Posts filed under Nibs

Kaweco Premium Steel Fountain Pen Nib Review

Kaweco Premium Nib

When the Kaweco Premium Steel Fountain Pen Nib launched last year, my initial reaction was “the what now?” What is this? What is Kaweco saying about their current offerings? Is it worth the premium price for the premium nib? Who is this for? Is it any good? After spending a few months with this nib I am ready to tackle these questions.

I want to start with performance and quality first. Is the Kaweco Premium nib any good? I ordered the steel nib in extra fine, and it has been nothing but great right out of the box. The line is clean and sharp, while retaining its smoothness. I’ve used it exclusively in my Kaweco Steel Sport (which apparently I love so much I’ve reviewed it twice,) and I’ll readily admit it is better than the stock steel extra fine nib that it ships with. It should be.

Kaweco Premium Nib EF

So, what do you do with this information? For most Kaweco users, nothing. I’m guessing that the $25 Classic Sport-and related options-is far and away Kaweco’s best selling pen. It is good quality for a good price, and is a good choice for first time fountain pen buyers.

And the crowd chants “If you get a good nib!”

Stock nib quality control has been a long-time Kaweco issue, with the main culprit being the phenomenon pen users refer to as Baby’s Bottom. Jeff covered this issue, and how to fix it, because of the frustration his AL Sport nib was giving him. Unfortunately, his situation is not unique.

Kaweco Premium Comparison

Kaweco Premium Steel EF, top, vs. Standard Steel.

With this being a recurring theme for the popular German pen maker, you would think they would address the issue directly. Maybe they have, as I hear fewer stories of bad out-of-the-box experiences, but that’s anecdotally speaking. There is still a dice-roll feel to ordering a Kaweco pocket pen of any style.

Kaweco Premium Writing Comparison

Kaweco Premium Steel EF, top lines, vs. Standard Steel writing comparison. The Premium nib is clearly wetter and smoother, which led to a nicer line than the drier stock EF nib.

What if I told you that you could guarantee a better writing experience on your $25 fountain pen by adding on a $45 nib? For starters, I’d feel like I’m being played for a fool. By introducing their Premium Nib lineup, Kaweco is telling me that their stock nibs aren’t good enough. That’s a marketing problem, but admittedly, only to obsessives like myself. A large majority of first-time Kaweco Sport buyers will have no idea this product exists. I just cross my fingers that they get a good nib, and their first foray into fountain pens isn’t ruined by a bad one.

Marketing aside, Kaweco did create a premium product that the aforementioned obsessives like myself will enjoy. Once. That is what the Premium Nib is to me. What exactly makes this nib premium? According to Kaweco, the tipping is larger, and each nib is hand-finished, giving these nibs a smoother, more consistent writing experience. Based on my experience, I concur with all of that. I’m glad to have this nib, and it will be in heavy use, likely over any other non-modified Kaweco nib I own.

aweco Premium Steel EF vs. Standard Steel

If you have several Kaweco fountain pens that fit the smaller #5 nib, it would be worth buying a Premium nib to use interchangeably with your favorite pen barrels. I don’t think it would be worth it to change out all of your Kaweco steel nibs to Premium Steel nibs. Even though they are so easy to swap out, it doesn’t make financial sense.

Kaweco has also determined that it doesn’t make financial sense for them to improve their stock steel nibs, so this is the price you have to pay for better quality control.

For a full writing breakdown, check out this wonderfully thorough Yoseka Stationery comparison post.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)


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Kaweco Premium Nib Box
Posted on June 20, 2022 and filed under Kaweco, Fountain Pens, Nibs, Pen Reviews.

Stylosuite Flex Nib Review

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

I was using one of my Leonardo Momento Zeros that had a flex nib from Les Sheely of Stylosuite and just inked up another, which got me channeling my inner Right Said Fred and singing “I’m Too Flexy For My Car”, except it’s NOT too flexy by far! I first met Les 4 years ago at the Chicago Pen Show (omg, the Chicago Pen Show is next week already!) but I never got around to spending much time at his table because people were always there! I finally made a point to check out his table at last fall’s Chicago Pen Show and now I know why people spend so much time there.

