Unsymetrically Slitted Nibs

[mke]

If the slit doesn't sit exactly in the middle of the nib, is that really a problem. If yes, what influence will be visible?

 

Or is it just cosmetic?

[rickap]

Hi mike,

 

I had a pen with the slit cut about a millimeter off center. Most of the tip was on one side of the slit and the slit did not align with the feed channel. This prevented a good feed of ink so it wrote poorly. The manufacturer would not replace it; said it was fine. It was a Jowo nib so I eventually bought another and it works great.

 

Rick

[Honeybadgers]

they can be problematic, often requiring the pen be rotated to be usable. I would contact the seller or the manufacturer and have it replaced.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[austinwft]

If the slit doesn't sit exactly in the middle of the nib, is that really a problem. If yes, what influence will be visible?

 

Or is it just cosmetic?

 

Maybe, maybe not!

 

I have a Kaweco Sport, a cheap eBay purchase, that came with a fine nib in which the slit was cut horribly off center from the breather hole all the way through the tipping. Preferring medium and broader nibs I swapped it out and moved on until I later decided that I wanted to try a finer nib with a permanent ink for everyday use and pulled the off-center-cut nib out of the drawer and gave it another look. When looked at under magnification from the top or straight on from the front of the nib the off-center-cut looked terrible and I couldn't believe it would possibly write well, but when looked at from the proper writing angle the tip of the nib and the alignment wasn't that awful.

 

The same pen with its off-center-cut fine nib is now kept inked with Montblanc Permanent Black and is my favorite pocket carry everyday pen. It continues to write great and the nib/ink combination does very well on just about any paper I run across daily. YMMV!

Edited April 17, 2019 by austinwft

[Inky-Republic]

So what's the go with the Bock triple slash nib, where the slit in the tines is deliberately designed to be asymmetric?

[A Smug Dill]

If the slit doesn't sit exactly in the middle of the nib, is that really a problem. If yes, what influence will be visible?

 

It depends; the devil is in the detail. It was a problem with the nib on my Leonardo Momento Zero Hawaii.

[Inkysloth]

So what's the go with the Bock triple slash nib, where the slit in the tines is deliberately designed to be asymmetric?

I havent seen one of these - Id love to see a photo!

[Inky-Republic]

I havent seen one of these - Id love to see a photo!

See below:

 

Don't quite know if it has a purpose or is just a gimmick really - anyone else seen these?

[Sailor Kenshin]

That's very cool. How does it write?

[Inkysloth]

See below:

 

Don't quite know if it has a purpose or is just a gimmick really - anyone else seen these?

I like it!

 

The tine widths are still balanced, although the slit is uneven, so Id expect it to feel much the same as any other Bock nib.

[bkpens]

See below:

 

Don't quite know if it has a purpose or is just a gimmick really - anyone else seen these?

 

I acquired one of these so-called "EKG" nibs. I set my expectations low given the unusual slit; in fact it writes excellently with a nice springiness!

[Honeybadgers]

See below:

 

Don't quite know if it has a purpose or is just a gimmick really - anyone else seen these?

 

as a paramedic I want this.

[Storch]

I would imagine the extra slit length would give it slight more ink reserve so slightly less likely to dry out.

[sidthecat]

I'll observe that most vintage nibs show some asymmetry: they were cut by hand, at speed, so some eccentricity would be the rule rather than the exception.

[tinta]

One of my Kaweco (Bock) 14c nib-units, a medium, has an off-center slit. Without noticing this, I sent the unit off to Pendleton to have the nib stubbed & its 060 feed "improved". On its return I looked over the grind with my 10X Belomo & it was then that I discovered the off-center slit that extended into the breather hole, forming almost a "d" in shape.

Yet, there was equal amount of tipping at the tip of each tine, with Pendleton's signature "butter-line-stub" perfectly formed.

 

I contacted Pendleton about the nib & he assured me that the off-center slit should not pose a performance problem if the nib has been modified into an italic. He regularly sees 14 & 18c nibs with this manufacturing fault.

This "wonky" tined, 0.4mm. stub has become one of my favourite Kaweco nibs, installed on a Kaweco Special FP. It's set up for dry inks, mostly iron-gall.

Edited April 23, 2019 by tinta