What company has the best stub nibs?

[Doc Dan]

I have become enthralled by stub nibs. The only brand of stubs that I have are Jowos on TWSBI pens of varying sizes.

 

That got me to wondering, which company makes the best stub nibs, especially gold nibs? I like smooth rather than pencil feel. I want a nib to float across the paper. What do you all think?

[Karmachanic]

Majority of pens come with either Bock, Jowo, or Schmidt nibs in their proprietary threaded housings.  Jowo nibs don't fit Bock feeds, but Bock nibs do fit Jowo feeds.  Don't know about Schmidt.

 

Gold nibs do not necessarily perform better than Steel.

 

 

[Misfit]

1 hour ago, Karmachanic said:

Gold nibs do not necessarily perform better than Steel.

 

 

The Gentleman Stationer blog had a recent post with this sentiment. 

[tommym]

Jowo stub nibs have rounded edges compared to Bock with their sharper edges, making the Bock stub nibs unusable for my writing technique. 

 

My smoothest 1.5 mm nib ever (glass smooth) was a Lamy; my worst 1.5 mm nib ever was a Lamy.  Same ink, same paper.

 

All my stub nibs in the 1.1 mm through 1.9 mm range are stainless steel. 

 

Tommy

[dms525]

I don't know that Bock makes a gold stub nib, except some made for a specific pen maker. JoWo gold stubs are generally very smooth. Note that both of these labels (They are owned by the same corporation.) make nibs with various specifications, so all JoWo nibs are not the same. Also some pen makers and some pen shops do extra tuning before shipping product.

 

I would also add Pilot Stub and Music nibs for your consideration. I am been very favorably impressed with these. They have a lot of line variation and are very smooth writers.

 

David

[Karmachanic]

33 minutes ago, dms525 said:

They are owned by the same corporation

 

  Please and thank you.  Peter Bock AG and JoWo Berliner Schreibfeder GmbH are owned by which corporation?

[Bo Bo Olson]

'50-65-70 German nibs out side of Lamy/Artus are mostly semi-flex stub nibs, and the obliques have life.

 

As long as you don't think a posted 400 is too small for you, pens of that era have Grand Semi-Flex Stubbed Nibs.

Or send your nib off to be made a stub. many folks here make their own stubs...one should have two throw away pens to practice on.

 

If you insist on a large pen....I've no idea. Perhaps a '50-70 149, it would have a semi-flex stub nib. 

A model 78 Osmia might do...I haven't gotten one...but it is larger than my medium-large mdl 76 Osmias.

Soennecken 111 extra (was and is a grail pen of mine)  is as big as the 149....don't know anything about how big the 222 is.

 

The 1948-60....146, which I have with a maxi-semi-flex nib is a medium large pen with great balance.

The 146 became Large in 1970. There was a ten year gap between a finely balanced and barely adequate balanced modern pen, with a regular flex nib.

I have some 35 semi-flex and 15 maxi-semi-flex pens, only a couple 'no name's from the 60's are not stubs; but tear drop tipped nibs.

 

These flex to 3 X a light down stroke. Flexing it more risks springing the nib.

Regular flex is a Pelikan 200/Japanese soft. ('82-97 400 also) Soft +, can not be written with maxed.

 

Semi-flex is softer by a half, soft ++ Can be written with maxed by the ham fisted....took me 6 or more weeks to bring my Hand down to being able to ask for line variation on demand. Vintage era call it '50-70, Geha, Pelikan, MB, Osmia to '60.

 

Maxi-semi-flex, half easier to flex to it's 3X max than a semi-flex, is usually not marked outside of Osmia, but one can luck into them, soft +++

 

Maxie's are luck of the draw in Geha, MB and Pelikan of that era. None of those companies marked their maxi-semi-flex nibs. Degussa the gold and silver manufacturer made the gold ribbon wheels and the gold semi& maxi nibs for Osmai, so some folks (MB, Pelikan, Geha) got what ever wheel was closest to the door. Be it semi-flex or maxi. I think had the companies known there was that difference they'd sold the maxi's as maxi's instead of normal semi's.

