A little help for a newbie

[Diamond Al]

I could use the help of the experts. I have been looking to pick up a used MB 149 and noticed most of the nibs are 18k. Some ads on ebay list 149s with 14k nibs is this correct?

Don't want to get taken so thanks for the help!

[rustynib]

Hi

 

18K, 14K / 18C or 14C

 

all alright

 

more gold on 18K© then in 14K© though !!!

 

rusty

[Diamond Al]

Hi

 

18K, 14K / 18C or 14C

 

all alright

 

more gold on 18K© then in 14K© though !!!

 

rusty

 

 

Thanks for the help rusty!

Diamond Al

[marklavar]

I could use the help of the experts. I have been looking to pick up a used MB 149 and noticed most of the nibs are 18k. Some ads on ebay list 149s with 14k nibs is this correct?

Don't want to get taken so thanks for the help!

 

 

All 149 models have 18k nibs now. I believe that old 149 pens have 14k nibs; not sure when the changeover happened.

[Kalessin]

Across a number of brands, people on FPN seem to prefer 14k nibs, perhaps they have a better springy "feel" to them...

 

[Shangas]

How does the amount of karats in the nib affect it's performance?

[BrianTung]

How does the amount of karats in the nib affect it's performance?

 

The fewer the carats, the stiffer (and springier, but less flexible) the nib. As you probably know, pure (24K) gold is very soft, and would be inappropriate for a nib that has to be used more than possibly a few times. By alloying it with other metals, it can be made stiffer without being substantially less lustrous. (It does, presumably, affect the inert quality of the nib, though, since few metals are as inactive as gold.)

 

Many folks, including Richard Binder if I recall correctly, consider 14K to be a good balancing point. Higher proportions of gold are, apparently, still too soft.

[Shangas]

Yes. I wasn't so bad at science that I don't know something of gold I know how soft it is. So what's the difference between flex and spring? They sound like the same thing...

[Ged]

Flex is a measure of how much you can 'bend' the tines thus pushing them apart and creating a wide stroke. The more they can spread before you destroy the nib, the wider your thicks will be and in general this creates a better visual appearence. The spring part becomes important because the tines need to move together again as soon as you release pressure so that you can create a good thick to thin transition.

 

Obviously this doesn't really affect the way most people write these days. For Spencerian/Ornamental/Copperplate writing though, the spring is as important as the flex. If the tines dont spring back quickly, you end up with very poor thick-thin transitions, as a result hairlines will be somewhat blobby and your writing won't look as nice.

[georges zaslavsky]

The 14k nib is indeed softer and smoother.

[pankaj]

The 14k nib is indeed softer and smoother.

Hi all, guess the debate over 14k vs. 18k. nib is pretty old. I hve got a Salior which obviously has a 21 k nib. It is super smooth. On the other hand, I regualrly use my MB 146 having a 14k nib. The difference between the two as I feel is Sailor is really 'sailing' while MB is running on a track and still doing fine. In general what I hve seen is MB nibs are smooth writers, though less flex, no matter 14 or 18k. You must have noticed how a 14k noblese or generation nib glides on paper... fabulous

[georges zaslavsky]

The 14k nib is indeed softer and smoother.

Hi all, guess the debate over 14k vs. 18k. nib is pretty old. I hve got a Salior which obviously has a 21 k nib. It is super smooth. On the other hand, I regualrly use my MB 146 having a 14k nib. The difference between the two as I feel is Sailor is really 'sailing' while MB is running on a track and still doing fine. In general what I hve seen is MB nibs are smooth writers, though less flex, no matter 14 or 18k. You must have noticed how a 14k noblese or generation nib glides on paper... fabulous

I have a 1965 146 with a 14k oblique nib and it glides very smoothly on paper. One of the best writers I have.