FPGeeks Give Away #8

[dannzeman]

http://www.fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/MG_0139-600x88.jpg (http://www.fpgeeks.com/2010/05/welcome-give-away-8/_mg_0139/)
http://www.fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/MG_0137-600x161.jpg (http://www.fpgeeks.com/2010/05/welcome-give-away-8/_mg_0137/)
To continue with the tradition of our weekly give away (how long can we keep this up?) we are going to give away a Dove Gray Parker 51 Demi with a fine nib. This pen has been restored by yours truly so you know it’s good to go. The diaphragm has been replaced, it’s been thoroughly cleaned inside and out and polished to mirror-like shine. All you have to do win this pen is tell us what nib size and material you prefer. Since we were a little tardy in getting this one up we’ll extend the deadline for entry (and stick by it this time). You’ll have until Monday, May 10th at 11:59PM CST.

[twigee89]

I have just recently added a medium nib to my collection of all fine nibs, and while i find it quite pleasurable, i am not sure i like it. However, i do say that it has grown on me. Most of my fine nibs are of a lower quality and I cant wait to try a nicer one. as far as materials go, i have used nothing but steel so far

[mwengerd]

I dig a fine iridium nib with ample flex. That or an xxb (straight or oblique).

[TWRDO]

I don't know that I have a favorite nib size, but I find myself going to finer nibs most often. I don't usually have a preference between gold or steel nibs either, other than for appearance (e.g. if the pen's furniture is gold, the nib had better be gold, or at least gold-plated). I will, however, say my two favorite nibs happen to be steel, with a gold shorthand nib following very close behind.

[ldb2000]

I like the smoothness of the mediums but prefer a finer line . Luckily my Parker 50 has a medium nib that writes a little on the fine side of medium . Since the 50 is steel I guess that means that's what I like .

[Koyote]

Hmmm. I have some gold nibs -- 14kt, 18kt. And I have an Esterbrook with a couple of steel nibs. The writing qualities don't seem related to the nib material, as the Estie's Medium (9668) nib is terrific, as are the gold nibs. And as for favorite nib size, well, it depends on what I am writing! But if I have to choose, I will go with Medium, as it is a good all-rounder: fine enough for filling in forms, wide and wet enough (typically) for taking quick notes and such.

[phdezra]

Nice giveaway, again!

I'm fond of 18kt gold nibs, Fine to Medium nib as I find it can vary by manufacturer.

[dazygrl02]

I like fine nibs and cannot say that I have a favorite material yet.

[Ted H]

Broad CI, gold. Also like just plain mediums for most things, gold or steel.

[Bucolic Buffalo]

I like a stub or Italic. I write with anything. But really prefer the look that stub gives my handwriting. I think those are around .8 - 1.1mm, maybe as wide as 1.5mm. Perfer gold to steel. But when it's smooth, who notices the metal.

[penspouse]

A fine very smooth fine gold nib on a "51" Demi is my favorite nib.

[nrepose]

I love fine nibs but I am beginning to get more comfortable with medium nibs and italics. I don't really care what it is made out of as long as it writes well. Nr

[JohnCruzNg]

I enjoy the <F> on Pilot pens and the <XF> on the other side of the nib. The nib probably writes .4mm wide and .3mm-.2mm on the reverse and I love it. I prefer gold or rhodium nibs over any alloy or steel nib.

[bardolator]

So far, I only have medium nibs, but I'm on the lookout for a fine.

I prefer the slight springiness of gold (though my Lamy Al-Star is currently my daily writer; I don't worry about dropping it in my purse when I'm in a hurry (maybe you could give away a pen case next (or suggest one?)?)).

[Thrage1]

My first pen was steel nib said m but write like a fine, kind of a fine medium. It still is one of my favorite. The namiki vp I like in a fine and it is 18 kt gold and this is my second favorite. Recently I have started dabbiling with flex pens and most of them are 14 kt so I got to say that my favorite pen nib is 14 kt gold super flex xf

[major_works]

Lately I'm leaning toward finer lines, like a true fine or even thinner. Having said that, I have only one pen that's a real medium, a Varuna Rajan ED pen with a JoWo steel nib. That one is very smooth. My favorite of late is a new Lamy 2000 EF, which as everyone knows writes broader than most other EFs but I'm really enjoying it nonetheless.

[brubj7a0]

Definitely a fan of fine points and I really like Japanese fine points. My Vanishing Point fine is the smoothest nib I've used. I know it is a gold nib and I think it's a 14k but I'm not too sure.

[GreenVelvet]

Nib size... if only it were standardized! One manufacturer's F is another's XF...

My favorite is an Esterbrook 9048. That's at the moment. I tend to F or XF. As for material, it really depends - like some gold, some steel.

AWESOME giveaway!!!

[dwong]

My preference tends to fluctuate depending on the task, but I am partial to finer nibs. I enjoy using Japanese Fine/ Fine-Medium nibs. The material does not really matter much as long as it writes well, but my favorite nib is made with 14kt gold.

