Some thoughts on Nibs

[EricRN]

I wish I had more experience with nibs. I've used, essentially, only three types: The nibs that come packaged with Dyacom kits (not sure of manufacturer), the nibs with Beaufort Ink (manufactured by Bock), and a Schmidt nib. All stainless steel. The Dyacom was the worst. Scratchy, stiff, and dried up and clogged quickly. The Beaufort nibs have been pretty good and the ones that I have the most experience with. Fairly flexible and write well. But I sometimes find that the flow dries up and you need to twist the pusher to get ink back in the nib and flowing.

The Schmidt--the most recent one I've used--is by far the best. Nice and smooth. Ink never runs dry (until the resevoir is empty). Doesn't leak. I really like it. I'd always used Bock as a matter of course, mostly because all my fountain pen kits are Beaufort Ink products, but I just may see if there's a way switch to Schmidt.

 

[floatslow]

I too really like the Bock nibs I source from Beaufort Ink. However I gravitate to Jowo #6 due to having a better success rate when I make my sections.
I typically buy from Turners Warehouse, Osprey Pens, Kanwrite, or the flex Nibs from Franklin Christoph.
But I also go crazy with lapping film in my attempts to smooth and tune. Once I get one that writes like an extension of my thoughts, I burn through at least 5 others. Pride is expensive, but I'll learn one day.

 

[mredburn]

Another source for nibs to COnsider
https://www.fpnibs.com/
Bock, Jowo, Schmidt and many many more.

 

[TDahl]

I use both the Bock #6 and Jowo #6 nibs. I found the gap between the tines on the Bock nibs are too narrow which causes reduced ink flow. A little adjusting will typically solve the problem. Once everything is aligned and you polish the tip, the nib should write really smooth.

 

[jalbert]

I dislike the housing design of the bock nibs, so I use jowo. Out of all the screw-in nib units , I think Pelikan has the best design because the housing threads are at the top of the housing where the section wall thickness is greater. On the downside, Pelikan nibs are vastly more expensive and are not compatible with cartridges or converters.

 

[Dannv]

I use Jowo #6 nibs and usually get them from PenRealm. He does a basic tune on them before they go out. I haven't had one yet that didn't write well. The newer Dayacom kits use Jopo nibs for the ones with the #6 nib. The older one used something generic. The coupel fo those I made write well, too.