Hooded Nibs

[Wuddus]

I prefer a fountain pen to look like a fountain pen, not like a fountain pen pretending to be a ballpoint, which is how hooded nibs appear to me but is there something I'm missing? Am I viewing then unfairly? Are there any significant benefits to a hooded nib that I am unaware of?

[gbryal]

They don't dry out as quickly as less of the feed and nib are exposed, so they are more likely to write every time you open them, and don't need to be recapped as quickly when taking notes.

[Blue Note]

Hard to get any line variation out of a fully hooded nib, but they do tend to be very consistent writers, and as gbryal says, they maintain a better degree of wetness than conventional open nibs. My only experience with hooded nibs is with my 5 Parker 51s and my Lamy 2000 all of which are excellent writers. I have a couple of Shaeffer Targas and a couple of Waterman Carenes, but they have inlaid nibs as opposed to hooded nibs.

[Wuddus]

They don't dry out as quickly as less of the feed and nib are exposed, so they are more likely to write every time you open them, and don't need to be recapped as quickly when taking notes.

Thanks for that. Uncapped time wasn't something that I had considered. So probably worth having at least one in the arsenal then?

[Wuddus]

Hard to get any line variation out of a fully hooded nib, but they do tend to be very consistent writers, and as gbryal says, they maintain a better degree of wetness than conventional open nibs. My only experience with hooded nibs is with my 5 Parker 51s and my Lamy 2000 all of which are excellent writers. I have a couple of Shaeffer Targas and a couple of Waterman Carenes, but they have inlaid nibs as opposed to hooded nibs.

Noob question ... how do you get line variation with non-hooded nibs? My pens seem to be quite consistent in line thickness (except for my italic nibs), and ink flow appears to just be about how quick I am writing.

[Pterodactylus]

There are no noob questions.
Beside using an italic nib there are flex nibs to get the desired variation.

Like this...


Quote 020 by Ptero Pterodactylus, auf Flickr

(FPR Himalaya - flex EMF ..... Pelikan 4001 Blue-Black)

Or this.....


Show_response_845 by Ptero Pterodactylus, auf Flickr

(Waterman BCHR 12 1/2 ..... Diamine Ancient Copper)
(Serwex MB flex EMF ..... ESS Registrars Blue-Black)

Or this....


Show_response_274 by Ptero Pterodactylus, auf Flickr

(Mabie Todd Swan 4660.....P.W. Akkerman Hofkwartier Groen)

[gbryal]

Noob question ... how do you get line variation with non-hooded nibs? My pens seem to be quite consistent in line thickness (except for my italic nibs), and ink flow appears to just be about how quick I am writing.

If your nib is not too rigid, you can write very lightly for upstrokes and press down for downstrokes. But that's like saying "buy low, sell high"; it's not the whole story. Most modern nibs aren't really meant to flex to the degree you might need to push to get any kind of pleasant effect, and pushing too hard can permanently destroy your nib. Still, some members here have proven you can get line variation of just about anything if you are determined.

I am not of the opinion that you need to go to flex writing school for 17 years and get a PhD and a permission slip before you try: it's fun and can look cool without being proper Spencerian. Just be careful and start out slow. Dip nibs are a less expensive way into flex writing than fountain pens. And when your nib flexes and doesn't go back the way it was, I am blameless.

[welch]

I prefer a fountain pen to look like a fountain pen, not like a fountain pen pretending to be a ballpoint, which is how hooded nibs appear to me but is there something I'm missing? Am I viewing then unfairly? Are there any significant benefits to a hooded nib that I am unaware of?

Try a restored Parker 51. It was released in 1941 drawing nearly all other pen makers to make hooded nibs. The P-51 did not look like a ballpoint, although ballpoints have come to somewhat like the P-51. The P-51 look is stream-lined, modernist.

Parker had reasons, functional reasons, for the 51 design. Others have mentioned reasons: the hood encloses an ink collector that wraps around the feed. The tubular nib wraps around the feed, and the feed draws in from a reservoir inside the barrel. The idea: a pen should write as soon as the nib touches paper.

Everything about the pen was designed to help an owner write, and nothing was wasted on decoration. No frilly scroll-work, no glitz.

Further: Parker designed the pen at a time when very few people wanted flexible nibs. The 51 nib cannot be flexed, but that fit the pen market.

[Pterodactylus]

True, most modern nibs are rigid (nails) and I would not try to squeeze out any line variation by squeezing it down until the nib begs for mercy.
You most likely will destroy your nib.

They are not made for this, they are made for ballpoint barbarians to withstand a lot of force.
Most people are not used to write with a light hand, they simple never learned it (and would not be able to write with a really flexible nib)

To get an impression and have something inexpensive to play arround with get some flexible dip nibs.
They are cheap and often more flexible than any FP could be.

[gbryal]

If you want to just play with hooded nibs, just get a 10 pack of Hero 616s on eBay for 50 cents or whatever they go for now. They are completely identical to the Parker 51 in every respect except size, shape, materials, weight, reliability, performance, and possibly the Hero 616 isn't really a pen.

[carlos.q]

If you want to just play with hooded nibs, just get a 10 pack of Hero 616s on eBay for 50 cents or whatever they go for now. They are completely identical to the Parker 51 in every respect except size, shape, materials, weight, reliability, performance, and possibly the Hero 616 isn't really a pen.

