German Iridium Nibs---

[FP Writing]

since alot of pens used German Iridium Nibs,

which i have a few on current pens, just like to gather experiences from those who have used these nibs

whether are they running more towards the dry side ?

 

Do you tweak these nibs to your style of writing like ink flow and smoothness?

 

thank you

[jmkeuning]

tweak it.

 

It can be wetter. I have one that is perfect.

[JJBlanche]

The Reform 1745 has a legit German Iridium nib, and generally requires some tuning to get it to flow well and run 100% smooth. Beware that most any contemporary pen with a German Iridium nib is, in fact, not German, nor does it use iridium. Chinese suppliers bought out the tooling for German iridium nibs when a number of major German players went out of business, the most notable of which was Reform. Rather than spend money to alter the nib stamp, they just kept going with the German Iridium markings. The steel is of a much lower quality, they use poor tipping material (if anything at all), and the workmanship is generally poor. This isn't to say all Chinese pens are of low quality, but the ones bearing the German stamp most certainly are.

[FP Writing]

Wondering is it possible to tell

the nib wording reads " iridium point Germany"

looks quite ok to a lay man like me.

 

But can then one concludes that this is made from Bock nib Germany ?

 

regards

[burmeseboyz]

But can then one concludes that this is made from Bock nib Germany ?

 

What's the make of the pen? Some custom pen makers use Bock nibs that just says Iridium Point Germany. If the pen's a no-namer, it's most likely that it's a Chinese made pen. I only have one pen that's IPG and I don't use it but I'm sure that you can tweak it like any other nib. I usually would adjust the slit width if it's too far apart or if the tines are not balanced.

[JJBlanche]

Wondering is it possible to tell

the nib wording reads " iridium point Germany"

looks quite ok to a lay man like me.

 

But can then one concludes that this is made from Bock nib Germany ?

 

regards

 

Only a pen actually made in Germany would have a nib marked Iridium Point Germany. To my knowledge, no Bock nib was ever labeled Iridium Point Germany. The 1745 has that exact marking, but it is from one of the original IPG nib manufacturers (and thus legit). To my knowledge, Chinese firms bought Reform's equipment when they went out of business, and released huge numbers of degraded copies.

 

Again, the short of it is, if it's not a name brand pen that was knowingly manufactured in Germany, the IPG nib is a cheap copy.

 

EDIT: If you posted a picture of the pen in question, it would be much easier to help you.

Edited September 24, 2008 by JJBlanche

[goodguy]

If you are talking about the IPG nibs (Iridium Point Nib) then these are actualy nice nibs,some good writers out of the box and some need some tweeking but I cant stand these nibs and will never own one.

[rroossinck]

Only a pen actually made in Germany would have a nib marked Iridium Point Germany. To my knowledge, no Bock nib was ever labeled Iridium Point Germany.

 

I disagree. I've got a pen that was hand-made in Ohio that has a brilliant nib marked Iridium Point Germany. I also have one that was made in Taiwan that has an equally brilliant nib marked Iridium Point Germany. I have it on pretty solid authority that these are both nibs sourced directly from Bock. Neither of these are cheap copies.

 

A photo would be helpful, Yong. We'll get it figured out with you.

 

[JJBlanche]

Only a pen actually made in Germany would have a nib marked Iridium Point Germany. To my knowledge, no Bock nib was ever labeled Iridium Point Germany.

 

I disagree. I've got a pen that was hand-made in Ohio that has a brilliant nib marked Iridium Point Germany. I also have one that was made in Taiwan that has an equally brilliant nib marked Iridium Point Germany. I have it on pretty solid authority that these are both nibs sourced directly from Bock. Neither of these are cheap copies.

 

A photo would be helpful, Yong. We'll get it figured out with you.

 

There's nothing saying that a Chinese nib can't be a good runner. Daewoo cars (Korean) are generally known as being fairly abhorrent, but there are still running examples out there. I've looked at the pen supply web sites (where turners buy their nibs, etc), and the cheaper (Chinese) nibs are marked IPG, whereas the Bocks do not have that designation.

 

What manufacturer in Taiwan is putting Bock nibs on their pens? I'm not disagreeing with you, to be sure, but it's a fairly well-known fact that every IPG nib manufactured in the past 15ish years was made in China with terrible QC.

[JJBlanche]

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/woodturners/Images/products/large/fount-nibs_l.jpg

 

This is one of the more popular Chinese IPG nibs that are currently available to pen manufacturers and turners. It is a direct copy of the nib that went on Reform Bremens (minus the quality). I'll see if I can dig up some pics of others.

 

EDIT: More below...

