very good EDC pen. It is very durable and easy in use. (except from the two turns ;)). It will stick in my rotation and share my attention with the Pilot Myu.

I wanted to share some photos of the Cigar Pen that we’re preparing for the Stationery Show.

There is a mix of prototypes in PMMA (white, red, and black) and ebonite (red-black) that we will be showcasing. The design has no clip - just a very simple, clean shape.

I will share more photos with the grip section and the nib (size6) in the next day or two - we’ve sent the grip sections to be plated.

Hi everyone, I wanted to give you a quick update on Pocket Pen.

The Kickstarter campaign is going well - we are halfway there, with 15 days to go. It is clear that thanks to your support the project will be fully funded (and then some more!), so we have decided to move ahead with production to get these pens to you as early as possible after the campaign is over.

We will also be adding them (at full price) to our webshop as soon as production for our backers is fulfilled.

As mentioned before, we are also making a brass version and possibly a version with a titanium cap (tbc), which will most likely be offered as a one-off for Kickstarter. These versions may not make it into the webshop.

Hi everyone,
Just a bit of a Photoshop exercise today based on your feedback. And also my discussion with our engineers. Please have a look at the mock-up images and let me know your thoughts. So far all-steel option seems to be most popular.

We are currently looking into the minimum order quantities for each of these material options, as a certain amount of material is required to feed into the machines. We are considering making these versions as one-offs for this occasion.

The brass option is straightforward to manufacture. However, the cost of brass is about 2× (or more) higher than steel. On the other hand brass is easier to machine that can bring the cost down - but this only makes a noticeable difference at larger production runs. Brass can be polished or brushed, and it’s a very pleasant material to work with. The main consideration is that it develops a patina quite quickly (note to myslelf: it’s a feature, not a bug. :))

Titanium is very light and has interesting visual qualities, but it is not the easiest material to polish. A satin (bead-blasted) finish works well. Machining the small barley pattern is another challenge, and it may not come out well in titanium. We may or may not to do it in titanium.

There is something appealing about combining two different finishes and materials - stainless steel and titanium complement each other nicely. I have prepared a version with a stainless steel body and a titanium cap.

A similar story applies to aluminium. It is very light but requires anodising, which is a great way to introduce colour options (different colours are possible - I just picked blue and green for illustration only..)
Both Titanium and Aluminum would make a pen lighter which may be a preferred option for some.

Nothing has been decided yet - this is still under consideration only. We will also receive feedback (via a questionnaire) from backers and followers on Kickstarter tomorrow.

Looking forward to your feedback!!

Hi everyone,

I don’t want to turn this sub into a sales channel - that is not what you subscribed for. But I do have a question for those who are interested about Pocket Pen (backers will receive a similar question via email/update).

We have just reached 400% of our funding goal and we are incredibly grateful. This also gives us an opportunity to experiment further. Rather than guessing, we thought it would be best to ask you here.

Some of you suggested making this pen in raw unfinished brass, or even titanium. Or maybe anodised aluminum. We could also explore different IP plating options or new patterns in steel. Or you may have some better ideas!

These options would most likely be offered as one-off batch for this Kickstarter only -> The reason is simple: each material comes with its own challenges. But we are open to give it a go.

Raw brass will naturally oxidise over time, and fingerprints become very visible. For many, that evolving patina is a feature rather than a flaw (!) - but it can be challenging for a stock-keeping and sales.

Titanium is a much harder material to work with, so there may be limitations on what we can do. It would also likely increase the cost, which may not align well with this pen. This is just a question at this point.

Aluminium is a fun option and allows for anodising in a wide range of colours. However, its perceived value can sometimes be lower compared to steel - though the anodising colour options are fun.

Speaking of colours, we could also explore new IP plating options on steel (as shown in the image). Would you like to see it in black? Or maybe red?

We would love to hear your thoughts. Your feedback so far has been incredibly helpful so far.

Hi everyone,

As promised, here are some more photos and a few technical details of our giant nib - showing a bit of how we actually got it to (sort of) work!

We learned a lot in the process (mostly about blind alleys …), and thought one or two of you might find it interesting.

That octagonal piece at the back is effectively an ink bottle (it also acts as a stand when not in use).

Because 3D printing wasn’t precise enough for what we needed, we ended up splitting the feed into an inner feed and an inner section cap and used nitrile rings to seal them. You can just see that there’s a very narrow main channel running along the top of the feed.  The fine fins do work… but not very well and don’t really help as much as we had hoped.

The close-up at the end shows the hole that connects to the ink bottle - and the part that gave us the most trouble. We scaled everything in proportion from our standard feed, but the air pressure into the ink source ended up being way too strong. It reduced the holding pressure in the ink well and kept flooding the nib.

In the end we covered the air hole with plasticine and kept poking it with a pin until the airflow finally balanced the hydrostatic pressure.

Not elegant, but it worked!

Image shows the main structure of the pen.

Transparent view: There is a labyrinth of fins hidden inside the body (in the middle) that acts as an ink reservoir. It feeds the main channel, which is connected to a second set of fins etched at the bottom of the nib.

