S.t Dupont 14K Gold Nib Iridium Tip?

[rb120134]

Hi,

I have had 2 Graf von Faber Castell fountain pens, the Macassar and the Snakewood limited edition. To be honest, I found them very dry, hard starting and skipping every now and then. A guy in my class had a 25 dollar fountain pen with a steel nib, even that one wrote better then my GvFC. It starts straight away, I could leave the pen uncapped for 1-2 min and it would start straight away. My GvFC would definately not do that. It would not start straight away. Now I read so many good things about S.T Dupont fountain pens, wet nibs, excellent writers and good built quality. Now, what is the tipping material of the 14k gold nibs of S.T dupont? Is it Iridium? Do they use Bock nibs? Is 14k better or worse then 18k. Graf uses 18k gold. And S.T Dupont has snap caps. How is the longetivity as far as keeping the nib sealed from air? Can it last a lifetime?

[Mulrich]

If a nib has tipping it is almost definitely iridium (a few stubs don't have any tipping). This is why some people claim the nib metal doesn't matter much because the tipping material is all the same (at least when it comes to a nib's smoothness).

 

Last I heard, Dupont uses Bock nibs (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/297340-nib-manufacture/)

 

I don't notice any differences between 14k and 18k nibs but others may. In theory, an 18k nib will be a little softer than a 14k nib but this is not a guarantee (there are other things that affect how soft a nib is). Dupont uses both 14k and 18k nibs depending on the model (I think the more limited/special a model is the more likely it is to be 18k but this is not guaranteed). I have a handful of both 14k and 18k Duponts and haven't noticed any differences between them (all are very good writers).

 

I've never really stress-tested a Dupont cap to know how long they keep nibs ready to write. I've also never had a problem with hard starts; I would guess that the longest I've had a pen sit inked but unused is about 10 days. Others can probably give you a better idea of how long you can let a pen sit unused but if this is a major concern you may want to go with a screw-cap (although not all screw-caps are made equal–some will dry out within a couple hours and others can last months).

 

Last comment, I've tried a large variety of pens (both low and high-end, including most flagship models from the major manufactures) and I would rate Dupont at or near the top of my all-time list.

[manhha]

If a nib has tipping it is almost definitely iridium (a few stubs don't have any tipping). This is why some people claim the nib metal doesn't matter much because the tipping material is all the same (at least when it comes to a nib's smoothness).

 

Last I heard, Dupont uses Bock nibs (https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/297340-nib-manufacture/)

 

I don't notice any differences between 14k and 18k nibs but others may. In theory, an 18k nib will be a little softer than a 14k nib but this is not a guarantee (there are other things that affect how soft a nib is). Dupont uses both 14k and 18k nibs depending on the model (I think the more limited/special a model is the more likely it is to be 18k but this is not guaranteed). I have a handful of both 14k and 18k Duponts and haven't noticed any differences between them (all are very good writers).

 

I've never really stress-tested a Dupont cap to know how long they keep nibs ready to write. I've also never had a problem with hard starts; I would guess that the longest I've had a pen sit inked but unused is about 10 days. Others can probably give you a better idea of how long you can let a pen sit unused but if this is a major concern you may want to go with a screw-cap (although not all screw-caps are made equal–some will dry out within a couple hours and others can last months).

 

Last comment, I've tried a large variety of pens (both low and high-end, including most flagship models from the major manufactures) and I would rate Dupont at or near the top of my all-time list.

+1

I share the same opinion with Mulrich. Of all flagship pens and top-tier brands I've used, I rate ST Dupont at the top. The finish, writing experience and attention to details are second to none.

[jar]

It's unlikely the tipping is actually iridium but will be from the same group of metals.