Search the Community

I scored a gross of vintage Gillott 404's at a local antique store a few weeks ago for AU$10. A straight holder from Japan turned up today so gave the 404 a go for the first time. There's not much that comes up for a search on FPN re these nibs so here are a few minor observations. Something I found fascinating was that compared to my Aikin Lambert gold dip nib, this Gillott 404 vintage (one of the bronze ones) could use standard modern fountain pen ink without any thickening agent added. My gold dip nib needs slightly more viscous fluids to work well without flooding. So it raises the question: does this marvellous ink retention have to do with the ultra fine abrasions on the nib? I'll see if I can get a few shots through my loupe for you all. I've seen comparisons of old and new Gillott nibs online before and noticed that the old ones have ultra fine abrasions a bit like what steel wool might make on certain portions of the nib (upper and lower sides of the nib but in different directions), whereas the newer ones appear to have horizontal lines stamped/grooved into them.