Nib Manufacture

[tryphon]

Another nib manufacturer is Italy's Globus, a company with a long history that has recently been revived and falls under the umbrella of Stipula.

[danielpi]

For reference, here is a list of pen manufacturers and who supplies their nibs. I've gathered this from a lot of different sources (including older posts in FPN forums). I'll update and correct the list as I come across new data. There have been several earlier attempts to organize this information on FPN, but hopefully this is a bit more organized/centralized.

 

For the record, I am aware (and should caution readers who are not) that not all Bock or JoWo nibs are the same. The mere fact that, e.g., Visconti and Omas both use "Bock manufactured nibs" does not mean, ipso facto, that they use the "same nib." In that particular case, the nibs are very different.

 

Also, it is worth dispelling the mistaken notion that in-house nibs are “better” than Bock or JoWo nibs. This is patently untrue. Most high end pen-makers will do a lot of finishing after receiving pens from Bock or JoWo, which are already made to their unique specifications at the factory; they are merely taking advantage of the economies of scale offered by a dedicated nib manufacturer (the "artistry" of smoothing and finishing that give a brand's pens their unique "feel" is almost always done in-house by all pen-makers).

 

That said, it is sometimes interesting who makes the nibs for whom, and to that end, I present the following list.

 

Brand	Current Nib Supplier	Historical Sources
Ancora	In-House
Aurora	In-House
Bexley	JoWo	Until early 2000s: Bock for gold, Schmidt/JoWo for steel
Caran D'Ache	Bock
Conid	Bock
Conklin	JoWo
Conway Stewart	Bock	Pre-1920: Warranted, 1920-1975: In-House
Cross	In-House and Sailor (for Peerless 125)	Pelikan and Pilot
Danitrio	Bock (except 24k #50 sized nib on the Yokozuna series, made by an undisclosed Japanese company	JoWo
Delta	Bock
Dupont	Bock
Eboya	Bock
Edison	JoWo
Faber Castell	JoWo
Graf von Faber Castell	Bock
Franklin Christoph	JoWo for steel, Bock and JoWo for gold	Formerly all Bock (including some Schmidt branded Bock)
Goulet	JoWo
Hakase	Pilot	Pilot and Sailor
Kaweco	Bock
Lamy	Mainly In-House; Bock for specialty nibs	Exclusively Bock in the beginning
Magna Carta	Bock
Montblanc	In-House
Montegrappa	Bock
Monteverde	Bock
Omas	Bock	In-house until 2000
Parker	In-House
Pelikan	In-House	Originally Montblanc nibs, later in-house, switched to Bock 1997, transitioned back to in-house since mid-2000s
Pilot/Namiki	In-House
Platinum	In-House
Romillo	In-House
Sailor	In-House
Sheaffer	Bock	In-house
Signum	Bock
Stipula	Bock
Stylo Art	Sailor, Platinum, Pilot, and Bock
TWSBI	Bock and JoWo
Urso	Bock
Visconti	Bock
Waterman	In-House

 

And organized by nib-maker:

Bock	Caran D’Ache, Conid, Conway Stewart, Danitrio, Delta, Dupont, Eboya, Graf von Faber Castell, Franklin Christoph, Kaweco, Montegrappa, Monteverde, Omas, Sheaffer, Signum, Stipula, Stylo Art, TWSBI, Visconti
In-House	Ancora, Aurora, Lamy, Montblanc, Parker, Pelikan, Pilot/Namiki, Platinum, Romillo, Sailor, Waterman
JoWo	Bexley, Conklin, Edison, Faber Castell, Franklin Christoph, Goulet, TWSBI
Pilot	Hakase, Pilot/Namiki, Stylo Art
Sailor	Sailor, Stylo Art

 

If you have any additions or corrections, please include a link to where you found your info. Thanks!

[studiohead]

Omas?

About Noodler's, I dont think they produce nibs, as they do not even produce pens.....

 

Noodler's pens are manufactured by various Indian Manufacturers for the different parts. These is not 1 single manufacturer of Noodler's pen as various parts are made from different manufacturers and are assembled by an Indian Manufacturer. Some of these parts are supplied by Noodler's which are sourced from US and other international companies. (O Rings are from the USA and so are certain dyes for ebonite colors) Final Quality control is done by Nathan himself in his house.

 

 

 

Huh. I thought I did Omas, but I guess I copied over it while making the table. It's been a bit of a pain getting the table to work. Added it again. Thanks for that.

 

As for Noodlers... uh, yeah, they do produce pens. They have been for the past couple years. You've never heard of the Ahab? It's been big news.

 

Noodler's pens are not adapted from Indian Pen Designs but from Historic Designs. In fact, I do know that some Indian manufacturers do copy Noodler's design or worst. (I am not at liberty to go into detail) The nib is made by an Indian Manufacturer exclusively for Noodlers under the design and specification of Nathan. And there are a few different nib design for the various pens. I don't think I need to go into detail. Let me know if more clarification is needed.

[tinkerteacher]

The Visconti Bock relationship is much deeper than just pen maker and supplier, especially for Visconti's palladium nibs.

 

As I understand it the design and manufacturing process of the nibs Bock makes and supplies to Visconti are actually a kind of joint venture, cross-pollination sort of arrangement. In addition, Visconti provides consulting and nib design services for Bock. Or so I have been told.

[tinta]

 

...........since JoWo nibs, according to some people are rumored to be made in China and distributed from a warehouse in Germany..

 

 

Just curious, where did this information come from? I was under the impression that the JoWo gold nibs are made in Berlin, Germany.