I have 15 maxi's, from assorted company's.

[Prof Drew]

Great question @Doc Dan. I have rather small handwriting, so a regular stub is usually too much. So, my favorite stub was a .6 Nemosine stub (available from Birmingham pens). They also sell a .8 and 1.1. Pilot has a 1.0 stub if I recall, which you can get on an inexpensive pen.

 

Birmingham hasn't sold a pen in a while, but you those Birmingham pens work in a Bock nib mount (although they are not made by Bock) [Nobody knows who makes them]. Not all nibs are the same quality. Many complain, but perhaps you can do some home grinding. There are quite a few pens (including inexpensive Chinese options that can take a Bock nib). 

 

I was thinking of getting a Parker with no tipping ground to a stub, but gold nibs will wear down faster as stubs, I'm told.

 

I'll look forward to more comments on this.

[arcfide]

I've been on this pursuit for a while, and I might be able to provide a little insight, as I've especially been focusing on companies that make their own nibs, vs. the ones that tune Jowo or Bock nibs. Here's the list of some nibs, particularly gold, but some others:

• Waterman Stub and Broad (Carene and Exception)
• Parker Stub and Broad
• Pelikan Italic Broad
• Lamy 1.1, 1.5, and 1.9mm steel stubs
• Lamy 2000 nibs
• Montblanc B and BB (146 and 149)
• Aurora BB, Stub, and Italic
• Scribo Stub and Italic
• Santini Stub and Cursive Italic
• Pilot SU, S, and MS (912, 742, and 743)
• Platinum Music (#3776 and Nakaya)
• Platinum Coarse (#3776, President, and Izumo)
• Sailor Music (1911s, 1911L, Pro Gear Slim, Pro Gear)
• Franklln Christoph Stubs, CI, SIG, and Music (Jowo nibs, but often tuned or treated in house)
• Jowo and Bock stubs

The Franklin Christoph is there because they are unique, IMO, among Jowo users in that they have the Music nib made for them, as well as multiple different stub options such as the SIG nibs. Among those above, I have tried many of them, namely, those from Waterman, Pelikan, Lamy, Santini, Platinum, and Franklin Christoph (just the Music). I've done extensive research on the others. I've also been sampling the BB range for many companies, and I have a Pelikan B, Sailor KOP B, Lamy B (Gold, Steel, and Aion), Sailor Zoom, and others to add to the comparisons. 

 

Like many things, what is best for you will depend a lot on factors like what the size of handwriting you like is, and a little more clarification on what you like your nibs to feel like. You say two things, that you like smooth and that you want the nib to float across the paper. IME, those two things are not quite the same. I prefer to divide the concept of smooth into two factors, how much drag a nib will have, and how much feedback it will have. These are not the same thing. There are some nibs which have high feedback, but essentially no drag. These nibs "float" across the page, but have an ever present sound and feedback as they do so. Then there are nibs which are exceptionally low feedback, and might as well be highly polished glass, but that have a high amount of drag on the page, so that they make no sound, and don't vibrate even a little in the hand, but provide a smooth, ever-present resistance to movement across the page. 

 

Then there is the issue of the inks that you want to use. Some inks are more or less lubricated than others, and some are drier or wetter than others (surface tension). These two factors make a big difference in how a nib will feel on the page. There are some nibs which feel buttery smooth with some dry but lubricated inks, but feel much less so with wet, unlubricated inks. Wetter inks might reduce the line variation of the inks, and make some stubs that would otherwise be very sharp, very dull. Likewise, the paper that you use makes a huge difference in perceived line variation, reliability, and smoothness. 

 

With any given stub, one of the challenges is how to make the nib easy to use. A nib can be highly sensitive to rotation, and it can also be sensitive to the amount of pressure required to get it started right out of the gate. Smoother, harder papers will make hard starting, highly polished nibs write less reliably, whereas some papers have enough texture or are softer, and so will take what was a smooth, glassy nib on Tomoe River or THIN paper and turn it into a pencil-like nib. Then, some papers take ink exceptionally well, which causes them to write a little broader than other papers. These papers can have the effect of greatly reducing the line variation you see, especially if you want to use a wet ink and a less sharp stub. 

