Looking for knock-off of B nib for Lamy Safari

[alexwi]

Hi,

I'm looking for Chinese knock-offs of broad Safari nibs to practice a few grinds I have in mind.

So far I've only been able to find EF, F, and some M (and calligraphy, ball-less nibs, which are useless for what I have in mind) in aliexpress, but broad nibs seem quite elusive.

Ideas?

Thanks!

[dneal]

Are you grinding by hand, or using a rotary tool?

If by hand, a disposable Pilot Varsity has a nice blob of a tip. You can use a rotary tool, but you want to drain the ink first or pull the nib.

If it's just practice, half a dozen Varsities are the same cost as a genuine Lamy Safari nib - $15, give or take.

[alexwi]

Hmmm... food for thought.

I have a rotary tool on the way, but it's meant for other projects. The few times I've done it it's been by hand and that's what I have in mind.

A filled varsity on a rotary, however, paints quite an interesting picture in my mind ;-)

Thanks!

Alex

[dneal]

Hmmm... food for thought.

I have a rotary tool on the way, but it's meant for other projects. The few times I've done it it's been by hand and that's what I have in mind.

A filled varsity on a rotary, however, paints quite an interesting picture in my mind ;-)

Thanks!

Alex

Oh a filled Varsity (or any other pen) and a rotary tool will definitely [spray] paint something...

[Lithium466]

Off topic, but I practiced on various Chinese nibs, and some had really soft tipping that made it so easy to get the results I wanted! Once I felt confident enough, I attacked a Parker nib from the 60's, and gosh the tipping was so much harder and difficult to shape with the same tool.

That said, I don't recall seeing broad nibs, I'm sorry I can't help with that.

[catbert]

AliExpress has no. 6 nibs with big blobs of tipping. Search something like ‘manual polishing big grain nib’.
Several links in this Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpen..._for_grinding/
Safari-style nibs with naginata-type grinds are available, so maybe unfinished broad ones can be found too.

[alexwi]

AliExpress has no. 6 nibs with big blobs of tipping. Search something like ‘manual polishing big grain nib’.
Several links in this Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpen..._for_grinding/
Safari-style nibs with naginata-type grinds are available, so maybe unfinished broad ones can be found too.

I thought of the naginata, given the tipping looking bigger than that of a Medium, but those are out of stock.

I ordered and received the #5 and #6 broad ones (a bunch of each), but I was hoping for the Lamy-compatible, because that's one pen I'm very familiar with, so thought it make the whole process of grinding-testing-grinding easier.

Ended up ordering 5 of the Lamy-compatible M's.

Thanks!

Alex