We provide the following three feeds for our pens that contain Manga G nibs:

• Full flow feed, which provides the richest flow for thicker inks and paints
• Standard flow feed, which provides a standard flow for the majority of inks
• Thin flow feed, which provides the most reliable flow for thin ink, such as water-based fountain pen ink and ink created by dissolving granules in water, such as Walnut ink

A handy way to remember these feeds is to think of the "full flow feed" as working with full body ink, thin flow feeds working best with thinner inks, and standard flow feeds working best with the standard or middle range of inks. 

Flow rates are approximations

These three flow rates are approximations. The same ink can flow through the same feed at different rates depending upon on a variety of conditions. Viscosity is the primary condition - this is the "thickness" of the ink or a measure of its resistance to flow where thicker inks resist flowing more than thinner inks.

Other conditions include the surface tension of the material over which the ink flows, the angle of the flow, how much air is rushing in to replace the lost ink, the warmth of your hand, the ambient air pressure, the wetting property of the paper as well as the capillary action of ink flowing onto paper and into the fibers. There's more, but that's enough to suggest the difficulty of controlling the flow rate of a liquid with any certainty.

We recommend that you experiment with feeds in your pens to determine what works best for you. We will hear from customers who congratulate us enthusiastically about the flow of ink through their pen, and we will also get complaints.

Identify your pen before you buy feeds

We have produced a variety of pens over the years using a handful of production facilities. We have tried to keep the dimensions of the front of our pens identical, but the results can vary slightly. To ensure you get a good fit of feed to pen, you should identify your pen using our Pen Identify Chart. You can then use the pen ID to ensure that you are buying the correct feeds. 

Handling feeds

Feeds are small items - be careful when you handle them. They fit securely into the front of our pens and hold the nib inside the pen, but they must be positioned carefully so the feed is fully inserted into the pen, and the nib is aligned correctly with the top of the feed. Only in this way can the ink flow through the feed in the measured fashion you are looking for. 

You can insert and remove feeds with or without nibs. We suggest you place the nib on the feed first, position it correctly, then press both nib and feed into the pen until they seat securely in place. 

If you just want to replace the nib, you can slide the nib out and slide the new nib in over the feed. Check to make sure the tip of the feed is position directly flow the tip of the nib. 

You should remove thee nib and feed from time to time to clean them. You can also stick the front of the pen into a glass of water and move the pen around to flush the nib and feed clean. Removing them is better, but you don't have to do that every time. 

Remember, you don't have to clean your pens and pen parts every time you use the pen,, but the cleaner you keep them, the better they will serve you. It's your choice.