Bock nibs: For whom do they supply nibs?

[omasfan]

Ok, Bock allegedly makes nibs for some 20 manufacturers of fountain pens. I am curious as to who that is precisely.

 

I once sent an email to Bock asking them about it, and, not to my surprise, never received a reply.

 

The pen brands below are brands that use Bock nibs nowadays:

 

Bexley

Pelikan

Omas

Stipula

Tibaldi (second generation)

Visconti

 

 

These are brands that I suspect use Bock nibs, but I am not entirely sure:

 

Delta

Faber Castell

 

 

 

So, if you can, please let us know who else uses Bock. It would also be nice if you could post references as to where you got your information.

If it remains speculation, then please say so.

[gylyf]

They definitely make nibs for Delta (I've used a variety of Bock nibs in my Delta Moresi). They also supply Conway Stewart (this is from both textual and visual evidence, but I'd be hard-pressed to cite my sources). They supply Danitrio as well (I have read this many times and have seen Danitrio nibs on other Bock-supplied pens). I believe they also manufacture Nettuno's nibs, though that is conjecture based on pictures I've seen. To that list, you can add a number of small manufacturers, like Classic Pens (the LM series are fitted with Bock nibs) and David Oscarson.

More will come to mind. Best,

David

[girlieg33k]

This old thread may help, but hopefully others will chime in with additional or updated info as well...

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...ost&p=87794

[lovemy51]

i understand they also make nibs for Laban... at least that's why i bought my Kaiser

[rroossinck]

Chalk up Conklin on that list.

[twdpens]

Yard-O-Led uses Bock nibs also.

 

@cellulophile: Conway Stewart does indeed use Bock. This is info I have had first hand from them.

 

Martin

[gylyf]

Yard-O-Led uses Bock nibs also.

 

@cellulophile: Conway Stewart does indeed use Bock. This is info I have had first hand from them.

 

Martin

 

Thanks for the confirmation, Martin.

 

Bock also provide nibs for Cleo Skribent.

Best,

David

[omasfan]

Interesting responses!

I am surprised that Conway Stewart uses Bock. Of course, they have a removable nib unit (which should have tipped me off), but the Conway Stewart nibs in my limited experience are so much different than your average Bock nib. They are much softer and less rigid than other typical Bock nibs.

 

it is interesting that despite some of the companies mentioned make pens whose nibs feel relatively similar to me (Delta, Stipula and Tibaldi (2nd gen.) feel similar in my experience) but then they also produce nibs that do not appear to be your average Bock nib (e.g. Conway Stewart, Omas).

 

It truly is a mystery to me. While I am very disappointed that nib making has been monopolized to such a degree, I am nonetheless glad that there are at least some differences between these nibs.

Having said this, Bock is a very, very good nib maker. And yet I would wish there were a myriad different nib makers so that we could enjoy a variety of nibs as we enjoy the variety of different pen models. This is a loss of variety at the most important part of the pen.

Edited January 11, 2008 by omasfan

[saintsimon]

Pelikan may have insourced the nib production again some time ago. I think this wwas discussed somewhere ...

 

Tibaldi of today is 3rd generation. The first Tibaldi was founded in 1916, the first generration "Impero" was made in 1936 (the name seems to reflect the neo-imperialist dreams of Mussolini).

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

The second generation Tibaldi pens used Bock nibs.

 

Dani Trio uses them too.

 

Delta, yes

 

Faber Castell, yes

Kaweco (Guberlet), yes (Schmidt div.)

Visconti--certain pens

Montgrappa--certain models

Filcao--US models, Tryphon dist. (Schmidt div.)

Taccia

Online (Schmidt div.)

 

I am highly suspecting that Pelikan has insourced their nibs. This information does need to be confirmed by a reliable source though.

 

Dillon

[gylyf]

Hi,

 

The second generation Tibaldi pens used Bock nibs.

 

Dani Trio uses them too.

 

Delta, yes

 

Faber Castell, yes

Kaweco (Guberlet), yes (Schmidt div.)

Visconti--certain pens

Montgrappa--certain models

Filcao--US models, Tryphon dist. (Schmidt div.)

Taccia

Online (Schmidt div.)

 

I am highly suspecting that Pelikan has insourced their nibs. This information does need to be confirmed by a reliable source though.

 

Dillon

 

Dillon,

Would you happen to know which Montegrappa models use Bocks? Best,

David

 

[shahrincamille]

I'm sure Nettuno too sources their nibs from Bock.

 

The nibs and feeds on my Skipper Lunare and Nautilus are similar to the ones on my Stipulas (apart from the engraving), and their nibs are readily interchangeable too

 

Even as I type this my Skipper is using my Duetto's flexible titanium nib, while the former's 18K M nib is in the latter LOL

 

 

Shahrin

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I would be tempted to say that all of them use Bock nibs, but I have only seen a few models, all of which used Bock nibs. The Elmo for example.

