Which Onoto nib - gold or steel?

[Victorian2001]

Hello FPN, I am interested in Onoto. So far I have only tried their steel nib. I see they offer gold, but is a bit ££ for me. Do you think that the gold nib is worth it?
 

It seems to be the case used to be that either the material of the pen or the fact it had a gold nib dictated the value. Also with the cost of a Magna £££ it seems to me like it needs a ££ gold nib rather than a steel to match it. 

 

I am on the journey of realising that steel does not mean inferior, indeed the steel Onoto nibs are brilliant. But now with the increasing cost of gold (perhaps making a gold nib unattainable for many one day) is now the time to buy? Or is steel good enough? Am I missing out on anything? 
 

Thankyou
 

 

 

[Karmachanic]

16 hours ago, Yaaseen01 said:

the steel Onoto nibs are brilliant.

 

The tipping is the same on the 18K.  I very much doubt that at eight times the steel nib cost, 18k makes it 8x more brillianter, and 8x more betterer  to write with.  Just my view.

[InkyProf]

Even today's spot price of one gram of 24k gold is less than 50% of the cost of the Onoto nib upgrade; over the past year, the price of the 18k gold in a one-gram nib will have increased by about 43 GBP. I take this to mean that the cost of gold nib upgrades in modern-production pens -- in Onoto and in other cases -- is not mostly about the cost of the gold. Some of it will be about the actual production costs of the nib, of course. But much of it, I think, is about the luxury.

 

There's no truth of the matter about whether that's "worth it," but for me, it's not: if I were buying an Onoto Magna today (as I hope to do sometime this year) and were going to splurge on an upgrade, I'd get the plunger-filler option, not the 18k nib (I love the steel nib on my Onoto Heritage Collection). Or: I'd take that money and buy a vintage pen with a gold nib, where they do not add nearly the same cost.

 

Not only that: although Onoto has a stellar reputation for quality control on their nibs, and may therefore be an exception, I have found in general a higher incidence of problematic nibs that require further adjustment, replacement, or modification to write well and reliably among modern-production pens compared to vintage pens.* (This is not to mention nibs that function well enough but which aren't especially interesting, and which require modification to make characterful -- cough, cough, Pelikan, cough.) I would rather take that risk with a steel nib than a gold one.

 

Just my four cents. [The cost of my nuggets of wisdom having doubled in the last year 😉]

 

*There may be some "selection bias" here: it could be that vintage pens with problematic nibs were more likely to have been discarded. It might also be that vintage pens that have been sold after restoration are more likely to have had their nibs carefully tuned and smoothed.

[boilermaker1975]

I have four Onotos, all with steel nibs. I love how they write. Maybe my best pens. If there is any improvement in the writing experience with a gold nib, I am guessing it would be too subtle for me to detect.

[JasonR]

I only have one modern Onoto and it’s a steel nib.  I’m quite pleased with the performance.  

[VacNut]

The steel nib can always be removed and replaced with a gold nib. Gold prices may go down when the world settles.

If you decide to sell the pen, the 18K nib should increase  the selling price. 

[Victorian2001]

On 1/26/2026 at 2:50 PM, Karmachanic said:

 

The tipping is the same on the 18K.  I very much doubt that at eight times the steel nib cost, 18k makes it 8x more brillianter, and 8x more betterer  to write with.  Just my view.

That is a good way to look at it - and shows that measuring “quality” in such an arbitary way really means nothing, especially as you write that the tipping is the same

[Victorian2001]

On 1/26/2026 at 3:59 PM, InkyProf said:

Even today's spot price of one gram of 24k gold is less than 50% of the cost of the Onoto nib upgrade; over the past year, the price of the 18k gold in a one-gram nib will have increased by about 43 GBP. I take this to mean that the cost of gold nib upgrades in modern-production pens -- in Onoto and in other cases -- is not mostly about the cost of the gold. Some of it will be about the actual production costs of the nib, of course. But much of it, I think, is about the luxury.

