Lamy steel vs. gold nib

[Mark Cummins]

I'm a new FP user (lefty with lousy handwriting trying to get better). I wanted to start with a decent pen and learn without spending too much. I have been very happy with Lamy Safaris. So, I have read that gold nibs write more smoothly than steel. Lamy has gold nibs for Safari, for about $100 (more than pocket change). Does anyone have experience with these nibs? Did you notice a difference? Thanks.

[jmkeuning]

Gold nib for safari can be had for $42 from lamyusa. It is so totally worth it.

 

http://www.lamyusa.com/acbrfi16.html

Edited September 8, 2008 by jmkeuning

[RayMan]

I'm a new FP user (lefty with lousy handwriting trying to get better). I wanted to start with a decent pen and learn without spending too much. I have been very happy with Lamy Safaris. So, I have read that gold nibs write more smoothly than steel. Lamy has gold nibs for Safari, for about $100 (more than pocket change). Does anyone have experience with these nibs? Did you notice a difference? Thanks.

 

The gold nib is excellent. Very smooth, even in EF. However, $100 for the nib alone is highway robbery. For less than $90.00 you can buy a Lamy Studio FP with palladium finish and gold nib.

[Pippin60]

I'm a new FP user (lefty with lousy handwriting trying to get better). I wanted to start with a decent pen and learn without spending too much. I have been very happy with Lamy Safaris. So, I have read that gold nibs write more smoothly than steel. Lamy has gold nibs for Safari, for about $100 (more than pocket change). Does anyone have experience with these nibs? Did you notice a difference? Thanks.

 

The gold nib is excellent. Very smooth, even in EF. However, $100 for the nib alone is highway robbery. For less than $90.00 you can buy a Lamy Studio FP with palladium finish and gold nib.

 

 

Absolutely! I have the Lamy studio palladium which has a gold nib. I think I brought it for 89$. But I will tell you there are some steel nibs out there that write just as nice as many gold nibs. There's a thread here about gold vs. steel nibs. You will find some "nib snobs" but I have quite a few smooth steel nibs as well as gold, and I am happy with them.

[wednesday_mac]

I've had a Lamy Safari for months and just bought a FP Lamy All-Star. I love the smoothness of the nib, but smoothness reaches a point where it's actually a strain for me to write with a smooooooth pen. I think the chrome nib of the All-Star is about as smooth as I can handle.

 

And gold? I am unworthy.

[MYU]

Gold nib for safari can be had for $42 from lamyusa. It is so totally worth it.

 

http://www.lamyusa.com/acbrfi16.html

That's a link to the Lamy Accent. Does it share the same nib with the Studio, both 14kt?

[BearsPaw]

Have there been any "blind writing" tests on this topic? Honestly, I can't see any correlation between the metal the nib is made of and its smoothness, at least on my pens.

[jmkeuning]

Gold nib for safari can be had for $42 from lamyusa. It is so totally worth it.

 

http://www.lamyusa.com/acbrfi16.html

That's a link to the Lamy Accent. Does it share the same nib with the Studio, both 14kt?

 

 

As far as I understand, yes. I have not seen the nibs in the flesh, but all accounts point to the fact that these nibs are all the same.

 

 

[jmkeuning]

Have there been any "blind writing" tests on this topic? Honestly, I can't see any correlation between the metal the nib is made of and its smoothness, at least on my pens.

 

No blind writing here, but the gold has a greater amount of more flex, I think that these diminishes the feedback, resulting in the perception of increased smoothness.

[Iridium]

Have there been any "blind writing" tests on this topic? Honestly, I can't see any correlation between the metal the nib is made of and its smoothness, at least on my pens.

 

I've wondered about this, too. The writing surface is the hard tipping material, not the material of the rest of the nib. Assuming the former is the same, as well as the quality of manufacture, the latter shouldn't matter. Granted, some metals are softer and/or springier than others, which can give a different feel, but I would think that a softer nib would compromise smoothness somewhat because any pressure at all would deform the tip more than would be the case with a relatively stiff nib.

 

No blind writing here, but the gold has a greater amount of more flex, I think that these diminishes the feedback, resulting in the perception of increased smoothness.

 

Do you mean like in an automobile suspension? How much pressure must one use in order to get this effect? Pardon my skepticism, I just wonder how it could make a perceptible difference.

Edited September 8, 2008 by Iridium

[ZeleniLav]

Mr. Binder's site has a lot of info on nibs in the reference section.

 

In my experience, it's the tipping material and the way it's been ground, as well as the alignment of the tines, have more to do with smoothness than the material the nib is made of. The broadness and wetness of the nib are also a factor, with broader and wetter nibs tending to be smoother. And then, of course, there's the ink... I have several steel and several gold nibbed pens, of different widths and by different manufacturers, and the only conclusion I've been able to reach is that there are no rules (regarding the nib material, that is). My smoothest nibs are steel. The toothiest ones as well.

 

In the specific case of Lamy... My Lamy steel nib is smoother than my Lamy gold nib. I have only one of each, though, so I can't make any general conclusions, save to say that this reinforces the no-rules one.

[Mark Cummins]

Gold nib for safari can be had for $42 from lamyusa. It is so totally worth it.

 

http://www.lamyusa.com/acbrfi16.html

 

Many thanks for your suggestion. I hit the link, but didn't see the nibs. What did I miss?

[Sam Pajanna]

I have two Lamy 2000s: one M and one B, and a Lamy Studio with a B and frankly...I sometimes like the studio better. Its smoother. The 2000s have a pleasing feedback though, so its sort of apples and oranges, but apples don't cost $200 more than oranges so...

[jthole]

Youtuber “Doodlebud” did a blind test at a pen meeting in Canada. IIRC the preference for the gold versus steel nibbed pens (same models, just different nibs) was exactly 50/50.

[Astronymus]

I have a gold nib on one of my AL-Stars. Not sure about the "smoothness". But it's a bit more "springy" than the steel nibs. Which are excellent by themselves, I think. I have no problem writing with "a nail". I also think it depends on the writer if a gold nib really brings out its potential. For myself not so much, I presume. But I wanted an OM nib and those are only available in gold.

[FineFinerFinest]

On 9/8/2008 at 10:08 AM, Mark Cummins said:

I'm a new FP user (lefty with lousy handwriting trying to get better). I wanted to start with a decent pen and learn without spending too much. I have been very happy with Lamy Safaris. So, I have read that gold nibs write more smoothly than steel. Lamy has gold nibs for Safari, for about $100 (more than pocket change). Does anyone have experience with these nibs? Did you notice a difference? Thanks.

I strongly suggest you let go of the "gold versus steel" question and just try writing with pens. The tip is the business end of a fountain pen and has the most effect on how it writes. There are steel pens that will match many gold pens in writing quality. You'll likely get more bounce in a gold nib but there's no guarantee just because it's gold. Probability? Yes. Guarantee? No. I have a Lamy gold "fine" which is very nice. I also have another stainless steel "fine" which I have worked on a bit. It really shines. It has left me too in something of a quandary about nibs which is why I settled on the "How does it write?" question. Beware of generalisations. I love my Pelikan M805 but I am astonished by my stainless steel 'fine' Lamy Safari. Luck!

[Karmachanic]

@FineFinerFinest Mr Cummins, to whom you responded,  was last here Dec 2010.