Does Anything Cheap Compare To A Mont Blanc Nib?

[Stowford]

I tried a Mont Blanc 146 with a broad nib today and was just absolutely blown way 1) by the performance and 2) by the price! There is no way I can afford one of those, but is there anything quite considerably cheaper (without naming a price) that compares?

Edited May 5, 2015 by Stowford

[Uncial]

Now that you say it and I think about it, I'm not sure there is. The MB nibs I have experience of are smooth, but have a strange friction to them which makes them a real pleasure to write with. Some call it a 'little tooth' but I wouldn't say it's quite as definite as that. There are plenty of pens that are much smoother certainly and at a considerably lower price. I find Visconti nibs very, very smooth, Pelikan nibs are very nice and the Montegrappa steel nibs are surprisingly good. Some of the upper end of the Pilot range have extremely good nibs and the Pilot Metro is a very cheap pen, but has a lovely smooth nib. All that said, none of them are really like an MB nib.

[hari317]

I tried a Mont Blanc 146 with a broad nib today and was just absolutely blown way 1) by the performance and 2) by the price! There is no way I can afford one of those, but is there anything quite considerably cheaper (without naming a price) that compares?

even another new 146 with a B nib might not compare well to the nib you just tried and are in love with. Nibs are like that, no two are identical, even from the same company on the same model.

[Maurizio]

It has none of the panache of a Mont Blanc, if that's what you're after, but, to me it's pretty cool in it's own right. I have a Namiki Falcon (resin version) with a broad nib. This pen writes beautifully wet & juicy everytime and did so right out of the box at my office with the enclosed Pilot cartridge, even before I took it home and gave it its initial flush of nib and converter.

[Bisquitlips]

Ah .... no! Sorry!

 

Regardless of what the naysayers might say, MB does make some superb nibs.

 

If indeed you would like a decent substitute, try a Lamy Safari! I have several of them and they are very nice. I am guessing that you are writing for yourself. Journals etc. You desire the pleasure of writing and want to absorb your writing for yourself.

 

Lamy Safari 1.1 Italic is what I would choose!

 

Very affordable and versatile!

[jar]

Very seldom do cheap products perform as well as expensive products. There are some nibs I like far better than my Montblanc nibs and some of them are actually less expensive than the comparable Montblanc but even they are not cheap. Probably the best most enjoyable nibs I have are Sheaffer FT Madison made stub nibs but many others also float my boat.

[Mr. Dante]

If you were looking at a brand new current 146, you might consider an older, used one as an alternative. They routinely show up on the classifieds here and on ebay.

[dneal]

My MB's write well enough, but they're hardly the "end all" of nibs. All my pens write well, each with their own character; and are every bit as good as the MB's.

 

Take the nay-sayers with a grain of salt, but do the same with the fanatics.

Edited May 5, 2015 by dneal

[Ghost Plane]

The discontinued Van Gigh Maxis with the 14k nibs had a comparable feel, even if the Bs didn't have the distinctive stubbing. I use them interchangeably with my 149s. Of course the prices are now soaring...

[rwilsonedn]

There are many companies that have made wonderful nibs, and a few that still make wonderful nibs. I'd especially call out Pelikan, Pilot/Namiki, and Sailor for smoothness. Sailor nibs in my very limited experience have a unique combination of total smoothness and yet a bit of drag, a characteristic some people ascribe to their favorite MB nibs. But as hari says, no two nibs, even from the same vendor, will be identical.

You can make almost any nib, unless there is a crack or metallurgical defect in the tipping, wonderfully smooth by having it tuned professionally. To that extent almost any nib can be as smooth as any other.

Another point to consider (I don't know if it is relevant to you) is that if you don't use European B nibs regularly, a B will feel unbelievably smooth just because of the large contact area creating a big liquid bearing and gliding over the irregularities in the paper. That will be true of any decently-tuned broad or stub nib.

ron

[migo984]

My MB's write well enough, but they're hardly the "end all" of nibs. All my pens write well, each with their own character; and are every bit as good as the MB's.

 

Take the nay-sayers with a grain of salt, but do the same with the fanatics.

