Tag: Nibs

Posted in Nibs, Stories

Osmiroid Interchangeable Nibs

Posted on by Danny Watts

Osmiroid produced regular writing nibs (Rola) and their well-known calligraphy nibs. The nibs associated with Osmiroid 65 and 75 models are interchangeable with vintage Esterbrook pens as well as the Esterbrook Renew-Point nibs. The later Osmiroid models are totally different as they have the nib integrated with the section. I will not be discussing these.

An impressive choice of options

The Rola-Tip refers only to the nib type — these nibs don’t have a hard tipping element (like “iridium”), but instead, have a tip formed by rolling over the material of the nib (ordinary steel) prior to plating on the gold. The lack of hard tipping means the tip can actually wear out within our life – provided it is used frequently. Rola nibs were available in the following styles: Fine Hard, Medium Hard, Medium Soft, and Broad. I assume soft provides flexibility and welp I only have a hard one.

Except for the nipple (extended butt) on the Osmiroids, the nib/feed assembly of the Osmiroids and Esterbrooks are the same. But, the Osmiroid Italic nibs are shorter than the Osmiroid Rola nibs. That may make a difference in whether or not the nib tip collides with the inside of the cap.

Yes, the Osmiroid nib (B3) is dirty, I’m a slacker and should be ashamed of not taking better care of my stuff.

Nib reciprocity

I have 4 Osmiroid nibs all are interchangeable; three are calligraphy and one is a Rola. I bought these because I wanted calligraphy nibs and as I have many vintage Esterbrook pens I could double up on the enjoyment.

Osmiroid nib in an Esterbrook J

The calligraphy nibs write very similar to the Pilot CM nib (it is a calligraphy nib). They do not have a normal tip writing surface which means the angle of the nib to the paper is very important. They do not write well on textured paper and will dig into smooth paper if the angle is wrong.

I do not own an Osmiroid 65 and 75, but I do have a nice selection of vintage Esterbrook Dollar and J series pens. Let’s show off my nibs. From left to right is Rola Medium Hard, Italic Fine Straight, B3 calligraphy, and Italic Broad Straight.

I inked up an Esterbrook J with Waterman’s Serenity Blue and got to work. Except for the Rola, the other three nibs provide some flex/variation to the letters. It is interesting to note, I simply replaced each nib without emptying the pen. One of the advantages of a screw-on nib I guess. As an added bonus, I managed to minimize inky fingers and did not spill any ink as I changed out nibs.

Having 32 Esterbrook nib options plus an additional 25 Osmiroid nib options it is nearly impossible making a decision. I only need one pen and can write with all 57 nibs in a single day – way more options than any simpleton like myself can manage. This is great!

Unique Special Purpose nibs I wish I had

Osmiroid made an interesting Left-Hand series of nibs available in Rola and Italics styles. I’m right-handed but have considered acquiring one of these unique nibs just to give them a go.

Left-hand Osmiroid Nibs

I came across two Sketch nibs, one with a reservoir on top and one without. Also in their repertoire is a Music and Copperplate special purpose nib.

Osmiroid Sketch Nibs

Pretty cool don’t you think? I think it is safe to say, vintage fountain pens exciting. Especially when compared to gel, felt-tip, and roller-ball pens. Even contemporary fountain pens are boring in comparison.

COPYRIGHT © 2021-2023 DANNY WATTS and CHRONICLES OF A FOUTAIN PEN.
Posted in Collection, Pens, Stories

Pen Organization in a Digital World

Posted on by Danny Watts

I bet you thought this was going to be a different topic. I keep track of my pens, nibs, and ink usage using software called Airtable. This is the first of three posts discussing how I use Airtable to manage my collection of pens, inks, etc. I don’t have a large collection of pens or inks but I enjoy the organization, plus it will be helpful with insurance claims if the house burns to the ground.

The most common use software is Fountain Pen Companion. So what is Airtable, welp it is an easy way to create your own organizational databases (for dummies, like me). I can create my own base, or copy preconfigured examples. Each base has tables that contain fields.

I know sounds geeky and complicated, but it’s really not and you can decide what fields (information) are essential. The hardest part is deciding what to include. The good news is that you can add a new field or change an existing one even after records (pen information) are added.

And did I mention it is FREE. It is well established I am a sucker for FREE. Granted FREE means only 1,200 records and 2GB of space. I’m pretty sure that if I have 1,200 pens plus ink I will be divorced and probably homeless.

Overview

*** Click any picture to display a better-quality enlargement.***

I have created 8 tables (Pens, Mfr, Nibs, Project, Vendors, Supplies, Inked Up, Inks) with Pens as the main table. Some of the fields on this main table are linked to the Mfr, Nibs, and Project tables.

Main Pen Detailed View

I have created a View to group the pens by the manufacturer. The first column is the key, which is the pen name or model. I added a picture of the pen because I sometimes forget what the pen looks like (duh). I added a field linked to the Mfr table, description, and other information. I purchase vintage pens primarily, thus I added a Rating field, which is the topic that started me down this rabbit hole. I can delete or change any column at any time except the Key column.

