Using Magnet To Test A Nib

[lawrenceloklok]

Could magnet check/test the quality of a nib. To be more precise, a good nib shouldn't be attracted by the magnet. Is it true?

[lawrenceloklok]

I found this interesting information on this website: http://sirius1701c.blogspot.hk/2014/06/blog-post_20.html?m=1

[pajaro]

For further reading I read The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin.

 

Some have suggested using a magnet to detect steel nibs passed off as gold by fakers, as on fake Parker Sonnets. I don't find my gold nibs are attracted by magnets.

[lawrenceloklok]

For further reading I read The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin.[/colo inr]

 

Some have suggested using a magnet to detect steel nibs passed off as gold by fakers, as on fake Parker Sonnets. I don't find my gold nibs are attracted by magnets.

My Parker IM model steel nib is not attracted by magnet too. But interesting fact is that my cheap jin hao nib is attracted by magnet. So I am wondering magnet isn't that surprise.

[Sasha Royale]

This is NOT "fountain pen". This is physics ! Steel is attracted to a magnet. A gold nib is not attracted to a magnet, neither is a brass nib, nor aluminum nib, nor wooden nib. A steel nib, plated with gold, is still a steel nib. A magnet does NOT identify gold. It identifies steel ! I do not accept that a gold nib is better than a steel nib.

 

Leave your magnet at home and bring your brain and your logic.. An inexpensive fountain pen is unlikely to have a gold nib.

[Erik Dalton]

For years I carried a magnet to be able to tell aluminum, stainless steel and mild steel sections of a ship before setting a crew to work. Some stainless steel is magnetic. Most of the better quality is not, but that's not a hard and fast rule. Gold nibs generally have a hallmark stamped in them. 585 for 14k and 750 for 18k

Steel, gold, palladium, titanium, I've seen good and bad in each. What really matters is whether a nib writes well.

[lawrenceloklok]

For years I carried a magnet to be able to tell aluminum, stainless steel and mild steel sections of a ship before setting a crew to work. Some stainless steel is magnetic. Most of the better quality is not, but that's not a hard and fast rule. Gold nibs generally have a hallmark stamped in them. 585 for 14k and 750 for 18k

Steel, gold, palladium, titanium, I've seen good and bad in each. What really matters is whether a nib writes well.

This is true that a good nib should write well, but a good nib should also be made by good material. So if a stainless steel nib is attracted by a magnet, can I conclude that the quality of this nib is bad?

[Erik Dalton]

Not really. There are all different formulations of stainless steel. If it starts rusting I'd worry. But if it wrote well, and was showing rust spots I'd take some micromesh to it, keep it clean, and keep on writing.

[lawrenceloklok]

Not really. There are all different formulations of stainless steel. If it starts rusting I'd worry. But if it wrote well, and was showing rust spots I'd take some micromesh to it, keep it clean, and keep on writing.

You have said that most of the good quality of stainless steel is not attracted by magnet. So if a magnet couldn't be attracted by magnet, then it is a good quality of stainless steel, but if stainless steel attracted by a magnet, we cannot tell whether it is good or not.Can I conclude that?

Edited July 9, 2017 by lawrenceloklok

[lawrenceloklok]

but that's not a hard and fast rule.

Could you tell me more? What is that mean? Is there any other ways to test the quality of a stainless steel nib, beyond writing. (just imagine the pen shops don't allow you to test the pen)

[lawrenceloklok]

This is NOT "fountain pen". This is physics ! Steel is attracted to a magnet. A gold nib is not attracted to a magnet, neither is a brass nib, nor aluminum nib, nor wooden nib. A steel nib, plated with gold, is still a steel nib. A magnet does NOT identify gold. It identifies steel ! I do not accept that a gold nib is better than a steel nib.

 

Leave your magnet at home and bring your brain and your logic.. An inexpensive fountain pen is unlikely to have a gold nib.

 

Not really. Not all steel is attracted by magnet, for example some good quality stainless steel. Edited July 9, 2017 by lawrenceloklok

[praxim]

Could magnet check/test the quality of a nib. To be more precise, a good nib shouldn't be attracted by the magnet. Is it true?

