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Stainless Steel Nibs Vs. Gold Nibs


WriterJP

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Hey all,

 

I was browsing around my local Paradise Pen Co. store the other day, and the salesperson there showed me a Parker Sonnet that had an 18k gold nib, rather than a stainless steel one. I asked him whether gold was present for some functional purpose, or if its inclusion was purely aesthetic. He told me that he was explained that the gold nibs, due to being natural material and not man-made, essentially "polish" themselves according to how the user writes. For example, if you were to write with a more up and down instrumental angle as opposed to one that is more lateral, then that portion of the nib would polish itself and then eventually write smoother than it had previously.

 

Being the skeptic that I am when listening to sales pitches, although the gentleman seemed to have no ulterior motives other than providing information (and perhaps selling me the pen!), I would like to know what some of the more experienced pen users have as far as opinions and knowledge on the topic. :)

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Regards,

 

JP

Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable. ~Francis Bacon

Pens: Waterman Hemisphere M, TWSBI 530 Diamond M/EF, J.Herbin Glass Dip, Esterbrook J F, Montblanc 146 LeGrand M, Lamy 2000 M, TWSBI 540 Diamond Smoke F

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Bunk!

 

Some brands have steel nibs that feel much the same as their gold [Visconti] until you've written many, many years with pens and can feel the difference.

 

Some steel are capable of feats of flex that gold cannot without springing.

 

Both steel and gold generally have iridium tipping as gold would wear away over time, so you're technically writing on the tipping material, not the nib.

 

That being said, gold nibs will often have a "softer" feel to those used to fountain pens. For those starting out, steel will work perfectly well. I still have the steel nibbed Visconti that hooked me on the higher end pens. The difference is palpable after years of use, but it's still an awesome pen and makes a good "loaner" for people to see if they'll like a FP.

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Bunk is right. The tipping material is the only thing that touches the paper (although some steel nibs don't have any tipping, like calligraphy nibs, etc.) With today's tech and metallurgy know-how, I don't believe there's any reason that a gold nib is inherently better than a steel nib. It all comes down to how it's made. I suspect that it's possible to make a steel nib that's much more flexible than a gold nib (after all, what are springs made of?), but there's no market for it.

 

That said, a nib on a nice pen is supposed to be gold in the minds of most, so that's what we get.

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I've used both the gold plated steel nibbed Sonnets and the 18k solid gold nibbed Sonnets and feel they are much the same. As has been previously noted, the tipping material is what actually touches the paper for either version; also, a well crafted steel nib can provide a very pleasing writing experience. By the same token, a solid gold nib is, by itself, no guarantee of a pleasant writing experience.

 

My own personal opinion is that beyond a certain price point, purchasers simply expect to see a gold nib on the pen, not steel. This certainly plays out with the Sonnet whereby the lower-priced models sport the gold plated nibs and the higher-priced models the 18k nib.

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Hey all,

 

I was browsing around my local Paradise Pen Co. store the other day, and the salesperson there showed me a Parker Sonnet that had an 18k gold nib, rather than a stainless steel one. I asked him whether gold was present for some functional purpose, or if its inclusion was purely aesthetic. He told me that he was explained that the gold nibs, due to being natural material and not man-made, essentially "polish" themselves according to how the user writes. For example, if you were to write with a more up and down instrumental angle as opposed to one that is more lateral, then that portion of the nib would polish itself and then eventually write smoother than it had previously.

 

Being the skeptic that I am when listening to sales pitches, although the gentleman seemed to have no ulterior motives other than providing information (and perhaps selling me the pen!), I would like to know what some of the more experienced pen users have as far as opinions and knowledge on the topic. :)

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Regards,

 

JP

I smell a steaming heap of bull excrement. This is certainly not the case, as both stainless steel and gold nibs write equally well, and both can be made into slightly flexible or stiff nibs that write equally well. The only point that would "polish" would be the iridium/platinum alloy tipping material, and that would polish about equally same with use for both gold and SS.

The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.

Blaise Pascal

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Tell me about any of your new pens and help with fountain pen quality control research!

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Bunk++

 

Given the desire to do so I think you could design and manufacture a much better writing steel nib than a gold one.

