Best Steel Nibs

[Cordovian]

I'll add Ferrari da Varese to the mix. The steel nib in my Conica is great.

[Safari_Camo]

Have a Pelikan m215 and 205 and F nibs on these pens are great.

TWSBI 530 & Mini in F size very comfortable, great width.

Pilot Kakuno M size, one of the best nibs I have used so far

[ISW_Kaputnik]

My first Pilot Vanishing Point, ordered from a Japanese eBay seller, had one of the "special alloy" (presumably steel) nibs that they don't sell in the U.S. I cannot tell any difference in writing quality between it and an 18k nib of the same size (medium) in a Capless Decimo; they are both excellent.

 

Considering vintage pens, Esterbrook steel nibs can be excellent. My favorites include a 2668 and a 9788.

[DrDebG]

I have two Italix Captain's Commission pens with steel nibs, and they are both great, wet writers. I also have several Bexleys that are nice.

[GardenWeasel]

Franklin Christoph's steel nibs that have had the Michael Masuyama touch are mighty fine too!

[Runnin_Ute]

Love the steel nibs on my Pelikan's. (M200, M150, 120 Merz & Krell)

 

Jowo makes some nice nibs. I have a couple - two on my TWSBI's and one of the Goulet branded ones in my Konrad. The steel nib on my True Writer Silver Anniversary is terrific. I believe the True Writer nibs are made by Schmidt.

[UDog]

I have found that Jowo nibs have flow issues when used for extended writing.

[Gudi]

My vote goes to Faber-Castell. My Emotion is my EDC pen because it writes so smooth (also love the pen proportions).

[Pen Engineer]

nibs ain't nibs...

 

what is a good nib? one that fulfils my expectations. yours are different.

 

if you want to know, why nibs behave the way they do, have a read of my article on nibs on my fountain pen magic website.

 

Then you can look at the shape of a nib and almost predict what characteristics it has.

 

sure, tipping is important, but when the best tipping is not combined with good setting, then the result is ... not that good.

 

Determining the characteristic of a nib is quite a marketing decision, there is a choice and the ingeneer can achieve what he is asked for. The ingeneers of any brand can do this, if they know what they do. In short, it is the shape, which determines the characteristics, not the brand.

[sandy101]

Faber Castell have lovely nibs.

 

I love my Italix nibs from Mr Pen.

 

Diplomat are also nice.

[BillZ]

Interesting that this topic comes up the day after I purchase a pre-owned Diplomat Excellence A Roma Sapphire with a steel

M nib! Got it from Dromgoole's in Houston, my go-to for all things FP. I bought it for two reasons:(1) I didn't have a

Diplomat in my collection and (2) The nib was butter smooth! But, at that price point for a new one, it should be an

excellent nib no matter the material of composition. Same can be said for the DuPont Difi.

[Maurizio]

In my experience, Pilot Lucina and Pilot Metropolitan with a nod to Platinum Preppy as well.

[dadbar]

I recently got a Parker 51 Special with a steel nib. It is amazingly smooth. Now I know why everyone loves this pen.

[brownargus]

My Caran d'Ache Ecridor nib is great and so are my Sheaffer steel nibs.

+1

[mhpr262]

My Pelikan P 205 has by far the most elastic nib of all my various fountain pens, especially in that price range, but never was especially smooth. My Faber-Castell Loom has a very smooth tip, but no flex at all (nail), and the metal grip section always feels slippery. I also have a Diplomat Traveller, an Esteem and an Excellence A with steel nib, and they are all nice and smooth.

 

My own current personal favourite and perhaps best name-brand value for its money is the Pelikan Stola III fountain pen, however. All metal, classy design, nice finish, flawless nib, plastic section nice to hold, if a bit short. All for under 20€. Cap can't be posted, though.

Edited April 28, 2016 by mhpr262

[InkingBishop]

I'm glad Pelikan feature regularly in this list. I see an M205 in my future.

 

In the meantime an Italix (a brand I hadn't heard of before) Parsons Essential is on the way. I'm hoping it'll write well out of the box (which is useful for a beginner) as they are all supposedly worked on prior to being sold.

[markleewebb]

I routinely buy Goulet steel nibs to replace stock nibs. I love them. Never had a bad one. They're my goto nibs.

[J_MM]

My Faber-Castell Loom M nib is among the best I have.

[E8x8]

I really like my Pilot Ecrino's nib that I bought at a close-out sale some years ago. It was my first "premium" pen.The Lucina is its replacement and I think has a similar steel nib.

[Buzz_130]

The best steel nib is one tuned to your writing standards. The right amount of feedback, the perfect sweet spot, the angle of your writing matching the tipping, and the flow of the ink makes all the difference.

 

Buzz