Karas Kustoms Ink Nib Material?

May 22, 2017

Hi everyone,

I am currently considering buying the Karas Kustoms Ink fountain pen. I am having trouble deciding on a nib material. I want a very rugged pen that I will be able to carry around without fear of breaking and so I also want a nib that will stand the test of time, i.e. resist to corrosion, not bend beyond repair too easily (although I am not much of a flex writer, I don't enjoy a stiff nib either) and generally be easy to maintain. The gold nib is out for me though just because I feel like it really doesn't fit wit the rest of the pen's design although if they ever came out with gold furniture gold would certainly be my main option. Or maybe you will convince me to pick gold despite the clip being silver coloured.

I was wondering if I should just go with stainless steel or take a risk with titanium (even though Richard Binder seems to really strongly recommend against using titanium)?

Thank you all very much in advance!

Edited from the post I originally made. I must have a dreamt that they were offering platinum nibs...

Edited May 22, 2017 by 3nding

May 22, 2017

Stainless steel will be a nail, so that's that.

Titanium. I agree with mr. Binder in that it isn't a true flex nib. Guess I could agree that it could be harder to work with for someone modifying nibs. But I disagree on that it is that easy to spring. Personally I quite like the #6 titanium Bock.

How about the usual route: get a stainless steel now, and upgrade to titanium later if / when you get that "what if I would have"-itch?

May 22, 2017

I've got several Bock no. 6's. My favourite is the steel XF - nice and springy and definitely not nail-like.

The medium and broad steel were both pretty nail like, and solid writers, but rather dull.

The Titanium in XF is different... I don't dislike it but it feels soft rather than springy - I don't find it gives much more line variation than the steel, but it does it with less pressure, and in use you can feel how easy it would be to overspread the tines, although I haven't done so yet...

The stubs aren't bad, but only the 1.1 is really usable for everyday writing.

I've not tried the gold nibs.

Edited May 22, 2017 by ManofKent

May 22, 2017

Stainless steel will be a nail, so that's that.

Titanium. I agree with mr. Binder in that it isn't a true flex nib. Guess I could agree that it could be harder to work with for someone modifying nibs. But I disagree on that it is that easy to spring. Personally I quite like the #6 titanium Bock.

How about the usual route: get a stainless steel now, and upgrade to titanium later if / when you get that "what if I would have"-itch?

I've got several Bock no. 6's. My favourite is the steel XF - nice and springy and definitely not nail-like.

The medium and broad steel were both pretty nail like, and solid writers, but rather dull.

The Titanium in XF is different... I don't dislike it but it feels soft rather than springy - I don't find it gives much more line variation than the steel, but it does it with less pressure, and in use you can feel how easy it would be to overspread the tines, although I haven't done so yet...

The stubs aren't bad, but only the 1.1 is really usable for everyday writing.

I've not tried the gold nibs.

Mmmm I would have to try out Titanium somewhere before buying if I end up chosing that. I that can help, my favorite nib is the fine gold nib on my 1980's Montblanc 146. It's not a flex nib by any means, but it isn't stiff like my 1930s Sheaffer Balance's gold nib or my Esterbrook (9540) either.

What are your thoughts on palladium nibs, as they are also offered (not platinum like I previously thought)? Are they worth the money?

Also have any of you experienced corrosion with stainless steel nibs? If so, under which conditions?

May 23, 2017

I received my Karas Kustoms Ink last Friday. I picked it up at the post office on my way back from the office. What a great way to start a long week end, I thought... (Today is an holiday in Canada).

Well, I was a little disappointed. The pen is very nice looking (grey with aluminum section), well made and feel very robust. The cap doesn't have that secure lock once you put it back, it takes very little force to twist it open. Don't know if this will be an annoyance in real life yet.

Re your worry about rusty nib, I never had any issue in over 30 years. I am not extra careful with my pens, I only make sure to flush the ink when I know I will be using them for 2-3 weeks. You can buy stainless nibs with your eyes closed.

Back to the Karas Ink, I got a 1.1mm italic stainless nib. It is very rigid which is not an issue for me. The line variation is moderate, less than what I get from a TWSBI 1.1mm or a Lamy Vista 1.1mm for example. The nib was very dry and required an adjustment. Even after obtaining a decent flow, the pen still skips on vertical downstrokes. I only tried it till now with the Monteverde black ink cartridge that came with the pen. Next step is to fill it with Waterman bleu sérénité, that might fix the skipping issue.

Good luck!

Edited May 23, 2017 by Regulateur

May 23, 2017

Mmmm I would have to try out Titanium somewhere before buying if I end up chosing that. I that can help, my favorite nib is the fine gold nib on my 1980's Montblanc 146. It's not a flex nib by any means, but it isn't stiff like my 1930s Sheaffer Balance's gold nib or my Esterbrook (9540) either.

What are your thoughts on palladium nibs, as they are also offered (not platinum like I previously thought)? Are they worth the money?

Also have any of you experienced corrosion with stainless steel nibs? If so, under which conditions?

Palladium or platinum nibs? Peter Bock does list both palladium and platinum nibs, but I wasn't able to find any mention of either on karaskustoms.com. Not that I could say anything about either anyway :/

Having had a Kaweco Al-Sport with BB steel nib filled for last 2½ years, I don't think it is going to rust any time soon. Sure, that is a #5 nib, and only 2½ years, but still.

Edit: Okay, Vanness pens has palladium nibs. $150 piece. At least that is cheaper than the gold nibs.

May 23, 2017

I bought mine with the palladium nib. It soft but not well aligned. I bought the gold nib and it's a fabulous wet expressive writer. Not much line variation but a great shader. Cheaper than palladium too

May 23, 2017

I bought mine with the palladium nib. It soft but not well aligned. I bought the gold nib and it's a fabulous wet expressive writer. Not much line variation but a great shader. Cheaper than palladium too

were you ever able to get the palladium nib alligned?

Curious on the performance of palladium vs gold vs titanium.

May 23, 2017

My palladium nib is nice... now that I've fixed the baby's bottom. OOTB it was quite skippy. It's smooth, soft and feels cushioned, but I've not tried to do anything flexy with it. It provides good shading.

My titanium nib is ok. It's not as soft as the Pd, and I don't trust Ti enough to push it and see what it's capable of. (I've seen YouTube reviews in which Ti tines have become splayed due to the reviewer's enthusiasm) The nib doesn't feel as smooth as Pd or steel - it has a noticeable, but not unpleasant, resistance on the page.

My steel Bock nibs are usually reliable, although I've seen a few that needed alignment. They've been smooth, rigid, and have provided consistent ink flow.

Edited May 23, 2017 by PabloAU