Widely Available Nibs That Offer ‘Something Extra’

[TheDutchGuy]

Personally I tend to grow fond of nibs that offer ‘something extra’ and are widely available today. Perhaps this is of some use to someone.

• The 14k Lamy EF nib as used on the Dialog 3 has some architect character, which has been reported by several FPN members.
• Montblanc’s EF nibs frequently have an architect character as well, which has been reported on the 146 EF and the 149 EF.
• Leonardo’s steel nibs are some of the softest steel nibs on the market today, as has been widely reported here on FPN.
• (anecdotal) The steel F nib on my Pineider Avatar UR writes a nice, crisp line that is not only a true Western F (a lot of Western nibs are actually on the wide side of their width designation) but also offers a hint of stubbishness, which adds character to the writing. The downstrokes are slightly wider than the sidestrokes.
• Visconti’s now-abandoned 23k Palladium nibs seem to be revered and despised in equal measure. Whether you like them or not, they have a character all their own. They’re quite soft and springy, offer some line variation (don’t overdo it) and have a certain tactile feedback that’s quite unlike most other nibs. There’s also lots of tipping material present, which allows for nice reverse writing as well as offering a wonderful platform for tuning and regrinds. If you can get a 23k Pd Visconti (they’re still around... yet) and add 40 or 50 euros for a good nibmeister, you’ll have one helluva pen. I’ll never part with mine.
• (anecdotal) Visconti’s present-day 18k gold nibs appear to be very carefully made and tuned. I’ve tried several and own one. The ‘something extra’ of this nib should me market standard in my opinion, but it isn’t and therefore I mention it here: the F nib that I own (as well as the others that I’ve tried) truly write an F line and even appear to be slightly on the EF side. With a lot of Western pens, if you order a F there’s quite a chance that it’ll write like a M. Not with these nibs, which are remarkably crisp and precise and even remind me of some really good Japanese nibs.

(Obviously, vintage pens offer a plethora of truly remarkable nibs, but I choose not to include those because they may not be widely available.)

 

Any additions?

[Uncial]

Pelikan's M1000 nib is quite unique. Some call it spongy. I love it; wet, a little line variation and a huge nib.

Pelikan broad nibs for the M800 series of late have all impressed me with a very slightly stubbish aspect.

MB's double broad is like no other nib. Some will find it far, far too smooth, but I find that alongside the stub aspect an absolute pleasure.

You could argue that none of these are especially 'widely available' given their price tag but I can't honest;y say I've ever regretted purchasing any of them and none are in the 'hard to find' category.

[carlos.q]

Pelikan steel nibs for the M200 and M205 series of pens are awesome and, for my taste, nicer that modern Pelikan gold nibs which are very precise nails. The steel nibs are soft, springy and some say semi-flex all of which can give your everyday writing some added flair.

 

 

 

 

PS. I have nothing against nails. Some of my best nibs are nails.

[sansenri]

You beat me to it, Carlos...

Not everybody likes them, but I find that the Pelikan M200 steel nibs are really good, at least to my liking.

For a start they are usually a more correct size (as opposed to Pelikan gold nibs that usually write almost one size wider), but the main characteristic is they are springy, not really semi-flex, but they do have a slight touch of give and a nice spring back.

In this respect, being steel, that's quite a difference vs other modern steel nibs (I do agree that the Leonardo steel nibs also have some softness/spring, which is a recent change vs a lot of other modern very stiff steel nibs).

The EF is not the reference, not rarely they are a touch scratchy, but the M and the B are really nice nibs.

[TheDutchGuy]

• The adjustable nib of the Pilot Justus 95 is unique in its price point. The H setting is noticeably drier and produces a thinner line than the S setting, allowing compensation for dry or wet inks. The nib is soft, but not overly so. It is not overly smooth, offering quite a bit of tactile response.

 

[silverlifter]

The Lamy 2000 nibs are quite stubby (I have always assumed this is why people complain about a "sweet spot").

[MuddyWaters]

You beat me to it, Carlos...

Not everybody likes them, but I find that the Pelikan M200 steel nibs are really good, at least to my liking.