Manufacturers

The Mfr table is very basic, as pens are assigned they appear automagically in the Pen column. I can click the pen and the complete record of that pen is displayed. I can also change that record if desired.

Nibs

The Nibs table is primarily home to Esterbrook nibs since I have so many. I also include a damaged column as many of the vintage pens arrive with a nib that is in need of TLC.

The columns of every table are assigned a basis or field type. Airtable support provides examples explaining the options and functionality of most field types, including videos. In this example, I choose the option limiting the available options to a predefined list. The list is modifiable at any time.

I have saved the best for last. Airtable provides dozens of fully configured Bases to explore and copy as your own. And they are FREE! They do all the hard work, you delete the records, change descriptions of columns, table, lists, and you are done.

Predefined Base Template Categories

Next, I will discuss my interest in rating my pens (the actual reason we started down this rabbit hole).

Reference Material

COPYRIGHT © 2021-2023 DANNY WATTS and CHRONICLES OF A FOUTAIN PEN.

Posted in Pens, Stories

Dippity-Do-Da PEN?

Posted on by Danny Watts

In this post, I thought I’d introduce dip pens. They are most often associated with calligraphy, though correct, it is not the only application. I use dip pens primarily for drawing, rarely as my choice of writing instrument.

Dip pens are pens you dip in ink – they hold ink in the small yet deep grooves in their nib or there is an over-reservoir. As you write it is necessary to dip the nib every few words or sentences. So why would anyone still use these antiquated pens when we have pens that are so much more efficient? Welp, here are a few reasons:

  • It’s super easy and quick to change ink colors – dip the nib in water, wipe on a tissue, and be ready for the next color.
  • Some specialist nibs are only available for dip pens.
  • They can use inks that can’t be used in fountain pens, including pigment inks and ink with shellac added for shine.
  • Then there’s the nostalgia, some people just enjoy the experience.

They are often used in Calligraphy. Dip Pens have certain advantages over fountain pens – they can use waterproof and pigmented inks or even traditional iron gall ink which would corrode fountain pens.

Example of damage by ink done to a fountain pen nib. No, I cannot take responsibility for this damage.

Dip pens work best with thinner fountain pen inks because the thin grooves don’t allow the more viscous calligraphy ink to flow well. Plus thicker pen ink lies in the tip and dries, making it difficult to clean.

Types of Dip Pens

Most dip pens are a handle into which is inserted a nib, most are wooden, some are glass, and others metal. Then there are glass dipping pens – the entire pen is made of glass. They can be elegant and often art pieces unto themselves. Glass nibs are not new. I have several Spor glass nib pens made in Japan prior to the war. It is said, the first glass pens were created in the 17th century on Murano island in Venice, Italy.

Glass pens on display at the Nagasawa Bungu Center in Kobe’s Chuo Ward (Yoshiaki Arai)

Nibs

Nibs for dip pens are available as vintage or new, this market primarily services the needs of calligraphers. New nibs are readily available in craft stores, Amazon, and specialty pen/stationery stores.

Nibs for dip pens come in a variety of types, manuscripts, drawings, and calligraphy. My preference is for vintage Esterbrook Drawlet pens.

Vintage Esterbrook sales nib board

Using a Dip Pen

Writing with a dip pen is odd, their nibs are often extraordinary shapes and patterns. It can be intimidating. I write and so most of my drawings with round nibs as they look and feel like a fountain pen.

As I am a bit accident-prone, I made use of a plastic storage box and converted it to hold pens, nibs, and ink. For storage and security while in use. I like to use ink samples, let’s face it, they are an accidental spill waiting to happen.

Homemade Handy-Dandy Dip Pen, Nib, and Ink “box”

I drilled holes into the lid large enough to hold an ink vial secure and using leftover pen sleeves, I was able to layer pens and nibs. No thrill and No spill.

Reference Material

COPYRIGHT © 2021-2023 DANNY WATTS and CHRONICLES OF A FOUTAIN PEN.
Posted in Nibs, Stories

Pen Nibs, More than Just A Type, its Geometry

Posted on by Danny Watts

If you have ever used a fountain pen, you know they write in a variety of fashions. Some have firm nibs, they write clean crisp lines while others have flexible nibs, their lines vary in width as the letter is laid down. This is normally attributed to the nib material (gold, steel, titanium, or some alloy), and the width of the tip (fine, medium, broad, etc). However, there are additional factors, time to grab a pen and your high school geometry books.

The nib’s essential functions:

  • Transport of ink
  • Regulate ink flow
  • Start and stop ink flow
  • Vary the line width/style based on the writing

The four essential functions are to control by these actions:

  • Placing the tip of the nib on paper and lifting it
  • Moving the nib across the paper at a varying speed
  • Spreading the tines with varying writing pressure

The line-of-bending is at the back of the nib where the nib extends past the section, which means the tines would never separate when equal pressure is applied (the nib would bend at the section). To address these two things happen, 1) a slit is added to the nib (the breather hole merely allows air displacement and prevents the slit from well … continuing), 2) the nib is arched/bent along the line of the slit. As pressure from writing is applied, the slit widens.

