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View Full Version : Are Wahl 2 14k nibs the same/similar?



katherine
December 2nd, 2015, 11:47 AM
Hi!

I'm super, super new to vintage pens and got a ring top Wahl with a nib that says "Wahl 2 14k" on it a couple weeks ago. I was browsing (just browsing... not buying... >___>) on eBay yesterday and saw some other pens with nibs advertised as Wahl #2s -- are these very similar? Also, what's the difference between Wahl and Wahl Eversharp?

Thanks! :D

Wahl
December 2nd, 2015, 01:58 PM
2 refers to nib size.

As to Wahl and WE, it´s a long story. I´ll make it short, the Wahl Corp was founded in 1905, it became Wahl Eversharp around 1927.

jbb
December 2nd, 2015, 04:32 PM
I have a few and they don't feel exactly the same. Wahl ringtops are one of my favorite pens.

katherine
December 2nd, 2015, 04:48 PM
I'm loving mine so far. I've been carrying it around in my pocket at work, but am worried I'm going to destroy it. It's a little wetter than ideal for an EDC pen, but that means I never see any railroading while flexing. I want mooooooore.

I'm asking because I was curious as to what I should look for if I came to terms with spending on another one -- should I look for a different nib, or are the results going to vary anyway? (Sounds like the latter)

Wahl
December 4th, 2015, 12:05 PM
On vintage pens, you never know, they´re all different. You have to try them.

Parker Duofold Seniors are usually hard as nails, but I had one which was very flexible.

welch
March 12th, 2016, 12:27 PM
My hunch is that US pen companies made fewer and fewer flexible nibs from 1940 to 1950. (Wahl) Eversharp introduced the ballpoint about 1945 / 6, the first legally-produced ballpoint...meaning that Eversharp had bought the US rights from Lazlo Biro. (a businessman named Reynolds released a pirated "biro" called the Reynolds Rocket). The market wanted stiffer nibs, and American school kids in the 1950's were taught a writing style that avoided fancy curls and other "calligraphic" touches that a flex nib could provide.

Eversharp produced a great fountain pen, the Skyline, in the 1940s. I've found great nibs, ranging from "manifold" (hard as a pencil) to softly springy. Eversharp nibs are magic...but Wahl Eversharp flex nibs seem to be rare...meaning nibs they made after about 1940.

penwash
March 12th, 2016, 10:35 PM
Wahl 2 nibs are actually not that small. At least the two I've come across.
I got one a few months ago that came in a small Wahl body.

So I kept it in the back burner and wait for a better body.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1575/25238589419_eddd224985_z.jpg

I finally found the grey marble Wahl Oxford and the nib plugged in like it was meant to be. I'm currently testing the pen for ink-flow and reliability as a daily writer.