 

I don't think so, no. Try writing, look at comments available. If you are testing an unknown brand then you will probably get an unknown nib, magnetically attractive or not.

[dcwaites]

The quality of a nib has nothing to do with whether the main body has a particular content of gold (10k, 14k, 18k, 21k, etc).

The quality of a nib has everything to do with the tipping, how it is shaped, smoothed and aligned.

I have gold nibs that are execrable, and a couple of steel nibs that are better than any of my gold ones.

 

All a magnet will tell you is that the main body of a nib is made of a magnetic material.

It may be plain steel, it may be one of the magnetic blends of stainless steel. It may (although this is unlikely) that it is made of some other magnetic material like nickel.

 

It may be that a pen manufacturer may put more effort into shaping, aligning and smoothing the tip of a nib where the body of the nib is gold, but not always.

[Honeybadgers]

Unreliable to the point of uselessness.

 

The only benefit is if it does stick, you instantly know it's steel, but if it does not stick, you know nothing, since most stainless steel is nonferrous.

[Erik Dalton]

About the nibs. Respectfully, you may be overthinking this. Basic metallurgical specifics aside, the true value of a nib is in how it performs. Fall in love with your pens. Focus on learning to make your nibs write smooth and wet. When you have a pen that feels good on your hand and writes like a dream, the rest is really immaterial.

 

I understand your interest and curiosity. I'll happily share what I've learned about metals in a pm.

[frankb3]

Stainless steel knives are strongly magnetic, being magnetic does not indicate an inferior stainless steel. The stainless used for FP nibs is 316L, which is normally non-magnetic, but if work hardened can be weakly magnetic. The only nibs I've found that are magnetic at all are Jinhaos, and they are hit and miss.

 

The addition of several percent Nickel to Stainless Steel makes it non-magnetic, more corrosion resistant, and useless for holding a good edge on a knife.

 

If a nib is non-magnetic that tells you nothing. If it is magnetic that tells you it is some manner of steel - so if it supposed to be a 14k gold nib RUN AWAY!

[Bo Bo Olson]

A name company must have good quality stainless steel or it won't remain a name long.

The less one gives out for a pen the lesser one could expect the stainless steel to be.

 

I'd not heard nor worried about if my stainless steel nib was magnetic or not. It is the tipping that counts most........... Then if you are looking for a nail, semi-nail or a Pelikan 200's 'true' regular flex' for the flex rate you seek.

 

It will take a few years for a poor steel nib to die....more than likely decades, even for a poor one....in IG inks are not used often by many. If stainless then should be IG proof, or nearly so.

[frankb3]

A name company must have good quality stainless steel or it won't remain a name long.

The less one gives out for a pen the lesser one could expect the stainless steel to be.

 

I'd not heard nor worried about if my stainless steel nib was magnetic or not. It is the tipping that counts most........... Then if you are looking for a nail, semi-nail or a Pelikan 200's 'true' regular flex' for the flex rate you seek.

 

It will take a few years for a poor steel nib to die....more than likely decades, even for a poor one....in IG inks are not used often by many. If stainless then should be IG proof, or nearly so.

See this review for how nasty Iron Gall inks can be: http://kencrooker.com/igink/

 

Iron Gall inks are trending. Platinum just introduced a bunch of new IG inks (but they sound like they are on the mild side). KWZ and Rohrer and Klingner IG inks are popular too. I got a bottle of Hero 232 Blue/Black IG ink, but I don't know how the pens will hold up yet.

[Water Ouzel]

This is NOT "fountain pen". This is physics ! Steel is attracted to a magnet.

 

Some steels are not magnetic either, particularly some stainless/rostfrei/inox alloys.

[Water Ouzel]

Unreliable to the point of uselessness.

 

The only benefit is if it does stick, you instantly know it's steel, but if it does not stick, you know nothing, since most stainless steel is nonferrous.

Well, not ferro-magnetic. They're still ferrous, being that steels are mostly iron with some useful impurities in the mix.