Using our overfeeds

Our overfeeds are designed to let you draw wider lines for a longer time using flexible pointed nibs.

Our overfeeds can increase your thick lines by a factor of ten, which means your thickest line will be ten times as thick as your thinnest line. This contrasts with the maximum variable line width you can draw without an overfeed, which is about 1:5 or five times as thick as your thinnest line. The overfeed lays over the nib and does two things - it stores more ink on top of the nib, and feeds the extra ink to the tip of the nib when the nib flexes backwards.

Overfeeds are an optional attachment to our fountain pens and pump pens. Some people learn how to get the best out of them, other sketchers prefer drawing without overfeeds. They don’t want the richer ink flow and the extra control required to use them correctly. We provide overfeeds as an optional add-on for people who like the benefits.

Note: Your pen must be configured for overfeeds if you want to use them. We sell our overfeeds for fans who like to stock up, but our overfeeds only fit pens that have been configured for them. You cannot use our overfeeds in pens that have not been configured for them.

Nibs you can use

We provide overfeeds for Fountain Pens and Pump Pens that contain the following nibs: Zebra Manga G, Nikko Manga G, Tachikawa Manga G, Brause Rose, and our Sketch nibs. Other nibs of a similar shape and size can also work, such as the Hunt 101. These are all larger nibs. We’ve tried to devise overfeeds for smaller nibs, but they don’t work very well.

Positioning the overfeed

Our overfeed looks like a nib when you first see it because it is shaped to fit over the nib and hug the nib. In most cases, you can use the overfeed as it is delivered out of the box. You don’t need to do anything except fill the pen with ink, get the flow going to the nib, and start drawing. If you want to clean or replace the feed or nib, you can pull out all three items - the overfeed, nib and underfeed - from the front of the pen. You can reinsert the three items two ways - one by one or altogether. If one by one - push the feed in first, then the nib, and finally the feed. You can 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.

Working with a new overfeed

When working with a new overfeed, you have to 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, as shown below.

If you’re working with a new overfeed, you should make sure the tip is bent down slightly. This is the way we package our overfeeds, but the overfeed might flatten out over time, or you might find it works better with more flex. Just bend it slightly with your fingers. The arch helps store more ink and provides a space for air to flow back into the pen.

Working with all 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 off to one side of the nib as shown below.

Correct this by pushing the tip back into the right position with your finger. Once the tip is in the right position, rub the overfeed with your thumb to make sure the entire overfeed has adjusted to the new position. You want the tip of the overfeed to line up with the tip of the nib as shown below.

This position is important when you start flexing the nib so the two sides of the nib (called “tynes”) ride up on either side of the overfeed. The tip of the overfeed must slide between 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, and each nib has a 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.

You can position the overfeed two ways - holding all three pieces together or piece by piece. If you do it piece by piece, press the underfeed into the pen, slide in the nib, then slide in the overfeed.

If you do it altogether, place the nib on the underfeed, place the overfeed on the nib, and grip the two pieces together between your thumb and forefinger, as shown below.

Press down on the overfeed with your thumb and slide it forwards or backwards to the right position for your nib, then press the unit into the front of the pen. If the overfeed slides out of position, slide it back into position.

Once everything is in place, fill the pen with ink, shake the pen to get the ink flowing, and start drawing. Turn and twist the pen to make ink climb onto the top of the nib and fill in the space between the overfeed and nib. If you intend to gain the full benefits of the overfeed and maximize the ink flow while you flex the nib, make sure there’s a lot of ink stored on top of the nib. It can get messy if too much ink is stored on top. When this happens, tilt the pen back and let some of the ink flow back into the pen.