 

IMO, if you want to get a consistent, reliable experience, stub nibs require that you make a stronger commitment to a specific ink and paper range than do standard ball-tipped nibs. With a ball-tipped EF, F, or M nib, a wetter or drier ink, and smoother or rougher paper will create less stark effective differences in perceived writing experience than with a stub nib. With a stub nib, however, those little differences in the inks and paper will make a much bigger difference in how the pen feels to you. 

 

Next, when testing various pens, you should pay very close attention to the tine gap in the pens. Because of the increased contact area difference in length and breadth in a stub nib, the distance from the nib slit to the part of the tipping that is furthest away from the slit is much higher than in a ball-tipped nib, with less surface area to transport the ink. This can make stub nibs write drier compared to other pens of the same line width, which increases the sharper the stub. This makes them very sensitive to the tine gap, and the wrong tine gap can make or break a good experience with a given nib. Likewise, because of the increased lateral range of contact, it's easier to get off the sweet spot on such nibs, and thus, baby's bottom can make your life a real pain on an otherwise nice stub nib in a way that you won't experience in other pens. This makes such nibs more sensitive to the internal slit/tine polishing that is done there: if you polish it just a little too much, it's easy to get an almost unusable baby's bottom situation, whereas not enough and it's easy to get lots of feedback under even tiny amounts of nib rotation. 

 

Now, another factor in this whole thing is that it is often the case that the double broad nib that a given company makes actually has stub qualities to it. If you are looking for the smoothest and wettest experience in a nib, but don't want the excessive sharpness and feedback that can come from a cursive italic type stub, then one solution is to find the right ink and pair it with a double broad that has these stub like qualities to it. This allows for a surprising amount of line variation and control using a nib that isn't explicitly marketed as a stub, but is actually probably a better stub than most (if you want rich, smooth, wet writing with clean line variation).

 

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Now, with all the preliminaries out of the way, how do we go about answering your question of what is the best? I'm going to assume for this question that you want not just low feedback, but that you also want very low drag. You also have *not* said anything about how wet the pen needs to write, and many people would call TWSBI pens a little more dry writing than most. That leaves only the question of the size of your own handwriting. I'm going to assume for the moment that you're willing to adapt your handwriting to any size nib, and that you're really just after the best writing stub, no matter what you might have to sacrifice as far as handwriting size to get there. That helps narrow the field a little bit. Another thing that I need to do to limit the options is to eliminate the option for tuning the pens before shipping. There are shops that will do this, and that gives you almost unlimited freedom, because then you are almost certain to be able to get exactly what you want with whatever nib you like best. 

 

I think we can "eliminate" some options as unlikely to be really satisfactory to you. The Sailor Music nibs are reputed to have the signature Sailor feedback. Sailor pens typically have very low drag, but high feedback, and both the Sailor KOP B and Sailor Zoom nibs that I have are like this. Even when tuned to write very wet, they exhibit lots of distinct feedback. Assuming that you want low feedback, then this is probably not for you. The Platinum Music nib is exceptionally smooth, but some versions do exhibit a little more feedback than others. I have some which are very low feedback, and some which are higher. If you get one of the low-feedback grinds (they seem to have had two different grinds), then it is easily the smoothest and easiest to use among the Japanese big 3 music nibs, but also quite broad. If you get one of the high feedback ones, then it might be too much feedback for you, but less than Sailor. The Pilot SU nib that I have is *very* sharp, and has a very distinct feel. It is highly sensitive and would likely be way too feedback heavy and draggy for you, so I would rule that one out. Likewise, the Pilot MS nib is reputed to be the sharpest of the big 3 music nibs, and not exceptionally wet, which would suggest that it would generally have more feedback, and so it is not likely to be the experience you say that you want. Aurora's stub and italic nib sizes are reputed to be very sharp and have some feedback to them, so those are also unlikely to be what you're after. Lamy's steel stub nibs are convenient, but IMO, they are nowhere near consistent enough to be able to recommend them as the best stub nibs out there. However, they do give you the freedom to choose the stub size much more than the others. I found their 1.5mm and 1.9mm stubs to be "tolerable" and reasonable, but I really disliked the feel of the 1.1mm stubs. I also found them to write quite dry compared to other options. 

