What Pen Has The Best Stub Nib You've Ever Used?

[sexauerw]

Here are some of my better stub nibs. As you can see, some of them are factory stubs and some are custom grinds. To save you searching for which are which, the factory stubs are the Danitrio, the two S. T. Duponts and the two TWSBIs. The other five are custom grinds.

 

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033890.0/org/p/Sheaffer_Green_Moire_Targa_3.jpg

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033812.0/org/p/Conway_Stewart_CS100_Thomas_Edition_LE_2.jpg

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033814.0/org/p/Danitrio_Brillante_2.jpg

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033817.0/org/p/Pilot_Custom_823_2.jpg

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033819.0/org/p/S_T_Dupont_Large_Orpheo%2C_Lacque_Black_2.jpg

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033821.0/org/p/S_T_Dupont_Vertigo_2.jpg

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033823.0/org/p/Sheaffer_Blue_Moire_Targa_2.jpg

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033826.0/org/p/TWSBI_Diamond_540_2.jpg

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033827.0/org/p/TWSBI_Vac_700_2.jpg

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/TxNQxNDgx3xx0Z/9033828.0/org/p/Waterman_Charleston_2.jpg

[EclecticCollector]

Those moire Targas are gorgeous! I have a Targa Slim with a factory 14k stub that was lightly tuned by Masuyama (the tipping was uneven) and it is silky smooth yet still crisp. By far my favorite.

[penslabyrinth]

+1 pendleton brown stub on a twsbi 580.

[Xiaoding]

As of this writing, stay away from Twisbi,  total garbage.

[Wolverine1]

Stay away from any pens or nibs that are made in the PRC, i.e., Mainland China. These nibs are bad copies of European or American nibs, and as Xiaoding says in the previous post, Chinese made pens and nibs are "total garbage"!!!!!

[PithyProlix]

11 minutes ago, Wolverine1 said:

Stay away from any pens or nibs that are made in the PRC, i.e., Mainland China. These nibs are bad copies of European or American nibs, and as Xiaoding says in the previous post, Chinese made pens and nibs are "total garbage"!!!!!

 

Uhm, TWSBI is a Taiwanese company and I believe all their pens are made at their factory in Taiwan. (I have no idea about the quality of their nibs because I have never tried them.) And @Xiaoding did not make the generalization you attributed to him/her. 

[inkstainedruth]

I kinda like the 1.1 stub nib on one of my TWSBIs, but it's very wet -- actually wrote better upside down.... 

I like the stub nib on one of my Pilot Metropolitans.  

But hands down, the best stub nib I own is the rhodium plated 18K stub nib on one of my Pilot Decimos.  Just a joy to write with.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[txomsy]

15 hours ago, Wolverine1 said:

Stay away from any pens or nibs that are made in the PRC, i.e., Mainland China. These nibs are bad copies of European or American nibs, and as Xiaoding says in the previous post, Chinese made pens and nibs are "total garbage"!!!!!

You are being a bit too harsh there. Credit where credit is due.

 

In my experience with Chinese products, the problem with them is quality control. You never know for sure if you are going to get a bad quality one. It is the epitome of mass-production, just make things and get them rolling out as cheap and as fast as possible. Kind of a get-rich-quick approach. Not all producers/models are the same, though.

 

 

If there is a Chinese model that meets your specs and costs a lot less, you can just spend the same quantity in getting several items to increase your chances of getting a good one. You may end with one or more hits plus some misses for spare parts.

 

A second issue is the very limited amount of nibs available, which means you may not find what you want. They seem to only go just for the maximally demanded designs to further reduce manufacturing costs. So, limited "writing experience" variety and flaky quality control, though not all companies are the same.

 

Note that that also applies to other sources. One common "mistake" is thinking that something is better because it has a "German tip" or a "German nib". Some German produces are known to sell various qualities and makers can opt for the level of quality they want. Many Western makers get their nibs from said producers ordering the higher quality versions (not all) resulting in a perception of overall quality from that producer. Many Chinese (not all) order the lowest quality versions to benefit from that public perception while actually using the worse quality. The "not all" is the key here. Both ways.

 

I have so far had very good luck with some Delike or Jinhao models regarding consistency (can't generalize). Their quality may be on the medium-low spectrum but they are not "total garbage", and, for what they offer, they are not bad. Of course, if you want higher quality, better balance, better design, more nib types, etc... you need to look somewhere else, but if all you need is what they offer, I'd say they are fairly good and consistent.

 

Of course, YMMV.

