Using our Sketch nibs

Our overfeeds are designed to let you draw wider lines for a longer time using flexible pointed nibs. Here's what overfeeds look like before they are installed. 

The examples below give you an idea of how overfeeds can expand the width and lengh of your drawn lines. 

The overfeed lays over the nib and does several things - it stores more ink on top of the nib, it feeds the extra ink to the tip of the nib when the nib flexes backwards, and it keeps the flow going long after a nib without an overfeed starts to "ladder" or draw two distinct parallel lines. 

Overfeeds are an optional attachment to our Classic Fountain Pens and Pump Pens. Some people people enjoy them, while others don't. We provide overfeeds as an optional add-on for people who like the benefits.

Several things to note

• If you want to use overfeeds, your pen must be configured for them. You cannot use our overfeeds in pens that have not been configured correctly.
• Overfeeds are designed for large flexible nibs, such as Manga G nibs, Brause Rose, and our Sketch nibs. Other nibs of a similar shape and size can also work. Hunt drawing nibs are too thin for effective use with overfeeds, but you can try to see if they work for you.
• If you don't want to use the overfeed when you draw, you can remove the overfeed and replace it with a spacer we provide with your overfeed. This lets you switch back and forth.

Our overfeeds look like nibs when you first see them because they are shaped to fit over the nib and hug the nib. Overfeeds are made from the same material we use to make our Sketch nibs, so in this case the overfeed and nib fit snugly together. 

In most cases you can use the overfeed as it is delivered in the pen. It should be slightly curved when viewed from the side so air can slip into the reservoir as the ink flows out. This is the way we package our overfeeds, but the overfeed might flatten out over time. Just bend the overfeed slightly with your fingers. The curvature provides room to store more ink and provides a space for air to flow back into the pen.

 

Inserting overfeeds

You can insert the overfeed two ways - you can insert the overfeed all by itself or you can combine the overfeed, nib and feed and insert them together. If you want to insert the overfeed all by itself, push the nib and feed into the pen first, then slide the overfeed over both the nib and feed and press the nib into the back of the pen. You can then slide the nib back and forth to find the “sweet spot”, but in most cases the nib works best when it is fully inserted under the underfeed.

Removing overfeeds

When you want to remove the nib or feed, you can grab all three items - the overfeed, nib and underfeed - and pull them out from the front of the pen. You can then separate the pieces to clean them or replace them with a new nib or feed.

Working with a new overfeed

When working with a new overfeed, be careful that you don’t plug the air hole in the nib, otherwise the ink flow will stop. Try to position the hole in the overfeed over the air hole in the nib.

Make sure the overfeeds curves a bit up and then down. This is the way we ship our overfeeds when inserted into a pen, but the overfeed might flatten out over time. Just bend the overfeed slightly with your fingers. The curvature provides room to store more ink and provides a space for air to flow back into the pen.

Positioning your overfeeds

The next step is to place the overfeed in the right position over the nib. A lot of your success depends on this step.

First make sure that the tip of the overfeed doesn’t point to one side or the other. Correct this by pushing the tip with your finger back into the right position. Once the tip is in the right position, press the overfeed with your thumb to make sure the overfeed is laying flat over the top of the nib.

You want the tip of the overfeed to line up with the tip of the nib. This position is important when you start flexing the nib so the two sides of the nib (called “tynes”) flex up and back. The tip of the overfeed must press into the two tynes to be effective.

The tip of the overfeed should rest just behind the tip of the nib. This lets the tip of the nib rise up a bit without flexing the overfeed. You don’t need the overfeed until the nib lifts sufficiently off the underfeed.

Since the overfeed fits several different nibs, each with a slightly different length, the position of the overfeed depends on the nib you’re using. The wide end of the overfeed will be flush with the back end of the Zebra Manga G and Sketch nibs, however, when you use the Brause Rose nib, which is longer, the wide end of the overfeed will be fall short of the back of the Brause Rose nib.

Once everything is in place, fill the pen with ink, shake the pen to get the ink flowing, and start drawing. Turn and twist so gravity encourages the flow of ink onto the top of the nib and fill in the space between the overfeed and nib.