Solid Gold Nib On A Twsbi 580

[Emperor]

What do you guys think about putting a solid gold nib on a Twsbi 580? I'm talking about a nib such as from this http://meisternibs.com/18k-gold-nibs/

 

I kinda want to upgrade my pen, but I want to still let it be able to take certain risks as a college students. For example, if I bend my nib, I can always get another for 20 dollars, vs 50ish from like Pelikan or the like.

 

I have read about discussions on this forum between gold nibs and stainless steel nibs, and that between well made nibs (I got to say stainless steel Twsbi from Jowo is really well made), the difference is the flex. On some papers, with an EF Twsbi, the flow is reduced, and I thought maybe a gold nib, outside aesthetic pleasures, could increase the flow of ink through flex and also the springy feelings from gold nibs would make a writing experience more pleasurable.

 

What do you think? Do you think it is a good investment?

[Tom Aquinas]

I'm prejudiced towards 14 or 18ct nibs, but as well as considering a gold nib for your TWSBI, which you seem to regard as having a good nib, why not search the ebay etc for a second hand pen such as a P51 which has a gold nib. You can pick up a good second hand pen for $90, I'v e picked up second hand P51s out here for prices ranging from $A3.50-00 to $A50-00.

Edited October 15, 2013 by Tom Aquinas

[Buzz_130]

A gold nib may not necessarily have flex, and it won't be "solid gold." If flow is your problem, then you can carefully fix that (I'd be much more willing to try it on a cheaper nib than one of the expensive ones). I also think the flow is going to happen with your pen regardless of paper type--it's probably easier to get some paper that you like and will consistently use.

 

It's really hard to have one pen body with multiple nibs to suit all of your needs. It's better (and much more fun with inks) to have a few pen bodies with different nibs to try different inks.

 

If you are in the mood for an upgrade, look around for a new pen. Depending on your price range, you can find a good pen that meets your needs. There are no shortage of FP fans here that will help you spend your hard-earned money!

 

Buzz

[Bo Bo Olson]

Stay away from 18K they bend easy. They are a different alloy than the old more flexible 18 C nib.

 

Normal 14 K gold nibs now, are not much or any more flexible than a steel nib.

 

If you were to get a Pelikan or Geha gold nib from the 50's-66 they would be semi-flex or even 'flexi'.

 

May I suggest going to the German Ebay and looking for a Geha 790 for a gold nib that is semi-flex, it is lots cheaper than a medium small (but posts standard size) Pelikan 140 with a semi-flex gold nib. The Geha 790 is a standard sized pen. The slightly higher class and much more expensive due to being rare Geha 760 is the same size as the Pelikan 140.

 

Both the Pelikan 120 and the Geha school pen have very nice nibs. Buy them on German Ebay they are up to 2/3rds cheaper....well they would be steel nibs, but who cares; those are grand regular flex nibs. Could luck out but don't count on it with the Geha school pen, and get a semi-flex.

[recluse]

I wouldn't be surprised if Pelikan M200, which can be easily found for such money, would show more "flexibility" than this gold nib. My Pelikan M215 with a steel nib yields more line variation than my Custom 74 with 14 K FM (not soft) nib. At least at the level I am still comfortable with. At the same time, none of them show line variation during normal writing. Custom 74 is a bit easier to add expressiveness but still requires more efforts than I care about. Noodler's flex pens beat any of them from this perspective.

 

I don't think that buying a generic gold nib can be justified from the perspective of flexibility. If you want to play with adding an expression to regular writing, Noodler's pens would be a good way to get acquainted with it and to find out whether you what this before diving, say, into soft nibs in Platinum or Pilot pens. If you want more serious shading for calligraphy writing of sorts, then a special pen should be looked for, for example, vintage flex pens or something.

[Tom Aquinas]

When I was 18 and bought a Parker 21 new , I later put a gold Parker 51 nib in the pen and it is still going strong...but I still bought a 51 that year, so think before you do it.

[Scribble Monboddo]

You can now get one which fits perfectly, made by JoWO, and it's very good! Here's what my scribble looks like using one.

[ac12]

This is an old post, but I like the idea. Sometimes the bling of a gold nib is neat to look at.

I put a 2-tone nib onto an Esterbrook. Looked cool.

Edited November 13, 2015 by ac12

[Jamerelbe]

This is an old post, but I like the idea. Sometimes the bling of a gold nib is neat to look at.

I put a 2-tone nib onto an Esterbrook. Looked cool.

 

An old post, but the availability of a gold JoWo nib through fpnibs.com is new. I asked Esther (co-owner of the business?) whether these were custom designed for the TWSBI. She said no, but that they were built according to the same design profile, by the same manufacturer. I suspect any #5 nib by JoWo would be a reasonable fit for a TWSBI 530/540/580 feed and assembly, but I'm hoping this will involve a minimum of fiddling...

 

I decided to go for a rhodium trim on my nib - a little more expensive, but hopefully it will be a little less 'obvious' to the casual observer that it's 18K, not steel.

[Scribble Monboddo]

Some go for bling, some for subtlety. I'm not going to judge, either way! But I too though the rhodium trim worked best with the rest of the 580's finish : )

[butangmucat]

Tried a Meisternibs #6 18K two-tone on a TWSBI Vac700, it is a bit too big as when the nib is fully inserted and the nib tongues split a bit too big. I later placed that nib on an Acrylic Konrad.

 

I have tried their #5 nibs on two of my Ecos and it fits pretty except I had a little flow issue on my Eco with a ruthenium-plated nib when used with Noodler's 54th Massachusetts. I am now using this pen with Monteverde Blue and it is working pretty well. Considering a #5 Gold nib on Classic, Eco, Classic, or the ROC version of 580 which I might consider to do in December.

Edited November 14, 2015 by butangmucat