# 18K two-tone nib?



## John Pratt (Jul 21, 2014)

Seemus and I are doing somewhat of a colaboration on a pen build (which is to say Seemus is doing 95% of the work). The pen blank contains solid silver and some gold. The finished pen will be a full size statesman and given everything that has gone into it, it needs a fountain pen nib to match. I think a two tone 18K nib may be the way to go, but I am open to suggestions. I looked into Meisternibs but I think it may be a little while before he can get one to me (I really need the finished pen before 6 Aug, and after that it will be going into my private collection). Anyone have any suggestions?

John


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## Brooks803 (Jul 21, 2014)

JoWo Nibs


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## D.Oliver (Jul 21, 2014)

Seamus is building a pen?  Is it April Fool's already?


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## plano_harry (Jul 21, 2014)

Seamus doesn't have time to build a pen!


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## John Pratt (Jul 22, 2014)

Are the Jowo 18K nibs that good that they justify $160? The 18K nibs at Meisternibs run $100 and I fail to see the difference. I don't mind spending money if it is warranted, but I don't especially enjoy throwing it away either.


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## mredburn (Jul 22, 2014)

Brian at Meisternibs sells Jowo nibs.


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## skiprat (Jul 22, 2014)

John Pratt said:


> Are the Jowo 18K nibs that good that they justify $160? The 18K nibs at Meisternibs run $100 and I fail to see the difference. I don't mind spending money if it is warranted, but I don't especially enjoy throwing it away either.



I heard they are so good that you can't even spell a word incorrectly..:wink:

I could never bring myself to spend that kind of money on a complete set of fancy pens and pencils, let alone one tiny little nib..


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 22, 2014)

John, if a 14K solid gold nib from Bock would do I have two and would be willing to let one go for $110.00, this is out of my personal stock not from Classic Nib.


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## Brooks803 (Jul 22, 2014)

They're the same nib.


Brian at meisternibs is out on vacation right now until the 28th. So its more of do you want to pay and receive now, or pay now and receive later in hopes you get it in time.


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## seamus7227 (Jul 23, 2014)

D.Oliver said:


> Seamus is building a pen?  Is it April Fool's already?



Hey, I can take the jokes, it's all good. I make not make many pens, but when I do, I prefer to make them perfecto! LOL


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## edstreet (Jul 23, 2014)

Riddle me this.  Why would you put a solid gold nib, something $160+ on a kit pen that uses a plastic housing that's $0.50 at best and one of the lowest quality materials you can pick for feeders?

The reason the solid gold 14k/18k nibs existed in the first place was for flexibility, something that the entire kit pen arena is seriously lacking in.


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## beck3906 (Jul 23, 2014)

Ed,
Do you make your own feeders?

And aren't custom made housings still about $0.50 worth of plastic?


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## edstreet (Jul 23, 2014)

edstreet said:


> Riddle me this.  Why would you put a solid gold nib, something $160+ on a kit pen that uses a plastic _*housing *_that's $0.50 at best and one of the lowest quality materials you can pick for feeders?
> 
> The reason the solid gold 14k/18k nibs existed in the first place was for flexibility, something that the entire kit pen arena is seriously lacking in.



Correction,  'housing' should read FEEDER.  Sorry.


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## John Pratt (Jul 23, 2014)

edstreet said:


> Riddle me this. Why would you put a solid gold nib, something $160+ on a kit pen that uses a plastic housing that's $0.50 at best and one of the lowest quality materials you can pick for feeders?
> 
> The reason the solid gold 14k/18k nibs existed in the first place was for flexibility, something that the entire kit pen arena is seriously lacking in.


 
Wow, I was just looking for a little advice and help on finding a nib for a pen we're working on. I didn't expect to get dumped on because my skill level isn't on par with people who have complete disdain for kit pens and the people who use them. We can't all be out there creating Montegrappa pens from scratch. I don't have a problem with most "kit" pens personally and the people I make pens for apparently dont have a problem with them either.

Edit: Sorry if that sounded like a rant. It just seems that when people make an effort to make something and seek specific advice or help, someone is never happy and it seems the jist is to put the person down who is asking. If that is not your intent, my apologies if you were offended.


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## seamus7227 (Jul 23, 2014)

I would love for those with experience in this field to please share some links to sites that might sell the nib and the feed together, much like Jonothan did, but that may fit the Statesman pen kit. If for nothing else, to give us "options" rather than .02 worth


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## kyaggie (Jul 23, 2014)

John Pratt said:


> I didn't expect to get dumped on



Realize that I have yet to see a single positive post from edstreet regardless if the pen is a kit pen, a kitless pen or a pen made by the hand of God so it's just easier to skip his posts and move on to posts that are constructive and helpful.

Just my opinion,
Mike


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## OKLAHOMAN (Jul 23, 2014)

Here is a link at the Fountain Pen Network talking about plastic feed vs ebonite and there seems to be a consensus that there is little to no difference:
Question. Comparison Of Mb Ebonite And Plastic Feeds. - The Montblanc Forum - The Fountain Pen Network
But Ed always has to muddy the waters.


