SCHON DSGN machined titanium nib

[doriath19]

Stumbled on this on YouTube today.
https://www.schondsgn.com/products/monoc-nib

 

Not cheap. $400 for the pen and nib. If you want the nib installed on another SCHON pen he takes $100 off. That means you would pay $300 for the nib and then whatever the cost is for the alternative pen. It sounds like the nib doesn’t actually have any tipping material attached. The tip is machined from titanium right with the rest of the nib. Also I’m curious about the material he used for the feed. I hadn’t heard of Ultem before. 
 

I would love to hear anyone’s initial reactions to this. How does a titanium tip perform? How does Ultem perform as a feed? Would anyone pay this price for a Titanium nib?

[MidSouthern-Dad]

I received an Acriv pen from India, where the nib was titanium.  There was no tipping, and the point was made by folding the tine back upon itself.  It wasn’t very smooth, and I always wondered how long the titanium tip would last. 
 

Parker had the greatest difficulty getting a titanium nib to weld to iridium for the T1.   I think this is why Schon Design machined the tip with the rest of the nib, and skipped the iridium tipping.

 

I personally don’t have an interest in this unit.  But since it is JoWo compatible, you can screw it into any pen using a JoWo nib unit.

[Paul-in-SF]

Ultem is a nearly indestructible plastic that Schon and other manufacturers have used for pen bodies. This is the first I have heard of it used for a feed, and so I have nothing on which to base any judgment about its effectiveness used that way.

 

Titanium is usually described as softer than steel. Pen tipping is usually a very hard material, so that it won't wear off, or at least not for a very long time. These two things lead me to wonder how long the nib tipping will last. The nib might feel wonderful to write with, but for how long? 

 

I am not particularly drawn to this product myself, and only time and experience could really answer the questions I have.

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

2 hours ago, Paul-in-SF said:

Titanium is usually described as softer than steel. Pen tipping is usually a very hard material, so that it won't wear off, or at least not for a very long time. These two things lead me to wonder how long the nib tipping will last. The nib might feel wonderful to write with, but for how long? 

 

I don't see this being that big of an issue based on my huge collection of crappy Wearevers. Those used probably the cheapest and thinnest type of steel known to man for their untipped nibs and a good amount of them have survived and write well enough after decades and decades. And I mean well-used and well-loved ones, not NOS examples.

 

Mind you, I'm not willing to put down $400 to experiment, but it's definitely a more interesting value proposition for me than say... a Montblanc or one of Sailor's limited editions. Then again, I'm not on the market for either of those two either (Sailor KOP is a grail for me, but that's a different topic).

 

I'm looking forward to seeing some reviews, really curious about how it performs.

 

[Paul-in-SF]

1 minute ago, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

it's definitely a more interesting value proposition for me than say... a Montblanc or one of Sailor's limited editions.

 

Agree 100%. I might be closer to interested in this if I didn't already have Too Many Pens™ and only be interested in the occasional vintage. 

 

Regarding the tipping, perhaps there is a second reason for tipping (if longevity by itself isn't enough). Perhaps regular tipping material is easier to get a good finish on for writing. Schon's video indicates they put a fair amount of labor into getting the tips of these nibs into good writing shape. I imagine the amount of labor goes a long way towards explaining the price. 

[hairlame]

3 hours ago, Paul-in-SF said:

 

Titanium is usually described as softer than steel. Pen tipping is usually a very hard material, so that it won't wear off, or at least not for a very long time. These two things lead me to wonder how long the nib tipping will last. The nib might feel wonderful to write with, but for how long? 

 

 

 

On their blog, Schon say that the nib machined out of grade 5 titanium, which is supposed to be as strong as stainless steel but lighter.  So I'd guess its just as durable as the untipped Jowo 1.1 and 1.5 mm stubs made from stainless steel.  Agree that they look pretty interesting though, and curious about what the early reviews are like...

[doriath19]

3 hours ago, MidSouthern-Dad said:

Parker had the greatest difficulty getting a titanium nib to weld to iridium for the T1.   I think this is why Schon Design machined the tip with the rest of the nib, and skipped the iridium tipping.

This makes sense and as others pointed out, Jowo stubs don’t have tipping so I’m guessing it won’t effect performance that much.

 

I had heard that the T1 tipping didn’t stay on the titanium nib very well. But aren’t there other titanium nibs on the market. Do they use iridium tipping?

 

Personally there is no way I would pay $400 to try this out. It doesn’t really interest me. I would rather use that $400 to buy something vintage (since I don’t have $400 to spend on pens it’s a mute point). 

[doriath19]

1 hour ago, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

it's definitely a more interesting value proposition for me than say... a Montblanc or one of Sailor's limited editions.

Tell me more about why. I’m not interested really interested in Montblanc or Sailor, but I don’t really have a good reason. Why would Schon’s pen with this nib be more interesting for you?

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

37 minutes ago, doriath19 said:

Tell me more about why. I’m not interested really interested in Montblanc or Sailor, but I don’t really have a good reason. Why would Schon’s pen with this nib be more interesting for you?

 

It's something new and different. I'm really bored with modern pens because they're more or less all the same. Most of the boutique manufacturers make the same old acrylic turned pens in mixed melted Skittles colors with the same old Bock or Jowo nibs that all write the same. No offense meant to people who like these pens, they're good pens.

 

And in regards to the value, it's more palatable to me because the expense is due more to the amount of work that goes into it. Not to say that Schon DSGN isn't padding the price for profit (I'm sure he is, it is a business after all...), but some of that cost is due to price of materials, cost of R&D, etc. The price feels more "justified" to me.