For a start they are usually a more correct size (as opposed to Pelikan gold nibs that usually write almost one size wider), but the main characteristic is they are springy, not really semi-flex, but they do have a slight touch of give and a nice spring back.

In this respect, being steel, that's quite a difference vs other modern steel nibs (I do agree that the Leonardo steel nibs also have some softness/spring, which is a recent change vs a lot of other modern very stiff steel nibs).

The EF is not the reference, not rarely they are a touch scratchy, but the M and the B are really nice nibs.

What have people complained about in the m200 nib?

 

This is a nice thread. Thanks Dutch guy

[WLSpec]

Sailor's zoom nib is widely available, and can be purchased for a reasonable price nowadays. At first I was not fond for the 14k zoom nib I have, but I now enjoy writing with it. It is wet, smooth with a touch of feedback, and, of course, has the ability to create a BB/3B line when held at a lower angle and a F line when held perpendicular to the paper (and even an EF when held upside-down!)

Edited July 11, 2020 by WLSpec

[Karmachanic]

Bock Titanium nibs are, in my view, delightfully soft, semi-flexy.

Pelikan M205√

Pelikan M1000√

[ENewton]

Among modern nibs, I would say that the ones that "offer something extra" to me are my Sailors. I have a fine, a medium, and a broad. Each one has the quality of being wet enough to showcase an ink while offering a type of feedback unique in my experience.

 

In general, I prefer vintage pens. The only other modern pen for which I reach almost as frequently as my Sailors is a cursive italic ground from a standard nib, so it doesn't fit the criteria stated in the original post.

[TheDutchGuy]

 

 

Sailor's zoom nib is widely available, and can be purchased for a reasonable price nowadays. At first I was not fond for the 14k zoom nib I have, but I now enjoy writing with it. It is wet, smooth with a touch of feedback, and, of course, has the ability to create a BB/3B line when held at a lower angle and a F line when held perpendicular to the paper (and even an EF when held upside-down!)

 

Good addition, thanks! It’s a bit difficult to draw the line between “something extra” and “specialty nib”. Personally, I’d say a music nib is a specialty nib whereas a zoom nib offers “something extra” but “lots and lots and lots of extra” .

 

Among modern nibs, I would say that the ones that "offer something extra" to me are my Sailors. I have a fine, a medium, and a broad. Each one has the quality of being wet enough to showcase an ink while offering a type of feedback unique in my experience.

 

I was tempted to mention Sailor’s regular nibs, because it felt a little over the top to say that an entire brand offers “something extra”, but I agree that Sailor offers spectacularly good gold nibs.

[A Smug Dill]

I was tempted to mention Sailors regular nibs, because it felt a little over the top to say that an entire brand offers something extra, but I agree that Sailor offers spectacularly good gold nibs.

Well, if Sailor's entry-level medium-sized 14K gold nib can produce such a wide range of line widths while other brands' gold nibs cannot, then it is indeed something special/extra.

[minddance]

slightly misaligned tines can offer some 'flavour' in the written line. of course I am not advocating this, just an observation.

 

Sailors, yes, of course. The 14k and 21k Fine nibs are rather interesting to me. Never a boring moment. The EF and MF nibs are slightly 'boring'. The M and B nibs are shaped in a way which disagree with my hand and writing, I have returned them and never looked back. The Naginata Togi may not show line variations if the writer does not know how to use the pen, or does not know the pen.

 

I guess we are talking fine nuances and 'flavours' here, not overt line variations which a flex or stub delivers.

[TheDutchGuy]

Well, if Sailor's entry-level medium-sized 14K gold nib can produce such a wide range of line widths while other brands' gold nibs cannot, then it is indeed something special/extra.

 

Indeed it is! However, a specific mention of the somewhat zoom-like character of a Sailor M nib is not the same as adding all of Sailor's currently available EF, F, M and B nibs.

[A Smug Dill]

However, a specific mention of the somewhat zoom-like character of a Sailor M nib is not the same as adding all of Sailor's currently available EF, F, M and B nibs.

