Jump to content

Difference Between 9550 And 9555 Nibs?


twieleba

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone,

This is my first post to FPN and I just have a quick question....

I just bought an Estie Dollar Pen H of Peyton Street which came with a 9550 nib which everyone says is Extra Fine and that is fine. I was looking at nibs and saw that the 9555 is also EF but specifically for Gregg shorthand; I was wondering what specifically was different between these two nibs.

Thanks

Teddy

http://www.nerdice.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/blah-cultural-Nicolas-Cage-nicolas-cage-300x150.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 13
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • inkstainedruth

    3

  • pajaro

    2

  • Sasha Royale

    2

  • twieleba

    2

My understanding about Gregg nibs is that they are designed (not sure how) to be somewhat less likely to dry out while you're taking dictation -- you write, then wait for the person to tell you the next part, without capping your pen between sentences/paragraphs.

I never took shorthand in school; this is just what I've gleaned from trying to read up about Gregg nibs a while back. My first Estie had a 1555 nib on it when I bought it, and while it (as do all the 1xxx series) rates as a "student grade" nib -- no tipping, for example -- it seemed to write okay when I tried to flush the residual ink out of the nib unit.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to my chart, the 9555 is a "Fine", and the 9550 is "extra-Fine".

 

If my chart is wrong, will someone please holler at me, so I can fix my chart.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So many Esterbrook nibs...so little time to search for them. I would love to find the 9314 (M stub); 9778 (flexible M) and 2048 (flexible F).

"It is the pen gives immortality to men." Maistre Wace, Canon of Bayeux, 1110-1174

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to my chart, the 9555 is a "Fine", and the 9550 is "extra-Fine".

 

If my chart is wrong, will someone please holler at me, so I can fix my chart.

This chart has them both at firm extra fine: http://www.esterbrook.net/nibs.shtml

http://www.nerdice.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/blah-cultural-Nicolas-Cage-nicolas-cage-300x150.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hardly see any difference between these two nibs, and I use them interchangeably.

 

I took shorthand in high school to prepare for note taking in college. The very last kind of writing instrument I would use for shorthand is a fountain pen. Too kludgy. I used a ballpoint, and a slippery one, or a pencil. When Esterbrook made the Gregg nibs everybody had no choice of pens but a fountain pen. I suppose the theoretical light touch might have theoretically helped make time with a fountain pen, but I didn't use a fountain pen when I took notes. Ballpoint or pencil. I wanted something more robust.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you, twieleba .

The chart, that I use, was compiled by an individual. The format and font are more easily readable. I also

have the Esterbrook.net chart. I never noticed the discrepancy. I am most grateful. Apologies to anyone

has gotten bad gouge from me.

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So many Esterbrook nibs...so little time to search for them. I would love to find the 9314 (M stub); 9778 (flexible M) and 2048 (flexible F).

Huh. :huh: I guess I got lucky on Ebay auctions then -- I have a 9314 M (also a 9314 B) and a 9778. All of which I got on pens (all full sized Js, as it happened) for which I paid under $35 US (including shipping). Don't have a 2048 (or it's high-end cousin the 9048), but I do have a 9128 nib (Extra Fine Flexible)

on an SJ; that pen ended up costing a bit more because I had Mike Masuyama do some work on it at DCSS last month (the nib's profile was sort of S-shaped :headsmack: when I got the pen -- my own fault for not looking at the photos carefully enough); I tried to straighten it out with jeweler's pliers, on the grounds that I couldn't make it any worse, but then wanted a pro to really get it cleaned up). MInd you, all of those pens probably still need to have the sacs -- and maybe the j-bars, too, for all I know -- replaced; so add another $2-$7 per pen for the parts (I'm considering the shellac and talc to be of negligible cost, considering how many pens' worth I've got of each, and I'm not paying myself for the time and effort, either.... :lol:).

Just for curiosity's sake, though: the 2048 and 9048 (and for that matter the 9788) are all listed as being for "shaded writing" on one of the Esterbrook nib charts I found images of online -- but the 9128 isn't. Anyone know offhand why that is?

To (maybe) answer the OP's original question -- or possibly muddy the waters even further -- the *same* Esterbrook chart (found here: http://media.photobucket.com/user/munsonhsr/media/Esterbrook/Estnibchart.jpg.html?filters[term]=esterbrook%20nib%20chart&filters[primary]=images#/user/john91722/media/Estnibchart-1.jpg.html?filters[term]=esterbrook%20nib%20chart&filters[primary]=images&_suid=1378433431480009264325730100387) lists the 9550 as being "Extra Fine" and the 9555 is listed as "Shorthand" -- and frankly, the writing next to the nib looks somewhat different between the two of them); but the 9555 looks closer to the sample next to 9556 ("Fine Writing"). Yet the 1555 Shorthand nib looks more like the 1550 Bookkeeping nib and the 1551 Student nib) than it does to even the 9555 equivalent. And the 2550 Bookkeeping nib looks similar to the 9450 Posting nib (rather than to the 9550 Extra Fine)....

Now my brain hurts. :wacko:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a 9550 and always thought that yes it was an EF posting nib. One for posting to account books and ledgers. (also called a bookkeeping/accounting nib)

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't for certain tell you the differences, but I can show you with my examples. It looks like the 9555 Gregg is slightly wider and has more tipping material.

fpn_1378587615__dsc_0004_5324cropped.jpg

fpn_1378587720__dsc_0006_5326cropped.jpg

9550 on left, 9555 Gregg on right

fpn_1378587775__dsc_0009_5329cropped.jpg

fpn_1378587811__dsc_0002_5330cropped.jpg

 

On Clairefontaine 90g/m2 with 5mm grid and Parker Quink Blue/Black

Edited by irrigger
fpn_1389205880__post_card_exchange_small.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The photo and samples are quite informative -- but are these both NOS nibs? That way I would know that you're actually more likely to be comparing apples to apples.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would go out on a limb and say that these are not NOS. But, if you look at the profile angles of the nibs, it would be safe to say my observations are correct in that the 9550 is narrower than the 9555 Gregg. But that being said, this does not rule out the very good possibility that if you compare another set of nibs from different years of manufacture, that what I have said earlier would still hold water.

Edited by irrigger
fpn_1389205880__post_card_exchange_small.png
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 9550 and 9555 are iridium tipped, and so unlike the untipped nibs, NOS isn't so much of a factor. These aren't going to wear appreciably for decades, unless somebody grinds them.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...