 

As a special case, I have to highlight Santini. They are doing something that almost no one else is doing, and so, if you want what they are offering, you might not be able to find it anywhere else. *However*, and this is a big point, I have never received a pen from them that was good "out of the box." I am convinced that whatever their test criteria for nibs is, it's not compatible with my own. The nibs have all come consistently tuned and aligned differently to what I prefer, and arguably "just wrong." If you are confident in your ability to work with nibs, then you can get something that is interesting and relatively unique, but if not, then I can't recommend Santini, since trying to get them adjusted to be just right is probably too much work at that point. 

 

So, what about the others? The Lamy 2000 is unique in that all of the nib sizes are given a stub/square cut. This gives you a lot of options, but they are not very sharp stubs. They are polished very smoothly, and have low feedback. In my experience, though, they have higher drag than many of the other nibs, and they do not exhibit as much line variation. I also find that they have very heavily polished internal edges, which makes them more susceptible to baby's bottom, but also very good for people who have a heavier hand. They also seem to be very wet. If you're writing on rougher paper that benefits from the extra polishing and want something that flows wet and that is pretty forgiving both of a heavier hand and/or a little too much rotation in one direction or the other, the Lamy 2000 nibs are a great choice. 

 

I trust the Montblanc B and BB nibs to write like nice, smooth, dull stub nibs, and they seem to be consistently quite good. The advantage there is that they have some beautiful nibs, but the come at quite a premium for new. Some have reported that they are a little more feedback-y than some others, but I can't yet provide a direct comparison of what they are producing in that category right now. I have the same issue with Scribo, which is that I haven't tried them, and while they seem to be well done, I can't vouche for the exact amount of feedback or reliability or quality control. The Aurora BB nib is reputed to be a large, stub-like writer, and if I were to pick up an Aurora myself, then the BB nib is what I would get on it. However, if it has the same feedback as the other Aurora nibs, then maybe that's not what you want. 

 

Franklin-Christoph has some of the most attractive stub offerings for "standard stubs" and steel nibs that I've seen. The SIG grind seems very nice, and they offer both gold and steel standard stub sizes, both tipped and untipped. I have their three-tined music offering, and I have to say that it is among my best nibs. The polishing is excellent, the flow is excellent, the whole nib is just very well done. The feed keeps up well, and the line variation and such is just superb. Even for such a big nib, I find that the nib is relatively forgiving. It's definitely one of the nicest nibs to write with if you're looking for that sort of thing. However, it is a very wide writer, and that makes it impractical for many people, but as far as such things go, it's definitely up there. If their other nibs are anything like that, then F-C makes a pretty compelling product line. 

 

Pilot's S nib is very hard to get, but the consistency of Pilots nibs, particularly in the feel of the tipping and the way that they make their grinds, makes me confident in saying that the S nib is probably the one to go for if you are looking for a smooth writing stub nib from Pilot. The only thing that I can criticize Pilot's nibs for is that I don't personally like the glassy polish that they put on their nibs, as it introduces just a hint of drag (but has the least amount of feedback among the big 3 Japanese) that I don't like, and I've found that I just don't work with them as well as with those from Sailor or Platinum. However, the exact reasons why I might not go for those nibs are just the reasons that I think it might be nice for you. 