[donwinn]

My preferred nib size is Fine, or Extra Fine. I lean toward the Asian Fine. My preferred material is ebonite, as I really like the way it feels in my hand. That being said, my current favorite carry pens are a 1946 Vacumatic, and a 1930's Dufold Junior. The nibs on both are F heading to EF, but neither is ebonite.

Donnie

[gillyohan]

My favorite is a western medium with a backside that writes a Japanese extra fine. Steel (unplated) is my preference, though gold is fine as long as it is hard. I don't really care for soft nibs, because I start to put down more pressure when I write fast.

[bdpatton2]

You know I actually used to like broad nibs because the wrote so smooth and mostly wet, but the more i write and write the more i like a fine to medium size nib that writes still a little more wet. I have found the small, finer, less sloppy like nib is where my LOVE is right now. and GOLD NIBS are the only way to go!!!

[bdpatton2]

My favorite is a western medium with a backside that writes a Japanese extra fine. Steel (unplated) is my preference, though gold is fine as long as it is hard. I don't really care for soft nibs, because I start to put down more pressure when I write fast.

Can you give me an example of what a nib like this would write like and maybe a pic of the pen with such nib. You make it sound AWESOME!

[inkcoffee]

My favorite nib size is a Japanese EF, Sailor's. I like my nibs to be 14K gold. My everyday pen however is a Japanese steel M nibbed pen.

[SMK]

I like Fine (as in a true fine from Sailor) for general writing e.g. notes, journal etc. I prefer a wet Medium for writing letters and doodling sometimes. I like writing with stubs from time to time but only for taking notes and making lists from time to time.

I don't care much about material. As it turns out the pen I have used most in the last month is a cheap Dollar Demonstrator (that you can actually get for about a Dollar here in Dubai!!). I do like pens with some weight to them and love using my Sterling Silver Marlen but only for short notes and/or journal entries. I recently played a bit with a Silver Sailor 1911 with a Medium nib that I liked - so I guess 'metal' of some sort would be my favorite material.

[esterbex]

Nib size-preference depends on the task at hand. I like Medium/Broad if I want to see an ink's shading qualities. For menial work-related writing, a Fine or Medium work equally well for me.
Material-wise....I find pleasure in steel and gold equally as long as it's smooth. My Esterbrook steel nibs are just as buttery as my Bexley and Parker gold nibs. Good to have nib-meisters to correct imperfections or make transformations.

Liking that Demi....I have a blue diamond vac in that color...mmmm

[RobbW]

Being very new to FPs, I have one pen (but two more are on the way!), it's a Parker 51. I like a fine line, so that's the size nib I got. I don't yet have a metal preference for the nib.

[pmorin]

My favourite nib size at the moment is XF, and I tend to use vintage pens as I find the nibs finer - but recently I am starting to lean toward Japanese nibs and have started with an unidentified 60's Pilot, and a '79 Long MYU (which I can't seem to put down). When I want some variation I have a couple of XF Pendleton Point nibs/pens.

My favourite writing nib though is the Titanium nib on my Omas Emotica - the fine is a bit broader than I prefer, but it's such a great nib to write with. Otherwise I don't find a huge difference between most steel and gold nibs, unless they're semi-flex. The new Visconti nibs are interesting... but I find they are fairly broad to size, and very wet writers - so no HS until I can swap nibs with an older style (well, I also need to win the lottery as well, but....)

[SProctor]

I guess that it depends on what I am trying to do also. If it is something business-like I usually use a conservative fine or an extra-fine nib. If I am trying to be creative or really focus on my handwriting, I often use a nib that is either flexible or cursive italic.

In my opinion: Concerning nib material, at least for me, I have practically no preference... though I have yet to find a really good flexible nib that is super smooth and made from steel. Otherwise, I have a few 21kt & 18kt nibs and several 14kt ones that are about the same in smoothness and writing characteristics as some that I have that are made of steel. I guess it really depends on the nib, the attention to detail, and quality control that their maker builds into them... if that makes any sense. There are high quality steel nibs that do well and low quality 21kt gold ones that don't... of course there are many the other way around too. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).

[Bourgeoisie]

I prefer fine nibs made of steel. I prefer steel because A) they are cheaper and B) they are easier to work with. I have had more problems trying to smooth my 14k L2K nib than any other steel nib.

[Wile E Coyote]

M stub gold

[pwyll]

I prefer fine nibs as I have to do a lot of writing in very small spaces--and my handwriting tends to shorten and elongate when I write quickly so mediums (or larger) tend to turn into illegible wavy lines. So far I have liked 12/14k nibs better than 18k or steel--but my recent foray into Esterbrooks has suggested it has more to do with the design and quality of manufacture than the material itself.

That being said, my absolute favorite nib at the moment is a Pilot VP medium that I ground down to a CI/stub--buttery smooth in any direction but with a very distinct delineation between thick and thin line. It has made me wonder if a stub/italic would be my preference as it is my first non-monoline nib.


Scott

[LAVA]

I prefer a fine/medium nib.....I find the fines to be too thin, and sometimes the mediums are too wet....both my current p51 demis are said to be fine/mediums and are absolutely perfect in my opinion. For the bodies I prefer lucite, plastic, celluloid.......call it what you will. its refreshing to hold a metal body every so often, but for an everyday pen I prefer a heaftier lucite/celluloid/plastic.

