Behold, Something New! The Harmonic Nib, from Opus Cineris

The Harmonic Nib. Image via Opus Cineris.

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

Whenever a pen of note arrives, something interesting, I hand it to my wife. I play with pens, she knits. I appreciate the yarn she finds, and she appreciates the pens that show up. Over the years, many such pens have arrived and we have found a pattern.

She takes the pen, and writes the following:

A Harmonic BB nib, with Diamine Aurora Borealis on a Nock a5 Cahier.

And then she asks what makes it special. I have handed her a Pilot Emperor, a Pilot Custom Urushi, Jowo 6's, Bock 8's, King of Pens, stacked nibs of all different types, and many more.

This time, she said "this could be my favorite."

My wife has good taste.

What she wrote with is already one of my favorites - both for who made it as well as for what it is.

Anabelle Hiller, first being trained as a musician, then made the jump to metal working. A trained jeweler, she has focused on a particular piece of metal that anyone reading this holds dear - the nib of a fountain pen. After creating her own nib for her masterpiece she experimented with a batch of silver nibs. After a few truly lucky people tested them out at length, she moved on to make a batch of ten nibs in 14k gold.

I was lucky enough to obtain one of these, and I would like to tell you about it because there will be more of her creations. They will be worth finding and cherishing.

The Harmonic Nib, in Silver. Image via Opus Cineris.

What is immediately striking about this nib is the double layer of metal that frames the entire nib. I don't know how this is done - but I can see what it makes possible. On these, this edge has a hammered finish that is very striking. On Anabelle's second set of nibs, a set of 8 made in silver, this edge was engraved in a leaf border, complementing the scrolls down the center of the nib.

Matched with an ebonite feed from FPnibs.com, these nibs can be customized with any grind. What I have is a round BB, tuned for showing off the sheening and shading properties of any ink. And, it is perfect. Responsive and well behaved, I can only wish that all my nibs wrote like this one. I have used multiple brands of ink with it, multiple types of paper, and the performance has been consistent and superb.

The Harmonic Nib, with Giants' Pens ebonite barrel. Image via Opus Cineris.

The pen this nib came in was made by Teun and Joep of Giants' Pens, and is elegant and clean. The material is a black and grey ebonite, that is almost impossible to photograph. The tolerances are tight - and the quickest way to tell is with the threading. This threading is smooth and exact. Matched with the immaculate polish, the pen is a stunner. Its shape is that of a Nakaya Naka-ai, and that is what it reminded me of. Light, nimble, a pen that I reach for multiple times a day.

It is not often that something truly new comes along in the pen community. This is one of those moments.

Anabelle makes nibs sing upon request, for any pens purchased from Appelboom. In addition to employing her, Appelboom also allowed Anabelle to use their website for the sale. This is very cool - It is always good to see those who are well established in the field support those who are starting.

I look forward to following along with what happens next. Engraving, gem setting, overlays? I don't know. But it will be great.

I invite you to join me in following Anabelle at Opus Cineris and on Instagram @opuscineris

(This nib was purchased by Andrew Coon at the 2022 Washington DC Pen Show, directly from Anabelle Hiller. Opus Cineris images provided for this post with permission.)

Kaweco Premium Steel Fountain Pen Nib Review

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.

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 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 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.

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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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Unflexed and flexed writing samples.

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! :-)