# Nib Question



## dow (Aug 18, 2009)

Having read lots of folks saying things like, "You've got to replace the nib with one from Lou," or, "If you haven't used one of Lou's nibs, you haven't written," etc., could someone explain to me what the difference is between, say the nib on this pen and one of Lou's?  I know that the ones he uses are made in Europe vs. Asia, and I'm sure that the materials and quality control are likely to be better, but to a pen user, what is the difference?

And some follow-up questions:

On the SF nibs, what determines whether you use the small or large nibs?

How do you go about changing out the nibs?

How easy is to mess up a $10 nib?

What have I NOT asked that I should? :biggrin:

Thanks a million!


----------



## Texatdurango (Aug 18, 2009)

dow said:


> Having read lots of folks saying things like, "You've got to replace the nib with one from Lou," or, "If you haven't used one of Lou's nibs, you haven't written," etc., could someone explain to me what the difference is between, say the nib on this pen and one of Lou's? I know that the ones he uses are made in Europe vs. Asia, and I'm sure that the materials and quality control are likely to be better, but to a pen user, what is the difference?
> 
> And some follow-up questions:
> 
> ...


Well, as one who has used Lou's nibs now and then for over a year and have included them with several pens I sold I have a slightly different take on the issue.

To begin, this morning as usual, I have 11 pens sitting in a pen holder on my desk, 8 of which are fountain pens and of those two have semi-flex nibs (one large and one small) and my personal "daily writer" has his large 18k nib inserted.  I am not a writer, nor am I one who writes all day for a living but what writing I do is done 95% of the time with a fountain pen because I like writing with them and changing ink colors now and then.

With all that said, I personally can't tell any difference between a kit nib and a semi-flex nib or the gold nibs I have purchased.  I see where many people recommend just throwing a perfectly good kit nib in the trash and I have never understood that.  I have even posted in the past, offering to pay the postage for those folks to mail me their worthless nibs but oddly, I've never received any takers!

The value I see in Lou's nibs is not in the writing quality but in the appearance of the nib itself!  I like the simple, clean logo which further enhances the "custom" look of my pens.  To me, this added inherant value is worth replacing the nibs out.

Don't everyone start throwing rocks at once, no harm intended, just one persons opinion!

As far as how to change nibs and determine what the proper size is, both Anthony and Lou have articles in the IAP library which would make interesting reading.  Just scroll down the index reading any article involving fountain pens or nibs.


----------



## ngeb528 (Aug 18, 2009)

I find Lou's nibs write a lot smoother than the ones that come with the kit. Those seem to feel scratchier than Lou's.

As to the size - the small goes in kits like the Jr. series, while the large ones work in the larger kits.

Changing the nibs is very easy. I started out by reading the article on Lou's website: http://www.heritagepens.com/articles.php It was very helpful, since I had no experience with fountain pens.

My biggest piece of advice is for you to PM Lou. He's very helpful and more than willing to answer the questions you don't know you need to ask. I know because he did that with me.

His first piece of advice was to make one for myself and get a feel for it. I took his advice and love using mine.

:: George - I'll email you when I have a nice collection of stock nibs.


----------



## JC_UAH (Aug 21, 2009)

I am a fountain pen nut and a pen turner.  I agree with Texatdurango, Lou's nibs provide a more "professional" appearance to my turned pens.  Also, I think the reliability of Lou's nibs are far superior.  I have installed around 9 of Lou's steel and 3 18K nibs in pens and they all write with very similar characteristics and smoothness.  The keys to me are 

1.  Consistancy in performance
2.  Exceptional looks added to your finished pen
3.  Economical cost (steel nibs) that makes it a no-brainer

I have sent the 18K junior statesman nibs to "pendemonium" to have them custom ground as well (a cursive italic and an XF).  They are all-around great nibs.

With that said, I regularly write with custom nibs (XXF with Flex added, cursive italic, ) from Binder, Mottishow, and Minuskin (3 great nib meisters in the US), so I am an extreme case.

With all that said, they true test of a pen is its writing satisfaction in the hands of the writer.  That to me is the uniqueness of fountain pens.  How many people do you see pick up five identical ballpoints and test them before they purchase?

Jeff


----------



## ashaw (Aug 21, 2009)

I have put a little over 20 18k gold nibs on my pens.  Also about 50 steel nibs.   Both Anthony and Lou supply a great nib.  As far as the nibs supplied with the kits.  You may have to do a little work on them to get them to write smooth all of the time.  The biggest draw back though is in perception.  The Fountain pen community  will not touch a pen that has IPG on it.  There is a lot negative reporting toward it,  some justified some not.  I would replace all of the nibs that come with the pens with Lou's steel nibs.  Then with upgrade to either 14k gold Anthony or 18k gold Lou.


----------



## Texatdurango (Aug 22, 2009)

ashaw said:


> I have put a little over 20 18k gold nibs on my pens. Also about 50 steel nibs. Both Anthony and Lou supply a great nib. As far as the nibs supplied with the kits. You may have to do a little work on them to get them to write smooth all of the time. The biggest draw back though is in perception. The Fountain pen community will not touch a pen that has IPG on it. There is a lot negative reporting toward it, some justified some not. I would replace all of the nibs that come with the pens with Lou's steel nibs. Then with upgrade to either 14k gold Anthony or 18k gold Lou.


Good points but I have read many posts where a member was wanting to make their FIRST fountain pen for a friend or relative and doubt it was destined for the "fountain pen community".  I still contend that if one is making a pen for their pastor, daughters boyfriend or co-worker, etc. that a kit nib is just fine and doesn't necessitate trashing a perfectly good nib.
 
As far as the fountain pen community goes, from what I can ascertain, being a no name KIT pen doesn't help either, regardless of what nib is attached.  It's akin to taking a Ford 427 Cobra kit car to an auto auction and expecting to compete with the real deals!


----------



## dow (Aug 28, 2009)

Thanks for all of the great advice and information on this.  I guess that I'll keep on making the kit ones, and once I get a little more confident in my turning and finishing skills, I'll take a close look at the after-market nibs.

Thanks again, everyone!


----------