 

Among the Japanese nibs, though, I think the President and #3776 Coarse nib is an bit of a sleeper here. There is a little more feedback than Pilot in those very large nibs, but the trade-off is that you also experience much less drag on some papers. This makes them smoother overall for me than the Pilots, and more of that "floating" feeling than I get from Pilot, even though they are more noisy. They are also *very* durable nibs, and stand up very well to fast writing. Their feeds are quite good at keeping up with fast writing and lots of ink, which makes it possible to get a lot out of dry inks in those pens (which makes sense, given that Platinum inks are quite dry as a rule). You *do* need to make sure that the tine gap is set to the appropriate wetness for those nibs, as all the Japanese nibs I've worked with as a rule tend to be tuned to write drier using a narrower tine gap than is my preference. And between the PIlot and Sailor and Platinum nibs, the Coarse Platinum nibs are such that they have the ability to deliver a little bit of line variation and act like a stub when you learn how to use them. 

 

All that being said though, it's unlikely that the Coarse nib will be exactly what you want. It will probably have a little too much feedback for you and too little easy to access line variation for you to be satisfied. 

 

So, what does that mean for my recommendation or vote for who makes the best? Well, given your criteria, I'm going to say that my votes would go to Waterman and Pelikan. Specifically, the Pelikan Italic Broad, if you can stand the line width, and can handle the risk of maybe getting too much polishing, has the combination of highly ergonomic pens, very bold, wet line, and great line variation, all in an exceptionally smooth package. My Italic broad (which I did make sure was tuned before sending to me), has terrific capacity for wet, smooth, effortless writing. It absolutely glides, and handles ink terrifically. The Waterman pens that I have, on the other hand, provide even more variety here. The IB Pelikan nib is *very* broad. Waterman, on the other hand, offers a broad and stub nib in their Carene and Exception Slim line of pens. These nibs, are, I think, highly underrated by the community as a whole. I have the Exception Slim varieties of both these nibs. I've found that both can handle a wide tine gap and very wet writing, and they have some of the best "first start" reliability of all my pens with the widest variety of inks, while at the same time exhibiting the smoothest feel, meaning that they have almost no feedback and almost no drag. The Waterman stub nib achieves all of this while at the same time having some of the best line variation of all of the stub nibs I have, while the broad nib that I have writes more like a very forgiving, rounded stub, and can easily add that stub character to your writing. I really think they are among the most competently done nibs in my whole collection. There are really only two disadvantages with these nibs, neither of which appears on your requirements list.

 

The first, is that they come in classically sized pen bodies, which means that by modern standards, they are relatively slimmer pens. Larger, wider pens are the norm these days, and so Waterman pens seem almost delicately slim by comparison, except for the Pelikan M400 and M600 lines. Nonetheless, their use of Lacquered Brass means that they don't write like a lightweight pen and have quite a bit more heft than you would expect from such slim pens. Whether or not that combination is ergonomic and desirable for you could make or break whether these nibs are good for you. For me, since I'm quite comfortable writing with slim pens, they are superb. 

 

The second issue with Waterman pens is that their feeds behave a little differently to, say, Platinum's, as an example. I have a wide tine gap on the Broad Waterman that I have, and it feeds ink to the nib almost instantly, even if stored nib up and all the ink has left the nib slit. In contrast, with my Sailor or Platinum nibs, if the nibs lose the ink in the slit over time (storing nib up with too wide a tine gap), then it can take a while to get ink back to the tip. However, once I've been slinging ink for a line or two, the Waterman feed will slow down the rate of ink delivery more noticeably than Platinum or Sailor. If you're writing with a very wetly tuned nib (as I am), then you can see the shifting flow as the ink bubbles burst in the Waterman nib (this sometimes also happens in my Platinum Music nibs); it keeps up, but the flow changes. On the other hand, with Platinum, even with a wet ink and a wet tuning, the ink just keeps going for the most part, and while you can see the slight change in flow rate, it's not that pronounced. If you aren't going for maximum ink flow rate, and have more modest ink delivery requirements, then you probably aren't likely to notice this difference nearly as much. 

