What The Purpose Of The Hole In The Base Of The Nib Body, On The Opposite End To The Tines And The Tip?

[Frank66]

Hi,

There some fountain pens that I have noticed their nibs have a hole in the base of the nib, on the opposite end to the tines and the tipping material. See figure below:

http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/ah12/phzervas/31F9046E-38A4-4ED3-9E99-E62F82501738_zps5pundsne.jpg

Does anyone know what is the purpose of such hole?

It does not appear to correspond to an similar size projection of the feed, at least not in my fountain pen. In such a case it could be used as an antirotational feature that holds the nib and feed together.

Is it possible that such a hole works as an ink reservoir and makes the pen write any wetter? If so, would adding such a hole in other nibs, that do not possess such a feature, make them wetter too? Does such a hole prevent the ink in the nibs from drying out too fast?

Any input wuld be highly appreciated. Thanks.

Photios

[basterma]

It could be a hole that allows the nib to be secured when it is being stamped, slit, or polished?

[jar]

Yup, likely positioning the nib during manufacture.

[rwilsonedn]

You also sometimes see little holes in the ends of tools so they can be hung up during heat treating or plating.

ron

[FarmBoy]

It could be a hole that allows the nib to be secured when it is being stamped, slit, or polished?

 

 

Yup, likely positioning the nib during manufacture.

Why do we think this?

 

Having seen die sets for stamping this is not necessarily necessary, I'd be interested in alternative opinions.

[grainweevil]

I thought it was so enthusiastic crafty types on Etsy can make them into earrings.

[shea2812]

With EF kinda risky that .

[jar]

 

 

Why do we think this?

 

Having seen die sets for stamping this is not necessarily necessary, I'd be interested in alternative opinions.

Some alternatives: a hole to hang the nib during plating; a hole to position on a feed before insertion, the designer thought it looked "cool"...

[Frank66]

Some alternatives: a hole to hang the nib during plating; a hole to position on a feed before insertion, the designer thought it looked "cool"...

Still, would you think that it could possibly have any effect on ink flow perhaps?

[Postscript]

I thought it was so enthusiastic crafty types on Etsy can make them into earrings.

That certainly makes sense; I agree. Post Script

[jar]

Still, would you think that it could possibly have any effect on ink flow perhaps?

No, not really; if there were channels leading into or out of it I might add that to the list depending on where the channels led. But the fact that the hole has an orientation, is located on the part of the nib that will not show leads me to believe that it is there to position the nib at some point of the manufacturing or assembly process.

[Frank66]

No, not really; if there were channels leading into or out of it I might add that to the list depending on where the channels led. But the fact that the hole has an orientation, is located on the part of the nib that will not show leads me to believe that it is there to position the nib at some point of the manufacturing or assembly process.

Thank you very much for your input. Photios

[pajaro]

Clearly the net result of the hole is to sow confusion.

 

I can see some guy thinking that the hole would allow the maker to string all the nibs on a wire with the side benefit of making people wonder what the hole was for.

[ironwampa]

The hole used to be there to prevent stress cracks. Now it's anyone's guess.

[thomasrhee]

There's no functional reason for the hole in a nib. It could just be a positioning hole for some pens.

[jgrasty]

Many nibs have tooling holes to align the nib to the forming die used to form the nib from a sheet to the typical curved shape. Other nibs, like this M1000 nib, cut holes in the nib to save weight and reduce the cost of the nib.

 

Pelikan M1000 nib disassembled for measurements.

A photo posted by Joey Grasty (@jgrasty) on

Feb 26, 2014 at 3:59pm PST

[Zanshin]

With gold nibs, reducing the amount of gold used while still keeping the overall length and shape of the nib would be my guess. On steel nibs, that's probably not such consideration, but even then, saving 5% of the material which could be reused would soon add up over tens, or hundreds of thousands of units.

[FarmBoy]

I recall a protracted and confused conversation about breather holes. Suffice it to say we concluded that without them your company will go broke.

[FOUR X FOUR]

I have 2 different Parker 51 nibs. 1 nib has 1 hole, the other has 2 holes. Go figure

[FarmBoy]

I have 2 different Parker 51 nibs. 1 nib has 1 hole, the other has 2 holes. Go figure

I have a Parker 51 nib with no holes.

 

Please give me my nib hole back.