 

http://www.beartoothwoods.com/catalog/images/Nib_Medium.jpg

 

http://www.beartoothwoods.com/catalog/images/Nib_Broad.jpg

Edited September 24, 2008 by JJBlanche

[skipwilliams]

IPG Nibs (Iridium Point Germany) nibs do not necessarily come from Germany. Nor do they as a rule come from Bock. Many high-quality Chinese nibs are marked IPG.

 

All IPG nibs I've ever seen are steel nibs.

 

Regarding their performance, they can be great writers. They can also have poorly finished writing tips, or have slits that are too close together, or have misaligned tips. I have a number of IPG, Indian, and Chinese nibs, all can write nicely, if stiffly. If they're dry, then the slit may need to be tweaked. It also may mean that the feed design is substandard or the plastic does not allow good ink wetting.

 

Skip

 

since alot of pens used German Iridium Nibs,

which i have a few on current pens, just like to gather experiences from those who have used these nibs

whether are they running more towards the dry side ?

 

Do you tweak these nibs to your style of writing like ink flow and smoothness?

 

thank you

 

[tt32003]

What about those marked iridium point West Germany ?

At that time it should be still German made right ?

But they do make lots of cheap pens in Germany then.

 

My Bao Er starwalker (or skywalker or whatever you call it) has nib marked Iridium Point Paris but everyone knows that it's definitely made in China.

 

Yesterday I found a cheap old pen at a flea market with a gold plated nib labeled Iridium Point Italy. Don't think it's made in China though.

[JJBlanche]

The Chinese iridiums are a relatively new phenomenon. If the pen is more than 20 years old, it's probably legit. Ryan has pointed out to me that Bock does indeed subcontract their steel nibs, and mark them IPG. I don't know where these are actually made, but they should have some standard of quality and consistency. If the pen is a name brand, as I said earlier, you can probably rest assured that you're getting a decent nib, regardless of what's stamped on it, or where it's made. If it's not a name brand, or is conspicuously inexpensive, chances are it's a Chinese.

[DanF]

Some are not so good, but many of the IPG nibs are quite nice and are very smooth writers. Like everything else, they probably are all made in the same one or two factories, but different specs at different price points.

 

Dan

[FP Writing]

Hello

not to keep everyone in suspense :hmm1:

 

http://pencraftonline.com/page.cfm/Fountain-Nibs

 

The nibs i had was a Taccia steel nib

But i was curious what is the different between said the Taccia Steel nib and general steel nib in Germany.

If you see the link, the Taccia steel nib is stamped with more elegant design.

 

I am fascinated with these nibs because they are low cost but quite well made.

And the difficulty is telling those that are Genuine made in German Quality control strategy from those with inferior quality control. I would be glad if anyone can share any tips to telling their differences :clap1:

 

 

[Aysedasi]

There's nothing saying that a Chinese nib can't be a good runner. Daewoo cars (Korean) are generally known as being fairly abhorrent, but there are still running examples out there.

 

I guess there's good and bad in everything. I ran three Daewoos for three years each (9 years total) and never had a single problem with them. Yep, they were pretty ordinary cars, but they got me from A to B every time which is all I asked of them. As to IPG nibs, pretty well everyone I've ever had (and that;s not all that many) have been poor writers and even though I have tried to tweak them, it has been largely without success.

Edited September 24, 2008 by Aysedasi

[jmkeuning]

If the nib is marked:

 

Irdeeum

poINT

Germ0ney

 

Then it might not be Bock.

 

But might still write better than a MB WE.

[Gojira]

I've several pens with IPG nibs...the quality of these nibs can vary greatly. They generally have little or no flex but I've one that wrote absolutely perfect from the get-go. Only problem was that it's on a pen with a snap-on cap which isn't very tight, resulting in the nib drying out after a few days.

 

A bit of Russian roulette, these IPG nibs.

[rroossinck]

But might still write better than a MB WE.

 

:ltcapd: :ltcapd: :ltcapd:

[Richard]

Bock does not customarily mark nibs IRIDIUM POINT GERMANY. Schmidt does. Mutschler did. JoWo does. And so do myriad Chines manufacturers, who make products ranging from quite good to utter garbage. The latter category includes the nibs that are furnished with most pen kits from places like Penn State Industries. Chinese IPG nibs, even good ones such as were used on Tryphon Enterprises' Clef, are soft (metallurgically, meaning that they bend and stay bent instead of giving you a nice light road feel), and the crappier ones have no hard tipping material at all. (The Tryphon nibs, as I said, are good. They're also marked IRIDIUM POINT PARIS.)

Edited September 24, 2008 by Richard