Franklin Christoph Nibs

[alaskazimm]

 

Do you know who makes FC's standard nibs? Are they noticeably better than the ubiquitous Jowo and Schmidt nibs found on so many pens these days?

 

They are, afik, Jowo nibs. I have a Masuyama memdium stub and as far as nib characteristics go, it is practically identical to the Jowo Edison nibs that I have.

[Katduffy]

They are Jowo nib units. All Franklin-Christoph nibs are tested prior to shipping, not just the Masuyama nibs. The nib units screw right in and work with Edison and Newton pens.

[latetotheparty]

If you need to write very quickly, say you're taking notes in a meeting, then it will be harder to to that with a stub as opposed to a plain medium nib. If you have to put annotations where you have little space, then a needlepoint will do the trick. Franklin-Christoph have a returns policy that I used when I realized I wanted a full-size pen rather than a pocket. You could order a pen with a medium nib plus a stub nib, then return the nib that you like least. You'd have to pay for shipping of the nib back to them, but that way you get to try a couple of nibs. I have a Panther 40 and Marietta 20. I love them both. The Marietta is particularly ergonomic. I have medium and broad nibs, which I sometimes swap between the 40 and 20 depending on my ink choice. They are both lovely and smooth and I don't feel like I missed out by buying the steel nibs rather than gold. Good luck.

[Cryptos]

I have a medium italic on my FC pen but I am finding it a little on the dry side with Pilot ink. I did just fill the pen without cleaning it out though, so perhaps that could account for it?

[NinthSphere]

I've never used Pilot's standard inks, but my broad Masuyama italic has been on the dry side from the start.

[dms525]

I am not privy to Michael's or FC's thinking about the Italic Masuyama nibs, but, in general, to optimize thick/thin line difference, you want a dryish nib. Michael knows what he is doing, to say the least. If the nibs are dry (and they are) it is intentional and for a good reason. I would presume it is because they expect italic nibs just might be used to write italic text.

 

David

[Cryptos]

Mine is for italic-style writing - I wouldn't presume to be able to actually write a decent italic hand. The ink I am using is Iroshizuku Shin-kai.

 

Also, as it is a demonstrator I notice that ink pools in the section. I guess that's normal but we just don't see it on standard pens?

[Cryptos]

Ah, now I've watched the video on the F-C website. I didn't realise that I had to grease the nib unit as well. No wonder the ink has got everywhere. What a loon I am!

[craigs63]

The standard EF is nice. Only slightly finer than the fine, but still smooth. I would think it could hold up to writing on any paper for your corrections.

 

And the cost is so low - buy two steel nibs and have some variety.

 

I just picked up a standard (un-customized) EF nib at the Chicago Pen Show, and used it at work last week (i.e. on cheap paper) - worked like a champ. Not as fine as I though "EF" would mean, but I'm still learning.

It was a replacement for the M nib in my (Paradise Pens) Padrino Trend, I needed something finer. Great customer service at the F-C booth, as others have said.

 

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f134/CraigS63/pens/P5070259_zpsfsc3dqgt.jpg

[Takasnooze]

this the model 20 coke resin 14k Mike M needlepoint .....

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/mikefarha/IMG_0215_zpscyntgat5.jpg

I ordered a Masuyama steel needlepoint. Do you think the line width will be similar to the 14k needlepoint sample you shared?

[bh_horology]

I have the steel fine italic nib and love it. However, I had the advantage of fine-tuning the nib and customizing it to my writing style at a local pen show.