[danielpi]

 

Noodler's pens are manufactured by various Indian Manufacturers for the different parts. These is not 1 single manufacturer of Noodler's pen as various parts are made from different manufacturers and are assembled by an Indian Manufacturer. Some of these parts are supplied by Noodler's which are sourced from US and other international companies. (O Rings are from the USA and so are certain dyes for ebonite colors) Final Quality control is done by Nathan himself in his house.

 

 

 

Noodler's pens are not adapted from Indian Pen Designs but from Historic Designs. In fact, I do know that some Indian manufacturers do copy Noodler's design or worst. (I am not at liberty to go into detail) The nib is made by an Indian Manufacturer exclusively for Noodlers under the design and specification of Nathan. And there are a few different nib design for the various pens. I don't think I need to go into detail. Let me know if more clarification is needed.

 

 

This is also what I was given to believe, but there was some controversy on the point, so I just removed Noodler's from the list. If you can find something authoritative to cite, then I will put Noodler's back on the list.

 

 

Just curious, where did this information come from? I was under the impression that the JoWo gold nibs are made in Berlin, Germany.

 

Same. I never heard JoWo made anything in China, although given the cost of manufacturing there, it would probably be smart to do, there is a pedigree (deserved or not) about being made in Germany, which may be worth more than the savings of moving operations to China.

[tryphon]

Just curious, where did this information come from? I was under the impression that the JoWo gold nibs are made in Berlin, Germany.

From pen manufacturers who were offered JoWo nibs by the official JoWo reps.

[studiohead]

 

 

This is also what I was given to believe, but there was some controversy on the point, so I just removed Noodler's from the list. If you can find something authoritative to cite, then I will put Noodler's back on the list.

 

 

 

Same. I never heard JoWo made anything in China, although given the cost of manufacturing there, it would probably be smart to do, there is a pedigree (deserved or not) about being made in Germany, which may be worth more than the savings of moving operations to China.

 

What sort of Authoritative on Noodler's Nibs do you want to get. On what facts exactly.

[Shubhranshu Das]

In India.. There are a number of small nib manufacturers... Mainly untipped nibs... Hence I guess the preference for nibs with "IPG" stamped on them... Whether these stand scrutiny I wouldn't hazard a guess... But this small scale manufacture has been in place for quite sometime... Information gleaned from various comments and uploads on FPN

[danielpi]

 

What sort of Authoritative on Noodler's Nibs do you want to get. On what facts exactly.

Well, the points in dispute are (1) whether Noodler should be regarded as a pen maker at all, or whether they are simply rebranding an existing product; and if so, then (2) whether they ought to be counted as "in house" nibs, or whether we should list some Indian company...

[tinta]

From pen manufacturers who were offered JoWo nibs by the official JoWo reps.

If this be true, then my last 18K JoWo factory stub will be my last.

Edited September 29, 2015 by tinta

[tryphon]

Tinta, I am just reporting a rumor. I have a friend who is absolutely positive that they are made in Germany, and he is a nib expert. I also have friends (plural) who own pen companies who told me that the JoWo nibs are made in China. I have looked at the JoWo nibs in a couple of pens and I also think they look like some Chinese nibs I own. By the way, being in the pen business myself, I have literally thousands of nibs, mostly by Bock of Germany. I asked on another forum if anyone has ever seen the JoWo nib factory, and nobody replied. Many have seen the JoWo office, on the second floor of a small building, but it has no room for any manufacturing. It is a bit of a mystery...

[tinta]

Could JoWo nibs be in fact made by Bock under contract?

[tryphon]

NO. They are fierce competitors. In addition, the shape of the nib and the shape of the pellet are different. In truth, the JoWo nibs look a lot like some Chinese nibs I have. I will try and take pictures comparing them.

Edited September 29, 2015 by tryphon

[jjlax10]

Having ground many nibs, whether JOWO is German or Chinese made, I think they are higher quality. I will also add I like the quality of Nemosine, a $7 steel nib for grinding purposes.

[studiohead]

Well, the points in dispute are (1) whether Noodler should be regarded as a pen maker at all, or whether they are simply rebranding an existing product; and if so, then (2) whether they ought to be counted as "in house" nibs, or whether we should list some Indian company...

 

First question, based upon your list above, they qualify as a Pen Manufacturer, as companies on your list include those which subcontract the work to others to make their products such as Monteverde. Second question, depending on the definition of in house as the nibs are design by Noodler's, manufacturing methods created by Noodler's (Regards to specifications, cutting and so on) but are made by a sub contractor under direction from Noodler's. So unfortunately the definition is not so clear so you need to put it clear what constitutes in-house or outside.

[tryphon]

Having ground many nibs, whether JOWO is German or Chinese made, I think they are higher quality. I will also add I like the quality of Nemosine, a $7 steel nib for grinding purposes.

I agree. They are good nibs.

[Algester]

hmm let's see here

Taccia are made by Sailor and probably JoWo however I'm not sure about the latter

Ohashido is made by Sailor

Onishi-seisakusho has Schmidt nibs

Ohto get Schmidt nibs as well

Hirai Woodworking Plant (Hirai Mokkou Banmonosho?) has Schmidt steel nibs Bock Gold nibs

Hakase still makes pens with Sailor nibs on them but for their default nibs it is indeed by Pilot

Helico has Bock nibs

 

Pens I'm not sure who made the nibs

Tombow

modern Essterbrook

Wahl-Eversharp could be Bock? unless completely inhouse?

Bic

Maped

Acme

 

 

I stand corrected if proved otherwise

Edited September 30, 2015 by Algester

[sidthecat]

You could end up thinking that the least interesting part of most modern pens is the nib.

[tragique]

You could end up thinking that the least interesting part of most modern pens is the nib.

 

That's probably too true for a lot of modern pens.