Flex nib
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Flex or flexible nibs are fountain pen nibs which produce a line which varies in width with the pressure used. A very flexible nib can produce a width variation of about six times. Extremely flexible nibs are sometimes known among collectors as "wet noodles".[citation needed]
Flex nibs should not be confused with nibs that merely offer a cushioned feel in writing, or even those that vary line wetness and colour saturation with pressure. Such nibs are known merely as 'soft'.
Construction
Such nibs are usually of 14K gold alloy. Alloys with a higher proportion of gold are too soft to flex properly - rather than flexing they are liable to bend and then stay in their new position. Vintage steel nibs can have flex, the best known example being the Esterbrook 9128 nib. However steel flex nibs on fountain pens are rare: flex nibs required a considerable investment of skill to make, and the steel nibs of the time had poor resistance to corrosion from the often acidic inks of the time.
Handwriting styles
It should be noted that even moderately flexible nibs are not easy to use. Pressure must be carefully controlled to avoid damaging the nib, and as the nib tines spread apart frictional forces with the page can greatly increase. The latter means that pressure and hand motion must be coordinated so that maximum pressure is associated with down strokes that pull the nib in the direction of least resistance.
Very flexible nibs are associated with the classic Spencerian or Copperplate writing styles. See this instructional document. Flex nibs used for this style should possess 'springback': see below.
History
Flex nibs were much more common on pens made before the 1930's. Typically they were offered as an option on a manufacturers' pens, so that the same model could come with a standard rigid nib or flex. Flex nibs were relatively common on Waterman pens, with the model 22 being particularly associated with them, and particularly rare on Sheaffer pens. Flex nibs remained relatively common on some European pens into the 1950s, notably on Mont Blanc pens.
Springback
Flex nibs used for the Spencerian or Copperplate writing styles should possess the property of "springback", meaning that their tines should close back together extremely quickly when released. This is essential to the rapid thick-to-thin transitions the style requires. [1]
Dip pens
Flex nibs for dip pens can be more easily engineered to have a high degree of flex and are relatively cheap and common.
Today
Flex nibs are very rare on modern pens because of the skill they require to be used without damage - the Pilot Falcon is the main example of a modern pen with a somewhat flexible nib, although its degree of flexibility is very moderate by vintage standard, reducing the danger of damage and difficulty of use. A very few nibmeisters or nib-modifiers can add flex to a modern 14K fountain pen nib.
References
- Dyas A. Lawson. "The joy of flex, part one". Stylophiles.
- "The Joy of Flex".
- Richard Binder. "Nibs II: Beyond the Basics with Specialty Nibs".
- Mike Stevens (1999). "Modern Flex". Stylophile's Online Magazin.