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Which One To Choose From Jowo, Bock Or Schmidt?


kikopens

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I guess many of you know about Ranga pens. I decided of buying a pen from them. They do offer a lot of nib options namely from JoWo, Bock, Schmidt. I generally like butter smooth nibs with the very least amount of feedback to it. If I were to go for a Fine or an EF nib, which one of the above nib manufacturer should I stick to?

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EF in butter smooth???? Who is your nib meister?

F will be smoother than EF, there is a wider sweet spot. (M will be even smoother, having a wider sweet spot)...............but to get butter smooth on an EF you will have to do it yourself.

Do buy two dirt cheap pens to practice on.

 

Schmidt is basically a different feed with a Bock nib on it.

There are good Bock nibs.....but they cost more to the wholesaler than the cheap ones that are on par with JoWo.

I don't expect Indian pens to have the best of Bock nibs on them. There are some 4-5 different Bock nibs....don't know if the feeds are different for each level of Bock nibs.

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While I don't own any pens with Bock or Schmidt nibs, I have had great success with the Jowo nibs I've purchased. I also tend toward F/EF nibs with light feedback. Like BoBo is hinting, "butter smooth" in a TRUE EF nib will necessitate an increased ink flow and probably turn it into more of a "Western" EF/F.

 

Another thought: loose Jowo mobs are plentiful and used by established businesses such as Edison Pen Co, Franklin-Christoph, or the Goulet Pen Co. Therefore you'd have plenty of easy options to swap out the nib that comes with the pen, should you not be crazy about it, including stub options or more unique nibs. You can also find Bock and Schmidt nibs online too, to be fair...

 

Best of luck deciding! I also ordered a pen on the Ranga group buy and am looking forward to it!

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To add to the above. Jowo makes a stiff nib - a "nail". Bocks are softer - semi-nail, if you like. I have no experience with Schmidt.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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Bock nibs are most likely the best of the three, and as noted a little softer. Jowo makes a good nib, and a good feed. We have very few problems with either of these nibs/feeds. They are the nib of choice for a majority of pen makers who sell pens with steel/plated nibs. Schmidt are also very common, but also the ones with which we seem to have the most problems. For that reason I don't especially care for Schmidt nibs.

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I dont think Schmidt offers an EF non. All the recent Chinese pens I have seen available have the Schmidt F nib. And since they need very fine nuns to write the complex ideograms, its either Schmidt F is fine enough, or they make do!

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Jowo are the easiest to get replacements for a low cost when balanced with quality. So I would vote Jowo for that reason.

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To add to the above. Jowo makes a stiff nib - a "nail". Bocks are softer - semi-nail, if you like. I have no experience with Schmidt.

I find that to be true too

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While I don't own any pens with Bock or Schmidt nibs, I have had great success with the Jowo nibs I've purchased. I also tend toward F/EF nibs with light feedback. Like BoBo is hinting, "butter smooth" in a TRUE EF nib will necessitate an increased ink flow and probably turn it into more of a "Western" EF/F.

 

Another thought: loose Jowo mobs are plentiful and used by established businesses such as Edison Pen Co, Franklin-Christoph, or the Goulet Pen Co. Therefore you'd have plenty of easy options to swap out the nib that comes with the pen, should you not be crazy about it, including stub options or more unique nibs. You can also find Bock and Schmidt nibs online too, to be fair...

 

Best of luck deciding! I also ordered a pen on the Ranga group buy and am looking forward to it!

 

This is true also, you get more swapping options with Jowo.

 

Jowo and Bock are really both nice nibs, with the very small differences mentioned.

You will not go far wrong with either of them (the real star of your choice is the Ranga pen :D)

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Jowo are the easiest to get replacements for a low cost when balanced with quality. So I would vote Jowo for that reason.

 

Must be a location thing. For me Jowo/Bock = same.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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I prefer Schmidt to Bock, followed by JoWo. Schmidt housings and feeders are very well built and IME less nib shaping problems. I like Bock equally, but their housings are average. JoWo feed and Housings are very good but nibs I feel are a step below Bock or Schmidt. This is based on personal experience, YMMV.

 

Reg the grades of Bock nibs, pretty sure they have gradings but the nibs being discussed here are the generic triple units sold by BOCK with the BOCK logo to anyone who meets the MOQ, not custom shape/logo nibs which are offered at various grade levels, such generic bock triple nib units purchased from any source whether Indian or not are going to be all same.

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It is my understanding that Bock makes `Schmidt nibs.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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It's all in the realm of hearsay. I have also read that Schmidt switched from Bock to JoWo! The nib industry is quite a closed one and many deep facts are rarely disclosed.

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I prefer Schmidt to Bock, followed by JoWo. Schmidt housings and feeders are very well built and IME less nib shaping problems. I like Bock equally, but their housings are average. JoWo feed and Housings are very good but nibs I feel are a step below Bock or Schmidt. This is based on personal experience, YMMV.

 

Reg the grades of Bock nibs, pretty sure they have gradings but the nibs being discussed here are the generic triple units sold by BOCK with the BOCK logo to anyone who meets the MOQ, not custom shape/logo nibs which are offered at various grade levels, such generic bock triple nib units purchased from any source whether Indian or not are going to be all same.

 

I don't know much about nib brands and their qualities but you surely helped me understand some of it. Bock tends to polish the tipping a bit more than other brands, so technically Bock EF should lay down a smoother, less toothy line than JoWo EF? I don't think Schmidt offers EF

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Companies like Jowo and Bock (Schmidt doesn't make their own nibs) make millions of nibs for hundreds of pen companies and as you'd expect from a company of this scale, the process is pretty automated and made for maximum efficiency. So, your chance of getting your perfect nib with the exactly right amount of feedback for you is pretty low when you consider the fact that these are made for the massed and have a somewhat generalized smoothness.

And as far as EF nibs go, there aren't many out there that are very smooth and part of the reason is there's very little tipping material to work with.

So, If you need a buttery smooth nib, go for an F instead of an EF and get some mylar paper and a loupe along the way.

Out of the three, I prefer Jowo nibs the most, but Bock isn't bad either.

Just get either one of them in a fine nib, and smooth the nib out yourself. That way, you'll get a nib that's exactly suited to your preferences!

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Just to point out that whilst it is true that the "Big Two" do indeed make millions of nibs for hundreds of pen companies, these nibs, however, are not all the same. The nibs Bock makes for Graf von Faber Castell are quite different than the ones they make for Kawaco, for example. Having said that, one may well wish to tune ones Graf von Faber Castell nib to ones preference.

Add lightness and simplicate.

 

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