My Vintage Nib Collection

OK so it seems I am just a freak….a happy freak, but a freak none the less.

Ever since I bought those nibs I have been researching them and collecting them. It would appear that I am not alone in this venture. I have been trying very hard to obtain as many of these nibs as I can, but sadly there are FAR too many collectors out there with far more time and money than I do . So I have lost more than half of my bids, usually within the last second or 2. But of my recent acquisitions I have made a list of all the ‘unique’ nibs that I have. About 5 or 6 of these I have some multiples of; more on that later.

Just a brief bit of nerd-ism for those who are even reading this, or might want to know a bit more. On this list you’ll see where I have marked ‘Spec’ and put N/A, Ground Point, and Groove Point. To best answer this, you need to know of its significance. WAY back in the earlier period of nib creation (aprox. 1830-1870) the nibs were cut, bent and tooled into their shape. The idea is that the more flexible the nib, the less pressure the writer would need to make bold lines. This is why there are holes, small slices or grooves in the nib itself. Later on it was discovered that the chief physical equation for more flexibility is ‘less metal between nib and the writer.’ So they began chiseling, or grinding away at the tips of the nibs. They even hired new staff of people who’s sole purpose was grinding nib points. So therefore, you’ll see on my sheet where I have nibs listed as “Ground Points.” Much later, towards the end of the ‘Dip Pen’ era (aprox 1920-1930’s) they tried to manufacture nibs cheaper by getting rid of the ‘Grinder’ and just stamp ‘Grooves’ along the tips of the nibs. Thus you will see a few labeled ‘Groove Points.’ In fact, if you look at most major nib makers of today, they tend to have stamped/pressed grooves along the tip of the nib.

More over, the fact that they are either Ground or Grooved, denotes their age and value. Seemingly, it is more valuable if they are ‘Grounded’ or ‘non-grounded’ versus stamped with ‘Grooves.’

Also you’ll see where I have denoted their metallic appearance. Some are Bronze Plated while others are Gold plated. This is a feature I haven’t 100% figured out. As far as I can tell the gold plating is just to make it more ‘fancy’ than normal. However, I am not 100% certain if the same is true for the bronze plated.

As for my Multiple copies of nibs, I plan on adding to my business by selling small collections of vintage nibs. However, to do that I need to ‘stock up’ so to speak. Right now I have 2 five-nib collections. I have made a few recent purchases and have a few in mind to get, so the number of sets or amount of nibs will increase. If you are interested, note me and I’ll be sure to notify you when the sets are finalized.

Enjoy my new hobby!