[Wuddus]

You can chalk me up as one of those ballpoint barbarians I had fountain pens a few decades ago, but for various reasons we parted company. I am not at the stage of considering buying vintage pens yet, and yes a Hero 616 is 100% the direction that I would be headed. Maybe I will "progress" from there, or just decide my future lies elsewhere. I'm still finding my way. I have long since forgotten what little I used to know about fountain pens, and am merely a trainee geek with a limited budget, and no ambitions to ditch my handwriting style of several decades and adopt Spencerian script.

[gbryal]

You can chalk me up as one of those ballpoint barbarians I had fountain pens a few decades ago, but for various reasons we parted company. I am not at the stage of considering buying vintage pens yet, and yes a Hero 616 is 100% the direction that I would be headed. Maybe I will "progress" from there, or just decide my future lies elsewhere. I'm still finding my way. I have long since forgotten what little I used to know about fountain pens, and am merely a trainee geek with a limited budget, and no ambitions to ditch my handwriting style of several decades and adopt Spencerian script.

On a more helpful note, if you get a 616, there are at least 2 and maybe 3 different models, and some seem to work better than others. I own 616, the 616 Jumbo and the 616 Doctor I think (they are badly labeled). I think the Jumbo writes more often than the bulk 616s, of which maybe half make a line once the ink from filling it has come off the nib. I also own an aerometric Parker 51, and owning a Hero 616 (or any of Hero or Wing Sung's hooded pens, some of which have not bad, or Indian eyedropper filled ones like Airmail) won't really tell you whether you like a Parker 51.

The Parker 51 is substantial, balanced, not plasticky, more solid, and at least mine ALWAYS writes when it still has ink left, and that isn't true of any of my other hooded pens except my Lamy 2000.

This opinion is coming from someone who doesn't believe spending more will reliably get you quality, especially above $150 or so. But in this case, the Parker is a better value, as the aerometric ones don't really cost that much to acquire for a user grade pen, and it always does what a pen is supposed to do. And the 616s aren't really a poor-man's Parker 51 that you can use to see if you'd like one. That I found is true of many look-alikes.

[Pterodactylus]

...I think the Jumbo writes more often than the bulk 616s, of which maybe half make a line once the ink from filling it has come off the nib....

Does not sound like a pen I ever want to buy or use.
Sounds like Chinese crap and a waste of money (not even started to mention the environmental effects of producing crap goods).

Buy e.g. a cheap Pelikan pen instead, works always, perfect finish, good nibs, good materials.
A no brainer to buy.

And as incredible progressive goody you get something called “Warranty”.
Something these Chinese online sellers selling crap goods never heard about.
It means, believe it or not, when something is wrong with your pen (unlikely but can happen) they will fix it with no additional costs for you.

[azkid]

[QUOTE=gbryal;236283]

I also own an aerometric Parker 51, and owning a Hero 616 (or any of Hero or Wing Sung's hooded pens, some of which have not bad, or Indian eyedropper filled ones like Airmail) won't really tell you whether you like a Parker 51.
...
This opinion is coming from someone who doesn't believe spending more will reliably get you quality, ... And the 616s aren't really a poor-man's Parker 51 that you can use to see if you'd like one. That I found is true of many look-alikes.

I could have written *exactly* the above myself.

I am actually quite let down and annoyed by the 616, even as little as it cost, in fit and finish, design, and performance. So, basically in every way.

I could have spent that money on another Jinhao (each of mine are way more pen for the money).

My 51 Aerometric cost $40, tweaked nib. But I got it going properly. The real deal doesn't cost *so* much that it is even remotely worth bothering with the cheap imitation... for me, at least.

[welch]

If you want to just play with hooded nibs, just get a 10 pack of Hero 616s on eBay for 50 cents or whatever they go for now. They are completely identical to the Parker 51 in every respect except size, shape, materials, weight, reliability, performance, and possibly the Hero 616 isn't really a pen.

Ha!!!!

[Wuddus]

Thanks for the feedback, folks. It sounds like the 616 would be a waste of money, and as I've had no real issues with cap off time so far, I'll turn my attentions elsewhere.

Cheers
Wuddus

[Sailor Kenshin]

...I think the Jumbo writes more often than the bulk 616s, of which maybe half make a line once the ink from filling it has come off the nib....

Does not sound like a pen I ever want to buy or use.
Sounds like Chinese crap and a waste of money (not even started to mention the environmental effects of producing crap goods).

Buy e.g. a cheap Pelikan pen instead, works always, perfect finish, good nibs, good materials.
A no brainer to buy.

And as incredible progressive goody you get something called “Warranty”.
Something these Chinese online sellers selling crap goods never heard about.
It means, believe it or not, when something is wrong with your pen (unlikely but can happen) they will fix it with no additional costs for you.

Every one of my dozen Hero 616s is a superb writer. I don't know why mine are such champs, but possibly because they were bought around 10 years ago.

I use them more often than my Parker 51.

[Medieval]

Do hooded nibs really work though? My L2000 doesn't stay wet very long. The nib suits the rest of the pen but I still like more showy nibs

[Deb]

Do hooded nibs really work though? My L2000 doesn't stay wet very long. The nib suits the rest of the pen but I still like more showy nibs

Yes, many hooded nib pens work very well, Parker 51s being a case in point. Even some of the Chinese ones can write well. Can't say I care for hooded nibs very much, though. They don't appeal to me aesthetically and they seem a little awkward in use - I'm always checking to see if the nib is the right way up. That's why Parker put a little arrow on the 61.