Many contemporary nibs (Namiki or Lam for example) has an arched body around the feed which transitions to flat tines, so how do these nibs work?

As the nib angles inward to form the tines, the line-of-bending moves forward from the junction with the section to the breather hole where the slit ends (X-Y to b1). The bending line b2 will follow the shortest cross-section from the termination of the slit (at the air hole) to the outer edge of the tine.

The red lines illustrate where the bend line is achieved when pressure is applied to the nib. The bend lines b2 enclose an angle with the line of bending b1. As the angle between b1 and b2 increases, together with the flatness of the tines, the nib becomes more responsive to writing pressure and variations. Sounds like a flex-nib to me.

The degree of tine separation depends on several parameters:

  • The angle of the longitudinal bend (along the axis) of the nib
  • The angle between the lines of bending
  • The length of the slit within the area where the tines are able to bend
  • The profile of the tines (thickness and curvature)

A standard nib deflects under normal writing pressure for only a few tenths of a millimeter. In material physics, deflects is a “deformation within the range of elasticity.” After the pressure is taken off the nib, it will return to its original shape, unless too much pressure is applied resulting in the extension of the tines beyond the normal range of elasticity, resulting in a permanent distortion. The nib will not return to its original shape and in layman’s terms is “jacked up,” and rendered useless.

Reference Material

For an amazing dissertation on fountain pen engineering, I recommend the following links, without which this post would not be possible.

Posted in Nibs, Stories

Nibs, Then and Now

Posted on by Danny Watts

Nibs, the business end of every fountain pen. Contemporary nibs and vintage nibs are cousins, as opposed to siblings. The terminology used by one group doesn’t always accurately transfer to the other. Generally speaking, quality vintage nibs are held in high esteem compared to their cousins and there is a trend to add vintage nibs to contemporary pens to enjoy the characteristics and nostalgia of the vintage nibs, not found in contemporary nibs.

Pen markings

Contemporary nibs often have elaborate and intricate scrollwork stamped or etched into the nib making that nib a piece of art unto itself. Not functionally necessary but it does provide an “ooh-ahh” moment for the owner.

Photo credit: Nibs.com

These nibs have a writing quality letter stamped on them. Round nibs typically fall into one of four tip sizes: Extra Fine (EF), Fine (F), Medium (M), and Broad (B). Italics or oblique nibs are not round, they have an angled straight writing surface and are often associated with the same quality designation or in mm based on the width of the point.

Vintage nibs usually (Esterbrook being the exception), are imprinted with a single-digit number. This is the case from the 1880s up to WWII. These numbers have nothing to do with the writing quality of the nib, nor the size of the tip (fine, medium, broad, etc.), or the flexibility of the nib. The numbers indicate the size of the nib – not the size of the point.

It gets better, assuming the nib has a number, these numbers are inconsistent from manufacture to manufacture. A #4 on one nib may equate to a #2 on another nib. Warranted nibs are notoriously inconsistent since they were produced by many different manufacturers.

Material

Early inks tended to corroded steel nibs, then with the introduction of fountain pens gold nibs were adopted as the standard in lieu of steel nibs because gold doesn’t corrode. Vintage gold nibs could be easily manufactured in various degrees of hardness and flexibility.

Gold and most steel nibs are tipped with an alloy, normally using metals from the platinum group to act as a hard, wear-resistant, writing surface. Vintage nibs were initially tipped with iridium; however, Tipping alloys have not contained iridium since the mid-1950s – due to its rarity and high cost. Osmium, rhenium, ruthenium, and tungsten are most common in the alloys of today used to tip a nib.

The color of a nib does not indicate whether it is made of gold or steel. Nibs are available in steel, gold, and black colors. Some gold nibs are plated with a silvery metal like rhodium while some steel nibs are gold plated as a cheaper means to prevent corrosion from contact with ink. Real gold nibs will have an imprint specifying their gold content, usually 14K or 18K.

Performance

The primary difference between contemporary steel and gold nibs is the ability to flex. Flexibility occurs while writing, when pressure is applied causing the nib tines to spread, applying more ink to the paper.

The springiness of a gold nib will come down to its shape and how it was alloyed, more than the amount of gold it contains. Because a gold nib will naturally flex, the nib will have a little more “give” providing minor line variation – flexibility.

The smoothness and feedback associated with a contemporary steel or gold nib are the same because both nibs use the same tipping material. The difference and cost are based on the material behind the tips.

Bottom Line

In the world of contemporary nibs, gold, and steel nibs are readily available. Stainless steel nibs have retained the stigma associated with vintage steel nibs – being inferior and cheap. Those nibs manufactured in Asia (excluding Japan) are often of lesser quality than those manufactured in Germany. Assuming as consumers we purchase quality nibs, the difference between a steel nib and an identical gold nib is a couple hundred dollars due to the price of gold, and as a consumer, if the need or want of a flex nib is not needed then a steel nib is a much more attractive alternative.