24 k pure gold fountain pen nibs

[Patrick L]

I think that fountain pens manufacturers can in practice manufacture 24 k (pure gold) nibs, but they won't actually do it because of the softness of pure gold. The nib will break when the user starts to write.Am I correct ? 21k gold nibs are the best available ?

[WendyNC]

I don't know if they'd break with proper use, but they'd certainly bend entirely too quickly to be practical.

[Tsujigiri]

Danitrio makes some 24k nibs. The gold required a special treatment. There are also Japanese pens from the 70's that are 22k and 23k.

[Yuki Onitsura]

14 - 18k seems to be the ideal gold purity for nibs.

 

Yuki

[Edgar Allan Bo]

ther's no need for pure gols nibs... even 18k is "too much" in some cases...

[Pfhorrest]

I don't think I'd enjoy writing with a 24k nib.

[BerneseMtDogEatsArco]

I've heard that 14K is the optimal for flex? I have also heard that the higher karats don't necessarily feel much different, but I've never written with anything higher than 18K.

[Zeroblade]

I think that fountain pens manufacturers can in practice manufacture 24 k (pure gold) nibs, but they won't actually do it because of the softness of pure gold. The nib will break when the user starts to write.Am I correct ? 21k gold nibs are the best available ?

 

21k nibs aren't exactly *the best*. If I remember my nib history right, most people used to use only steel (gold was far too expensive for the everyman) when it came to dip nibs. Then some time later, everyone was able to afford gold nibs, and they noticed that the best percentage of gold for strength and flexibility, as well as writing comfort, was 58.5% - 14k. Then fountain pens came in. This explains why you'll find just about every vintage gold nib to be in 14k. Fast forward to the present age - Mont Blanc and many other pen manufacturers decide to step up their lines - many of which began using 18k nibs - and with those came the misconception that more gold = better, since their pens were better. However, the addition of more gold, in my experience, does not particularly change the writing feel asides adding a bit more "spring" to the nibs with more gold (it is a soft metal, after all). Furthermore, if you're into flexing pens and such, 14k is pretty much the only way to go because it's the best ratio which provides the proper amount of flexibility, while giving enough rigidity and strength to help the pen maintain its shape when it flexes back.

 

So... what was the point I was trying to make again? I forgot!

Anyway, there is no "best" ratio out there - all depends on preference (and budget) - but most come in 14k or 18k because they are just plain good for writing. 21k is still good, but it's a bit springier than 18k. Nobody makes 24k (without any special treatments anyway) since it's too soft and normal use will ruin it far too quickly compared to its less-pure counterparts.

[Tsujigiri]

I've heard that 14K is the optimal for flex? I have also heard that the higher karats don't necessarily feel much different, but I've never written with anything higher than 18K.

 

Yep, the higher karats don't feel different, it's the tipping that matters. 14k is corrosion resistant enough, so anything above that is extraneous. For flexible nibs, anything above 14k also runs a higher risk of being "sprung," so 14k is the most functional.

[Patrick L]

Thanks for all your excellent comments. The general consensus is that + 18k gold won't make better nibs. Members of this website who bought expensive Fountain pens because of the nib's high gold content won't be happy to learn this.

[Glenn-SC]

Yep, the higher karats don't feel different, it's the tipping that matters.

For flexible nibs, anything above 14k also runs a higher risk of being "sprung," so 14k is the most functional.

These statements conflict.

 

"The tipping" effects how smooth a nib feels but has nothing to do with the flexure or spring of the nib.

A nib that is a "wet noodle" (i.e. has lots of flex) will feel much different then one that is a "nail" Ii.e. has little to no flex at all) even though both are tipped with the same material.

So as you said, the high karat gold will be more flexible, be (and feel) much softer, and be at a greater risk of being over-flexed and yield (be "sprung").