Les is known for his flex modifications - just check out his Stylosuite IG account to see examples of what his pens/nibs can do - but he also does italics, cursive italics and other grinds too. When you sit down at his table, Les will hand you several pens and asks you to write with them and tell him what you like or dislike about them. Is the pen too big/small? Too fine or too broad? Flexy enough? Not enough? Too sharp, scratchy or smooth? Based on those answers, he will take away certain pens and replace them with different ones for you to try, and this goes on for however long it takes the customer to figure out what they want. Les says that it’s common that a customer says they start out wanting something specific but ends up realizing it’s something totally different.

Stylosuite

Les Sheely of Stylosuite at the 2021 DC Pen Show.

Before I go any further though, here’s a quick intro to “what is flex”. Flex is what you get when applying pressure to the tines of the nib. The separation gives a wider line than what you’d normally get when unflexed. Most nibs are not meant to be flexed but they may vary in how much “bounce” you might get when applying a little bit of pressure. Releasing that pressure allows the tines to go back together and write as normal. Apply too much pressure and your tines may never fully go back to their original position and your nib is now “sprung”. As they say, every nib is a flex nib…once. So, don’t ever press your luck too far with any nib, flex, dip or otherwise.

Leonardo Nib

This is what a regular Leonardo nib looks like with no pressure (Leonardo uses Jowo 6 nibs for many of their pens.)

Same nib with almost too much pressure, and there’s still barely a gap between the tines.

Unflexed EF X-Wing Harpoon.

Stylosuite x-wing flex

EF X-Wing Harpoon, flexed with a lot less pressure than I applied with the first nib. (I wrote the pen dry during this review so there is no ink between the tines.)

Alright, back to Les/Stylosuite. I knew what I wanted ahead of time and that was flex. And I wanted it in a Leonardo Momento Zero body (he also sells other brands like Opus88), after I told him which model I wanted, he proceeded to hand me several pens (I wish I took pictures of the pens I was playing with). The first one I picked out was a Fine Cursive Italic Flex, so he then pulled 3 more pens (along with the one I picked) and then asked me which of those I liked best. They all had FCI Flex nibs, but they all felt slightly different. Les likes to say it’s like children, they all have Mom and Dad’s DNA and they may look similar but they all have different personalities. One was slightly stiffer (more of a semi-flex), another one was a bit more flexy, another one was a “crispier” italic, while the other was slightly smoother. So I sat there and made figure 8s and wrote random words until I picked out which “kid” had the personality I liked the most. I also ended up liking the “Extra Fine X-Wing Harpoon” and did the same trial and error with a few other nibs until I picked what worked for me.

My scribbles from the Chicago Pen Show last year.

So after paying the bill, which I genuinely do not remember, but it was something like $350 for the Leonardo Momento Zero with the FCI flex nib. I also gave him another Leonardo and had him modify that nib to be an EF X-Wing Harpoon. He usually doesn’t offer nib-only as an option but since I was also buying a pen, he did it this time.

Leonardo Momento Zero Iride with the EF X-Wing Harpoon (Left) and Figboot on Pens LMZ with the FCI Flex.

Unlike most pen show purchases, you won’t get to walk away with a new flexy pen. Instead, you fill out a form with your address (and he includes notes about what you liked/disliked) and then you wait for 2-3 weeks. Les goes back to his workshop where he cuts and grinds your nib/ feed so that it behaves the way you want it to. He replaces the plastic feed with an ebonite one; this is important because ebonite feeds channel ink better than plastic feeds, ensuring you don’t experience railroading when flexing. He may make other feed modifications to produce the desired flow before heat setting the nib and feed into your pen. Because of this, he does not recommend pulling the nib/feed from the housing because it can cause the nib to not perform properly.

EF X-Wing Harpoon (L) and FCI Flex.

Stylosuite flex

Regular plastic feed (L) vs ebonite feed.

In my experience, Leonardo’s don’t always pull ink very well with the converter attached, so I usually ink up the converter separately, then screw in the converter and saturate the feed before using it. After saturating the feed (including dipping it into the bottle of ink), the nibs wrote great. I generally use an ink that has average to slightly wet flow and I haven’t had problems with flexing either nib, even if I haven’t used the pen for several days, even up to 2 weeks later.

I just finished my first fill of the EF X-Wing Harpoon and am on my second fill of the FCI Flex (I couldn’t resist re-inking it again). I enjoy writing with both nibs but find that the FCI is a bit more versatile as I can get the line variation from the cursive italic without doing any flexing. Neither nibs were so flexy as to be uncontrollable while flexing or too bouncy when not flexing. If you write too quickly while flexing, you may experience a little bit of railroading (where there are parallel lines with no ink in the middle) near the bottom of the stroke, but I don’t usually write very fast when I’m flexing so this hasn’t been an issue for me.