 

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Now, if I inject my own personal biases in here, I'm much more willing to put up with feedback, but I don't want any drag from the nib, I really dislike having to write heavily or have less than perfect first start reliability, and I get the most enjoyment out of a *very* wet, glistening line of ink that I can control well. I'm also able and willing to tune the nibs to write wetter. I'm not after maximum line variation, but I do favor a little line variation if I can. I also like ergonomic pens that are well balanced and are generally slimmer in the section and not too heavy during writing.

 

If those are the criteria instead of the others, I've found that the following have risen to my top list and are currently duking it out as my currently inked pens: Waterman Exception Slim Broad, Sailor Profit Standard 21 Zoom, Platinum Izumo Coarse, Platinum #3776 Century Coarse, Pelikan M400 Broad, Pelikan M400 Italic Broad. 

 

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TL;DR -- If you want low feedback, low drag nibs that have stub qualities and don't insist on having the absolutely wettest possible writing experience, then I can confidently recommend Waterman B and Stub nibs as well as the Pelikan Italic Broad nib (for those who want an insanely broad writing line), or the Franklin-Christoph Music nib for those who would like a steel nib that writes smooth as silk and can deal with the 1.9mm style line. 

 

Honorable mentions: Lamy 2000, MB B/BB, and Pilot S nib

 

If you can tolerate a little more feedback: Platinum Music, Aurora BB, Sailor Music, Pilot MS, and Platinum Coarse.

 

 

 

[dms525]

5 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

  Please and thank you.  Peter Bock AG and JoWo Berliner Schreibfeder GmbH are owned by which corporation?

 

As far as I can ascertain, this in not true. I was citing information I had read without verifying it myself. Lesson learned.

 

David

[Misfit]

I have a B SIG (Stub Italic Gradient) nib by Audrey. I also have a Masuyama and Nagahara B cursive italic nibs (Franklin-Christoph) The broad CI nibs are .9 according to F-C.  I like them a lot. I also like their factory steel 1.1 mm CC nib. That nib gives great line variation at no extra cost to the pen.   Plus it can be bought separately. The SIG nib is unique in nibs. The idea seems to be you get different results by holding the pen at different angles. 
 

Retro 51 nibs are JoWo and they do good job making them. Their 1.1mm nibs give great line variation. Those nibs can be bought separately as well. I’ve used Conklin and Monteverde pens with 1.1mm stub nibs, and am happy with them. 
 

The Pilot CM nibs are also quite good, and can be swapped out on many of the sub $100 pens. The medium CM nib is .58mm. 
 

I do have a gold tone Pelikan IM nib. It seems more like a stub nib. It does not give as crisp a line variation.

[AlexLeGrande]

I have an old Esterbrook 9314F, fine stub nib that I bought many years ago in an SJ in red.  I use it writing in reverse.  It writes the sharpest and finest, italic line with great variation between the horizontal and the vertical.  I have many other stub nibs, but none as satisfying to me as this one.

[Doc Dan]

Are any of these better than the TWSBIs that I have? I have their stubs on the Go and the 580 and they write really, really well. That smoke rose gold II Diamond 580 is unbelievable and is better even than the other two. That's what got me to wondering if the grass was greener on the other side of the fence.

[Karmachanic]

1 hour ago, Doc Dan said:

Are any of these better than the TWSBIs that I have?

 

Depends upon who you ask.  There is no definative answer.  That's why there's more than one ink, pen, nib, paper, .................

[Misfit]

I have 1.1mm stub nibs on two TWSBI Diamond 580 pens.  It seems like it is a bit wider than the 1.1mm nibs found on the Eco (which is the same nib on the Diamond Mini).  

Like @Karmachanic it seems to be a subjective answer. Writing with a Retro 51 stub nib reminded me it showed great line variation. I’ll see if there is ink in a 580, and use it today. I’ll edit this post to give my thoughts on it. 

[Doc Dan]

4 hours ago, Misfit said:

I have 1.1mm stubs nib on two TWSBI Diamond 580 pens.  It seems like it is a bit wider than the 1.1mm nibs found on the Eco (which is the same nib on the Diamond Mini).  