[turban1]

dental gold is 9ct, i believe, chiefly alloyed with copper for strength. were it 24ct you'd chew through your crowns in no time flat. people confuse a precious metal's intrinsic value with its practical or performance value. i imagine that gives sleepless nights to some penmakers, torn between the professional desire to produce the best instruments possible, and their customers' craving for costly luxury.

[Tweel]

Thanks for all your excellent comments. The general consensus is that + 18k gold won't make better nibs. Members of this website who bought expensive Fountain pens because of the nib's high gold content won't be happy to learn this.

Probably so, but I hope they're not many! They'd be better off buying gold coins, for example, for their gold content. And when they've finished playing Scrooge McDuck and rolling gleefully in their pile of gold coins, they can perhaps pick a few off the pile and use them to buy a pen -- for its qualities as a pen .

 

-- Brian

[theswordguy]

Thanks for all your excellent comments. The general consensus is that + 18k gold won't make better nibs. Members of this website who bought expensive Fountain pens because of the nib's high gold content won't be happy to learn this.

Probably so, but I hope they're not many! They'd be better off buying gold coins, for example, for their gold content. And when they've finished playing Scrooge McDuck and rolling gleefully in their pile of gold coins, they can perhaps pick a few off the pile and use them to buy a pen -- for its qualities as a pen .

 

-- Brian

 

I'm a bit of a gold bug and I do have gold coins but what attracts me to gold nibs, aside from the golden shininess, is that I can actually use gold in daily situations instead of seeing my gold coins just sitting there in the safe. I do realize that metal alloys perform differently so if I buy a 21kt gold nibbed pen, like the Sailor I'm looking at, it's not because I think higher gold content makes a better pen, it's because I want gold I can actually use. Who actually spends gold coins nowadays?

Edited August 23, 2009 by theswordguy

[Zeroblade]

Who actually spends gold coins nowadays?

 

Pirates? :roflmho:

[Yuki Onitsura]

We have gold coloured coins in Australia.

 

Yuki

[theswordguy]

We have gold coloured coins in Australia.

 

Yuki

 

Oh come on, gold coloring doesn't count. We have gold colored coins too but it's just not the same. And I don't know about your coins but our gold colored coins tarnish almost immediately and turn an ugly brown when handled.

[troglokev]

On a more serious note, some of the new micro-alloys may actually be of some benefit for nib manufacture.

 

The choice of material will depend on what the designer wants for the nib: cheapness, flexibility or lack thereof, and perceived bling all come into that decision.

[Yuki Onitsura]

We have gold coloured coins in Australia.

 

Yuki

 

Oh come on, gold coloring doesn't count. We have gold colored coins too but it's just not the same. And I don't know about your coins but our gold colored coins tarnish almost immediately and turn an ugly brown when handled.

 

Our coins seem to hold their colour okay-ish. If the coins were actually made of gold they'd have more actual value than utility value.

 

Yuki

[psfred]

There is a reason you don't see nearly pure gold except in gold bars for storage -- first, it's way too soft (somewhat softer than lead, in fact) so you would mangle jewelry just by using it. It does not work harden, in fact it will "hammer weld" very nicely, a fact used at Ft. Knox when there was actually gold stockpiled there -- those 80 lb bars stick together when tossed into the stack. Nearly killed some soldiers when the French tried to break the US gold market in the early 50's in a fit of nastiness -- they used 1% copper to keep them from sticking, and there were 80 lb bars of gold flying all over the place because they slid instead. Lotta broken ankles until they figured it out.

 

Pure gold fountain pens nibs would be mangled almost instantly, and would have NO flex -- just bend under pressure and stay there. I don't know what the Japanese did with "23k" or "22k" gold nibs, but either is a significant alloy (one or two parts in 24, to be exact -- 8 and 15% or so).

 

58% or 14K seems to work the best -- fully corrosion resistant, stiff enough to actually write with, and flexible in the correct design to use as a flexible nib (note that the alloy may in fact not be the same for the two different applications, only the gold content).

 

Peter