Stainless steel nibs are what a beginner fountain pen user experiences. As you spend more time using fountain pens, most would move onto gold nibs. Personally, I am a fan of stainless steel as well as gold nibs. A good stainless steel nib can be on par and sometimes be better than a gold one. It all depends on the individual nib characteristics. The stiffness, the ink flow and the smoothness are the three main nib characteristics I usually judge my nibs on. I believe stainless steel nibs can be enjoyed by anyone be it a newcomer or an experienced fountain pen user. Here is a list of stainless steel nib pens that everyone can enjoy.
Faber Castell Loom
The Loom is Faber-Castell’s entry level pen. The original M nib I got with the Loom is super smooth. It’s like writing with butter on hot glass. Personally I found it way too smooth but if smoothness is the priority, you can’t go wrong with a nib from Faber-Castell.
Kaweco Supra
I love the size of the #6 Bock nib that my Kaweco Supra comes with. The nib has just right amount of smoothness and the ink flow is generous. What’s best is the #6 nib is interchangeable with other pens such as the Tactile Turn Gist and Franklin Christoph pens.
Platinum Balance
The Platinum Balance is not one of my favourite stainless steel nib but I think it deserves a mention for it’s surprisingly bouncy and soft nib. It can provide you with some cushion as you write that’s similar to how gold nibs behave.
Pilot Metropolitan
This is a popular beginner fountain pen and the nib is just plain outstanding. It comes in fine or medium nib and I prefer the fine. Pilot being a Japanese company does an excellent job with the fine nib. I’ve purchased 4 Pilot Metropolitans so far and all of them wrote out of the box. The nib is a great balance of smoothness and feedback that Pilot has mastered.
Pilot Murex
The Pilot Murex has good looks paired with a great writing experience. It is a complete package. The nib is plain but all business when it comes to writing. It provides a characteristic feedback and this is one of my favourite steel nib pens.
Sailor ProColor 500
I had one bad experience with an entry Sailor pen but the Pro Colour is different. The nib is stiff and hard as a nail. Though the nib is finer than the Pilot’s equivalent but it doesn’t scratch the paper. It glides effortlessly across the page and provides the perfect balance of feedback and smoothness. I wish Sailor would improve their entry level steel nibs so that they can provide some competition in the entry level Japanese steel nib pen space.
Visconti Van Gogh Starry Night
The stainless steel nib I got with the Visconti Van Gogh is outstanding. It isn’t just because it writes well with a good ink flow but the nib provides me a natural line variation with having to push the nib. Though the nib was sold as an EF, I found it wrote like a stub nib. It also has some give as I write as well. The nib is also beautifully adorned with scrollwork.
Do you have a favourite stainless steel nib pen? Drop me a comment and tell me about it!