Why Are Gold Nibs More Fun?

[Mrpink]

I have been expirementing with the big 3 from Japan. I have tried their gold vs silver and found gold is just more fun. I think the noise gold makes is better, and it just feels better. Maybe that gold's ability to conduct electricity is a high one may be another factor. Energy is at play here so gold might be giving off some better feeling.

I sold the prera, metro and the kakuno but still have customs and the other goldies from Pilot. I still have the sailor and platinum silver pens, they feel great and produce nice handwriting, but I always leave them for last and feel an urge to grab gold. Does everybody else find gold nibs to be more fun all the time?

I did not consider the 'flex' at all, just for normal handwriting. Springiness may be a big contributor but I could not really feel that.

Edited March 21, 2017 by Mrpink

[NinthSphere]

They're not, imo. I have round points, stubs, & italics in both gold & steel. Soft nibs & stiff in both. I don't find I gravitate towards one or the other at all because of color or material. I do probably end up reaching for steel more often atm simply because only 4 out of 11 inked pens are gold.

 

There have been other times when I've had the majority of inked pens gold (ie. when I had 6 or 7 51s inked), but it's more to do with the pen design &, more importantly the grind, with the nib material being incidental.

Edited March 21, 2017 by NinthSphere

[langere]

No, gold is more fun! Just is that way, don't know why...

 

Erick

[Gudi]

They're not

 

This.

[FOUR X FOUR]

I've never thought of it in terms of fold being more fun. However, I do prefer Gold over steel any day.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Good steel is as good as good gold....accent on good.

Gold is more expensive. Lots of folks think gold is better....some because it's gold.....others that they must have done better work on the nib, because it's gold.

 

Osmia/O-F-C or Geha, the gold nibs are equal to the steel ones. Something I didn't know when I was chasing Osmia pens....or I could have gotten more of them.

I knew the Geha steel nibs were as good as the gold....I just didn't run into enough on the 790's. I'll have to look for steel on the earlier '50's ones.

 

When it comes to nails....a steel nail is much better than a gold nail outside of bling, because of all the inks you can buy when you are wise and get steel.

 

I do have to admit the gold Esterbrook nibs are much better than the steel.

[Flippy]

I just like gold because my mind tricks me to think that the pen is writing smoother. In reality, I don't know, but I think I know what you mean. They just seem smoother, and softer than stainless steel. Glad to see another gold nib loyalist.

[Chrissy]

I write with gold nibs and steel nibs. I find my gold nibs give me a lower pitched feedback sound than my steel nibs, and they feel softer and smoother. So I prefer to write with gold nibs.

[fabri00]

I really don't think electrical conductivity has anything to do.....

Beside from that I have great gold nibs as well as great steel nib.

 

You mentioned silver nibs, but nibs do not exist in silver: do you mean steel nibs of sodium plated?

[rwilsonedn]

Expectation has a lot to do with it. If you believe going in that gold nibs are somehow better than other nibs, you will actually perceive a difference, whether it is physically present or not. It's nearly impossible for humans to be objective about such things. This, as blind taste testing has pretty well confirmed, is the main reason there is such a thing as a high-end wine industry, for example.

ron

[Mrpink]

You mentioned silver nibs, but nibs do not exist in silver: do you mean steel nibs of sodium plated?

Thanks for the correction, steel is the word I should have used.

 

I do believe that gold has a different feel so if I try it blindfolded it may not work because I know my pens. Maybe if I tried it with someone elses pens I may not know the difference.

Edited March 21, 2017 by Mrpink

[escribo]

What Flippy and rwilsonedn said, plus they impart to me a feeling of decadence, maybe. Like eating rib eyes while the kids are having peanut butter ------ with no bread. LOL that's a horrible analogy and my own child is long grown and has a child of his own. Sorry about that, Chief.

 

If a steel nibbed pen with an F nib like I got yesterday and a few others in my hoard collection that I dug out the other day were thrown into a blind test mix I'd bet the results would be a coin toss. But knowing I'm using a gold nib, I can feel the vibe, like I'm eating the juciest most tender Kobe (is that right?) rib eye steak followed by the most gently and lovingly aged Port or the finest Trappist ale. Oh, and let us not forget the Cohiba. As long as we're being decadent anyway.

 

esc

[Bluey]

They're not more fun. There's far more difference between gold nibs than there is between gold and steel nibs.

 

Much in the fountain pen world is in the eyes of the beholder. Add a little beauty, a few jewels, and a few hundred ££££ to the pen and it's amazing how much more fun it is. In every single one of us there is at the very least a tinge of snobbery dictating our tastes, but it's the wiser of us that recognise that for what is it.

 

In a blind test, I would doubt many people would know the difference.

 

 

Expectation has a lot to do with it. If you believe going in that gold nibs are somehow better than other nibs, you will actually perceive a difference, whether it is physically present or not. It's nearly impossible for humans to be objective about such things. This, as blind taste testing has pretty well confirmed, is the main reason there is such a thing as a high-end wine industry, for example.

+1. Nicely put , Ron.

Edited March 21, 2017 by Bluey

[Trom]

It's easier to fool yourself than to fool others (sometimes).

 

When the flow of ink is good, the difference between gold and steel is not there imo.

Only flex nibs made of gold are a better nicer to write with imo.

[Mrpink]

The shine or colour of the gold nibs make it more enjoyable too for me. One cannot deny that the chemical properties of gold is different and that will cause a different behaviour, even if on the microscopic scale, even if it is minute to say the least. But I would like someone to do a blindfold test, might even suggest it to the popular video makers.

[jar]

Blondes do have more fun?

[Polanova]

Blondes do have more fun?

 

 

Maybe

I prefer gold nibs (exceptions some great vintage steel ones)

A admit being a pen snob.

I probably wouldn`t pass a blind test.

There.

[Mrpink]

Blondes do have more fun?

 

Makes me think, I have a black Lamy nib and its not that attractive - to me that is.

[sidthecat]

I'll observe that a gold nib has a tip made of a different material, so one doesn't EXACTLY write with a gold nib.

I'm sure there's a complex geometry at work here, but I like the gold, even though steel performs just as well, assuming the maker cares to make it work as well.

[praxim]

Sitting blind tests is no fun.