Nibs, nibs!

Every now and again I am fascinated purely by nibs. When compared to a felt tip pen, a nib is a pretty high tech device to write with. Some of them may be faulty out of the box due to this but - and I guess there's no need to tell my readers about this - a well writing nib is just like nothing else.

Plus, as the nibs grew larger and larger over the past century, they have become canvas for artwork and designs.

Below's the gargantuan nib of a Danitrio Genkai. It's the same size as the Pelikan M1000's nibs but feels smaller sitting on the pen. The nibs are beautifully soft and wet. The pen itself is plain Urushi which makes the intricate platings and carvings on the nib shine even more. For pictures of a Genkai (though serei-nuri and not tame-nuri as the one below) as a whole look here: A large canvas: Danitrio Genkai

Danitrio Genkai: large pen, large nib

Another example how the nib design is part of the pen's overall look on the Montblanc Agatha Christie. Montblanc have brought this to perfection in their writer's editions, each having their own specially designed nib. This one is like writing with a snake - sounds weird, but the whole pen is really amazing work. I've blogged about another writer's edition with an equally unique nib here: Montblanc Jonathan Swift

Montblanc Agatha Christie

Do you have any favourite nib designs or shapes or is there any on this blog you'd like to see more of?