What Is Meant By A ‘Soft’ Nib?

[AJ50]

Ive had a Montblanc 149 fountain pen with a medium nib for several years and Im very pleased with it. Ive recently been offered a 149 in great looking condition for a good price which the owner describes as having a soft medium nib. I havent heard this term before so Im wondering what it means to have a soft nib. Can anyone advise?

[penparadise]

I believe that the owner meant a flexible or elastic nib.

[tj4810]

I would not say flexible, this misleads people into thinking the nib has significant line variation capability. Think of it like this, a flexible nib is like a Motocross bike, full of fast responsive damping. A rigid nib is like a horse cart, doesn't even have a suspension. A soft nib is like a Mercedes. You get me?

 

Edit: Probably it's no different from the 149 you already have. Most 149s are soft nibs. Only a few are flexible. The 60s wide shoulder nibs are quite rigid.

Edited April 28, 2018 by tj4810

[RSVP]

I sometimes use this term for smooth nibs which have very slight flex – but not so much you might worry over giving it to a novice. It seemed to be used more 15 or so years ago.

Edited April 29, 2018 by RSVP

[niksch]

I've been thinking about how to phrase/explain my take on this. I think a soft nib is not so much how flexible the nib is, but how much it feels like it floats when you put pen to paper. I have a 146 like this and maybe a couple of 149s.

[Chrissy]

Most modern Montblanc nibs aren't flexible.

 

For me I would describe a soft nib as one that easily flows across the paper with little or no effort.

[dubhe]

The Heritage 1912 nib is soft, like suspension as tj4810 describes. It has no variation with writing pressure. I have a couple of 14C bi-tone 149s, they are not as soft as the 1912 but not rigid either; they do have line variation with writing pressure, though I wouldn’t call them flexible as it is not as much as other flexible pens I own.

[Fermata]

A surprisng variety of answers.

 

When you are using a soft nib you know that the pen nib is not really a flexible nib, not is it a firm nib, nor even a semi flex nib.

 

My experience of soft nibs is from 1950s Conway Stewarts and 40s and 50s MBs. There is some line variation but not anything like as much as a flex or semi flex nib.The pen nib feels more like a spring which gives without fexing when pressure is applied and may not get wider under pressure.

 

In my experience, soft nibs have nothing to do with smoothness as a descriptor.

[AJ50]

Thanks for all the interesting answers, they’re a big help.

[Ghost Plane]

Springy, floaty without the least bit of pressure on the page. Bouncy feeling under its own weight.

 

Flex has nothing to do with it.

[Chrissy]

Springy, floaty without the least bit of pressure on the page. Bouncy feeling under its own weight.

 

You made me think of a ballerina.

[Tom Kellie]

Springy, floaty without the least bit of pressure on the page. Bouncy feeling under its own weight.

 

Flex has nothing to do with it.

 

~ Ghost Plane:

 

Thank you for articulating that flex and springiness are separate qualities.

Flex seems to often be an intentional design quality with subtle shifts in tine lengths and metallurgical calibration.

Any springiness in a soft nib may or may not be so intentional, yet it's unmistakable when present, the fingertips sensing a certain dynamic responsiveness lacking in more stolid nibs.

The soft nibs on my writing desk are especially fun to use on high grade paper, when available.

Tom K.

[Ghost Plane]

You made me think of a ballerina.

Close. I was thinking of moon landings and long, bouncy astronaut strides. *grin*

[niksch]

Most modern Montblanc nibs aren't flexible.

 

For me I would describe a soft nib as one that easily flows across the paper with little or no effort.

 

We can agree.

[Chrissy]

Close. I was thinking of moon landings and long, bouncy astronaut strides. *grin*

 

Yes! Maybe closing your eyes and writing with one on a plane, during turbulence, would give you the same effect?

[praxim]

Some pilots I have known landing a plane would have quite that effect.

[praxim]

Ghost Plane, you have crystallised for me a working definition of the distinction between nib softness and nib flexure. The spring in a metal is distinct from the combination of tine spread supported by ink feed in a nib. Softness in the metal is necessary but not sufficient for a successful flexible nib, yet also is valuable on its own.

Edited April 30, 2018 by praxim

[Chrissy]

Some pilots I have known landing a plane would have quite that effect.

 

Indeed! You should have seen our pilot last September landing the Virgin Atlantic plane in Atlanta. Fine weather, no wind, 3pm in the afternoon, everything looked level. There we all were watching, as we came in to land. The wheels had barely touched the runway when the nose went up and we were climbing again. The cabin crew made an announcement, "well as you can see, we haven't landed....." stating the obvious. So we had to go around again and have another go. You know, what with that and Irma, it's surprising we weren't put off for a few years.