 

 

No, it isn't; but I haven't analysed (and/or "torture-tested") every nib width in Sailor's "basic" nib options to see what they individually offer that is (or may be) special; I don't expect to ever buy or test a Sailor 1911-imprint gold Broad nib, but I don't just assume it hasn't got something "extra" to offer either. It's just a self-imposed limitation that I don't want to find out at my expense.

[Estycollector]

When I changed out the standard nib on my Lamy Al-Star to a black stainless fine, it positively transformed the pen. While the original pen was labeled a fine point, there was nothing on the nib to signify that it was.

[senzen]

From the point of view of someone who doesn't seek or need flex, I'd have to say the Carène's medium nib is quite something, super smooth and every so slightly stubbish. I have an SFM Pilot 91, would probably also qualify as special, but I am just getting to grips with its "soft" qualities, particularly since I don't like shading and it shades like crazy.

 

I enjoy equally my three steel and two 18k Pelikans, my two Parker 75 also have a je ne sais quoi.

[gmax]

The Montblanc oblique nibs are readily available, and definitely offer something extra.

 

I have a 149 with a medium oblique that combines subtle line variation with rich ink flow

[Christopher Godfrey]

All my vintage Pelikans have flexible, gold nibs -- save , which has a most surprisingly good steel one and, as Uncial writes, above, it is a really great nib! I was delighted to receive it a few months ago. And like Uncial, I also have an M1000 with an EF nib and absolutely love it -- it flexible in a modern sort of way and of course it does not work exactly like a vintage one; but it is a nib!

 

At the risk of being repetitive (other threads), I love my Pilot 743+FA nib almost as much as my Pelikans -- it is that good (once you sort out the ink feed problem)

[Bo Bo Olson]

Pelikan steel nibs for the M200 and M205 series of pens are awesome and, for my taste, nicer that modern Pelikan gold nibs which are very precise nails. The steel nibs are soft, springy and some say semi-flex all of which can give your everyday writing some added flair.

 

 

 

 

PS. I have nothing against nails. Some of my best nibs are nails.

Regular flex.........if well mashed will spread the tines 3X a light down stroke. Pelikan 200 is one. (So mashed it is of course impossible to write with....unless one has a Jackhammer Hand.) Normal heavy hands can push the nib out to 2X............it is a very good springy regular flex nib, one of the few still made. Some Japanese non-modified 'soft' nibs may be regular flex.

 

Semi-flex will spread it's tines 3X a light line with half the pressure than a well mashed regular flex.

The 200 is not semi-flex, I have 30 in different brands......all before 1970. They stopped making semi-flex then, outside of Aurora 2005? (their new 'flexi' nib is not even semi-flex.... :crybaby:from what I read.)

Maxi-semi-flex, spreads it's tines to 3X with half the pressure of a semi-flex and 1/4th the pressure of a mashed regular flex. I have some 15 maxi-semi-flex nibed pens.****

 

Osmia Supra/or Big Diamond + Supra nib(be that Gold or Steel; all others in MB, Pelikan are I believe gold wheels ordered from the German gold producer Degussa who made the 'normal' semi-flex and maxi-semi-flex for Osmia.....they are the only company where one can know with nib is semi-flex and which is maxi. Geha also got it's nibs from Degussa and of my 790/760....five pens only one is maxi, the others are semi-flex.

 

***Some of my maxi's are steel Supra nibs from Osmia......who had to have great steel nibs in they did not have an Office Supply Company propping them up like, Soenecken, MB, Pelikan or Geha. So having a cheaper great nib than always expensive gold was an advantage.

Osmia's gold nib is as good as their steel nibs......and the gold nib (in semi&maxi) is at least as good as anyone else's.

 

In no one other than Osmia labeled nor bragged their Maxi's, my WOG is Degussa might well grab the first maxi-gold alloy ribbon wheel on the bin and shipped it, in Osmia/Osmia-Faber-Castell might not have ordered enough, so some gold ribbon wheels were just standing around.

I lucked out and @ 1 in 5 were maxi instead of semi-flex...outside of Osmia.O-F-C.

Edited July 14, 2020 by Bo Bo Olson