Any Experiences With The Sailor Young Zoom Nib?

[ManofKent]

I keep getting tempted by Sailor's zoom nibs, but have no idea whether I'd cope with adjusting the writing angle. I noticed that the Sailor Young is available with a steel zoom nib which retails around £45 compared to £90 for the 1911S but reviews seem non-existent. It's obviously a relatively inexpensive way to try the distinctive nib style but I'd be interested in anyone's experiences.

[Gris Nuage]

Hello

 

For about five minutes, it's an interesting nib, but fairly useless for Western scripts and styles of handwriting.

 

I've heard it makes a good sketching nib, but for normal, everyday, joined-up handwriting, I found it veers from a dull medium to the written equivalent of shouting (big letters) - too often without any sense of consistency.

 

As an approximation of a brush with which to write Eastern characters, it's ideal, but a spanner isn't a screwdriver.

 

This is my experience, and if anyone has examples of a zoom nib being more than a decorative novelty (in an everyday european language setting), I'll ink mine up and get back to using it.

 

Your best bet would be to find one at a pen show, or in a shop, and see how it feels to write with. If you draw, or take notes as mind maps or diagrams, it might be ideal.

 

One final thought is to suggest the fude nibbed pens made by Sailor and others. As a starting point, one of these would do more or less the same thing, but at a greatly reduced outlay.

 

Hope this helps, or inspires someone to counter my argument.

[ManofKent]

 

 

One final thought is to suggest the fude nibbed pens made by Sailor and others. As a starting point, one of these would do more or less the same thing, but at a greatly reduced outlay.

 

Hope this helps, or inspires someone to counter my argument.

Thank you for your thoughts. I've got the Sailor Profit Fude de Mannen and find it okay for sketching, but as you suggest, less than ideal for western writing. I was hoping the Zoom would be slightly more controllable and cover less of a range - not going quite as broad, but it sounds like I'm being over optimistic.

[Gris Nuage]

I compared (scribbled with) a Fude de Mannen and the zoom, to see if my memory of the lines produced were sound. Your hope, that the zoom would be more controllable, is accurate - the line variation is within a smaller range. However, you could say it's a subtler, more refined form of useless, especially for western scripts. And really not overly happy if rotated to the side - as with the fude.

 

Outwith its intended purpose, it just feels a bit uncomfortable. Of course, you may try one and think different - which is part of the fun.

[bitterwonder]

I don't know about steel, I have a gold, but a wonderful nib for drawing and writing. Much more dependable than a fude imo.

[Aurko]

I think it's much more usable than the fude for writing, but best if you have large handwriting or space to spare. I have the steel and the gold, the main difference is that the gold is slightly smoother and notably wetter, though they both are reliable writers. I've only really used a zoom nib to doodle, highlight, and to write certain words in "bold" in my notes, but that's largely because my handwriting is naturally pretty tiny. The zoom is also good to get if you plan on getting it ground down to something else since there is a lot of tipping material.

 

I personally think it's worth it, but your mileage may vary depending on what you're looking for.

[gerigo]

The wonderful part of this forum is the MANY exotic writing instruments that gets introduced to you that you would otherwise not be able to discover on your own. For many it is also a problem.

 

I was so intrigued by all the wonderful and exotic Sailor nibs, that it compelled me to purchase them, knowing full well they are going to be relegated to items of curiosity rather than EDC pens. FORTUNATELY, my passion for writing, learning and calligraphy continue to evolve, and I have lately taken up learning Chinese calligraphy. Therein lies the magic of Sailor. The ability to use these nibs to re-create brush like strokes are nothing short of miraculous. However it does not mean these nibs can't be used by people writing Western font letters. Just think of them as VERY broad nibs, some with brush like characteristics.

 

The zoom nib is Sailor's double broad. Just think of it that way and you're fine. You're NOT going to be able to use the line variation for writing. MAYBE for drawing. Not for [small] writing. If you don't like a nib leaving a super wet trail, and very wet letters, and find fascination looking at beautiful pools of ink dry, write large, this nib is not for you.

Edited June 1, 2017 by gerigo

[bitterwonder]

Some of us do draw and write with this nib, thank you.

[ManofKent]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts. I think I'll have to try it and see.

[gerigo]

Some of us do draw and write with this nib, thank you.

 

Yes you're definitely write, opps right:) If you're into broad nibs, this nib IS for you.

[Polanova]

I have both the Zoom & Fude in 14K & 21K respectively.

They`re both wonderful for drawing with the Fude being much more versatile!

 

One can write surprisingly well with the Fude: at normal hand position it writes in a western F-M, wheras the Zoom writes B.

[Dr.Grace]

Zoom nibs aren't very good for Chinese/Kanji writing either. Fude nibs are much better for that.