Who Makes The Best Nibs Today

[sidthecat]

Theblackpen asks a great question - which leads me to ask a follow-up question: what about the business end of the pen? The bit that keeps a Mont Blanc from simply being a plutocrat's pacifier?

 

Who makes the best nibs? Who makes the mechanism that most perfectly expresses the personality of the writer? Or makes for the best experience of making little marks on paper?

[canibanoglu]

This is even more subjective... I say Pelikan for myself.

[max dog]

Among modern pens I have used, I find Montblanc nibs have the most character and pleasure to write with.

Edited February 28, 2015 by max dog

[Notgatherox]

Best is really subjective - how do you define "best"? Value for money? Writability? Most beautiful?

 

And let's not forget a good nibmeister can turn a ordinary nib great.

 

IMHO, best nib out of the box would be the Pelikan M1000. Juicy and springy - my cup of tea.

 

 

 

~Epic

[The Blue Knight]

Here are a few examples of similar topic that will give you the answer quicker

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/52267-who-makes-the-best-fountain-pens-today/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/52267-who-makes-the-best-fountain-pens-today/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/32632-who-makes-the-best-writer-today/

[Bo Bo Olson]

MB, Pelikan, Aurora, Sailor, Pilot, ....Bock, JoWo.

Bock makes the nibs for many name pens.

 

Best modern nib......Pelikan 200.

 

I like the '50-65 German nibs MB-3, Osmia/O-F-C, (Degussa) 7 or so, Pelikan 8-9, Geha 6-7.

[FountainPages]

I'm gonna go with Pilot, Aurora and Pelikan. Surprisingly, Hero actually make there own nibs and some darned good ones. I am especially fond of the nibs on the 382 series, one of the best kept secrets in fountain pendom IMHO.

Edited February 28, 2015 by FountainPages

[dneal]

The majority of (western) nibs are made by Bock or JoWo. Faber Castell, Pelikan, Omas, Kaweco, Edison, you name it... Bock and JoWo are comparable, in my opinion.

 

Montblanc and Aurora are the two up-market manufacturers that come to mind as still making their own nibs.

 

Generally, I think the Japanese (Sailor, Pilot and Platinum) make better nibs than Bock or JoWo (flame-suit on).

[redisburning]

Another vote for MB though honorable +1 for Pilot.

[Brian C]

My vote goes to Platinum.

[wastelanded]

Pilot. In my opinion, of course.

[max dog]

The majority of (western) nibs are made by Bock or JoWo. Faber Castell, Pelikan, Omas, Kaweco, Edison, you name it... Bock and JoWo are comparable, in my opinion.

 

Montblanc and Aurora are the two up-market manufacturers that come to mind as still making their own nibs.

 

Generally, I think the Japanese (Sailor, Pilot and Platinum) make better nibs than Bock or JoWo (flame-suit on).

Excuse the tangent off topic, but somewhat relevant. There was a thread a little while back about who makes their own nibs and who outsources.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/247288-who-make-their-own-nibs/page-5

 

 

Quite a few still make their own nibs in house like Montblanc, Pilot, Pelikan, Lamy, etc.

Brands who make nibs in-house:

• Ancora
• Aurora
• Delta – select models
• Dupont
• Guider - gold units
• Hero
• Inoxcrom
• Lamy
• Montblanc / Cartier
• Pelikan
• Pilot / Namiki
• Platinum / Nakaya
• Ratnamson - gold units
• Romillo
• Sailor
• Visconti - select models
• Wality
• Waterman/Parker
• Wing Sung
• Cross - Pilot and Pelikan in the past. Currently in-house at Cross China plant

Brands that outsource to Peter Bock:

Astoria

Bexley

Caran D’Ache

Classic Pens

Cleo Skribent

Conway Stewart

Danitrio

David Oscarson

Delta

Dns-Drechselstube Neckarsteinach

Dupont – select models

Elie Bleue

Faber Castell

Graye Tighson

Kart Meisenbach

Kaweko

Krone

Lepine

Marlen

Montegrappa

Norbert Zeplien

Omas

Onoto

Otto Hutt

Sheaffer

Signe Audiard

Starbound Europa

Stefan Fink

Stipula

Taccia

Visconti

Waldmann

Yard O'Lead

Brands that outsource to Jowo of Berlin

Conklin

Edison

Libelle

Lominchay

Monteverde

Signum

Tibaldi

TWSBI

Waterford

Brands outsourced to other:

Camlin – Ambitious

Duke – Hero

Hakase – Pilot

Noodlers – Indian nib maker Ambitious

Parker (Vector nibs) – Ambitious

Edited March 1, 2015 by max dog

[00Photo]

Visconti Palladium Dream Touch nibs are the most pleasurable nibs I have assailed paper with.

[ink-syringe]

Pelikan, Aurora, Sailor, Pilot, Platinum, MB

[hari317]

For regular nibs from EF to C to MS: Platinum

 

I also love the Sailor Speciality multilayer nibs, they have no competition.

[BillZ]

I have pens from three different makers but all have Sailor nibs:

Taccia Savanna with F

Sailor 1911L with H-MF

Cross Peerless 125 with XF

All are very smooth, especially the Cross XF. That being said MB and Pilot are good, too. I guess it's a matter of quality control. Are all/most nibs from given maker

consistent in line width and flow. That's why I usually don't buy a pen on line. I actually ink it and write with it at the store. My choice is Dromgoole's in Houston.

[sidthecat]

The only modern pens I use regularly are a Pilot Prera with a Medium nib and a Sailor Pro Gear with a Togi Naginata nib; their characters are very different but the point for me is that they have character, which I guess would be a pen that allows me to create a lot of line variation and ink shading. These are the ones I'd compare with vintage.

[The Blue Knight]

Does Diplomat make there own nibs?

[Ezio Auditore]

For me, the one company who's nibs just can't be beat is Pilot/Namiki. They have gone above and beyond with QA on all their stock nibs. I have multiple Pilot pens that were amazing right out of the box. However, the "best" nib is all about individual needs. While I like really wet writers, you may not, and so on. It all depends on what you're looking for, and your writing style. For a truely personalized feel, bringing it to a nibmeister is the way to go. There are several out there that can make even the most stubborn of nibs glide across the page. I had a particularly stormy relationship with a vintage Indian ebonite pen, and was considering just tucking it into a drawer and forgetting about it. After a small adjustment from Mike Masuyama, that pen is one of my favorites.

 

TLDR: Out of box, undoubtedly Pilot/Namiki, for the "best" nib, send it to a nibmeister, who can make it the best for you.

[dspeers58]

I have to say Platinum and Pilot. I would love to say Pelikan, but have just had regular trouble with their pens.