"Soft" Nibs

[syngent]

My Pilot and my Parker have a fairly soft nibs, my up strokes come out thinner then a lot of the rest of the writing, in no way is this flex, its just a little line variation that adds character to your writing and I tend to like

But I see the Nakaya, as well as Pilot have marked "Soft" nibs, as in soft fine (SF) vs. fine (F), and soft medium fine (SMF) vs. medium fine (MF)

Does anyone own or have played with one of these, the SMF Pilot ont the 912 really has my curiosity peaked (The 91 pen being a number 5 nib the 912 having a 10 nib) i'm curious to how much softer they are and what they look like when writing with ?


here are some examples of the Pilot and Parker next to my Pelikan (I need a pen that doesn't begin with a P)

View attachment 347747

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Needs more flex

In all seriousness, I enjoy some spring but the nails have their place... Like in the wall, holding up pictures! Just kidding. My nails are nice too. I'm sure I'll get tired of using the soft nibs some day and go back to the nails. Someday. Maybe.

 

[Isaac]

I was told that soft nibs were a bit more spring/flex to them. I have a vintage waterman 54 that has a tremendous amount of flex that I NEVER use. I dont even know why I bought the darn thing. Flex nibs are great, but only to watch others use on YouTube

 

[syngent]

I don't want flex... but I do want a bit more spring then the pilot nib... probably not quite falcon though

 

[Eeyore]

A vintage Montblanc? Excellent German nibs, and a name without a P

 

[brianw]

That "51" was buffed up a bit before I sent to you. Slight grind because of the buffing

 

[Doc4]

Needs more flex

 

[Slivovitz]

I've got a Namiki Falcon with an unmodified SM nib. I mention unmodified because a nibmeister whose name escapes me for the moment is known to do custom grinds on these to increase the flexiness.

I've only filled and emptied this pen twice, and it's uninked at the moment, so I can't give a writing sample; please take this with a grain of salt. I do like the feel of it, very smooth, and definitely not a nail. Although it has some give to it, I wouldn't call it a flex nib either. I have at least six vintage nibs that make it easier to do deliberate line variation, although I'm no expert at that.

Based on my limited experience with it, I did put it at the tail of my top 10, when someone started that thread. I don't know if it would be quite what you're looking for, though.

 

[syngent]

Deliberate line variation isn't what im after, I just want some character into my full speed regular handwriting... the pilot and parker do an okay job at it, but I would like to take it a bit further, Was more looking to see if anyone had those "SMF" or "SF" nibs to see what the difference was to their regular counterparts since they are pretty soft to begin with,...

That being said I wonder if there is much of a difference between the FA #5, #10, and #15 sized nibs

 

[Eeyore]

Vintage Geha school pen ... serious!

(still relatively easy to find on the German Ebay site)

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

I have a semi-flex or soft nibbed Eversharp symphony that fits the bill. Definate line variation and can really flex when you want it to but you have to slow down if you flex too much. Using it like a regular pen produces some good lines. If it were inked I would post something... Alas I only have one pen inked at the moment. What have I become?!

 

[maxman]

My two softest nibs are on a MB 320 and a beautiful vintage MB 149. I searched long and hard for that 149 with the softer nib.
It was worth the effort.

 

[Eeyore]

My two softest nibs are on a MB 320 and a beautiful vintage MB 149. I searched long and hard for that 149 with the softer nib.
It was worth the effort.

I am sure it was! The vintage MB nibs are top quality anyway.

 

[rickcharles606]

James...I understand what you're looking for, because when I really want flex in a nib, I reach for my dip nibs. However, I cannot write with them, not a letter or anything that I just want to jot down. That's why I'm looking for a vintage pen with a flex nib, and it doesn't even need to be super flex, or wet noodle type flex. Just something that will allow me to ad some character to my writing. When I do everyday writing, I'm an over writer, but when using dip pens nibs, I transform to an under writer. I may just try to make the switch to under writer full time, so that I can get a bit more character in my normal writing.

My Pelikan M200 has more spring to the nib than any of my other fountain pen nibs, and I like writing with it because of the variations it gives.

 

[syngent]

The M200 will flex a bit but you have to be very deliberate about it to do so Rick... its very different then what I'm looking for...

Soft nibs only very slightly spread apart... but do so while writing at full speed.. they do not flex amd trying to get them to do so will more then likely damage the nib

 

[Eeyore]

Again, I think you are looking for a 1950's German nib. The inexpensive Geha school pens are great examples of those. Montblanc pens from that same period also have wonderful soft nibs.

 

[nemo]

Sounds like you're describing a semi-flex nib.

Again, I think you are looking for a 1950's German nib. The inexpensive Geha school pens are great examples of those. Montblanc pens from that same period also have wonderful soft nibs.

Yep, Pelikan 1950s to early '60s, too.

 

[Eeyore]

Yep, Pelikan 1950s to early '60s, too.

True ... I have a vintage Pelikan BB nib to commit a murder for lol

 

[Moondoggie]

My Pilot and my Parker have a fairly soft nibs, my up strokes come out thinner then a lot of the rest of the writing, in no way is this flex, its just a little line variation that adds character to your writing and I tend to like

But I see the Nakaya, as well as Pilot have marked "Soft" nibs, as in soft fine (SF) vs. fine (F), and soft medium fine (SMF) vs. medium fine (MF)

Does anyone own or have played with one of these, the SMF Pilot ont the 912 really has my curiosity peaked (The 91 pen being a number 5 nib the 912 having a 10 nib) i'm curious to how much softer they are and what they look like when writing with ?


here are some examples of the Pilot and Parker next to my Pelikan (I need a pen that doesn't begin with a P)

View attachment 347745View attachment 347750View attachment 347747

James, I am curious as to what you ended up with here. As I have begun researching my next pen(s) these two Pilot pens have caught my eye and have the same questions as in your original post. How similar are the 91 and the 912? Did you ever pick up one of the SFM nibs?

Sorry to dig up such an old one but it is amazingly relevant to the questions I have today. I am a long ways away from a flex pen but like the idea of at least getting a softer nib as my hand relaxes and develops.

Thanks, John

 

[syngent]

it was the pilot 912 i have a review on it, it can be a fussy pen though with the FA which is what I ended up with, still havent tried the SF version. depending on your budget the falcon may be a better option i know a few others but they dont come cheap, and the 91 is a smaller pen then the 912 and uses a number 5 nib instead of a number 10