Cheap Stub Nibs?

[sciumbasci]

I tried a 1.1 dip pen nib and liked it quite a lot. Would like to see how I cope with a fountain pen with a stub nib, but I am not keen on spending a lot on one. What are my options?

 

The cheaper the better!

[ParkerDuofold]

My TWSBI Classic with the 1.1 is silky smooth and cost $55. The Goulet 1.1 nibs are also pretty smooth and will fit any pen that takes a #6 nib, such as an Ahab, Konrad, Jinhao X-750, etc.

 

Depending where you live; while I've never used one... yet... I've heard the Italix pens/nibs are pretty good and the Parson's model won't break the bank.

[sandy101]

The broad Pilot 78G is probably the cheapest. You can order it from Hong Kong. Mr Pen has the freshman notator which can be fitted with a stub for £25, and if you have a pen with a lamy Z50 nib, you could just buy a stub Z50 nib and fit it to your pen.

[jmccarty3]

The TWSBI Eco can be had with a 1.1 stub nib for about $30. I find it to be a good writer.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I tried a 1.1 dip pen nib and liked it quite a lot. Would like to see how I cope with a fountain pen with a stub nib, but I am not keen on spending a lot on one. What are my options?

The cheaper the better!

 

Pilot Plumix, about eight bucks US.

 

Lamy Safari, equivalent in price to the already-mentioned TWSBI Eco. 1.1, 1.5, and 1.9 italic nibs.

 

If you can find one, a vintage Sheaffer No Nonsense might run about ten.

[savingbirds]

The metropolitan is now available with the same 1.0 mm stub fine on the Plumix and 78G broad. It might be a bit more expensive than the other two, but you get a metal body and done interesting designs.

[fabri00]

If you search on ebay you can find a pen from Hero China sold with 3 stub nibs of different sizes, for a very low price.

Nibs are of decent quality and you can even re-use them in other pens.

[LizB]

I have a Jinhao x750 that I put a #6 Bock nib (1.1mm italic) and it is my most-used pen. Total cost probably about £12 (£2 pen, £10 nib). My Lamy Al-Star with a 1.1mm nib is also used a lot and that was pretty cheap too (a Safari would be cheaper). Both of those I really enjoy using.

 

As said above, the Pilot 78G is a cheap option, but I find this feels cheaper than both of the above.

[bigt]

fpr currently offer the indus with a 1mm stub option for about £10 incl shipping from india- not used mine much but is writes smoothly and seems nicely made for not a lot of money, large capacity piston filler too.

Tony

[mcorrea]

The best inexpensive stub nib I've used is the one on the Kaweco Sport calligraphy set. For around $60 you get four stub nibs from 1.1 to 2.3 mm and they are quite nice and fairly smooth writers.

 

Matias

[tamiya]

go buy a Dollar 717 Arabic/jawi/italic (NOT the same as 717i, the 'i' is regular nonArabic) which gives you a stubby wide nib on a serviceable piston filler.

 

Costs about a can of Coke (pre sugar tax)

Edited December 23, 2016 by tamiya

[sciumbasci]

go buy a Dollar 717 Arabic/jawi/italic (NOT the same as 717i, the 'i' is regular nonArabic) which gives you a stubby wide nib on a serviceable piston filler.

 

Costs about a can of Coke (pre sugar tax)

I thought that was an oblique?

 

The best inexpensive stub nib I've used is the one on the Kaweco Sport calligraphy set. For around $60 you get four stub nibs from 1.1 to 2.3 mm and they are quite nice and fairly smooth writers.

 

Matias

How are the Kaweco stubs? I heard that the pointed nibs have reliability problems

 

Pilot Plumix, about eight bucks US.

 

Lamy Safari, equivalent in price to the already-mentioned TWSBI Eco. 1.1, 1.5, and 1.9 italic nibs.

 

If you can find one, a vintage Sheaffer No Nonsense might run about ten.

Ah, the Sheaffer NoNonsense! I have chased one for some time now, but no luck. I have also tried to buy a Viewpoint, but the greedy ebayers and Amazon sellers want no less than 20 euro

[mcorrea]

 

How are the Kaweco stubs? I heard that the pointed nibs have reliability problems

 

 

I can only base my opinion on a very limited sample of the four nibs in my calligraphy set, but all of those are reliable, smooth and have great line variation without catching on paper and show consistent, medium-wet flow.

 

Matias

[tamiya]

I thought that was an oblique?

 

dunno! the 717s I received are just cut straight across, not at any wierd angle or anything. Much like every other "calligraphy" pen I've got lying about, viewpoint included.

[Noihvo]

[jmccarty3]

The Kaweco calligraphy set is tempting.

[Arkanabar]

Under $10: Pilot Plumix, with Pilot's CM nib. It has no clip and uses Pilot's proprietary cartridge, which is easy to refill. With just a little bit of silicone grease (available at SCUBA shops), it can be converted to an eyedropper. It has a slightly triangular section.

Sheaffer Viewpoint with Fine calligraphy nib (around 0.8-1mm) and the red barrel. I've gotten these at craft stores (Michael's, A.C. Moore) for under $10. Mine tends to dry out after a day or two. It has huge cutouts in the barrel and a rubber sleeve over the section, which can be cut or slid off. They're on amazon.com for $8 and under. Sheaffer's proprietary cartridge can be refilled with a blunt-tipped syringe. Finding Sheaffer's proprietary converters can be a bit tricky, and they're often rather expensive. As some of Sheaffer's latest models have changed over to standard international cartridges, I occasionally fret that the proprietary cartridges may be abandoned.

Around $10: Pilot Parallel 1.5mm calligraphy pen. Uses the same Pilot cartridge as the Plumix, but comes with a folded nib that provides really great line variation. Also clipless, and easy to convert to eyedropper. This isn't a stub, and doesn't write as well on the upstroke as a stub would.

Under $20: Parker Vector calligraphy sets can be found at this price (or less), with one barrel and three tips at about 1mm, 1.5mm, and 2mm (at a guess). I don't like the Vector because of its very narrow (~6mm) section, though the brushed steel doesn't bother me, the way I'd expect a polished section to. Parker has the best proprietary cartridge around, with internal ribs that help ink flow down to the feed. The slide converter looks like a piece of junk to me.

Under $30: Pilot Prera demonstrator. Comes with a twist-action converter. Uses the same nib/feed unit as the Plumix, but it is much more like a typical fountain pen with a slip cap.

Lamy Joy/Safari/Vista/Al-Star: These tough ABS pens all use the same nibs and section. The Joy has a taper and cannot be posted, and comes only in a black/red color scheme. The Vista is a demonstrator. The Al-Star has an aluminum barrel and cap. They all have the same narrow section (less than 8.5mm diameter) with facets to help teach proper positioning of fingers and make it feel even narrower. I don't like this section, but these pens have a lot of fans. Lamy sells easily swapped nibs for around $11 at XF, F, M, B, 1.1 stub/calligraphy, 1.5 stub/calligraphy, and 1.9mm stub/calligraphy that fit pretty much their entire range of pens, except for (as far as I know) the Lamy 2000.

[Margana]

Under $10 - Pilot Plumix

Under $20 - Nemosine Singularity 1.1 or Pilot Metropolitan 1.0 Calligraphy

Under $30 - TWSBI Eco

Under $45 - Conklin Duragraph 1.1 stub

Under $60 - TWSBI 580 1.1 stub

[vojtahlad]

Hero 5028 - three stub nibs (1.1, 1.5 and 1.9 mm) for $6.

 

I can not recommend the 1.0 mm stub nib from FPR. It is tipped so it behaves more like an ultra-broad conventional nib than a stub.