I need to buy a couple of very good Esterbrook nibs. Probably more than a couple, if I wind up restoring a few for fun and profit, but at the moment I'm most concerned about the two I've just cleaned and re-sacced, one for myself and one as a gift. I want the best I can get for these two, which I'm assuming will be the tipped "Master Series" nibs. At the moment I'm looking at Richard Binder's selection. The problem is that they seem to have many variations of the same nib, and I'm not sure which does which.

What's the difference between an extra-firm fine and a rigid fine? Bookkeeping vs. Manifold? Is a Shorthand nib in some way different from a General Writing nib? And what's the difference between a firm medium Student nib and a firm medium General Writing?

I've checked Esterbrook.net, and while it helps by explaining that a Manifold nib is meant for writing on carbon copies, it uses the same description for extra-firm and rigid, so I'm lost again.

Help?

I assume you mean that you have been to the page:
http://www.richardspens.com/?page=extrafine/xf0307.htm

Others will no doubt have better answers, but a couple of thoughts:

1. rigid and manifold should be harder than extra firm, but that can also be used for carbon copies.

2. the designations are a little fuzzy for reasons of 'marketing?" i.e. a broad can be called a music nib but they are the same in the master series.

3. the same nibs can vary, so two 1555s can end up feeling differently, and a 9128 flexible extra fine can give a wider line than a 9048 flexible fine.

4. I THINK the order should be:
Rigid/manifold
extra firm
firm
just number
flexible

Best,
Mars

From my observations of nibs I have acquired, the metal of the nib of a manifold (rigid) nib is noticeably thicker than that of an extra-firm nib. Similarly, an extra-firm posting (extra-fine) nib is thicker than the plain posting nib. The Student nib I have is shorter than the General Writing nibs. Nibs of the same type are not identical -- I've found some variation in line width, and in scratchiness of the extra-fine nibs. The ball of iridium on the tip of an extra-firm nib is more obvious than on a rigid nib, due to the difference in thickness, and that might have some influence over how the tip wears. They all seem to write well (though sometimes an extra-fine nib can be scratchy).

Honestly, I don't think the firmness matters much, unless you want a flex nib. More important is to choose whether you want extra-fine, fine, medium, etc.

Thanks that helps quite a bit.