 

That's opposed to something like, well, a limited edition Sailor pen. I actually really like Sailor's nibs, they're my favorites, but there's no difference between a standard PGS that sells for $150 (which is a great value IMO) and a special edition colorway that sells for nearly $300. The material doesn't cost any more to make than the standard and there's no R&D involved (or minimal) to switch up colors. The value is all in artificial scarcity. 

 

I have to end all this by saying this is all personal opinion and everyone's value judgement will be different. I know lots of people love these Sailor special editions and my intention isn't to say they're wrong, just personally for me this is a more interesting value tradeoff.

[doriath19]

44 minutes ago, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

 

It's something new and different. I'm really bored with modern pens because they're more or less all the same. Most of the boutique manufacturers make the same old acrylic turned pens in mixed melted Skittles colors with the same old Bock or Jowo nibs that all write the same. No offense meant to people who like these pens, they're good pens.

 

And in regards to the value, it's more palatable to me because the expense is due more to the amount of work that goes into it. Not to say that Schon DSGN isn't padding the price for profit (I'm sure he is, it is a business after all...), but some of that cost is due to price of materials, cost of R&D, etc. The price feels more "justified" to me.

 

That's opposed to something like, well, a limited edition Sailor pen. I actually really like Sailor's nibs, they're my favorites, but there's no difference between a standard PGS that sells for $150 (which is a great value IMO) and a special edition colorway that sells for nearly $300. The material doesn't cost any more to make than the standard and there's no R&D involved (or minimal) to switch up colors. The value is all in artificial scarcity. 

 

I have to end all this by saying this is all personal opinion and everyone's value judgement will be different. I know lots of people love these Sailor special editions and my intention isn't to say they're wrong, just personally for me this is a more interesting value tradeoff.

That makes sense. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m pretty happy with my very small collection of modern pens and I’m not really looking to add to it, so I understand what you are saying. I especially agree with you about the modern acrylic pens. I like the couple acrylic pens I have but I’m not looking to add to them. Also, the boutique manufacturer’s pens seem kind of expensive to me for what they are. Same as you, I’m not taking away from those who like them. I’m just not really interested. 

[doriath19]

4 hours ago, MidSouthern-Dad said:

There was no tipping, and the point was made by folding the tine back upon itself.

I’m really curious to see what that would look like. Do you have pictures?

[I-am-not-really-here]

The nib is not $400, that is the package price for its default pen.  But it is a JOWO nib so transportable elsewhere, including presumably, outside the SCHON pen family.

[whichwatch]

I was thinking about Ian's Monoc nib just a few minutes ago, when I stumbled upon this thread.  I have been wondering what advantage, if any, this new unit provides to the user.

 

Ian is a great guy, and most everyone likes him.  His engineering is top notch, and his workmanship is high quality.  He is certainly creative, and when he finally offers his hammered finish in a full size pen I will probably buy one.

 

My question is, what advantage does the Monoc nib provide, other than to prove it can be done?

[doriath19]

I do think it's cool that he is engineering something like this nib.

 

I actually have a random story about him. I was working customer service at a metal manufacturing company in New Hampshire. Ian was based out of Massachusetts at the time. I think he was asking us to make some clips for his ball point pens. If I remember correctly, we didn't do a very good job. He doesn't sell his pens with pocket clips I don't think, so... yeah.... I didn't really help with his project in any way, but I did talk to him on the phone for some reason I can't remember. Anyway, he definitely seems like a nice guy.

[I-am-not-really-here]

8 minutes ago, whichwatch said:

My question is, what advantage does the Monoc nib provide, other than to prove it can be done?

Well, if you've ever wanted a Parker T1 but didn't want the risk of actually using it...

[MidSouthern-Dad]

No pictures of the titanium nib, sorry.  I think I actually threw it out.  The tines were just made extra long, and folded underneath. You wrote on the folded part.

Pen was decent enough, and it carries a 14K gold Fountain Pen Revolution nib now.

[Christopher Godfrey]

I can tell you that I have an Omas titanium nib (the entire pen was machined from Ti: I think it was designated the T2 model?) and the tip of the nib appears simply to be a "blob" of extra metal...in titanium.  So it was cast that way.  I cannot see it wearing away in my lifetime: this element is known for its strength and durability, not so?  I might also add that mine has some flexibility to it -- limited flexibility.  This nib under discussion, however, looks to be very sturdily designed and I doubt it can offer much of that quality.

 

I really cannot take close-up photos on the equipment I have.

[Karmachanic]

8 hours ago, I-am-not-really-here said:

But it is a JOWO nib

 

Not so.

[I-am-not-really-here]

8 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Not so.

Yes, what I meant is that it is compatible with pens using JOWO #6.  That is a fairly wide range of pens.

[Paul-in-SF]

21 hours ago, hairlame said:

On their blog, Schon say that the nib machined out of grade 5 titanium, which is supposed to be as strong as stainless steel but lighter.

 

Thanks for that additional piece of information. I'm now at the point where I would like to try one out. I hope someone from my pen club buys one and brings it to a meetup.

 

I'm also interested in the nib line width, of which there is currently only one available. The site says that the line width is medium to broad, but that it measures 0.5 mm on Rhodia paper. That size would seem to qualify it as a western Fine, and between a Japanese Fine and Medium (based on Binder's chart). Another point I would want some clarification about. 

 

Schon is introducing this in an interesting way, one that I mostly think is pretty good. No hype at all, and one has to dig a little to find out relevant facts that might affect one's buying decision. He seems to be depending on his reputation for quality and good engineering to drive sales of what is a product of (actual, not artificial) limited availability.