# Nib question



## Haynie (Nov 2, 2011)

I know the gold nibs are the bestest ones to have.  Is there a discernible difference between the steel ones and the gold ones?

If there is what is it?  For a pen I am designing the gold nibs would look wrong.  The fifth nib down from Meisternibs would look perfect but I don't want to put crap on this pen.

http://meisternibs.com/steel-nibs/


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## Dan_F (Nov 2, 2011)

The only noticeable difference between modern gold and steel nibs, is that in some cases, the gold nib may have a little more spring to it than a steel nib, giving it sort of a cushiony feel when writing.  The difference may be much more pronounced in a vintage gold nib, some of which were designed to flex a good deal in order to produce line variation. 

Meister (made by Jowo in Germany) nibs are among the finest steel nibs out there, so I would have no qualms using one. Some of the nibs that come in kits are suspect, but most can be tuned to work well. For selling to savvy fountain pen users, a kit nib can be a real turn off, so to upgrade to a well known nib such as Jowo or Bock is a good move. And if your customer wants to shell out the extra $100 or so for a solid gold nib, then by all means oblige. :biggrin:

Dan


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