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## Brooks803 (Jul 23, 2014)

seamus7227 said:


> I would love for those with experience in this field to please share some links to sites that might sell the nib and the feed together, much like Jonothan did, but that may fit the Statesman pen kit. If for nothing else, to give us "options" rather than .02 worth


 

The only other place I know of that you can get gold Jowo nibs is from Richard Binder: RichardsPens.com &bull; Pens That Write Right! (second yellow box from the top). I don't know if that's for the entire assembly, or only the nib though.

About the Statesman: I know you can easily swap out the nibs. I personally do not know if the feeds are interchangeable though. Jowo feeds have that half circle top and flat bottom shape much like the kit feeds, but diameter, length, etc. I couldn't tell you. I think I have a Statesman FP in the shop. If I do I'll do some trial runs (with and without ink) to see how well they work.


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## seamus7227 (Jul 23, 2014)

OKLAHOMAN said:


> Here is a link at the Fountain Pen Network talking about plastic feed vs ebonite and there seems to be a consensus that there is little to no difference:
> Question. Comparison Of Mb Ebonite And Plastic Feeds. - The Montblanc Forum - The Fountain Pen Network
> But Ed always has to muddy the waters.


 
great video on that link! thanks for sharing


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## John Pratt (Jul 23, 2014)

Brooks803 said:


> The only other place I know of that you can get gold Jowo nibs is from Richard Binder: RichardsPens.com &bull; Pens That Write Right! (second yellow box from the top). I don't know if that's for the entire assembly, or only the nib though.
> 
> About the Statesman: I know you can easily swap out the nibs. I personally do not know if the feeds are interchangeable though. Jowo feeds have that half circle top and flat bottom shape much like the kit feeds, but diameter, length, etc. I couldn't tell you. I think I have a Statesman FP in the shop. If I do I'll do some trial runs (with and without ink) to see how well they work.


 
Thank you for the information. I will check it out.


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## edstreet (Jul 23, 2014)

John Pratt said:


> Wow, I was just looking for a little advice and help on finding a nib for a pen we're working on. I didn't expect to get dumped on because my skill level isn't on par with people who have complete disdain for kit pens and the people who use them. We can't all be out there creating Montegrappa pens from scratch. I don't have a problem with most "kit" pens personally and the people I make pens for apparently dont have a problem with them either.
> 
> Edit: Sorry if that sounded like a rant. It just seems that when people make an effort to make something and seek specific advice or help, someone is never happy and it seems the jist is to put the person down who is asking. If that is not your intent, my apologies if you were offended.



Uhm what I said was not dumping on you at all.  Quite the reverse actually.  I have taken the liberty to divulge some information to Seamus (before this posting mind you) that I am unwilling to share here as of yet.

As for the skill comment, what I said has nothing to do with skill levels, cliche groups or the like.  What I said has to do with product availability, selection and value.  Each one seems to be in short supply and in many aspects appears to be diminishing.




kyaggie said:


> Realize that I have yet to see a single positive post from edstreet regardless if the pen is a kit pen, a kitless pen or a pen made by the hand of God so it's just easier to skip his posts and move on to posts that are constructive and helpful.
> 
> Just my opinion,
> Mike




Hmm, well then how about this one?


http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/steamkpunk-collection-expands-124650/#post1688108

Don't like to click and see?  Let me fix that.


> edstreet said:
> 
> 
> > Amazing work, a TRUE steampunk pen by all rights.



Posted at [Today, 07:44 AM]  now lets look see at the post I made on this thread ... [Today 08:08 AM].

See it?  Anyone with any moderate intelligence level, i.e. room temp IQ, should clearly see "a single positive post" is grossly unfounded.




OKLAHOMAN said:


> Here is a link at the Fountain Pen Network talking about plastic feed vs ebonite and there seems to be a consensus that there is little to no difference:
> Question. Comparison Of Mb Ebonite And Plastic Feeds. - The Montblanc Forum - The Fountain Pen Network
> But Ed always has to muddy the waters.



Oh boy, where to start.

1) I was crystal clear in what I said and never once did I mention ebonite.

2) That link was referencing Montblanc pens, not kit pens with a 0.003" - 0.005" ink channel.  I will even bet you money that if you took a Montblanc feed and did a side by side compare on a technical level you would find the Montblanc far superior in design and implementation.  Also, *GASP* both plastic.

3) In the FPN link it was all opinion based, nothing factual concrete or any type of assertive testing.  Would also be interesting to ask on that same forum which is better a $20 factory pen or any of the pen kits on the market today.  You likely know the answer already, that would be the factory $20 trumps out at the end of the day.

4) From your link can you show me *ONE* pen kit that exhibits this trait?



> The plastic feeds on 149s are much easier to remove for at-home surgery. They have excellent seal & flow. On quite a few occasions, I've watched residual ink actually flow uphill to the top of the nib slit when a first-generation plastic feed was re-set with its nib in the section. Saw this happen with several different 149s. Amazing! These pens had such a tight seal that the ink was actually drawn up into the feed & nib. The fact that a tiny amount of residual ink was drawn against gravity from the ink chamber, through the feed, and into the nib without any shaking attests to the quality of the plastic feeds. You can also hear a "phfft" of air expelled as the nib & feed are set into place.



Yet this is exactly what they are comparing in that thread.


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