Dugussa Nibs

November 13, 2011

I was given a hand full of Degussa nibs; mostly F nibs.

I've been lucky to live in Germany and gets some 20 or so semi-flex nibbed pens. I've got some 8 maxi-semi-flex/'flexi'.

1932 Degussa bought up the Osmia nib factory in Osmia was going broke. Osmia was one of the better nibs in

Germany. Osmia bought it's nibs with it's old name from Degussa.

That was as of yesterday.... I now have a number of Degussa nibs that I tried to separate out into, 'flexi', easy full flex and "Are Those Wet Noodles?"

These nibs are more flexible than my Osmia nibs. These nibs are more flexible than the 5-6 Degussa nibs I had.

I dragged down my Hunts dip pen nib to see what a Weak Kneed Wet Noodle looks like. Dragged out the Soennecken dip pen to see what a wet noodle looked like.

I've very nice Degussa easy full flexes ; some are a tad more flexible than the other. Some are Obliques.

The Bock full flex is much less flexi than most of the Degussa nibs.

The difference was the difference between a nib that could, and a nib that invites you to write fancy.

Pelikan Jade is not a real great shading ink. MB Sepia certainly is; on better paper.

Rats....now I got to learn to write...to get on with Learning stiff nib Italic, so I can learn a flexible hand...

Well, I defiantly will be nibbing my pre and after war, Wearevers with Degussa as soon as I re-sac them. Wearever Nail's had not made it worth to budget in buying sac's for repairs.

As a noobie, having never heard of Degussa, how was I to know they were real good nibs. Bock hadn't a good rep by me as noobie either. I'd not heard of them either.

Ignorance is full of assumptions based on knowing nothing.

November 14, 2011

I have some 2nd-3rd tier German pens with Degussa steel nibs and they are all pretty "flexist" - definitely a joy to doddle with.

Based on my limited exposure, vintage German nibs are more likely to have flex as compared to American nibs. Quite a generalization but anybody else think the same?

November 14, 2011

In general I'd say vintage german nibs have the best flex...

I always enjoy using mine.

Edited November 14, 2011 by Tuxedomoon

November 14, 2011

Based on my limited exposure, vintage German nibs are more likely to have flex as compared to American nibs. Quite a generalization but anybody else think the same?

In general I'd say vintage german nibs have the best flex...
I always enjoy using mine.

So what caused this disparity in specs between the two regions? Technological, cultural, social.... factors?

November 15, 2011

It was not carbon paper,which was invented in 1866 or there abouts.

In my 1881 western it is common in the Rail Road world. The station manager gives to each train that stops five sheets of a six sheet train order document.

The conductor is/was a much more important person than one thinks with the movie parts. He was the 'Captain' of the train and out ranked the trains Engineer. The other three copies went to the fireman and the two break men. Every one was informed what was going on...due to carbon paper. The station agent kept the last carbon copy.

There were stiff and flexible dip nibs. I have to assume he was using a business nib.

Info from 1902 Sears Catalog replica. All these 'pens (nibs)'were sold in a quarter gross, and none had 'iridium' tips.

Business Hand was very plain and readable, and not flexi fancy; so that would be a I think then a stiffer nib than others.

Esterbrook offered Bank nibs, short Embossing or Stub, Judge's Quill a find point stub, a School medium fine.

Spencerian 'collage' fine point 'elastic, and used by the best penmen of the country...Spencerian started in the late 1860's in Ohio.

Gillot's Magnum quill 601 EF. Double Elastic 604 EF.

Eagle pens, EF flexible, EF double Elastic for school use, Ladies Falcon, Business EF.

Eagle's Pliable; Medium fine, and Falcon for business a medium point. This one would be a flexi nib...but very large.

What is strange is the 3 Vertical writing nibs, like using a pencil, for primary classes, and intermediate up to advanced. So if you really wanted a nib for use like a pencil one could get one.

(I wonder what the tips of these nibs looked like. Rolled?)

The German office supply company Soennecken who made dip nibs, pushed a modern German script in all the schools (I don't know if or how much more fancy it was than US business script)....could well have given deals to schools to use their 'modern' dip pens...did give awards I believe for best handwriting.

America had many flexible nibbed pens up to the start of the thirties. Then they became less and less with Eversharp being the last major maker in the '40's.**

Sheaffer made a rare semi-flex FFS or FF3(?) nib up into the mid '50's (later? A Sheaffer guy would know.), that some said, was not as flexible as an European semi-flex nib.

** It came to me the depression made cutting extras normal. I wonder if advertisement went with longer lasting nibs in pushing one size fits all nibs of regular and nail only.

I'm not sure when American went heavy into stubs, but it was cheaper I think to take a regular stiffish nib and make a stub than to make a nib with some flex and make it an oblique. Close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.

I do know from the vintage German pens I have, even the second tier and no names made semi-flex nibs pre-1966.

Pelikan always offered stubs, but I don't see any offered in German Ebay. Perhaps I don't spend enough time looking at Pelikans. More than likely the sellers don't know what they have. Pelikan did offer a D nib, a nail.

I don't know if Swan or Wyvern offered stubs; in both had great flexible nibs. Swan did also offer regular flex nibs. But I see no reason for offering a Stub on a regular nib; when one made real nibs that were flexible.

Conway Stewart was more known for regular flex and perhaps nails. Perhaps they offered stubs. I don't know enough about English nibs.

I know much less than I wish.

I wonder if the German Apprenticeship system system that existed many decades longer than the US, had anything to do with it. German's had apprenticeship of salesmen and every other profession not from a University.

To be chosen one had to have a good hand writing from the start or connections. One had to also have a written test to Journeyman and to Master. So a good hand writing was a must.

To go to a University also meant having a better script.

I think the American self education of many professions, led to not having a must of a good 'fancy' hand writing that needed a nib with some flex; at least semi-flex.

The Americans 'changed' professions, learning new ones on their own, more than the Europeans and Germans in particular. 1870-to now.

The American's are more what are you now.

The Germans still ask 'What did You Learn', pigeon holing someone, even to this day; baker, carpenter, in spite of what you now know. They want to know, where did you start, ie, what social level you come from or how much brains did you then have.

The Germans still insist on a set of papers for any skills one has learned...and one must have finished a primary skill, even if you learned to be a baker and now own a computer shop.

The end came with the ball point and the cartridge pen with a stiffer or nail spade nib; that could be cheap as possible produced.

There was a 'revolt' in Germany in the '80's...Pelikan came back in with a classic nib that was nice springy and not a spade nail.

By the '90's the nibs were less springy. New owner.

Now after '97, Pelikan were stiffer and blobbier. After all one needs the ball point users...no reason to tell them they should learn to hold a fountain pen like a fountain pen and not like a ball point or roller ball. It would be too complicated for them.

Let the idiots who know better, buy vintage pens.

I am so thankful the idiots here who taught me about the mythical 'semi-flex', 'flexi' and easy full flex nibs. Thank you for making me a happy idiot who over ancient nibs.