Nib grade

Vintage pens with flexible nibs

A flexible nib spreads its tines under pressure, so the line swells on the downstrokes and thins on the upstrokes. Plenty of pre-war pens had softer nibs than anything sold today, and semi-flexible gold nibs turn up on older Pelikans and Montblancs. Most nibs labelled flex on eBay are just soft, though, so ask for a writing sample that shows the line width changing. Never test one by pressing hard. A nib that's been pushed too far springs out of shape and won't close back up.

2 pens we cover.