My Fountain Pens and Nibs

Saturday I received another new pen I've been eyeballing for some time.  I've read so many good things about Edison pens that I decided to finally purchase one.

Edison is a German made pen......correction - is an American made pen with a German nib.  Most that I have are either American (Noodler's) or Japanese (Pilot and Platinum) plus the Lamy which are German made.  I also have one from China (Hero) and one from Taiwan (TWSBI).

 

It's interesting how the nib sizes differ between countries.  The Japanese nibs run smaller than those from Germany or America.  And I have to say my top favorites tend to be from Japan.

Immediately after opening my new Edison and trying it out, I fell in love.  The nib is an EF nib and the smoothest one yet that I own.  Most of my pens have EF or F nibs as I prefer the thinner lines writing and especially sketching.  Unfortunately many of the EF nibs feel a little scratchy.

As I continue playing with various pens and nibs, I am also learning how to fine tune them.  I spent hours yesterday smoothing out those nibs I felt were just not quite smooth enough for my liking.  I mainly used Mylar paper which is a super super fine abrasive for polishing out the nib tines..........after making sure they were aligned properly.  A couple I had to actually take to using Micromesh which is more abrasive.  One of my EF nibs was sharp to where it actually tore through the Mylar paper telling me there might have been a burr on it you can't see with the naked eye.  I didn't see it with a loupe either but it must have been something like that.

After working figure 8s on the Micromesh, I felt something give and it started writing smoother...no more snagging on the surface of the micromesh.  Then I polished it and now feels great using on paper.

In addition to the Edison, I also received another Konrad.........a blue marbled colored body as seen at far right in this photo.  Konrads come with #6 Flex Steel nibs but I'm replacing most with other #6 nibs that are not flex.  So far I have replaced with a Two-toned EF, Two-toned F, and Two-toned Italic stub nib (the smaller size).  I may get a M size or even a 1.5 Italic but haven't quite decided yet. 

Besides the nice looking display of colors and patterns, I plan to use each of these pens loaded with different color inks in addition to the various nib sizes.  This way I'm not constantly having to switch out inks or having to re-adjust the nib to feed by changing nibs all the time.

In addition to the pens, I purchased these displays.  It is much easier to find the pen I want to use rather than sifting through a box with all the pens together.  Plus this way they won't scratch or get marred up as easily.

From left to right:  Platinum Carbon Desk Pen cut down in order the cap posts to body during use; Original Konrad with #6 Flex nib; Sheaffer Calligraphy Fine Italic nib; Pilot Metropolitan with F nib; Pilot Metropolitan with M nib; Hero 578 Bent Nib; Lamy with EF nib; Lamy with F nib; Pilot Preras (both clear with green and the Lime Green and with F nibs); the five Konrads with various nibs; Pilot Falcon with Soft Find gold nib; Edison with EF nib; and the TWSBI Mini with EF nib.

I still have so much to learn about fountain pens, nibs, and even the various inks out there.  Different inks behave differently in different pens.  Some inks can clog pens (especially with EF nibs); some inks are lubricating; some feed wetter than others, and so on.  A new adventure I'm enjoying but taking a bit to sort through mentally.  I can only take in so much at a time.........LOL