Ranga With Schmidt, Jowo, Or Bock?

[rebcabin]

I'm looking at https://rangapens.com/, and they offer a large variety of nibs in their handmade pens: Schmidt, Jowo, and Bock, steel & titanium. I'd hate to just guess and then have long round trips of shipping from US to India for swaps & service, so I wonder if anyone has some thoughts on:

 

* How soft or springy do the various brands and materials tend to be in broad-point and medium-point? I don't write flexy-style, but I like a little bounce on the nib and paper.

 

* Are there general trends of wetness vs dryness across the brands and materials? I know this depends a lot on tuning, maybe completely on tuning, but perhaps someone knows some general trends.

 

* How buttery versus feedbacky do the various brands and materials tend to be (after tuning)? I'm ambivalent about this. Too much feedback can get tiring, too buttery can be annoying, too.

 

* How easy is it to tune the nibs without dismounting them for these various brands and materials?

 

* Any general differences in steel versus titanium in softness, feedbacky-ness, tunability?

 

* I have a couple Goulet #6 broad-points, and I like them. Anyone know whether they are one of those brands?

 

* Any comparisons in performance and feel to other nibs I am familiar with, i.e., Namiki #50, Montblanc 149, Visconti dreamtouch Palladium?

 

(thinking out loud) these pens are so inexpensive that maybe I should just order three barrels each threaded for one of the three brands (I am pretty sure the three brands differ in threading, so the barrels would not be mutually compatible), then start experimenting with the nibs.

[BlueJ]

Goulet's house-brand nibs are made by Jowo, so since you like them Jowo would be a safe bet.

[rebcabin]

Goulet's house-brand nibs are made by Jowo, so since you like them Jowo would be a safe bet.

 

Thanks! That's probably the answer I was looking for

[LobsterRoll]

I had similar questions when I was looking to make my first Ranga order recently. I've only used Jowo steel nibs.

A large part of the fun of pen shopping for me comes from looking up reviews, so I did some reading on here (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). I ended up concluding that I should just try the nibs if I was curious about them. It didn't seem like too many people have an opinion about or care for Schmidt nibs, so Jowo and Bock are the most popular. Jowo may be a little more consistent in quality, and they seem to be easily available from different vendors (like Goulet). But Bock nibs also seem well-regarded and can be found in different places.

Soft or springy: Seems like most people call Jowo a "nail" and Bock might be very slightly softer.

Buttery vs feedback: I saw different opinions for both brands. So I'm guessing there's no significant difference.

Steel vs titanium: Most of the reviews I saw were happy about their titanium nibs. I'm not interested in one right now, though, so I didn't look into it.

[Holon]

Bock Titanium nibs are softer and wetter then their steel nibs. I like them a lot.

You will find a lot of information about all three nib brands here in the forum or elsewhere in the internet, jus search for it. All three brands make good and reliable nibs.

But if you can afford it, go for the three pen option, or ask Ranga if they can make you three sections for one barrel (the section is the part where the nib is, not the barrel) This way you will know which one suits you better, because it's mostly a personal matter.

[rebcabin]

@Holon, got it RE section! Nice clarification! @LobsterRoll, thanks for the links!

[Honeybadgers]

I find JoWo to be more consistent than bock, but bock a little softer and offering more nib sizes like BB.

 

Schmidt are somewhere in the middle. I have several perfect F's but my B is a little prone to hard starting.

 

Personally, I'd go JoWo for steel, but wouldn't think twice about a bock Ti. I have a JoWo EF in my ranga 8C eyedropper and a titanium Bock EF in my 3c cartridge/converter.

Edited October 31, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[rebcabin]

I find JoWo to be more consistent than bock, but bock a little softer and offering more nib sizes like BB.

 

Schmidt are somewhere in the middle. I have several perfect F's but my B is a little prone to hard starting.

 

Personally, I'd go JoWo for steel, but wouldn't think twice about a bock Ti. I have a JoWo EF in my ranga 8C eyedropper and a titanium Bock EF in my 3c cartridge/converter.

 

Good data, @HB. I'm in-between Mediums and Broads all the time; the Rangas are so cost-effective that I can foresee a few in my future

[bobje]

Ranga offered several group buys that I participated in, and I have reviewed a couple of Ranga pens. I tend to enjoy the springiness and precision in ink placement of Bock nibs the best, but Jowo and Schmidt are just fine.

[countrydirt]

I have a Ranga with a 1.1 mm Bock italic and it is super smooth and has fantastic line variation. I a Range with a fine Bock titanium and it is smooth and springy.

[rebcabin]

@Bobje, your reviews of the Rangas are a gale of inspiration

@countrydir thank you very much. It looks like it's going to be difficult to go wrong, here

[flummoxed]

In case of steel nibs in the B, M and F sizes, I have not experienced too much of a difference between Bock, Schmidt and JoWo. My choice in this case is mostly based on how much I am likely to swap nibs in this pen and how likely I am to use it as an ED.

[Aysedasi]

Just buy it with any of the nibs and swap it out for a Knox. You won't regret it.

[truthpil]

In case of steel nibs in the B, M and F sizes, I have not experienced too much of a difference between Bock, Schmidt and JoWo. My choice in this case is mostly based on how much I am likely to swap nibs in this pen and how likely I am to use it as an ED.

 

Good points. If you want to swap nib units around, it seems like more brands use JoWo units so that might be the better way to go for versatility. It's been annoying for me how few penmakers use Bock nib units when I actually prefer their springiness.

 

Just buy it with any of the nibs and swap it out for a Knox. You won't regret it.

 

Knox OBB is :puddle: wet. Love it!

[rebcabin]

I got a Knox Medium on a small Nemosine pen a while ago. I found it very stiff compared to the Nemosine-branded nib on another pen of the same configuration (these were the smaller Nemosine pens that Birmingham was giving away in bundles with TWSBIs a while ago -- not the Fission, which I like a LOT because of the heavy weight). The Knox starts up immediately and is plenty wet, just noticeably stiff to me.

[truthpil]

I got a Knox Medium on a small Nemosine pen a while ago. I found it very stiff compared to the Nemosine-branded nib on another pen of the same configuration (these were the smaller Nemosine pens that Birmingham was giving away in bundles with TWSBIs a while ago -- not the Fission, which I like a LOT because of the heavy weight). The Knox starts up immediately and is plenty wet, just noticeably stiff to me.

 

Yes, the Knox nibs are very stiff. Their appeal is the witness and glassy smoothness. From my experience, among the big name nib manufacturers, Bock makes the softest steel nib. I believe the Nemosine nibs are from JoWo.

[Honeybadgers]

 

Yes, the Knox nibs are very stiff. Their appeal is the witness and glassy smoothness. From my experience, among the big name nib manufacturers, Bock makes the softest steel nib. I believe the Nemosine nibs are from JoWo.

 

You'd be right.

[Dupontdelamare]

Ranga offered several group buys that I participated in, and I have reviewed a couple of Ranga pens. I tend to enjoy the springiness and precision in ink placement of Bock nibs the best, but Jowo and Schmidt are just fine.

 

I agree with Bobje, I have both 1.1 Bock and Jowo nibs, and it is easier to control the more springy (if not quite flexible) Bock nib. The JoWo in fact almost seems to control my hand (which is not always a bad thing); however my JoWo nib is a little more reliable in the way it starts. Another point to consider is that the Bock 1.1 makes a slightly finer line than the JoWo because of their different tines shape.

I enjoy my fine Bock Titanium nib but it gives less variation than either 1.1 nib. It does have interesting feedback though, similar, as a number of people have suggested, to a graphite pencil.