I agree.

[max dog]

A wet juicy MB nib has a lot of character. Sure there are flexier or smoother nibs, but very few nibs I've come across have that pleasant tactile feel of a MB nib. Blew me away too.

[Bo Bo Olson]

A medium large '50's 146...now that is a nib. I have a modern Woolf nib that is butter smooth with a bit of spring. But that vintage 146 nib was one I was waiting for, it is 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex.

I have a semi-flex '52-54 only standard sized MB 234 1/2 semi-flex KOB,...a real nice nib and a nib that seems to fall in between, the '50's MBs a '51-55? standard sized rolled gold 742.

 

I have a lot of '50-60's German nibs with a touch or a tad of flex. I prefer them to my MB Virginia Woolf's nib.

 

The vintage '50-65 Pelikans are great nibs also.

I have some Geha nibs that are great, perhaps a bit better than the Pelikan. I read that Degussa made Geha nibs....Degussa continued from 1932 when they bought up Osmia's nib factory to make Osmia nibs (later Osmia-Faber-Castell) and those are grand nibs = in steel and gold.

 

I prefer nibs with a bit of life to them than just 'butter smooth'. Good and smooth the step under is good for me.

 

The price of the Geha 790 has skyrocketed lately. Nearly as expensive as a Pelikan 140. Both are be had for $70 ($70-90 for the 140)...more chance at a Geha 790 at 50 or less on German Ebay.

Get an OB....in either. Got one of each inked on my desk. Vintage OB is stubbish, had a bit of flex, semi-flex or or better in the Geha that gives the nib it's charm, clean line.

I can rave for hours. Have . B's back then were narrower than modern, so a B or OB is a writing nib, not a signature nib. Sort of a Fat M. The OB has a wide foot print, so is easy to use.

[Charles Rice]

No.

[richardandtracy]

I do think it is possible.

 

A Jon Sorowka (FPN member Oxonian) custom grind. To almost any pen. I think Jon's grinds are around £35, so it would be daft asking him to grind a 99cent Jinhao. Next step down is a JoWo/Bock replacement nib in a pen. These are pretty impressive though not quite up to the feel of a custom grind. Jon used to grind every new Onoto Pen to get them feeling right, not sure if he still is after the upheavals at Onoto.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Rose Nibs]

B nibs are smoother than F nibs regardless of brand, as Ron pointed out above. And even great nibs vary with different inks and different paper. I used to generalise about nibs, now I lean towards treating each writing situation as unique. But MB nibs are usually a good experience, I agree.

[Tas]

http://www.taskyprianou.com/me_hornet_nest.jpg

 

Yes.

[them700project]

I would say a 18kt nib in the $100 range with expert tuning can be as nice to right with as that MB

[de_pen_dent]

Now that you say it and I think about it, I'm not sure there is. The MB nibs I have experience of are smooth, but have a strange friction to them which makes them a real pleasure to write with.

 

^^ This. Statistically speaking, you may get a nib that has a similar performance, but not consistently so. Plenty of other brands write well - and some, like Platinum - have their own unique feel, but nothing that has this same mix of smoothness AND paper feedback. Atleast, none of the 150-200 pens i own, from pretty much all major pen manufacturers.

 

There is, however, one exception: Onoto's M and F nibs have a similar writing experience as the MB M/Fs: not exactly the same, but very similar in this attribute. But they arent cheap either and dont come up for sale nearly as often.

 

Your best bet would be to pick up a used 140 off Classifieds here or on Pentrace.

 

Another option, as mentioned above, would be to get Sorowka or someone to grind something similar - however, I do not know how that will work out (not a dig at John - he has ground about 20+ pens for me and I love his work, but i just dont have any first-hand experience).

 

And to stave off the defensive reaction: People, the OP isnt saying that MB nib is the "be all/end all" of nibs, or that other nibs arent good. He wants that specific MB nib characteristic. So let's not make this a MB-vs-other debate.

Edited May 6, 2015 by de_pen_dent

[BillZ]

I have 3 different brands of pens all with Sailor nibs. But mine are F and EF. They write as smoothly as any of my MBs.