What does a Nakaya nib feel like?

[VulcanVulcanVulcan]

I am thinking of ordering a Nakaya pen. I understand that the nibs are similar to the Platinum 3776 line. I have one of those (F) and I find it to be scratchy, with too much feedback. (I personally prefer a smoother fountain pen, like a Pilot.) Are Nakaya nibs similar, or are they smoother? And does the questionnaire that one fills out on the Nakaya page make a difference? Thank you very much.

[Jon Szanto]

I can't speak to the question of how Nakaya themselves will prepare the nib, as the pens I have were purchased through Classic Fountain Pens and adjusted by them. However, the nib is virtually the same nib as on the Plat 3776, and behaves in a similar manner. You definitely want to be clear in your description to them as to how very smooth you would like it. The 'feedback' nature really is a characteristic of those nibs, but they can be smooth, as well.

[Vespagirl]

I also prefer smooth nibs, like the Pilots, so I was interested in trying the Nakaya a friend had. It was an AMAZING nib, super bouncy with great line variation, on her’s at least, but it was too scratchy for my taste. She did have an EF (I believe), and she prefers more feedback than I do, so I know she did not specify the extreme smoothness I would have. That is all I can tell you.

I will say that, from what I have heard, Nibs.com will work with you to try to make you happy. If this is something you are interested in, I would get in contact with them. The one I tried was a nib I still think about. If it was smoother, I would have done anything to a hold of that pen.

I hope that helps.

[whichwatch]

I have had (and still have) dozens of Nakayas. As previous poster said, the nibs are similar to Platinum and tend to be on the stiff side with feedback. They can of course be modified to be softer (bouncier) and can be tuned to be smoother, either by Nakaya themselves or by Classic Pens/nibs.com, who is the sole US Distributor.

"Scratchiness" may vary with nib size and tuning. I had an Ultra Extra Fine (a size I virtually never use) and found it very scratchy, but people who regularly use that size told me it was absolutely perfect and pleasureable. On the other hand, I just got a BB Cursive Italic tuned to be quite wet, and find it smooth as glass.

THis may not seem helpful since there is not an easy answer, but the bottom line is that Nakayas are great and you can probably get any nib size you choose tuned to be smooth, though it is likely to still be fairly stiff.