[Loke]

Bock Titanium nib (medium) regrinded to a stub by Pablo (fpnibs).

Just amazing, wet and smooth to the perfection. Love it! It's my daily writer.

Still have to find the right pen for it... or not, currently mounted in a Moonman M800 which already gives satisfaction tbh.

[A Smug Dill]

17 hours ago, Wolverine1 said:

Stay away from any pens or nibs that are made in the PRC, i.e., Mainland China.

 

I'm very impressed by every HongDian pen model I've bought and used (and that makes several). Notwithstanding that the brand does not produce stub nibs as far as I'm aware,  the nibs that it does offer are good, for the asking price or even more. While the cap seal effectiveness on some models are less than excellent, the same can be said for some Italian and German pens from reputable brand names that cost a lot more to buy.

[Karmachanic]

Late 1940s Soennecken S26 B flexible.

[bunnspecial]

In general, when I want a stub, I tend to reach for a vintage German 14K B or BB. They're very stubby, but also smooth and also typically have anywhere from a little to a lot of flex.

 

Bonus points too for oblique grinds from those

[tde44x]

I don't have a lot of experience with stubs, but do own 5 of them. My 2 favorites is a TWSBI 580 RGII w/1.1 and an Opus 88 w/1.5. Both were perfect (for me at least) right out of the box. very smooth and consistent with wet flows.

[carlos.q]

My best stub nibs are vintage:

Pelikan 100N - B nib

Pelikan 400NN - B nib

Montblanc 234 1/2 - BB nib

Montblanc 344 - B nib

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Any....German @ '50-70 factory stub semi-flex nibs.

 

Osmia Supra nib is often maxi-semi-flex stubs.....got a couple great OBB in maxi-semi-flex, Surpra M also in maxi. 

 

Got a great semi-flex B nib that was on my '54 Transition 400. Use to have that on my 605 until Francis Goossen made it a 1.0/B stub....a very good one for a semi-nail nib.

 

From that era, I have 35 semi-flex 31-or so stubs. 15 maxi-semi-flex.....those also stubs. Only 3-4 were later '60's pens from semi-flex no name makers with the American Bump Under, not stubs.

[bunnspecial]

Most of my vintage stubs have some degree of flex, but it's not something I necessarily expect/require.

 

I have a BB Soennecken 100 that very flexible, and it's almost too much for me as much as I do enjoy using it.

 

On the other hand, I have a late 60s MB B(which is not particularly stubby-it's a similar grind to modern MB B nibs) on a 149 that only has a tiny bit of flex if you look for it. There are at least two geometries of 149 nibs I'm familiar with, one of which has long spindly tines and the other of which has slightly shorter and bulkier ones. I have the latter on a late 70s B 14c nib and it's more flexible than the 60s B(which is tri-tone 18C).

 

My 144 OB and Pelikan 100 OBB are just about perfect for me in terms of flex.

 

I don't buy stubs for flex-I let the grind provide line variation, as is the idea.

[lionelc]

flashback to 2014 post - john mottishaw's stub grinds remain excellent

[kenrapoza]

On 6/30/2021 at 11:57 AM, Xiaoding said:

As of this writing, stay away from Twisbi,  total garbage.

 

That's interesting - I have 3 TWSBI's and they're quite nice.  If you're referring to the stub nibs though, then I'm not sure, never had one myself.  The worst stub nib experience I've had is with my Stipula Adagio.  It won't write at all so I sent it back in exchange for a new one which has the same situation.  I literally can't use it!

[kenrapoza]

On 6/30/2021 at 12:07 PM, Wolverine1 said:

Stay away from any pens or nibs that are made in the PRC, i.e., Mainland China. These nibs are bad copies of European or American nibs, and as Xiaoding says in the previous post, Chinese made pens and nibs are "total garbage"!!!!!

 

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or serious, given that TWSBI is Taiwanese.  Certainly there are many Chinese pens that are cheap copies of American and European pens, but there are certainly some legit ones also that are a good value.  I think PenBBS is a good example of a Chinese manufacturer that produces good quality, creative, acrylic pens with a variety of filling systems for a decent price.

[Wolverine1]

Ken- I am being dead serious. Chinese pens are either cheap copies of American or European pens, and they are usually of real poor quality.  I am not politically correct, and I dont care if it offends Mainland China supporters, so, I will say it, Chinese (Mainland China run by the Chinese Communist Party) pens are crappy pens, that no one should be spending their money on. TWSBI, however is a good Taiwanese manufacturer of pens, and  people should buy their pens.

I have made sure that I do not own a single Chinese made pen.