[Kooky Chick]

I've started to broaden my horizons a bit with italic and flex nibs, but my preferred good ol' standby is a custom-ground XXF gold nib, tipped with iridium. I love the near-hairlines it produces, yet I can still write quickly with it! XXF nibs are great for making notes in the margins of articles or books (with the right fast-drying ink, of course! ;)).

[ekc113]

I like an enthusiastic fine (in a Pelikan, for example), and I've had better luck with 14k nibs than anything else.

[BamaPen]

I originally thought that I preferred a Medium width nib, but find myself favoring a Fine more often now for regular writing. If I had really developed my handwriting skills, I might be more interested in flex, and width, or even an Italic nib. I have a couple of pens with old 14K flex nibs in a fairly Fine width, and I like those very much. I find modern steel nibs, especially those from the Orient, to be a bit too stiff for me.

John

[AkshayKatira]

I have used fountain pens for over a decade but I recently started collecting them. I own a Pilot M90 <M> and I absolutely love it and it's my favourite writer. I also own a Waterman Graduate <F>, which comes close second and a Parker Esprit <M>, which is a close third. I do not own any gold nibbed pens so I can't say much about them. So, my preferred nib size is Japanese MF or M and preferred material Steel.

[dgturner]

For most uses I prefer F/EF, but I do have a broad cursive italic/stub nib that I absolutely love. For the nib material, I love my vintage pens with flexible gold nibs, but for my modern pens the best writers are all steel.

[Tortoise]

I tend to prefer Fine or Extra Fine nibs for notetaking, margin notes, making lists and such. I prefer wider nibs, stubs or italics, for journaling, planning, & letter writing. I like steel and gold nibs equally -- it just depends on the feel of the individual nib itself. My favorite nib right now is the Fine Palladium nib on my Visconti Wall Street LE.

[OrchidUnicorn]

Wow! So many fans of fine nibs. I feel like I must be missing something. I am so middle of the road I tend to like medium nibs. That said I have been experimenting on both "wild sides" with some fine nibs and some broad, stub and even an italic nib! Now I think I like which ever nib best suits the task or my mood at the time, but I still tend to be a medium sort of gal! As for material, I have had good and bad luck with just about every material a nib can be made out of, but the majority of the good have come from my gold nibs.

Lashelle

[Maruk]

Between the Asian Fine/Medium (Friends' Preppy and Varsity) and the Western Medium/Broad (Friends Lamy, Esterbrook) I have to say that it varies depending on what I do.

The Asian Fine/Medium are great for notetaking and daily work, Western Med/Broad seem best-suited for more sedate works, such as cursive, business writing and the general handwritten projects. I have not yet been able to try variants such as oblique, italic, or stub so I have yet to be changed by them. I also have not been able to try various nib materials or flex factors, so I cannot comment on that just yet.

Overall, what little I have used has only given me a general preference, and mostly a restricted one at that. I do hope to remedy this over time.

[Sircram]

I do usually prefer finer nibs... Steel would be preferable. Thank you very much for the giveaway! I am a new pen collector and would love to have the famed 51!

[Palimpsest]

My dad used to give me pens as presents when I was a teenager in the 70s. I did not appreciate them enough and eventually lost them. I was trying to recall what they were and realized recently they must have been Parker 51s! I would LOVE to own one now. It holds a special memory to me. It has to be a fine steel nib.

[mjh]

I have limited experience to form an opinion as far as performance. I do like the look of a gold nib, particularly one that is multi-tonal and has a nice engraving to it. I'm happiest right now with Lamy XF nibs, but I'd like to get my hands on some Japanese XF's to try out. I'd also like to try out titanium nibs.

-MJ

[bdpatton2]

IT'S PASS 12:30PM ON MAY 10TH WHO WON?!?!!? ;-D

[dannzeman]

IT'S PASS 12:30PM ON MAY 10TH WHO WON?!?!!? ;-D
I said 11:59pm, which is just before midnight. That means there's just over 8 hours left on the drawing. The winner will be announced tomorrow.

Sent from my Sprint HTC Hero using Tapatalk.

[Okami]

I'm cutting it close on this one. Right now my fav nib is the 18k 1mm stub on my Edison Huron


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[eriquito]

Maruk! (Post Number 41):


Between the Asian Fine/Medium (Friends' Preppy and Varsity) and the Western Medium/Broad (Friends Lamy, Esterbrook) I have to say that it varies depending on what I do.

Congratulations Maruk! I'll be in touch via email regarding a shipping address.

Woo-Hoo! Can't wait to see the next Give Away! =)

Eric
Son of Ragnar

[bdpatton2]

congrats Maruk!

[penspouse]

Congratulations!

[Okami]

Congrats, Maruk!!

[Maruk]

This just made my day. Thank you all for the congratulations.

I'll do my best to give it an honest review when it comes.

[bardolator]

Hey, congrats, Maruk! :)