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Newbie Question about Nibs

nluoma

By nluoma
in Of Nibs & Tines

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nluoma Near Mint

nluoma

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What makes the difference in a good nib and a great nib? I really like my Pilots (VPs and Knights) and love writing with them. But they just don't compare with my Sailor Sapporo. Writing with it is like... I can't explain it. It's so smooth, that it just glides over anything I'm writing on (even the super cheap index cards I have). I've used the same ink in both pens, so I know it's not the ink. What exactly makes the nib so smooth?

 

Is it just that the nib has been surfaced more smoothly? Like using extra fine sandpaper on wood?

 

Or is it made out of a better material? Like thick teflon vs aluminum?

 

Or is it something else altogether? I can't imagine that the design of the nib is that different, but I can't figure out why this pen writes so much more nicely than the others do :hmm1:

 

And does it seem to go by manufacturer? That is, are all Sailors this smooth?

None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try.

Mark Twain

 

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artaddict Collectors Item

artaddict

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My smoothest pen is a Sailor too :)

 

Next are the vintage flexy Watermans.

Watermans Flex Club & Sheaffer Lifetime Society Member

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Bennington1967 Rare

Bennington1967

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Sailor is - in my opinion - the top fountain pen company in the world when it comes to producing nibs. You get smooth nibs from various Asian, European and American pen brands, sure, but Sailor is really a class apart. They have made a special effort to develop superb nibs!

 

My advice: don't just go for the cheapest Sailor pens, buy a 'King of Pen', ideally two if you have the money. One in standard medium nib and the other in a Togi. Then you will really see what writing with a fountain pen is about! You will never want to write with anything else until your dying day.

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Titivillus Donor Pen

Titivillus

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My smoothest pen is a Sailor too :)

 

Next are the vintage flexy Watermans.

 

Waterman and Dupont are the smoothest nibs out there right now. I've had a few Sailor pens and the nib wasn't all that exceptional.

 

But it does come down to opinion as what is smooth to one person isn't as such to another.

 

K

 

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Paddler Antique

Paddler

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Smoothness is probably not related to the metal the nib is made of. If you look at nibs with a loupe (10X to 30X), you will see a difference in surface finish and point contour.

 

Some writers want smooth nibs. Some want various amounts of "tooth"; they want what they call "feedback" from the nib. Others don't want tooth, they want their feedback as a smooth drag, or friction with the paper. Most pen manufacturers probably aim for the middle of the road there, somewhere, hoping to please a plurality of their customers and letting the rest patronize the nibmeisters.

 

Paddler

 

Can a calculator understand a cash register?

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omasfan Collectors Item

omasfan

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Waterman and Dupont are the smoothest nibs out there right now. I've had a few Sailor pens and the nib wasn't all that exceptional.

 

But it does come down to opinion as what is smooth to one person isn't as such to another.

 

K

 

 

I don't know about Waterman, but I definitely agree with you about the Dupont nibs. They are almost like writing on a glass surface (at least their mediums. Their fines are a horse of a different color, I think). However, the Sailor nibs have a different kind of smoothness. It's not the smooth-smooth feeling Dupont is well-known for, but an ultimate precision especially when it comes to fines and extra fines.

 

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artaddict Collectors Item

artaddict

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Waterman and Dupont are the smoothest nibs out there right now. I've had a few Sailor pens and the nib wasn't all that exceptional.

 

Sailor 4 ever!

Pentax 4 ever! (or Canon)

 

 

nluoma, it's great that you found a nib you love. I found mine too, quite early.

Edited by artaddict

Watermans Flex Club & Sheaffer Lifetime Society Member

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KCat Museum Piece

KCat

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Sailor has earned my loyalty with the Sapporo Mini. My F nib is XF and XSmooth. Only my Pilot Prera has a nib as fine and yet still incredibly smooth.

 

I won't be buying pens for some time - but when I can again, other Sailors are on the list.

 

Unfortunately a King of Pen would not be functional for me. But I doubt that spending more will get me anything better than the nib on the Mini, anyway.

 

I won't say they have fully supplanted my Pelikans. But it's going to be a close call in the future.

KCat
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Lloyd Donor Pen

Lloyd

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Of the four Sailors I've used, two were a little scratchy ( a 21K F and a 21K M) and two were amazingly smooth (a 21K XF and a 14k M). To me, the only contender for best nibs is Pilot. Heck, their $35 Prera offers an amazing nibs that rival anything out there. Also, their Falcon & their FA nibs are marvels.

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."

Oscar Wilde

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Penache Rare

Penache

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This is one of those cases where necessity is the mother of invention. The Japanese characters are so complex that a fine nib would be quite essential to the average population and so they have perfected it. Sailor have managed to balance the fineness of the nib with the correct ink flow which makes the nib float on the page as you write. Quite brilliant.

The Sailor nib has spoiled me completely. Sailor lovers unite! :D

~ Manisha

 

"A traveller am I and a navigator, and everyday I discover a new region of my soul." ~ Kahlil Gibran

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