Like @Karmachanic it seems to be a subjective answer. Writing with a Retro 51 stub nib reminded me it showed great line variation. I’ll see if there is ink in a 580, and use it today. I’ll edit this post to give my thoughts on it. 

My Diamond 580 1.1 stubs are wider than those I have on Go/Ecos, so I believe you are correct. 

[AmericanMonk]

I agree with Misfit and Karmachanic. There are too many variables to come up with something objective.

 

I have limited experience of only 6 brands of stub/italic. Here is my two cents on each, all of which you might already know, in order of my personal preference.

 

1. Sheaffer No Nonsense Fine Italic. I don't think you'd like these but I have to include my favorites. I love their very crisp edges and their ability to write small (for the stub category; I think they're 1.0mm) but you prefer smooth and these have corners. They're smooth if you have the angle just right, but you'll snag if the angle is too far off. They write wetly enough but spread the ink out evenly. This is good if you want to try to tame slow-drying inks but can be bad when it flattens the depth of some inks. I can't rave enough about how much I appreciate the definitive difference between thick and thick lines. The transitions are beautiful. I've had them since the 80s, have never fully disassembled them for cleaning (and at this point I'm almost too afraid to try) and yet the only times they have ever behaved poorly is when I put highly sheening inks in them (I've had a few hard starts). They truly live up to their names. Their converters aren't horrid but they are tinted, which is odd and annoying.
2. Pilot (Metro) CM. These sometimes vie for first place. They're not as smooth as my TWSBI, but I prefer minor feedback, which I think helps to keep me consistent. Unlike the Sheaffers, the corners are smooth. It would be tough to gouge the paper with them. They achieve first place status in cases where the Sheaffer dulls the ink beyond my liking. They write a little bit wetter than the Sheaffers, about the same as the Jinhaos, and not as wet as the Monteverde JoWo. They create beautiful transitions but are the narrowest nib of this bunch, so the contrast between thick and thin is most noticeable if you write small. This can be either a pro or a con depending on your usage. I appreciate having small writing in business, and having small yet beautiful writing makes the Pilot CM an easy choice for me. I love how easy they are to disassemble/clean and the price is right. Personally, I love the Metro's always-appropriate formal Art Deco styling and the way that it feels in my hand (I own several and plan to buy several more), but not everybody does. Since you like TWSBI products, you might like the Pilot Prera. I have never owned one, but it is my understanding that they offer the same selection of nibs as the Metro... but with better reviews. I plan to buy a Prera soon. People complain that the CON-40 converter is small—which is a fair complaint—but I rotate colors so often that an empty converter just makes me excited to change things up.
3. Jinhao 992 1.0 Stub. This writes smoother (and just as wide as) my TWSBI. It's too smooth, IMO. It would be in last place if I scored it on the unimpressive line variation alone. But on the whole, the 992 is a solid workhorse of a pen that can be purchased from a range of 0.38mm EF to 3.0mm stubs (including a fude tip option). It is easy to find them for ~2USD, shipping included, if you buy directly from China. I've never tried the color options and the demonstrator's transparent plastic is not crystal clear like TWSBI's, but they make up for it with attention to detail and ease of disassembly and cleaning. It is definitely the lowest quality but possibly the highest value. I use the stubs for shimmer inks (I appreciate seeing where the shimmer is or isn't and, again, ease of cleaning) and the (European-style) F for anything else. I have no doubt that I'll eventually break them but until I find something better I'll keep replacing them. Despite China's stereotypically questionable quality control, I have never received a bad 992.
4. TWSBI Swipe 1.1 JoWo Stub. My Swipe is a lemon so this is a very distant 4th place. The Swipe's stub is very smooth without being too smooth, but you already know that. I can see why you like it. Mine is just an unfortunate scenario—the nib and feed aren't on the same page. The nib wants to gush and the feed won't keep up. The start of every writing session is too wet and becomes noticeably drier within the first (3-5 line) paragraph. The lines aren't bad but not as crisp as the Sheaffers and Pilots; the transitions between thick and thin aren't as superb, either. If mine wasn't a lemon I would probably prefer it over the Jinhao. It is just a desk pen for me—something to grab during phone calls or other quick notes.
5. Pilot Parallel. I'm not sure if this belongs on the list. They're definitely calligraphy pens. Despite their "obviously an art supply" look and feel, I love almost everything about the results they create. Unfortunately, 1.5mm is the smallest nib that they currently offer, which is too large (IMO) for everyday writing. I enjoy splashing around in calligraphy but I am no artist, so they come in last. I am considering buying another 1.5mm and then grinding it down to my liking. I've seen some creative and beautiful Parallel-based frankenpens online.

