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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The amazing Ester-Moore nib. A fun little project of mine...

Here's a fun little project that I've been working on for a good friend/customer of mine. I call it the "Ester-Moore" nib. I came up with the idea when I was sent an old Moore pen to restore a few months ago. It was a decent little pen, with a wonderful nib, but sadly the pen didn't pull through. (a moment of silence for its remains...)

So, I was stuck with a hopeless pen and an awesome nib. 'What to do?"... After thinking about it for 5-10 minutes I got this great idea! This particular friend has a few Esterbrooks that I restored for him a while back. I knew he liked his Esties so this was the idea I came up with:

The amazing "Ester-Moore" nib! It's a Moore flex nib in an Esterbrook threaded collar. This means it'll screw directly into any Esterbrook fountain pen.

After testing it out however, we discovered that the feed was to large to allow full flexing of the nib. It kept dragging across the page, which makes it terribly difficult  to write. :)

See how far it sticks out above the nib. Obviously, I had to do something about it. so, after thinking for a while, I decided on something a bit unconventional. I chose to modify it with a high-speed rotary tool to the exact size I wanted.

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Now take a look at this picture! compare it to the above picture and you'll see the difference! The feed is now slim enough to allow full-flexing of the nib without dragging across the page.

I also shortened the feed which can be seen here and in the next photo. This also helps with the dragging issue.

I must say, I think it turned out pretty nice!

So, what do you all think of that? I was very happy with the results and I'm sure the owner will be too once he gets to try it out! I'm thinking of maybe getting a bunch of vintage flex nibs and making a few of these to sell here on the website... It's a bit hard to find the old nibs though, and because of the feed modification it would be a bit pricey. Drop me a comment and let me know if you'd like something like this.

Oh yea, and for those who are awaiting patiently for the next part i the TWSBI review - Fear not. I'm still going to do part 5 and 6. I've just been really busy. Part 5 is coming soon though. Subscribe now so you don't miss out!

Regards,
777 - Tyler Dahl

3 comments:

  1. Well, well, well. I think that's pretty neat; and it shows that you have what it takes in today's pen world--the ability to think a thing through, come up with a solution, and carry it out. You think outside the cartridge converter, so to speak. Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but I burst out laughing during your moment of silence. I'll try to do better next time.

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  2. Hehe, No, I don't blame you for laughing. Now that I think of it's crippled remains it is a bit funny to say the least... :) Though, at the moment, it was not funny at all I assure you.

    Glad you like the idea. It think for once I had a stoke of genius... :)

    Regards,
    777 - Tyler Dahl

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  3. Tyler, that is a brilliant idea.  I have a Moore pen and love the nib on it.  What an imaginative thing to do.  Congratulations on a clever solution. ;-)

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