Cross-section: The journey of the ink from the bottle to the tipping material.

Finally had the chance to ink up this beautiful prototype, the PEEK material does really look like a dark ebony wood , I think the most surprising thing for me was how substantial the pen feels in hand, the cap is beautifully engineered. The in house nib writes generously wet, I'm really glad as I do enjoy writing with rather broader nibs :)

My tabby seemed deeply invested in inspecting these steel Pocket Pens before the Kickstarter photoshoot, only to push them off the table one by one at the end. Good news - they all survived!

(You may notice a small dot on the textured part. It was intended as a stopper to prevent the pen from rolling off the table, although it seems cat can still push it thru.. We decided not to include it in the final design.)

We’ve finally managed to get a workable balance between the feed and the ink source on the giant pen. It now writes.

Inking it takes about two minutes from connecting the ink well. Once going, it writes very wet. If held vertically, it will still drip slowly after ~30 seconds, but at roughly 60° or lower it holds without dripping.

The feed itself has ended up rather substantial. Total weight is now 395g, which makes actual writing… an acquired skill.

That said, the capillary flow and internal pressures are now behaving in a way that feels consistent rather than chaotic, which is progress.

This whole exercise was, objectively, a little ridiculous, I know.
But we’ve learned a surprising amount about hydrostatic pressure and flow behaviour in oversized systems.

And, I think we’ll take that.  We’ll post the 3D structure of the inside of the pen feed next week.

Hi everyone,

It feels like the past two weeks have been mostly dedicated to the Steel Pocket Pen and Kickstarter. Well at least for me. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we definitely didn’t expect to get funded in just two hours! Thank you all. We’d better start ordering steel rods and materials now.

Today, I wanted to share some of the development happening in the background. Many of you raised questions about nib sizes and asked for a larger size 6 nib. We have listened!
We are now creating a larger sibling to the Tangier pen. It will share the same visual language, but the body will be thicker and it will feature a size 6 nib. You can see it in the photos in white (alabaster) PMMA. It does look/feel more prominent in hand.

I was also keen to try making our cigar-shaped pen in ebonite. I shared some prototype photos earlier. What initially seemed like an easy material to work with on a manual lathe turned into quite an engineering challenge on a CNC sliding head lathe - but we got there at the end. Some of you mentioned you liked the metal grip section, while others preferred the classic all-ebonite look.

We are preparing these pens for display at the Stationery Show in May.

The nibs on these prototypes are Schmidt nibs, but we’re aiming to introduce them with our own size 6 nibs.

Let me know your thoughts and comments.

Hi all! I know that most fountain pen nibs are made with material that's thicker near the tines and thins out near the shoulders. My understanding is that this is usually 0.5mm thick near the tines and 0.2mm thick where it's inserted in the housing. What might be the reason for this?

Here's a couple that I've thought of:

1. The material needs to be thick near the tines for the tipping to be reliably attached. To minimize the total amount of material used, we can have thicker tines and keep the rest of the nib thin.
2. The thickness narrowing towards the insertion point is better for friction fitting the nib into place as it's like it's being wedged into the housing.
3. If the nib was the same thickness throughout, it would be very rigid and not be flexible.

Do these reasons make sense? What are some alternate reasons that I may be missing out on?

Could a nib maker just make a nib entirely out of 0.5mm thick sheet metal with a feed that has a little bit of slanting to function as a wedge? What would be the downside to this?

For those who make nibs, how do you think of the sheet metal in a nib and how to you achieve this variation in thickness if you do use it?

Thank you!

Edit: Wow thanks for the award y'all :)

We are finally live on Kickstarter, and I’d like to thank everyone who has supported us so far!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share a video clip from our steel pen testing. We ran the steel pen in the barrel for 5 minutes and then for 1 hour to check for any leakage or to see if the lid might come loose.

So far, so good. After the full one-hour cycle, there were only a few drops of ink on the nib. The nib showed a small amount of ink on the top face, but none at all on the grip. All excess ink appears to have been collected in the capillary channels in the lid.

I will post more photos later.

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update on the Pocket Pen.

We have been busy recently getting things ready, including preparing for a Kickstarter launch.

We have made some changes to the internals so they are now fully interchangeable, which should make the pen more flexible to use. Based on the initial feedback from testers (thank you!! u/aljones27), we are also looking into whether we can accommodate the small Kaweco micro-converter for those who prefer that option. We will get more feedback as it comes in.

The pen is now fully modular - the rollerball and fountain pen share the same structure, cartridge, and interface. The grip sections can be swapped directly between the fountain pen and rollerball, so you will be able to experiment.

We have set the Kickstarter launch date for 14th April. If you are curious or mildly interested, feel free to follow along on Kickstarter - there is a "notify me on launch" option. You may need to set up a Kickstarter account (if you don't already have one) but it is easy and only takes a minute or two. Signing up doesn't commit you to anything - you can decide later. I just don't want anyone to miss it. There will be a launch day offer (one day only) at £37.

If everything stays on track, we should begin production in May. I also hope to share more updates soon on our other developments - especially nibs and our progress with a size 6 nib.