Excellent Medium #5 Nibs

October 31, 2018

I can hear the groaning -- "Ugh, medium!" -- but it's what I like.

For a long time a Phileas was my daily writer, but it suffered from daily wear and tear. I've replaced it with a Delike Alpha, but the writing experience of a Phileas is difficult to top. But my current writer, the Delike Alpha, takes #5 nibs, which apparently has a lot of options for replacements. I can get a factory #5 M for it, or look for something more interesting. Any suggestions?

November 2, 2018

I like nemosine's medium, weirdly enough. Also like the M in the faber castell loom a lot. Same snap cap style as the phileas. You can get a #5 nemosine medium nib on amazon or ebay or from kevin himself, or swap the nib out of the loom (it's a standard #5)

Edited November 2, 2018 by Honeybadgers

November 2, 2018

I did a ink test with MB Toffee a nice brown shading ink on decent paper..

Ie. MB Toffee:

F was light with dark trails.

M was 50-50. Breaking the M prejudice I picked up on this com.

B was dark with light trails.

M is smoother than F..............the problem I see is many use narrow collage lined paper and the e gets filled up.

Mostly when we come here, M was a starting pen (outside of those who started with Japanese), so one went narrow or wide. I went wide....and was real When I had to buy a F for a pen and maker placeholder.................then soon I had lots of F's .

M&F are good shading ink nibs, I like them in regular flex, more than in the wetter semi-flex.

Not counting my EF for editing 200 I bought, my 215, and Amethyst are M's and I'd not a single thought to swap for a B or F.

Could be an M has to grow on one.....

As I said, until I got to the com....I had no disrespect for an M..........even if I spent 4 1/2 decades behind the Ball Point Mule in the south forty, M was the normal nib issue back in B&W TV days...F could also be found....If I recall, looked a little skinny....more a 'girly' nib.

Logic has nothing to do with boys growing up in hide under the desk the '50's......

Could be the Family Snorkel was M.......it hid in a desk drawer coming out to write checks....that was after the world had gone BP.

I do remember this day, ...crystal clear, just the five minutes that counted....in the world got knocked out of it's stable orbit.

One early sunny Summer mourning in 1955, Dad came out the house with out his Snorkel in his fatigue shirt pocket ....that didn't write good in the grease of big boat engines ...........and the Government sponsored the demise of the fountain pen, by giving the Black Skillcraft (made by exploited blind) away................by the millions to Military and Civilian workers.

Free beer is free beer.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Bo Bo Olson

November 2, 2018

I did a ink test with MB Toffee a nice brown shading ink on decent paper..
Ie. MB Toffee:
F was light with dark trails.
M was 50-50. Breaking the M prejudice I picked up on this com.
B was dark with light trails.

M is smoother than F..............the problem I see is many use narrow collage lined paper and the e gets filled up.

Mostly when we come here, M was a starting pen (outside of those who started with Japanese), so one went narrow or wide.

I grew up with ballpoints and, as a southpaw, write against the grain, which made them near-unusable. My first fountain pen and its "M" nib were a revelation -- the sky shone, birds sang, there was an angelic chorus. This is how it's supposed to work!

With an F nib, that chorus is... somewhat subdued.

M&F are good shading ink nibs, I like them in regular flex, more than in the wetter semi-flex.

May I buy a few letters, please?

A glance over 'brand focus' doesn't show an obvious brand match, and hunting for 'M&F' just lots of offers for pens with "medium and fine" nib selections.

As I said, until I got to the com....I had no disrespect for an M.

Oh, I know, I'm not at all serious about "disrespect". Still, I almost never see M's suggested as gifts here, which I think is too bad. To a new fountain pen user, an M's a lot more impressive than an F. Edited November 2, 2018 by Corona688