How Noisy Is Your Fountain Pen?

[NHsueh]

How noisy is your nib when you write? I have a few fountain pens, and while all of them write smoothly, they all sound different, and I find it very difficult to compare the smoothness since what I hear seems to affect how smooth I perceive the pen to be.

 

What is your experience?

[SujiCorp12345]

With my EF and F nibs, a quiet scratching sound. Not noticeable when I take notes during a lecture when the professor is speaking. I still haven't tried M or B nibs so I can't comment on their sounds yet.

[madden11]

I just got out of meeting and I had my TWSBI 580 with ef nib. As the meeting was pointless and there was not much to discuss, the conference room kept going silent...all except for my pen. So all eyes turned toward me as I scribbled to my heart's content and it became clear that I was not note-taking. I don't consider this pen scratchy at all, but I would have garnered less attention if I'd taken my Parker IM in with me. I didn't mind though; I rather like the frictional sound.

[AAAndrew]

The only sound I don't like is when I use my Sheaffer snorkel stub on one kind of cheap paper it squeaks. So, I don't use it on cheap paper.

 

My Pelikan is the loudest, but it's a very cool, old-fashioned kind of "scritch, scritch". Most of the rest are pretty quiet. I have two I call stealth pens in that they make absolutely no noise that my old ears can hear: an Esterbrook and a Sheaffer, both are heaven to write with.

[wallylynn]

I dislike hearing any scraping/scratching. The only sound I like is the "click" when I cap and uncap.

[GTOZack]

I haven't noticed such any issues or attention

[Bo Bo Olson]

Some nibs sing. That will stop after a while, like a singing sword or a singing razor.

 

Yep, there are crafts men today that here and there make a sword that sings. It loses it the more one waves it around in the air.

You really got to pay extra for a French singing razor, they are the only ones still making them.

 

Mostly it depends on the paper for any sound, the wider the nib the less sound for me.

[MusterMark]

I recently bought my first Parker 51, The man who sold me the pen had just had it tuned by a nibmeister. It's my first tuned fountain pen, and it writes wonderfully--very smooth with just a hint of feedback. It makes a sound that I would describe as "chalky" (not squeaky and not scratchy, but somewhere in between). Weird, I know, but that word usually pops into my head when I start writing with it.

 

My Lamy 2000 squeaks, but only on Rhodia dotpads.

[strictlyobiter]

I have a few singing nibs too. I find it oddly comforting though, listening to them as they submit my drivel to paper

[sgage]

When you hear nothing

Only when you hear nothing

There is ninja pen

 

I consider a scratchy noise a clue that I'm holding the pen at the wrong angle. When everything is right, no noise at all. It helps if you use Tomoe River paper :-)

[dgturner]

I have a few fine/extra-fine nibs that have a slight noise, but it is my Sailor that sings! Unfortunately it sings to let me know I have the pen at an excessively high angle (I am a leftie and tend to be an over-writer).

[Eclectica]

I have a few singing nibs too. I find it oddly comforting though, listening to them as they submit my drivel to paper

 

+1 :D

[Stu L]

I recently bought my first Parker 51, The man who sold me the pen had just had it tuned by a nibmeister. It's my first tuned fountain pen, and it writes wonderfully--very smooth with just a hint of feedback. It makes a sound that I would describe as "chalky" (not squeaky and not scratchy, but somewhere in between). Weird, I know, but that word usually pops into my head when I start writing with it.

 

My Lamy 2000 squeaks, but only on Rhodia dotpads.

 

I have a Faber Castel Basic that is noisy too. I have long struggled to describe the sound it makes, but chalky is pretty close.

Despite its sound, it is very smooth and yet I can't bring myself to write with it - I just hate that sound!

[MusterMark]

 

I have a Faber Castel Basic that is noisy too. I have long struggled to describe the sound it makes, but chalky is pretty close.

Despite its sound, it is very smooth and yet I can't bring myself to write with it - I just hate that sound!

That's funny because I kind of love that chalky sound. I'm a teacher, so maybe that explains the odd affinity I feel for it.

[GTOZack]

my montblancs are glassy smooth

[PAKMAN]

Every nib is different. Some squeak a little, some sing, some skritch, a few vintage ones have a more audible scratching sound. Gotta love um!

[Sasha Royale]

The murmur of the nib is a gentle song that serenades the heart. The heart, in turn, sings to the soul.

Finer nibs are noisier that broader nibs because they scratch the paper surface. Smoother papers are

quieter. I have never found the "noise" to be objectionable, not even when I was hungover. If course,

I don't press down on the nib while writing.

 

Some people play music while writing.

 

The correct (and quietest) slant for a fountain pen is 45 to 50 degrees. .

[Shangas]

The nuclear reactor under the blind-cap that powers the piston-mechanism is surprisingly devoid of sound.

[Beckwith]

I've heard that squeaking/singing can be a sign of a "good" nib. (I assume "good"here means smooth, and probably a bit flexible.) Can anyone explain why squeaking/singing would correlate with those qualities?

[Paddler]

How noisy is your nib when you write? I have a few fountain pens, and while all of them write smoothly, they all sound different, and I find it very difficult to compare the smoothness since what I hear seems to affect how smooth I perceive the pen to be.

 

What is your experience?

 

When I want to compare the smoothness of several nibs, I wear my shooter's ear muffs so the nib noise cannot influence my judgement.