Osprey Madison flex nib fountain pen (review) 

I appreciate you covering this; with your preference being not to draw with flex nibs generally. I seem to be on a personal quest to find the ideal flex nib fountain pen..I loved the little sketch you made of the plant

Similar with the FPR flex nib. Perhaps, it’s the same company who manufactures Noodler’s, FPR and most India made pens. Nice review 👍🏼

Got one for Zebra G nibs last month and am very happy with it.

Hey Teoh. I feel I need to correct my previous comment about the Madison. I was so frustrated with this pen...I even wrote to Osprey Pen to get some advice on how to improve the flow of the device. Well, believe it or not, the CEO of Osprey answered back promptly and was very helpful. After a thourough cleaning and dismantling the nib (which can be a bit scary: you have to hammer the nib out! using Osprey's cleaning kit provided), I cleaned the whole pen with dishsoap and a toothbrush. The pen now works wonderfully! My bad. The ink I had used initally was a special ink with metallic particles and I guess that was what clogged the pen badly.

Thank you for this review! Your thorough description of the pen followed by mark making and a sketch really helps me see how the pen and nib work. I ordered the extra fine and a g nib. I have a few of the Noodler’s flex nib pens but don’t like them well enough to use them often,

Nice to see such an affordable flex pen that 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠. 😃👍Been a while now, I look forward to seeing you go out and sketch on location again.

Thanks Theo! I ordered the g-nib one, and got a discount from your link :)

Great review. Thank you!

Noodler's did it years ago. Nathan specifically made a video on how to put a nib like zebra g into both Conrad and ahab. Just saying.

Happy Thanks Giving Day from Canada!

Thank yiu for doing this! Most pens of this type are very expensive and this provides an affordable alternative!

Purchased this pen with a fine nib. I like the pen and use it daily. Very nice review!

Hi, Teoh! Your review helped me decide to get one of these lovely pens. i got it with the Ultra-Flex Fine nib, but later talked to someone at Osprey, and got the nib unit for the Zebra G nib as well. I found that the Ultra-Flex needs some adjustment, perhaps doing a hot water treatment of the ebonite feed, as it kept running out of ink and railroading on me very easily. I like to use De Atramentis Archive Ink, though I have Platinum Carbon and Noodlers Black to choose from. When I got the Zebra G unit, I emptied the Ultra-Flex and cleaned it so it won't gum up on me while I use the Zebra. I found I love the Zebra a lot! I tried using a Zebra G as a dip pen nib, with both a straight and oblique holders, and found it an excellent nib for drawing. But getting it CLEAN, so the ink would stick to it, was a challenge. I finally had to use a fine Scotchbrite pad with some Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser to get down to bare metal so the ink would stick. (I tried burning the oils off, but the poor nib lost its temper and no longer worked very well. Thankfully, I got a box of 10 right off the bat! I'm teaching myself to draw, to use cursive for my writing. I learned it when I was in elementary school, but that was around 55 years ago, and I've lost any skill I'd built back then. I have some good books to teach modern cursive to work through. I also have some books on various forms of calligraphy, including a full set of Spencerian copybooks, and some more contemporary ones, including the Speedball book. I'm sure I can figure it out eventually. But I'm really finding it satisfying to sketch and draw with a fountain pen. I tried it over the years using various fine liners and markers, and while they worked, there was something lacking. The fountain pen lines have more character, I feel. I've really jumped feet-first into fountain pen use, and have a bunch of them already. None horribly expensive...I think my most expensive to date is my Noodlers Triple Tail, and the Osprey Madison set, with both nib units, is running a close second. I have several fude pens, including a Jinhao 101, a Jinhao X750, a Sailor Fude de Mannen 55°, and a box of #6 fude nibs that will fit in my Jinhao X450 with some coaxing. I also found something different, more like the Zebra G, but a different dip pen nib. It's a fountain pen clearly patterned on either a TWSBI Eco or a Yongsheng 3008, but with a nib unit to accept a Maru mapping crowquill, the short one. I also ordered a box of the nibs, as with Zebras, they wear out eventually. That one has some promise, I think. Thank you for doing this lovely review! I'm also watching your Fude tutorial with the street scene from Hanoi. I also enjoy the work of Marc Kompaneyets. Some of my selections, the Jinhao X450 and X740 in particular, were from a video he did called "The Art of the Fude", clearly a reference to "The Art of the Fugue". I've learned a lot of neat techniques from his videos. Take care, and I'll keep wandering through your videos. There's so much to learn!

Wow!!! A budget flex nib pen!

Good to know there is an affordable flex nib out there! Thank you!❤️

I'm going to wait a bit before compromising. I've got "burned" with some "supposedly interchangeable G-nib capable pen" before (not an Osprey pen). To be honest the construction of the Osprey looks a lot more sturdier and better designed but I'm going to wait a little before committing. Great video 😎👍🏽

Thanks for sharing 🌻

Thank you for reviewing a flex nib. Have you carried this pen outside of your studio? I’m wondering if it either leaks or clogs.

Thanks Teoh. I'm a disaster with a pen. Lol.

Wow

How is the sealing on this pen? Meaning, does the ink stay good in a capped pen beyond a couple of days? The lack of good sealing is the reason for the hate portion of my love/hate relationship with my Noodlers pens, and is something I’d need to know about before buying an Osprey.

Hi! kaweco is the ink waterproof? does it work with alcohol-based markers?

Thank you Teoh , I’ve been interested in fountain pens for a few years now but still on the fence about purchasing one , as a newcomer to watercolor , would you recommend this pen as a starter pen ?

Is the standard feed 18$ can support a zebra g nib which i already have or i need to choose the 30$? thanks for the video

Thanks for the review, should the nib section be taken apart & cleaned before filling & use? Thank you.

Hi Teoh. I really appreciate all your reviews and technique videos. Following your video about the Madison pen, I purchased one with a Zebra G nib and I found it to be quite scratchy. Is this normal?

How does it compare to the blue dew fountain pen? is it smoother and is the nib unit interchangeable with any #6 size fountain pens?

Hi Teoh. Have you ever tried an Ackerman pen before?

Compared to the Ahab?

Hi Teoh. I had this pen now for over one month. I have really tried to like it but this pen is simply AWFUL, the worst of my collection. Not only is it scratchy (even though I accept a certain amount of "scratchiness" because of the Gnib) but it has problems with the flow of ink. I have to constantly twist the converter to force the ink into the pen. I cleaned the pen several times, I even put it in an ultrasonic cleaner, the problem remains. Maybe this pen is simply defective. Thank god I did not spend a fortune on it...but it is frustrating.

Fountain pens use dip pen nibs? I use a dip pen, didn't know they both use the same nibs.

Seems like a cool Pen for sketching , reasonable pricing on it, thanks for a good review as always,