Yes, Nettuno does use the Bock nibs too.

 

 

Dillon

Edited January 11, 2008 by Dillo

[Shelley]

I though Faber castell made their own nibs?

[donwinn]

Apparently Bock has become the fountain pen nib equivalent of Samick, which at one time produced over 51 percent of the guitars in the world. Many "name"brands sell guitars built to spec by Samick. And this is not a slam at Samick, nor at guitar makers in general, or pen makers in general. Samick makes guitars at various price points, from the $49 "student" model, to versions costing upwards of a thousand dollars. Same with Bock. From the ridiculous to the sublime.

 

Donnie

[encremental]

Although this topic is interesting, I do think we should bear in mind that when a pen manufacturer decides to outsource their nibs, it is unlikely that they turn up at the factory and say , 'Herr Bock, please could you give me a nice big bumper sack of your very best nibs please, I want to make some lovely and rather expensive pens.'

 

Every nib will be made to a manufacturer's own specifications and tolerances, right down to the individual level of quality control. Just because a nib is made by Bock does not mean that it is the same as a nib made for another manufacturer. This is not the way that outsourcing works - quite the reverse.

 

For example - Acer (in China) make all of Apple's notebooks, and if you have ever unpacked an Apple product, you will just know that there is no detail, however slight or microscopic , that Apple do not specify, right down to the thickness and type of welding used on the plastic packs which contain the manual and mains lead and while they are at it, probably the thickness of the layer of ink used to print the name 'Apple' on the side of the box. No one confuses an Apple product with an Acer product. Assuming that every Bock customer receives basically the same nib is just daft.

 

John.

 

[strunkl]

I'm surprised to hear that Conklin nibs (and presumably feeds) are sourced from Bock. I have some experience with virtually all the other marks listed, and the only one that gave me a poor experience was the Conklin--very hard starting, ink starvation, etc. While any mark can occasionally let a dud slip through, I heard many other Conklin owners complain of the same thing.

 

Of course John is right, a supplier doing this much varied business serves its customer's specs. But although the other nibs can be very different than one another, I would argue that they have similar performance. That is, my experience is that they are very good, though no substitute for a Sailor or custom-tuned nib. In that regard, Conklin seems markedly different (too bad I still like the designs so much).

 

And I think Pelikan nibs feel different than the others, but I've always understood recent production was in-house (as others have suggested), so that makes sense.

 

Any thoughts?

[encremental]

Strunkl - I beg to disagree - I have Pelikan, Bexley and Visconti F nibs, and all are as different from each other as could possibly be (Bexley's version of an F, for instance being more like an EF or XEF than any of the the others).

 

Sailor nibs are very nice if you like that kind of thing- a sort of glassy smoothness that some find impressive. For myself, I do not find they compare to a Pelikan nib that has what you might call a following wind. This is their glory - that for every grade one never knows what kind of a nib one may receive, and how that nib may behave after a few weeks' writing.

 

Other manufacturers, like Sailor, have nib grades that are identical no matter how many pens one might buy. Pelikan are different, - there is an exquisite combination of smoothness, tooth and character, which means you can buy the same pen in different colours, say, and get a completely different writing experience. Nibs are not identical, more like family members that have similar characteristics - sort of a von Trapp family pen!

 

I can understand why some may find this exasperating or a cause of irritation, but for me it is why I keep coming back. Blindfold, I could tell which of my many Pelikans I was using. I am sure that this is down to the particular specification which Pelikan lays down. If they have brought back nib manufacture in-house, it would be very interesting to know exactly when, and which pens this might apply to.

 

John

[saintsimon]

As a conclusion, the only way to make sure you don't buy a Bock nib is to buy FPs from Aurora, Pilot/Namiki, Sailor or Platinum.

 

EDIT: Sheaffer inlaid nibs aren't made by Bock also.

Edited January 12, 2008 by saintsimon

[rogerb]

Apparently Bock has become the fountain pen nib equivalent of Samick, which at one time produced over 51 percent of the guitars in the world. Many "name"brands sell guitars built to spec by Samick. And this is not a slam at Samick, nor at guitar makers in general, or pen makers in general. Samick makes guitars at various price points, from the $49 "student" model, to versions costing upwards of a thousand dollars. Same with Bock. From the ridiculous to the sublime.

 

Donnie

 

It's the same now in my lifelong sport of field-hockey...with literally one or two exceptions the hockey sticks are all churned-out buy just a few Far-Eastern factories.

It makes me smile when I hear young players say "My xxxxx is so much better than the yyyyyy" when the only real difference is the paint-job!!!

 

(My stick was handmade, to my spec, by a company in Holland run by one man who makes each item himself and knows just about everything worthwhile about the technology involved......... where can you get a FP like that?)

 

(Pity I am now too decrepit to play...I just let the youngsters try this 'tool', a brand they have never heard-of, and watch 'em fall in love with it!)