149 Tipping 1960S Vs 2018

[Ghost Plane]

There seems to be a constant stream of concerned posts from pen owners worried about how long the tipping will last on their nibs. To allay those fears, as well as document the changes in tipping over the last 50 years, I took a ton of pictures of the reverse of two 1960s vintage 149s loaned to me by fellow board member Niksch alongside my Blue Hour and 90th Anniversary nibs, both of which are known nib sizes purchased this year. I threw in one of the new Pineider stubs 1.3mm for size comparison and to point out elements of cutting edge new designs tend to contain elements of nib design from the past.

 

This will be picture dense, so my apologies in advance to those on slower bandwidth. I figured I'd put ALL the pictures up, as I never know when some minuscule element is precisely what some student of nibs needs and I will not have these nibs together much longer.

 

Subjective to my personal preferences, I have to note that the OB is one of the finest obliques it's been my privilege to handle. The variation it lays is astounding and I wish I had a calligrapher's hand, rather than a scrawl ruined by the need for speed.

 

So with that, let the photos begin.

[Ghost Plane]

And more, because the board glitches if I try too many at once.

[Ghost Plane]

And my apologies. My system promptly ate the right side up shots and I will have to retake those. Which is why fountain pens will always triumph over energized electrons on a screen.

[Ghost Plane]

And the retakes. More flash dependent, since I've lost the lovely light.

[Ghost Plane]

In short, the heavier tipping seems to be a modern addition. The older, sharper grinds give crisper line variation and a unique, responsive touch all their own. The modern nibs simply handle differently as they have more complex-appearing grinds on the bottom. Some of the larger, such as the OBBB are almost trapezoidal.

 

So write for a lifetime and don't worry about whether the tipping will last. Half a century and these 149s are still joys to handle. But for pity's sake, someone take the micro mesh away from the newbies before they ruin what they do not yet understand!

[meiers]

Edited June 24, 2018 by meiers

[CS388]

Interesting. Thanks for the comparison. Quite a noticable difference between the old and the new.

[Tom Kellie]

In short, the heavier tipping seems to be a modern addition. The older, sharper grinds give crisper line variation and a unique, responsive touch all their own. The modern nibs simply handle differently as they have more complex-appearing grinds on the bottom. Some of the larger, such as the OBBB are almost trapezoidal.

 

So write for a lifetime and don't worry about whether the tipping will last. Half a century and these 149s are still joys to handle. But for pity's sake, someone take the micro mesh away from the newbies before they ruin what they do not yet understand!

 

 

[Ghost Plane]

Alas, the OB is on its way back to Niksch with intense gratitude for the experience of writing with it and its BBB brother. I hated to let it go, but it is not a nib to remain a bench warmer behind my behemoths. It needs to be inked and loved on a daily basis. It is quite literally one of the best nibs I've ever experienced in (redacted) years of writing with fountain pens. Had I not experienced my Skeletons, I probably would have wrestled him for it and paired it with my Yard-o-Led B, for both share similar long-tined graciousness. I begin to see why the new Pineider nibs are attracting such attention when I put them against half-century old beauties and note the similarities.

 

I decided to draw people's attention to what precision grinds look like after hearing the owners of cheap pens constantly bleating about "baby's bottom" when pens with carefully engineered tipping and grinds are actually suffering from flow problems due to problematic feeds. Can you imagine amateurs ham-handedly grinding away at the precision surfaces that give such fabulous shading and line variation as these?!

 

Put it down to my curiosity in seeking the WHY along with the HOW when using precision equipment.

[meiers]

Thank you!!!

[niksch]

Thank you Ghost Plane for the comparison post, and thank you very much for your commentary on these pens. Your feedback here and backchannel is very helpful to me. Your explanations of how you hold a pen, for example, are helpful in the flow adjustment because not everyone writes like an engineer (like me). I'm indebted to you.

[desertdingo]

Ghost Plane,

 

This is a bit off topic... I noticed in the photo that your blue hour skeleton had some plating chipping off on the "flange" near the nib. I experienced exactly the same with my blue hour skeleton. Was wondering if anyone else had this issue.

Edited September 10, 2018 by desertdingo

[Ghost Plane]

Mine is more particulates from a faint haze of ink that builds up. I’ll try to remember to take a shot of what it looks like after I’ve flushed it.

 

Glad to know someone else is using theirs.