 

There's no truth of the matter about whether that's "worth it," but for me, it's not: if I were buying an Onoto Magna today (as I hope to do sometime this year) and were going to splurge on an upgrade, I'd get the plunger-filler option, not the 18k nib (I love the steel nib on my Onoto Heritage Collection). Or: I'd take that money and buy a vintage pen with a gold nib, where they do not add nearly the same cost.

 

Not only that: although Onoto has a stellar reputation for quality control on their nibs, and may therefore be an exception, I have found in general a higher incidence of problematic nibs that require further adjustment, replacement, or modification to write well and reliably among modern-production pens compared to vintage pens.* (This is not to mention nibs that function well enough but which aren't especially interesting, and which require modification to make characterful -- cough, cough, Pelikan, cough.) I would rather take that risk with a steel nib than a gold one.

 

Just my four cents. [The cost of my nuggets of wisdom having doubled in the last year 😉]

 

*There may be some "selection bias" here: it could be that vintage pens with problematic nibs were more likely to have been discarded. It might also be that vintage pens that have been sold after restoration are more likely to have had their nibs carefully tuned and smoothed.

I anticipated that everyone would reply ‘BUY THE GOLD’. So am

a bit suprised that there are more for steel. I think this makes pens more accessible, but that it is not longer the 1930s any more where all pens had a gold nib. 
 

Your financial analysis is a good way of looking at it, rather than writing experience. I do think that production cost has a lot to do with the increased price. 
 

I do not have any vintage pens and do not want any, I prefer modern. Perhaps I should translate that taste to my nibs and telling myself that not having something does not mean I am missing out

[VacNut]

I am just disappointed that their nibs are not likely made in the UK or EU. I hope I am wrong.

[InkyProf]

3 hours ago, VacNut said:

I am just disappointed that their nibs are not likely made in the UK or EU. I hope I am wrong.

What leads you to believe this?

[JasonR]

I thought they used bock or Jowo - so Germany 

[VacNut]

1 hour ago, InkyProf said:

What leads you to believe this?

I may be harkening back to the days of yore, when pen mfrs made everything in house.

 

I do not know if Bock and JOWO take nib blanks from other mfrs and finishes the coating, imprinting, and tipping; or if they are taking gold stock and making the entire nib. 
 

I stand corrected if they are making the nibs from “scratch” in house.

 

Always open to learning more! 

[InkyProf]

6 hours ago, VacNut said:

I may be harkening back to the days of yore, when pen mfrs made everything in house.

 

I do not know if Bock and JOWO take nib blanks from other mfrs and finishes the coating, imprinting, and tipping; or if they are taking gold stock and making the entire nib. 
 

I stand corrected if they are making the nibs from “scratch” in house.

 

Always open to learning more! 

I see, thanks. I had understood that they [edited to clarify: Bock and JoWo] also make custom sizes and shapes, which led me to believe they were made entirely in-house, but I’m also only basing that on things I’ve read on the internet, not on, say, a factory tour, so I would also welcome input from someone with real information!

[encremental]

I don't know if this is still the case, but all Onoto nibs (gold and steel) used to be tuned and finished by John Sorowka, which accounts for their extraordinary quality. Custom grinds are also available as an added cost. I have four Onotos, and replaced the gold nibs on two of them because  I prefer the steel version. 

 

John

[Karmachanic]

9 hours ago, encremental said:

I don't know if this is still the case, but all Onoto nibs (gold and steel) used to be tuned and finished by John Sorowka

 

Mr Sorowka sez:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/144753-onoto-magna-writer-le-review/?do=findComment&comment=1637374

 

[encremental]

... and Mr Sorowka is a very sensible gentleman; he must be, as I agree with every word!

 

John

[thx1138]

I have three modern Onoto pans, all with steel nibs, plus a couple of spare nibs in different sizes. 

 

I have a magna claret, student pen, and one of the limited edition heritages (#003). The quality of these pens is very high.

 

The nibs from the factory are uniformly excellent. No adjustments, no problems,  and no complaints. 

 

I thought about gold but spending $500 just for the nib was untenable. 

 

I an thinking of getting a steel broad stub made and sent to me.

 

[thx1138]

On 2/6/2026 at 1:04 AM, thx1138 said:

 

 

I thought about gold but spending $500 just for the nib was untenable. 

 

Whoops.