Stylosuite flex nib

Unflexed and flexed writing samples.

Stylosuite Flex Nib
Stylosuite flex nib

Comparison of the EF X-Wing Harpoon and the Fine Cursive Italic Flex.

I really like both of these nibs and plan to make a stop to see Les at the Chicago show next week to see if there’s anything else I should try. If you see him next week or at any other pen show, consider stopping at his table and check out what he has to offer; just wait until after I finish my order! :-)

Posted on April 22, 2022 and filed under Stylosuite, Flex Nib, Nibs.

In Praise of the Big Nib

(The is a guest post by Andrew Coon. You can find more of Andrew’s fountain pen favorites on Instagram.)

I like big nibs. A lot. Over the course of exploring the various nooks and crannies of the pen world, I have managed to acquire and play with most of the big nibs that are in production today. I thought there might be some use in collating my impressions and experiences with the big nibs, so here are a few thoughts.

First, though, why bother with big nibs? Simple – the longer the nib, the more character there can be to the writing experience based upon how the manufacturer uses that length. Different nib geometries/shapes, as well as differences in what metals are included in the gold alloy, can lead to dramatic differences in how the nibs write. Yes, a nib that is 14K or 18K is either 58% or 75% gold, but what are the other metals used? And how is that nib shaped, to allow that metal to move, bounce, and flex? Is the overall nib thicker or thinner? Different combinations of these factors determine how each nib feels.

One final note, a caveat. What I write is based upon the nibs that I have used, so the sample size is small. If your experience is different, please let me know. With all that said, here we go.

From L to R: Pilot 15, Pilot 30, m1000, Bock 8, King of Pen, Yard O Led Grand Viceroy, Jowo 8

From L to R: Pilot 15, Pilot 30, m1000, Bock 8, King of Pen, Yard O Led Grand Viceroy, Jowo 8

The Pilot 15, commonly found on the 823, is the smallest of the group of big nibs. It is beloved by almost everyone who gets one, and is commonly referred to as a workhorse of a nib. A bit of bounce, with the expected level of detail to tuning that Pilot gives to its nibs, and this is the nib that many people love. It is not much bigger than the Jowo 6, but it is just enough bigger that it does perform differently. I do wish that Pilot would make the 743 available in America, so that more people could experience the full range of what this nib can do. The 823 only comes in F/M/B, and the 743 has the full range of Pilot’s nibs.

(The Namiki 20, found on the Yukari Royale, is the same length of nib as the Pilot 15, and has a similar performance in my limited experience.)

The Pilot 30, only found on the Pilot Custom Urushi, is a nib that is elastic in character. Using terminology which I learned from Leigh Reyes, I describe this nib not as a flex nib, but as an elastic nib. Flex is the classic Western “wet noodle,” which has significant line variation when pressure is applied. Elastic nibs do not do this – they are more like brushes. They bounce, but can easily railroad. Due to this, a light hand is needed, and may take some practice to get used to. But, it is worth the effort. This is one of the most distinctive nibs of all the big nibs – my only critique of it is that it is only available on the rather expensive Custom Urushi model, which can be a touch too girthy for many people.

(Watch what happens when pressure is applied to the first nibs used, which are elastic, as compared to what happens when pressure is applied with the nibs at the end of the video. If you want to experience elastic nibs without the cost of buying a large nib, look at a Pilot FA nib or a Platinum Soft Medium.)

The Pilot 50, found on the Namiki Emperor, looks like it should be an even more extreme version of the Pilot 30 and be the nib that is as bouncy and expressive as is possible. This is not the case. It writes like a perfectly tuned Jowo 6. I really don’t know what to say about it, other than it is such a surprise that this is the case.

I have not written with one and so can't speak from experience, but the large nibs by Tohma seem to be everything that a Pilot 50 would be expected to be. Produced in small batches, they are brutally expensive. (See more here.)

The Pelikan m1000 is a polarizing nib - some love it and some cannot stand it. Being among the last of the modern line of Pelikan Souveran models to launched, being released in 1997, it uses a very different nib than the m800. It is the same shape as the smaller Pelikan nibs, but as I understand it, the m1000 is made with thinner metal. This leads to it commonly being experienced as "mushy." That has been my experience. I have one that I enjoy now, but it suffers from the common trend across all Pelikan gold nibs - my m1000 xf writes likes a juicy medium.