 

Honorable mention:

 

• Monteverde Rodeo Drive 1.1 JoWo Stub. This is a new pen to me. I've only loaded it with Robert Oster's Motor Oil so far and I'm not even half way through that fill. I've not put it through the paces or learned its quirks. My kneejerk opinion is that it will probably slot into 3rd place. It is just as smooth as the TWSBI but with better line variation and none of the lemon flavor. However, it writes a bit bigger than everything other than the Parallels. Rough estimate: a 1.3mm? I have to write uncomfortably bigger to prevent counters in lowercase Es and Os from filling in. But gosh! the lines are, rich, beautiful, and bold! If a different ink or adjustment doesn't help, the Monteverde stub is good for personal correspondence or as a signature pen, but not for business.

I hope that helps. I adore my Sheaffers and Pilots and I'm glad you love your TWSBIs. As a lefty who is most comfortable with an overhand hook, I love the instant beauty and personality that stubs provide. Flex nibs are... unpleasant! Because my left hand pushes (rather than pulls) the pen during downstrokes, I wouldn't see any value in a springier (assuming the springiness is what you're pursuing) aspect of a gold nib in any pen, so I can't help you there. Good luck!

[Misfit]

@AmericanMonk you mentioned flex nibs. My opinion is I don’t want to work that hard for line variation. Maybe I’m wrong, but to me it seems like flex nibs were a thing of the past. Unless a modern pen maker tells you the nib will flex, don’t expect it to. 
 

I’m right handed, and love stub and italic nibs. I write normally, and get lovely line variation, and character to my writing. 
 

edit: I think some other brands are better than the Diamond Mini 1.1mm stub. I have three, and sometimes I don’t see the line variation I expect. Yet the white and rose gold version 2 seems a touch wider than its steel color nib buddies. Birmingham Pens sells Nemosine stub nibs. They had a sale recently, so I got several. Their 1.1mm stub is a very nice one. Anderson Pens sells loose 1.1mm stub nibs.  I’ve tried those, and am happy with them too. 

[Doc Dan]

This has turned into an interesting discussion and has me searching the internet a lot. I appreciate all of the input, so far. 

 

@AmericanMonk are the Jinhao 992 able to stay inked for long periods of disuse like the TWSBI can?

 

@Misfit do the Nemosine stub nibs fit in a TWSBI?

[Bo Bo Olson]

1 hour ago, Misfit said:

I don’t want to work that hard for line variation.

It appears Misfit, you are cursed with a Light Hand.

I come out of Ham Fisted so can Demand Line Variation, with my normal medium pressure Hand.

I get Line Variation from natural writing pressure, with vintage German semi-flex. Where the letter gets wider...it does with semi-flex, one has the natural line variation, when the letter gets narrower due to less natural pressure, that too is natural.

 

Sometime 'last' year, I discovered why all those folks kept saying they wrote so slow with a semi-flex pen....until I discovered they were all Guilty of Nib Abuse. Trying to make a semi-flex Flair nib, do calligraphy.

Semi-flex is a natural flair nib, adding flair to your normal script....if you are not one of those unfortunate Light Hand folks.

 

The mysterious pleasure of vintage flex nibs,

 

On the first page is my rant about Nib Abuse in trying to make a semi-flex flair nib into an over stressed calligraphy nib.