The quality of a fountain pen depends on the quality of its mechanisms and one important mechanism of a fountain pen is it’s nib. Usually made of stainless steel, gold nibs have a much higher durability because of the acidity of certain inks. Gold nibs needs to be tipped with a resilient allow that is usually from the platinum group of metals. In the earlier days, manufacturers used iridium for tipping nibs. Although steel nibs corrode faster and more easily, they usually have harder tips. Nibs adjust themselves to the user’s particular style and use as it wears down. In this way, pens often are “broken in.” Nibs have one slot cut down their center along with a “breather hole.” The slot allows the ink to be transported by capillary action. The hole is for open air exchange. Production of fountain pens (see fountain pen history) evolved slowly mainly because the importance of the air exchange with the ink in the pen’s reservoir was not well understood.
Nibs come in many shapes and sizes. The most common ones have a round tip in fine, medium, or broad. Other shapes include oblique, reverse oblique, stub and italic. An italic nib is sharper than a stub and gives the pen more line width variation. Users have to be aware of their horizontal and vertical lines. The sharper the nib, the coarser it feels on paper. However, a round stub will not only be smoother but allow for a freer range of motion. An oblique nib is cut at an oblique angle to the cross-cut of the stub nib. It can either be cut down to the left or to the right. They come in either sharp or round depending on the user’s style.
Usually, the production of nibs depends on the era. For example, flexible nibs became popular around the beginning of the 20th century when users were also becoming accustomed to ballpoint pens. However, more sturdier nibs were used to sign through thick copy paper.
When repairing a nib, an expert should be able to make it to meet any needs of the user. Misaligned nibs can make smooth writing and good ink flow impossible.