The Bock 8 is the vanilla option among the big nibs. It is not the perfectly tuned Pilot 15, nor the bounce of the Pilot 30. It is not the firehose of the Pelikan, nor available in all the options of tip size like a Mont Blanc 149. Like with many other Bock nibs, they frequently have to be tuned to write well. Both of mine had to be tuned by nib workers before they worked well. Once tuned, I enjoy a Bock 8 more than almost any smaller nib … and I enjoy almost every other big nib more than a Bock 8.

Montblanc makes the nibs for the 149 in house, and makes these large nibs in a wide variety of sizes. From Extra Fine to Double Broad, there are also options beyond Double Broad. The Bespoke options include an impressive Music Nib and the truly ludicrous Signature Nib. Modern 149 nibs are rather similar to Bock 8, in that they are good, but not particularly unique or expressive in character. In previous decades the 149 nibs have had more character, bounce and flex. To explore the history and variety of Mont Blanc nibs is beyond my expertise, other than to say that older is preferred.

The Sailor King of Pen may very well be the perfect nib. This nib is the perfect combination of bounce, flex, with a touch of feedback. Using one of these, you are always aware that it is a large and wonderful nib without having to worry about railroading, not being tuned out of the box, or misbehaving in any way. I have three of these, and cherish them. Yet the pricing is so crazy that I would never recommend buying one. The bodies are just injection molded plastic. There is a piston filling version, but it is nigh on impossible to find, and so the best of the large nibs is stuck using one of the most despised converters on the market. It would be nice to have an option other than Medium or Broad. I could complain about this pen all day, but once the nib actually touches the paper, it is clear that this is indeed the King.

Yard O Led also makes a larger nib, the nib that they use on the Grand Viceroy. I don’t know who makes their nibs, but they do seem to be different in shape than any other large nib. They are tuned in house, and among the examples I have used, I can vouch for whoever it is that is setting their nibs. They are masters of the craft. The best comparison would be to the Pilot 15 - it is a workhorse of a nib in that it is distinctly different than the smaller Jowo 6, and completely comfortable for extending writing sessions. Plus, it is a snap cap. A large nib with a snap cap is exceedingly rare.

Even more rare is the Jowo 8, which may seem surprising considering the dominance by Jowo in the smaller, 6 sized nibs. I recently was able to use a Jowo 8, and now understand why it is so rare. It is a bit short compared to the other oversize nibs, not capitalizing on the opportunity to be a longer and more interesting nib. In addition to being rather bland as a writer, there seems to be something off about the feeds of the Jowo 8. If I carry one at all, the ink falls off the feed and pools in the cap. The maker who sent me this nib has had this experience with multiple Jowo 8's, and does not use them anymore. I will be following his lead. While the Jowo 8 does seem to be available to purchase from FPNibs.com, I would pass. The Jowo 8 seems to be as finicky as the Jowo 6 is dependable.

The titanium Bock 8 is, by far, the most affordable large nib. Titanium is a polarizing material - a bit too easy to spring, and more soft than bouncy, it also has a tendency to "sing" as you write. The matte finish can also be hard to match to the trim of a pen, clashing with both rhodium/silver and gold. I have used these, and have not owned one. This, along with the Pelikan m1000, are probably the nibs that you most need to try before buying.

A common accessory to these large nibs are collars/feeds from Flexible Nib Factory. Here you can find affordable and dependable options for using King of Pen nibs in Bock 8 based pens, as just one example. It is worth knowing what options are out there, as a person explores these large nibs. More options are being introduced each year, so it is worth checking back to see what the new interesting permutation is.

When buying the larger nibs, they are usually coming on more expensive pens. I wish that meant that each one would be perfectly tuned before being shipped, but that has not been my experience. Though it happens less often than with less expensive pens, multiple of my large nibs have needed attention by a nibmeister before living up to their potential.

Except the King of Pen. They have always been amazing, from the first downstroke. But I am not recommending them. Nope.

Did I miss any? Has your experience of any of these been different? Let me know.

(P.S. If you want to get into the vintage large nibs, look up the Waterman 10, the Parker 12, the Parker Giant, and the Bexley Giant #12. And I hope your credit card survives.)

Posted on March 17, 2021 and filed under Fountain Pens, Nibs.