Flex Review: Wingsung 629 XXF Semi-Flex Nib
I am thrilled to receive this flex nib from my friend Xian/氙. He is not really into flex, but he is a soft nib enthusiast. He originally made this semi-flex nib for himself and made the XXF version for me as a gift. But I’ve convinced him to make this nib commercially available so that more people can get to enjoy this nib. (He said he is willing to take commission later after Spring Festival. I’m not sure when exactly, but if you’re interested in getting one. You can DM/email me.)[Unfortunately, to maintain the balance between work and life, he no longer accepts commission for custom grind nibs. ]
Anyway, let’s jump into the details of this nib. This XXF semi-flex nib is modified from a Wingsung 629 steel nib. From the appearance, the thickness was reduced, and some part of the shoulder was also cut out.
Details of different parameters:
Flexibility
The maximum flexibility is about 1.4mm. In my opinion, it is considered a semi-flex. The safe maximum flexibility would probably be 1.2mm or 1.3mm in inexperienced hands.
Softness
This nib is SUPER SOFT. It is the third softest nib among my nib collections. It is way softer than a Pilot 912 FA nib. It is only slightly stiffer than my FPNIBS #5 14k semi-flex and my Pilot 742 modified full flex. This amount of softness also means it will only be suitable for calligraphy but not daily writing.
Snapback
Surprisingly, as a steel nib, it has quite a fantastic snapback. The speed of the tines returning to the unflexed state is very quick, allowing a crip line variation between a downstroke and an upstroke.
Hairlines
As I mentioned earlier in the review, this nib was ground to XXF. The minimum line width is about 0.15 – 0.18 mm, which is comparable to lots of pointed dip nibs.
Ink flow
I swapped the nib with a Kaigelu 356 plastic feed and put it in a Jinhao Centennial body. Plastic feeds are not the best choice for sure, but this nib doesn’t have a large demand for inks as it is only a semi-flex nib. Simply using wet inks will solve the flow issue. After I inked it with Diamine Winter Spice or Hongdian Black, it can finish a page without railroading a lot.
My thoughts on this nib:
I am happy to see this flex nib being brought into our pen community. Especially this flex nib is modified in China because flex nibs have been ignored in the Chinese fountain pen community for a long time. I am glad that more people there can appreciate flex nibs and the beautiful penmanship they can bring about. Hopefully, more flex nibs will be produced in the future.
As for this nib itself, I see it as a professional calligraphy tool. It is not suitable for daily writing due to its softness and needlepoint grind. But the fantastic snapback and the hairlines from the needlepoint grind can produce fabulous line variation. And again, due to its softness, it can be misaligned if it is not used properly. It is not the best option for fountain pen newbies as it sometimes requires the user to tinker with the nib a bit.
弹尖评测：永生629半弹尖
弹尖钢笔作为冷门爱好中的冷门，在国内得到的注意力真的太低了，有口碑的改造弹尖，国内一个都没，只能国外高价买。现在国内能有动手能力强的爱好者重视起来，做出一个国产弹尖，是真的很值得庆祝的一件事。希望以后也会有更多爱好者参与进来，改造出更多不同特性的弹尖。
进入正题了，这个弹尖是一位名叫“氙”的爱好者改的。与国外大部分改造师不同，氙用的不是6号jowo钢尖 ，而是永生629的钢尖。经过磨薄削肩等改造，成为了一个非常软且回弹快的半弹尖。
在我手上的实际参数的表现如下：
⭕️劈叉：最大劈叉大概在1.4mm左右，差一点就到全弹的程度。但是平时的安全劈叉范围大概到1.2mm, 1.3mm。
⭕️回弹：笔尖劈叉后回到未劈叉状态的速度非常快，在我手上那么多个弹尖相比也是非常优秀。
⭕️柔软度：在我手上十几个现代弹尖中，排到第三软。比百乐912FA尖要软很多，没什么日用的可能。
⭕️游丝：我让氙给我磨细磨到了百乐EF尖那么细，实际效果非常好，无压力的游丝可以达到0.15 ~ 0.18 mm，和蘸水笔尖的游丝可以打一打。
⭕️供墨：因为是单尖，我自己鸡了凯格露356的塑料笔舌和总成，所以供墨上还算不得很满意，毕竟手上没有适配的硬橡胶笔舌。不过因为本身半弹尖劈叉劈不了太大，配上流动性强的墨水，供墨还是比较可以的（太干的墨水会供不上，一定要用流动性好的墨水）。
⭕️价格：氙网友说估计春节后才会接改造。但是具体价格等开春再说。
总结：
这是一个非常适合英写用的半弹尖。 游丝够细，回弹快，笔幅变化非常干脆不拖泥带水。但因为非常软的原因，使用门槛会有点高，不会使用弹尖用的人需要练习非常轻的压笔力度，以免压坏笔尖。而且那么软的笔尖容易压错尖，使用的人需要懂一点错尖怎么调整回来的技巧。
