it varies but after a point it’s all cosmetics (or brand). Gold nibs cost a lot more than steel nibs, but IMO this is mostly a preference (gold nibs tend to feel “softer” or “bouncier” I guess but there are pretty flexible steel nibs out there). But the basic works are pretty much the same across all fountain pens. Sure some have different weirdo filling mechanisms or whatever but these don’t add a ton to the price and generally don’t have any effect on the writing experience.
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ah
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Lamy Safari is a perfectly cromulent starter, they’re pretty commonly available in B&M stores (I’ve even picked up a couple in airports!) BUT the one thing Lamy absolutely SUCKS at is consistency on their nib sizing. I have Fs that are basically a B and B that are like an F. Honestly I think they just have one big machine that cranks out random nibs and then just stamps random letters on them.
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- Pequod’s
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- Lou’s
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- Hamburglar in Carbonite pen
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fordite is some sort of … fossilized automotive paint? I think it’s just layers and layers of paint that like, dripped on the floor in the paint shop and hardened, then people scrape em off and make stuff? I’m not really sure exactly what it is but I’ve seen some people turning pens and making EDC-fetish shit like pocket knife scales from it.
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Very enjoyable time at the Chicago Pen Show, a bunch of very nice people are involved in the fountain pen game it turns out. I’m an introvert and managed to meet several people. If you’re looking for a hobby with interesting people in it, fountain pens may be for you.
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Sailor 1911L fountain pens with Ninja motif on them, $410 at Appleboom…
that’s pretty reasonable for a 1911L isn’t it? But I thought they usually had 18k nibs and the 14k was used on the S (slim/small?) model (I might be thinking of the Pro Gear though, I’m not super familiar with Sailor’s lineup).
I don’t pay that much attention to nibs, I’ve got a few gold ones but I can’t really tell the difference between them and other nibs I have that write well. $400 does seem reasonable for a new 1911L, particularly one with more work on it than just picking a color for the plastic.
in my head at least, the nibs are 14k on the 1911S and ProGear Slim, 18K on the “regular” Pro Gear and 1911L, and 21K on the KOP models. I honestly don’t think I can tell the difference between any of these either (though in the Sailor case, each of those models has a physically different size nib in addition to the material difference, imo the size is more likely to have a noticable effect (bigger nib = more springiness)) but I don’t think I’ve ever really tried the same pen with both a 14k and 18k nib in the same fineness etc.
I actually should try this, my pilot elite has an 18k nib, but the vast majority of these have a 14k nib and they’re all over ebay in really good condition under $50. I think there may be some with steel nibs but not sure.
I was looking for a 1911L for a long time because the 1911S I have has one of best writing nibs in my collection, just a steel fine I think, but the price always seemed too high or I started getting Leonardo’s instead. These are interesting but I have a trip coming up that is going to cost a bunch of money so I’ll resist… this time…
