El Grande FP nib: opinions

[redfishsc]

I am really enjoying the El Grande I posted in the other thread with the new metal coupler. I've always like the feel of the pen.

However, the nib on it is nowhere near as nice as the one they put on the Churchill. It's more scratchy with a lower ink flow. Is this typical? In other words, would you recommend that I replace the nib it comes with using one of the better quality nibs (ie, Lou's steel nibs)? (Lou, I already know your answer:wink

For now, I'm going to assume this one to be a bit of an anomaly and get out the 12,000 micromesh and do some polishing in the tip.

 

[bgray]

There's no difference between the nibs that Berea puts on the El Grande's or Churchills (or any Berea pen). They come from the same Taiwanese company.

Now there could be a difference in which lot of nibs that you get. I've seen some where the plating look a little different. Some have had a great shiny plating, and some less polished.

But the overall quality control of these nibs can be hit and miss. One can be very different from the next. But really this goes for any nib company, to an extent.

This is where you ought to learn about tine alignment, adjusting flow, and smoothing.

With a few rare exceptions, any nib can be adjusted to write as nice as you might want.

Even with high quality steel nibs, Bock gold nibs, or even the most expensive high end pen...if the nibs are not custom adjusted, they all can use some slight adjusting, no matter how good the quality control.

 

[redfishsc]

Thanks for the advice, bgray.


As far as the EG nib being the same, they may be from the same company but I've used a good number of Berea nibs and this one behaves quite differently. This is the only one I've run across yet that had such a scratchy feel.

Look at the pics, you can see it's obviously not the same "line" of nibs. Perhaps the same company makes them, but I do not think they are the same nib--- they look, feel, and write like completely different items (the EG nib just feels cheap).

 

[DCBluesman]

There's no difference between the nibs that Berea puts on the El Grande's or Churchills (or any Berea pen). They come from the same Taiwanese company.

Unless something has changed in the past six months, this is inaccurate. Nibs that are included in the Berea kits can come from Taiwan, mainland China or India. I have samples from companies in each of these locations and their list of references from a request for proposal that I floated earlier this year. This is the same for CS USA nibs. As for all nibs needing tuning, that is true. It's just that the higher quality nibs need less work from the get go.

 

[bgray]

Unless something has changed in the past six months, this is inaccurate. Nibs that are included in the Berea kits can come from Taiwan, mainland China or India. I have samples from companies in each of these locations and their list of references from a request for proposal that I floated earlier this year. This is the same for CS USA nibs. As for all nibs needing tuning, that is true. It's just that the higher quality nibs need less work from the get go.

If you are referring where the nibs are manufactured, Taiwan, India, China...sure...I'm not positive about the country of manufacture.

But they come from Taiwan to Berea.

 

[redfishsc]

Unless something has changed in the past six months, this is inaccurate. Nibs that are included in the Berea kits can come from Taiwan, mainland China or India. I have samples from companies in each of these locations and their list of references from a request for proposal that I floated earlier this year.

So in effect the "Germany" on the nib is a load of BS? That would not surprise me one bit.


This is some helpful info, thanks guys.

 

[Dan_F]

I got the same nib shown on your El Grande on a Churchill some time ago, so they can vary. I found it to be rather unfriendly too. I just got some nib/sections from AS which look like the one on your Churchill based pen. Hopefully will soon complete my first kitless with one, and will be able to report on it. I have replaced the nibs on my own pens with Lou's, and am very happy with them. I would definitely replace the type on your El Grande with one of Lou's. If nothing else, it looks MUCH nicer, but I think you will feel a difference, even after both are adjusted. IIRC, the plain one (EG) has less tipping material than the others.

Dan

 

[joeatact]

Is there any information available on how to adjust the nib to make it write smoother and better?

 

[DCBluesman]

Is there any information available on how to adjust the nib to make it write smoother and better?

http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3828