Wich Pens Did Have Degussa Nibs?

January 9, 2012

Recently i've bought an old artus with an steel coroded nib. The pen is no beaty at all, but i fitted it with a new cork and filler her up a few days ago.

It has a very smooth nib with some kind of flex to it. I really like the way it writes and i've wondered wich ppens other than artus had the degussa nibs.

I suppose the nibs where mostly fit onto german pens?

Someone than can point me in the right direction?

January 9, 2012

I have a few Artus pens and half have Artus nibs.

It could well be you have a replacement nib...it's OK Degussa was a good nib maker.

Artus came into association with Lamy before the war. After the war he bought the pen making department from Artus, with plastic forming machine.

Artus made plastic forming machines machines first and pens second.

Degussa was a major nib maker before Bock. So it is perhaps impossible to know which 'second tier' companies had Degussa . Tropen did...for a while in the '50s it made more pens than any other German companies but was an export company.

Bock for a while made nibs for Pelikan marked Pelikan and make nibs for other 'big name' companies today with their names on it.

So was in Back in the When too.

Degussa had bought up Osmia's nib machines and (factory?) in 1932, because Osmia had money problems in the Great Depression, in they were making pens with out a paper and ink and office supply house backing up the pens like Soennecken, MB,or Pelikan or the later Geha.

Osmia was a top five German pen company, and made great steel and gold nibs.

Degussa made nibs after buying up Osmia's pen making machines and workmen.

There were 120 or more German pen companies and Bock started in 1938 after Gold was forbidden for pens.

So many companies used them.

Some times, companies has their mark on the nib instead of Degussa.

I have Degussa easy full flex, semi-flex and a few regular flex.

As Noobie I was so dumb...I did not respect Degussa nibs....in my ignorance. They were Osmia regular and Supra nibs. :thumbup: When they wanted to be. One has to take into account some companies wanted this that and the other instead of spending more for the best work.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Bo Bo Olson

January 10, 2012

Bo Bo,

About the artus pen i have in my possesion, i think it's possible that it's a replacement nib, on the black plastic there is an imprint F for fine feder, but the nib on the pen has a sllight Medium/broad 15° oblique. Other possibility? would be that the nib is grinded down of the use over time? It seems as the nib has no tipping, (or i can't see it with the naked eye). (pictures in previous thread, bad quality do'h)

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/210643-identify-these-pens-artus-senator/page__p__2192962__fromsearch__1#entry2192962

So if i understand correctly, searching after the degussa nib, will be not that direct. I've tought that there would be some marks that used them and search these, but apparently even artus has nib that are artus and no degussa nibs.

I suppose that it's a good idea to search in the german pens to find some?

Regards,

Adam

January 10, 2012

'Osmium' was very expensive, and I've a number of nibs with minimum amounts. They did not make round ball nibs like today...unless it was a special Kugle (ball) nib.**

I have a few nibs that look like there was nothing there...some have still a bit of tipping.......Some have no tipping ..some shade tree mechanic tried to stub and didn't know how.

I have a number of 'flexi' Degussa nibs and they seem to have no tipping...that is wrong...it is they have absolutely minimum.

Some of my Osmia nibs has a bit more tipping than other Osmia nibs. I don't have any pre Degussa Osmia nibs so I can't tell how much they had in late 20's-32.

**

The 790 Geha KM nib has next to nothing under the nib, and the Kugle (ball) over it. I have some late '50's-mid 60's FK Geha nibs that has what would be considered 'normal' for the bottom of the nib today. But I think it was F-Kugle. It was a school kid nib.

Looking at the Pelikan school kid 120 and 400NN,... had next to no tipping, nor the Geha 725.

A few of my '50's-65 second tier pen's nibs have 'rounded' tipping.

so does my '58 Lamy 27.

It could be that fuller tipping came in some time after the mid-50's.

So it could be a number of the mid-'50s and earlier nibs customarily had less. Just checked two of my '30's pens is so...and a few more of my 'mid 50's-65 second tier pens had more tipping.

That don't mean they wrote less or more good.

Oddly, but many of my 'best' nibs have very little tipping as they were made.

One can be 'aware' with out giving it the consideration it deserves. I was 'aware' from the start that those pens looked like 'some one' smoothed them with a stone. Then slowly forgot.

But after looking at so many that was done in the factory and the iridium dust collected. The dust was more worth than gold.

I am lucky with my mostly semi-flex to maxi-semi-flex/'flexi' nibs that are pre'66 write very well to very very well. Those with minimum tipping are some of my best nibs.

I have a some Degussa easy full flex nibs that I don't have on pens. Put them in their shot glass nib holder and didn't look much at the tipping, until you brought this subject up.

Your nib is just fine...they made it that way.

January 11, 2012

bo bo,

always a pleasure to read your historical comments!

I'm expecting a loupe this week, will check out the nib and see if there is some tipping on the nib.

The nib is a little coroded on one upper side (rough surface), schould i try to remove it? (with what) Or schould i let it as is?

January 11, 2012

I try to stay away from powerful stuff like micro-mesh.

I use a brown paper bag to 'smooth' the nib just a tad to take away the micro corrosion that happens with old pens that sat in the back of a drawer for a few decades.

If the damage is on and only on the upper side, ignore...but it sounds like you nave a bit of 'rust' (on both sides).

As long as you keep it away from the tip, a light touch up with a dremel might help.

But you should take that to the repair section...I's still noobie with repair. I had a few nibs that had some inside 'rust/corrosion that I smoothed up a bit. I'd not taken the metal down much....just ran the dremel across it with a cotton pad and jeweler's rouge; leaving sort of little balck holes instead of 'rust'.

I did not want to get too heavy into metal removal.

It did not seem to make any difference to in flow. ...as long as the nib is not so eaten that it will break easily in half.

It could well be I had other nibs and swapped them out. It was a while back.

January 12, 2012

i'll leacve it alone then

December 3, 2013

I found one in a Bermond. Didn't get the impression it was a replacement

December 4, 2013

There were pens made with Degussa nibs....as Degussa....like a Bock nib.

I have old Bock nibs on this and that pen too.

Lots of major companies use Bock nibs today, under the company name.

At one time in the last century (ha...that sounds so 1890's to me.) there were 120 and more pen manufacturers or folks that put pens together from parts ordered from the big boys; for small local market use....department stores and such.

I've found a Rupp nib on a pen. It made me aware of that Heidelberg nib company.

I have Herliz nibs, made by Herlitz which are very stiff, to stiff regular flex....the tines will spread but only with lots of pressure. They made their own nibs.

Luxor I'm not sure of. They did have their own brand mark. I only have one.

All companies mentioned are Heidelberg and surroundings companies. Once Heidelberg was 'fountain pen' capitol of Germany. Kaweco, Mercedes, the 'old well made Reform' and a couple others were here too.