 

Even excepting cost, there are many reasons that we don't generally fabricate mechanical widgits out of gold. While it's a "good" metal (chem/physics view) it isn't a very good engineering material. You know, the kind of materials that we monkeys want to turn into tools - like FP nibs.

 

Gold is corrosion resistant and oh so shiny though!

 

Mike (metallurgist forever seeking a female favoring steel over gold jewelery)

Los Alamos, NM

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+1 for bunk. To begin with, the gold in even 18K nibs is an alloy, and therefore every bit as man-made as steel. And, as others have mentioned, the gold nib has gone through the entirely man-made process of having a little ball of much harder metal attached to the tip. It is that little ball that touches the paper. The rest of the nib just holds the ball in place and provides a capillary to conduct ink to it. Not that there isn't a lot of art in doing that job, but the choice of materials is secondary to the art.

ron

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Bunk++

 

Given the desire to do so I think you could design and manufacture a much better writing steel nib than a gold one.

 

Even excepting cost, there are many reasons that we don't generally fabricate mechanical widgits out of gold. While it's a "good" metal (chem/physics view) it isn't a very good engineering material. You know, the kind of materials that we monkeys want to turn into tools - like FP nibs.

 

Gold is corrosion resistant and oh so shiny though!

 

Mike (metallurgist forever seeking a female favoring steel over gold jewelery)

Los Alamos, NM

:W2FPN: Hi, Mike. I prefer silver over gold and speak basic engineering. You can talk to me until you find your grail female. ;)

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Bunk is polite, and complete and utter bullplop is more like it. As others have said, both gold and steel nibs, on all but the very cheapest, 99p or less budget store pens, have tipping, and that is usually the same, 'iridium' type material. In reality, it isn't iridium, but a very, very strong metal alloy. This will take years of writing 24/7 on normal paper to be worn away. So, you aren't actually writing with the steel or gold. I guess that gold is more resistant to corrosion, but with the modern steel alloys used, I suspect that a good steel nib will continue to earning it's worth, long after you start drawing your pension, even if you are still a foetus! What I do suspect is different is the response of the materials to pressure, possibly providing a softer feeling when using the gold. Either way, there is little in theory to discriminate between the two types of nib.

 

Gold nibs, however, cost much, much more in most cases. Others have speculated that even a very large one only has $20 worth of gold in it, so there is a great deal of money left to have greater quality control and craftsmanship to create a better experience. My suspicion then is that gold nibs being better than steel ones is primarily an economic coincidence.

 

David

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I used to prefer gold nibs a thousand times over steel until I met this baby. Changed completely my perception/prejudice over steel nibs.

 

http://inlinethumb57.webshots.com/46072/2928777970105226730S500x500Q85.jpg

sonia alvarez

 

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I've found that when somebody tells me something that makes no sense, I can usually figure on it being untrue.

 

He told me that he was explained that the gold nibs, due to being natural material and not man-made, essentially "polish" themselves according to how the user writes.

 

Doesn't make sense. How is 18K gold alloy more "natural" than stainless steel alloy? It's not.

 

 

For example, if you were to write with a more up and down instrumental angle as opposed to one that is more lateral, then that portion of the nib would polish itself and then eventually write smoother than it had previously.

 

Doesn't make sense. The part that touches the paper in either case is the iridium tip, not the gold or the steel.

 

 

Gold nibs are better than steel only because they are shiny yellow and cost more, and because 14K gold was the traditional material for high-quality pen nibs back in the "golden age", as it were, of vintage pens -- when inks were more corrosive and steel alloys weren't nearly as good as today. Because of its softness, 18K gold is arguably inferior to both steel and traditional 14K gold alloy.

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I usually prefer gold nibs on modern pens because they're more likely than modern steel nibs to be a bit springy, which is my preference. However, there are also gold nibs that are rigid and (less commonly) steel nibs that are springy.

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JP Ignore him. He either has no idea what he's talking about, or it's some ridiculous sales pitch.

 

There's no difference, functionally, between a gold or a steel nib. Historically, gold was used because steel of the era had all the shelf-life of a piece of cheese, but other than that, one has absolutely no benefit over the other. And since we now have stainless steel, even that historical point is moot.

