When I was in primary school in the 80s in France, we had to use a fountain pen. We usually had cheap plastic fountain pens with a steel untipped nib. The tip of the nib was pinched so there was a vertical blob of steel (up to two milimeters big) that would create a tipping "blob". That's what touched the paper. Usually these fountain pens where not smooth out of the box and had to be broken in for at least one week (the process could be hastened by scribling on a brown paper bag) After a while the tip would wear out and comform exactly to the owner's writing angle. You wouldnt want your class mate to use your fountain pen because a single day's worth of school writing could change the way your nib was tuned - and you wouldnt want to use your classmate's fountain pen because they had tuned it to their own angle, and you would find that the nib would be scratchy for your hand. The wear on the tip would create a flat surface that you could very easily see with the naked eye, and the sides would be sharp, so any change in the writing angle would cut into the paper. These nibs became broader and broader with use (the flat surface would augment) and I dont remember using one of these fountain pens for more than three school years..... But then, it was not only the nib that wore off : the pens would slide off desks, plastic caps would break or be lost...... We school kids were so used to these nibs (and we loved them !) than whenever we tried "grown up fountain pens" we found the tipped nib very strange and uncomfortable. Our parents usually had better, less cheap fountain pens, with a tipped nib, ah ! These untipped school nibs still exist, but today more and more school fountain pens have tipped nibs (today, a good entry level tipped nib pen can be found for a few euros in any supermarket here) These untipped nibs might be the reason why it's so frowned upon to use someone else's fountain pen now ? Because back then, if someone had used your pen behind your back, you could really feel it ! And also that might explain why many europeans prefer medium nibs ? Because it was quite impossible to get one of these cheap pens to write fine. I myself discovered the notion of different nib sizes, and fine nibs, much later when I was in high school ! Now I love fine nibs 😁
you prolly dont care but if you guys are stoned like me during the covid times you can watch pretty much all of the new series on InstaFlixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend during the lockdown xD
Your explanation of iridium and its source is very good. Little fun fact: the high percentage of iridium in the KT extinction layer is what first pointed scientists to realize that an asteroid caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Glad to see another science geek on a pen geek you tube channel. I love the idea that that ever so tiny bit of iridium might have come from that asteroid.
I love the discussion of iridium tipping (even if it is now only used as an alloy) because I like to think that I just might be writing with a bit of THAT asteroid from 66 million years ago.
Been sharing your channel with friends and family who are also a pen obsessed. I was also so pleased with my order I turned around and told my mom to pick some ink colors to have customized as advised by penultimate Dave. We have sample size bottles and good mica shimmer to make her a custom auburn ink.
Some company really should look into making carbide or ruby tips -- no metal can beat them in hardness. Also a jeweled tip would probably sound awesome in marketing.
In some of my original art training (about 50-35 years ago), I used some nibs by Hunt they called a "bowlpoint." These were like you describe as having a "spoon shape" stamped into the end of the point so that the very sharp tip of the untipped fine nib wouldn't dig into the paper. The modern Hunt 512 is described as a bowlpoint also, but it is not as pronounced as the ones I used back then. These, incidentally, are dip pen nibs.
Interesting video, thank you. Back in my college years I studied a compound called Vaska's complex, which is an iridium organometallic complex, which is a pretty yellow solid and is used in catalysis. I didn't realize the metal at the center came from outer space.
I have a tungsten carbide ring that I've worn continuously for over six years. In that time I've accidentally brushed it against concrete, bricks, and metal door jambs. It is still as perfectly unblemished as the day I got it. Tough stuff.
I was surprized how after using my sailor pro gear in f nib for 4years extensively, I could actually see how the tip of the nib had shortened with my bare eyes.
Fun fact about Iridium = it's how we first found out about the meteor that killed the dinosaurs. There is a layer in the earths crust, around the entire world, called the iridium rich layer. And it exists right above the layer 65 million years ago when the last big dinosaurs lived. The layer of stone with all this iridium seems to have more iridium in america than in europe (etc), and eventually we found the meteor impact in central america because of that.
Brian, on the topic of engineering, I just ordered an Ahab Flex from your store and substituted a Goulet fine nib for the flex nib. Can I just say that the performance of this pen and nib is easily comparative to a $1000 gold nib and it cost me less than AU$100 (most due to postage and exchange rates). Yes, you can buy Ahabs from Australian retailers, but, no, you can’t buy Goulet nibs. It was definitely worth the additional costs! I am so happy with my purchase.
I don't know, it's fascinating thinking about your pen as something that is not immortal and evolves through time, headed for "natural" decay, but still different.
My description of this would probably more more cringe - though we do our best to realize when we're out of our depth so that we can do some research. In this case, I think Brian's existing interest in woodworking (as he's familiar with the hardness scale) allowed him to be naturally interested in this topic. - Drew
Iridium hasn't actually been used for decades for tipping (since the mid 1950s). The 'Iridium tip' is more a brandname at the moment. Also, iridium tipping was only necessary for gold nibs, gold being really soft. But for steel nibs, its not really required - I don't know of anyone who has ever seen a worn out steel nib unless using very acidic inks. This is a good analysis of several contemporary nibs by gas chromatography (someone was actually dedicated enough to do this): www.nibs.com/blog/nibster-writes/wheres-iridium www.nibs.com/blog/nibster-writes/how-can-we-talk-about-iridium From microscopy, the folks at nibs.com think that "IPG" nibs are just tipped by melting back the nib material into a blob, with exactly the same composition as the rest of the nib. Which would make sense from a manufacturing point of view as its easier to do.
My Monty Winnfield EF nib doesn't have tipping. I LOVE it on FP-friendly paper, but it can be a bit too grabby on crappy paper. Fortunately, I rarely have to use crappy paper.
Iridium price is not a concern... do the math and calculate how much tipping material is needed to 1nib then you will find that from 1g of Iridium you can get hundreds of tipped nibs. 1g-Ir=44.326mm^3, 0.75mm ball volume is 0.158mm^3 so dividing you will get 280 balls. So giving the price of 202USD/g it is below 1USD per nib.
@@Gouletpens Brian, having worked in the paper industry at one time, I can mention that clay is an additive in a number of papers made today. Clay is basically a very fine abrasive so will cause a minute extra amount of wear in clay-bearing paper not present in paper without the clay additives.
