Excellent coverage and very informative and thanks for sharing this. I personally have never had the pleasure of writing with a gold #8 nib. My only experience with #8 nibs has been with the steel #8s from Jinhao on their X159s and their 9019s and I've enjoyed writing with them immensely. I believe the pleasure I get from them is in part that they allow me to hold the pen further away from the paper and allow me to more easily see the tip of the nib on the paper as I am writing. As someone who has diminished vision this has been extremely helpful and makes writing for longer periods of time less stressful. I still write with smaller nibs and love those as well but when I do I can really perceive the difference in visual acuity. Thanks again for sharing this.
Interesting and fun. Thank you. And hey, glad you are still using that SBRE Brown stuff. I am too, always in a M600 Tortoise Red, Nibsmith f/m L Oblique. Great Ink! Thank You!
I seem to remember Leonardo changed from Bock to Jovo nibs because they tended to be wetter writers, although they were the smaller #6 nibs. I was impressed by your final writing sample which was very wet using what is customarily a drier (Pelikan Edelstein) ink - very impressive.
Interesting comparisons. I'd be also interested in seeing a comparison of Jowo, especially between those that the pen brands using them claim are hand tuned. Also good to see several inks used that seem to not get as much "love" anymore: Waterman Serenity Blue and Sheaffer Skrip Red. Both have been favorites of mine since the first time I used either. Waterman Serenity Blue IS a washable blue. Just not the same, frankly boring blue of virtually every other washable blue. (Think Pelikan 4001 konigsblau or Parker Quink washable blue. ) And Sheaffer Skrip Red is a truly red ink, not anything fancy, no real shading or anything else, but also not leaning towards pink or orange like virtually everything else claiming to be red. Just a bright red, virtually identical to BIC ballpoint red, but predating the BIC ink (only things that changed since the 1950s are no more "RC-35" and possibly actual dyes. Vintage can fade, but if it was kept in the box in the right environment, colors match with the most recent version. ) Sadly, the Sheaffer Skrip Red isn't currently being made. And I have yet to find a retailer with any still in stock. I've heard that the current owner of Sheaffer is planning on making it again, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 😉
Great and interesting review of #8 nibs. probably (and one never knows) will invest in a #8 gold nib and it's good to have some idea of the differences among the 4/5 nibs. At some time, it would also be interesting to have a comparison of steel, gold & titanium nibs.
It's always useful getting a bit of info, personal views here and there. Any further information and hindsights frpm other sources might be helpful someday.
Thanks for this look at nibs Dr. Brown. I only have a few Titanium nibs. One of them is a number 8 that came on a Leonardo MZG. Can you explain what might cause this nib to not write at all in this pen. I switched it into a Jinhao with a number 8 nib and it writes fine. The Leonardo also writes fine with the Jinhao nib. I switched the nibs back and once again the Titanium nib will not write. I'm confused. Any ideas?
I have found my Bock Titanium nibs to be very wet but a bit scratchy. I examined the tipping and they are in alignment. I have not smoothed the tips as I did not know if the tipping material is iridium or maybe titanium. I should attempt to smooth it. The other problem I have is that all my feeds are either Schmidt or Jowo. Putting a Bock nib on either is not a perfect fit, so the flow may be off.
Excellent coverage and very informative and thanks for sharing this. I personally have never had the pleasure of writing with a gold #8 nib. My only experience with #8 nibs has been with the steel #8s from Jinhao on their X159s and their 9019s and I've enjoyed writing with them immensely. I believe the pleasure I get from them is in part that they allow me to hold the pen further away from the paper and allow me to more easily see the tip of the nib on the paper as I am writing. As someone who has diminished vision this has been extremely helpful and makes writing for longer periods of time less stressful. I still write with smaller nibs and love those as well but when I do I can really perceive the difference in visual acuity. Thanks again for sharing this.
Interesting and fun. Thank you. And hey, glad you are still using that SBRE Brown stuff. I am too, always in a M600 Tortoise Red, Nibsmith f/m L Oblique. Great Ink! Thank You!
I seem to remember Leonardo changed from Bock to Jovo nibs because they tended to be wetter writers, although they were the smaller #6 nibs. I was impressed by your final writing sample which was very wet using what is customarily a drier (Pelikan Edelstein) ink - very impressive.
1. I never got the hang of my Bock Ti nib, it always felt out of control, so I got rid of it.
2. Good video, thanks.
I love bock 8 titanium nibs! i shaved the feed of my jinhao 9019 to fit it, amazing!
Interesting comparisons. I'd be also interested in seeing a comparison of Jowo, especially between those that the pen brands using them claim are hand tuned.
Also good to see several inks used that seem to not get as much "love" anymore: Waterman Serenity Blue and Sheaffer Skrip Red. Both have been favorites of mine since the first time I used either. Waterman Serenity Blue IS a washable blue. Just not the same, frankly boring blue of virtually every other washable blue. (Think Pelikan 4001 konigsblau or Parker Quink washable blue. ) And Sheaffer Skrip Red is a truly red ink, not anything fancy, no real shading or anything else, but also not leaning towards pink or orange like virtually everything else claiming to be red. Just a bright red, virtually identical to BIC ballpoint red, but predating the BIC ink (only things that changed since the 1950s are no more "RC-35" and possibly actual dyes. Vintage can fade, but if it was kept in the box in the right environment, colors match with the most recent version. )
Sadly, the Sheaffer Skrip Red isn't currently being made. And I have yet to find a retailer with any still in stock. I've heard that the current owner of Sheaffer is planning on making it again, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. 😉
"It's getting a bit weird!" 🤣
But in the best way, innit? 🤣
My first fountain pen was the Visconti opera elements fire because of you.
Great and interesting review of #8 nibs. probably (and one never knows) will invest in a #8 gold nib and it's good to have some idea of the differences among the 4/5 nibs. At some time, it would also be interesting to have a comparison of steel, gold & titanium nibs.
That is a dark cup of tea. good stuff
You were right. This is interesting and useful. Fun video. What kind of tea was that? Looks pretty strong!
The video i have been waiting for. Thank you Dr Brown.😊
It's always useful getting a bit of info, personal views here and there. Any further information and hindsights frpm other sources might be helpful someday.
Thanks for this look at nibs Dr. Brown. I only have a few Titanium nibs. One of them is a number 8 that came on a Leonardo MZG. Can you explain what might cause this nib to not write at all in this pen. I switched it into a Jinhao with a number 8 nib and it writes fine. The Leonardo also writes fine with the Jinhao nib. I switched the nibs back and once again the Titanium nib will not write. I'm confused. Any ideas?
I have found my Bock Titanium nibs to be very wet but a bit scratchy. I examined the tipping and they are in alignment. I have not smoothed the tips as I did not know if the tipping material is iridium or maybe titanium. I should attempt to smooth it. The other problem I have is that all my feeds are either Schmidt or Jowo. Putting a Bock nib on either is not a perfect fit, so the flow may be off.
Kreiger Cliff
Mr. Brown what happened to the other Mr. Brown? Drew Brown. Why was he separated from Goulet?
He was too awesome to be kept on.
I agree. The Goulet’s should give a better explanation. Perhaps they legally can’t. But their successful Pencast should be put to rest.
Davis Sandra Martin Karen Martinez Sarah
Fatima Key