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Is it convenient to get yourself to NYC to visit the real pen stores? Don't patronize the big chain if they don't know what they're talking about.

 

The bunk isn't even self-consistent. Ignoring the natural part, and then assuming that gold did touch the paper and polish down, when would it stop polishing down?

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I have some Omsia Supra steel and a gold nib, they are grand 'slightly flexible/'flexi' superb nibs. The Osmia regular steel semi-flex nibs are very very good.

These are pre, during and after the war.

 

 

 

I even have a '56-65 Pelikan 120 gold plated regular flex steel nib in F that is a joy to write with.

It is nip and tuck with my '80's Pelikan 400 14 K nib and IMO better than my modern 14 K 605. A Pelikan '80's nib is from '83-97...the Pre '98's that it's some time referred too. Post '98 refers to the lesser Modern nibs.

 

I have a couple of Geha steel nibs that are real real good, semi-flex. Match right up there with the Geha semi-flex gold nibs.

One can not expect all their school nibs to be grand.

 

I have some war time Bock and Degussa nibs that are very, very good.

 

I also have good, very good, very very good and grand gold nibs.

 

In Vintage nibs you can get some outstanding nibs...in steel and in gold.

 

OK I'm sure I have enough pretty good or regular but not spectacular steel vintage nibs....Some day when I have everything up and working I'll worry about how good those nibs are.

 

A good steel nib can be as good as a good gold nib.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Gold is a element and occurs naturally.

Stainless steel is a descriptor for a family of corrosion resistant steel alloys and is man made.

 

Gold is more corrosion resistant than regular steel and probably on par with stainless steel (depending on the alloy).

 

Pure gold has a lower modulus of elasticity than stainless steel and so in the same design nib will be more flexible than stainless steel.

Stainless steel nibs can be made to be flexible and gold nibs made to be rigid.

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Gold is a element and occurs naturally.

 

That's not the gold we're talking about. Pen nibs aren't made from elemental (24K) gold, nor are pen nibs pounded out of naturally occurring nuggets of electrum. 18K gold is an alloy, 14K gold is an alloy, and they're refined and fabricated with just as much artifice as steel.

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Is it convenient to get yourself to NYC to visit the real pen stores? Don't patronize the big chain if they don't know what they're talking about.

 

The bunk isn't even self-consistent. Ignoring the natural part, and then assuming that gold did touch the paper and polish down, when would it stop polishing down?

 

Bunk ++. As everyone has said, you write with a tip attached to a nib. The tip is something like "irridium" welded to the nib, which can be gold or steel. The only way a gold nib could be better than steel is if the pen-maker gave more attention to the "irridium" tip on their gold nib because they charged more for the gold nibbed pen. (I happen to think my steel-nibbed Sonnet is smoother than my gold-nibbed Sonnet, by the way)

 

For details, check Brian Gray's essay on his "Edison Pens" website.

 

Otherwise, beware of misleading sales people. Catch the train to Penn Station. Either go to Art Brown's on 45th just west of 5th Avenue, or to Fountain Pen Hospital, just south of Chambers, and between Church St and B'way.

Edited by welch

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Gold is a element and occurs naturally.

 

That's not the gold we're talking about. Pen nibs aren't made from elemental (24K) gold, nor are pen nibs pounded out of naturally occurring nuggets of electrum. 18K gold is an alloy, 14K gold is an alloy, and they're refined and fabricated with just as much artifice as steel.

 

Which alloy of steel? 300 Series? 400 Series? Plain? L? Heat treated? Not?

My only point is that the term "stainless steel" is far more a descriptor than a definition and says little of its properties other than corrosion resistance.

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FWIW, the 'iridium tip' is a bit of a misnomer. An alloy used to be used with varying amounts of iridium (sometimes none), and modern pens probably forego iridium altogether.

http://www.nibs.com/article4.html

 

Regarding the gold/steel issue, gold is more resistant. That doesn't mean much nowadays because our steel nibs are more resistant, our inks are more delicate, and nibs will be looked after more carefully because they're not simply 'throwaway' pens like they used to be.

http://www.nibs.com/WhyUseGoldNibs.htm

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