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Which Nakaya Nib?


Turquoise88

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I’m about to pull the trigger on purchasing my first Nakaya. But I’m struggling with deciding on the right nib for me. 

 

I generally prefer Western fine and medium nibs with a wetter ink flow. I do not own any Japanese pens, apart from a Pilot Vanishing Point for which I have both a fine and a medium nib and like them both (they tend to write wet). 

 

I understand from what I’ve read that the Nakaya nibs tend to be more dry, so that would make me think I should ask for the nib to be adjusted to a wetter ink flow. 

 

But the size of the nib is what I’m less confident about.  I was thinking a medium-soft, which is listed on the Nakaya and Nibs.com websites as 0.4 - 0.5 mm in width.  That sounds pretty thin.  But the next step up, a broad, is listed at 0.8 mm on the Nibs.com website (and in another spot as 0.6 mm) and 0.44-0.54 mm on the Nakaya website — huh?  According to Nakaya, the broad wouldn’t be much different than the medium soft which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But 0.8 mm on the NIbs.com would be almost double the size of the medium soft which also doesn’t compute.

 

Any advice from Nakaya users would be greatly appreciated! 

 

 

 

 

 

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John Mottishaw's shop will customize your nib flow to whatever style you want.  Since you're planning to purchase the pen from them, your best bet is to contact them either by email or call, and explain your preference.  They can then advise you on what nib to select, and how to describe the flow you want when ordering your pen.  They are great to work with, and you will not be disappointed.

"History Teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives." Abba Eban

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Thanks Doug1426 — it’s been kind of hit or miss getting a response from Nibs.com lately — I intended to add a note to my order with all my preferences, but was hoping to get some feedback from other users as to their experience with the Nakaya nibs as well.

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I am a lover of broad nibs, and have some Nakaya BB nibs.  One was a disappointment at first, because it came from Japan and I think I said something like moderate ink flow.  I have learned that to keep up with my broad nibs and my preferences that I need to specify 8.5-9 out of 10 for flow, and they've been perfect ever since.  It is my experience that Nakaya nibs are by nature economical with ink, but can be personalised for your needs, as long as you specify them.  And John Mottishaw is an absolute wizard.  As long as you let him know what size nib you want, he can make it for you!

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3 hours ago, empliau said:

I am a lover of broad nibs, and have some Nakaya BB nibs...I have learned that to keep up with my broad nibs and my preferences that I need to specify 8.5-9 out of 10 for flow, and they've been perfect ever since.  It is my experience that Nakaya nibs are by nature economical with ink, but can be personalised for your needs, as long as you specify them.  And John Mottishaw is an absolute wizard.  As long as you let him know what size nib you want, he can make it for you!

Thank you, empliau!  As I’ve been thinking about this more (and watching more Nakaya writing sample videos), given the “economical nature” of Nakaya nibs, going with a wetter/heavier ink flow would definitely get me closer to my preferences — I don’t really enjoy fine lines by and large and have discovered that even some of my medium (western) nibs will produce a finer line just using a drier ink. So the more the nib is optimized for ink flow from the get-go, the better!

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Also, if you realize immediately that you've chosen the wrong nib size, you can return the pen for a nib swap. At least, that's what I did with my first Nakaya in 2008. I don't remember if the time limit was a week or 30 days (probably a week), but as long as the nib was as-new, the swap was possible.

 

Not sure if that policy has changed. It might also be Nakaya's policy, but I haven't confirmed.

 

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etherX in To Miasto

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15 minutes ago, ethernautrix said:

Also, if you realize immediately that you've chosen the wrong nib size, you can return the pen for a nib swap. Not sure if that policy has changed. It might also be Nakaya's policy, but I haven't confirmed.

 

I'm guessing this applies if you order directly from Nakaya as opposed to ordering from one of their distributors?

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1 hour ago, Turquoise88 said:

I'm guessing this applies if you order directly from Nakaya as opposed to ordering from one of their distributors?

 

Oops, I wasn't clear. That time (and most times), I ordered from nibs.com. 

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etherX in To Miasto

Fleekair <--French accent.

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