Aurora Nibs

[minddance]

I am going to ask some rather silly questions: how do Aurora nibs write? Is it unique? How does Aurora compare to, say, Pelikans, Sailors? Do the nibs write different write different models/product range?

[ErrantSmudge]

Aurora nibs are somewhat "toothy", that is they have some feedback as you write. Some people label this "scratchy" but that's really a misnomer. A scratchy nibs is defective and in need of adjustment; the feedback in an Aurora nib is intentional and it is a different feel from scratchiness. The best I can liken it to is writing with a pencil.

 

The toothiness is more apparent in their gold nibs. I have a 14K gold nib and I really like the way it performs and feels. It's like nothing else in my collection. The steel nibs in the Ipsilon family are not as feedback-y, at least in my experience.

[jar]

There is no uniform characteristic to Aurora nibs that I have found that is uniform across models and eras. Two of my modern Aurora stubs are different enough that I can tell them apart blindfolded. That is also true when it comes to my Hastils, my vintage 88 family pens and my 98 family pens. Some are toothy, some more like ST Dupont nibs, some very similar to my Sailor nibs and others more like a Platinum modern #3776 nib.

 

Right now I have a Sailor 1911S, Platinum #3776 and an old Aurora 888P filed and in rotation. All are medium nibs, the Platinum and Aurora are using Platinum Blue Black cartridges and the 1911S a Sailor Blue Black cartridge. The Aurora puts down the thinnest lines of the three while the #3776 is the widest. All are wet writers. All start immediately and show no hesitation or skipping.

 

I have a Talentum Stub that has to rank among my smoothest nibs period and a Hastill that feels like a pencil with a chipped point.