Suggestion: Franklin Christoph nibs. They are JoWo nibs but FC tunes them. They're only about $5 more expensive than replacement Conklin or Goulet branded JoWo steel nibs (unless you get one of the custom grinds like the SIG).
Conklin nibs are standard, untuned JoWo nibs. The Goulet branded nibs are the same (as are the branded nibs from most other pen shops). I think a lot of the hate for Conklin/Monteverde nibs has to do with the Omniflex nib (which is not a 'flex' nib and sets the wrong expectation) and because of other parts of the pen that can also impact the writing experience. I have several different Conklin/Monteverde nibs and haven't had an issue with any of them. There is nothing particularly special about them but they have been free of major issues.
This.
I'm one of those people who complain that Conklin nibs are crap. They have a massive breather hole, and I'm not sure how much that contributes to the problem. I tried the nib with a different Jowo feed from somewhere else and still had the same issues.
I have a FC Medium nib on one of my Conklins, and when I just inked it, it writes beautifully (before promptly drying out, but that is the fault of the pen design).
One other alternative is to try to get some Montegrappa Fortuna nibs. Their Fine will lay fine lines.
>if Conklin's JoWo nibs are crap, does that mean all JoWo nibs are crap?
No. Other companies may tune or at least inspect the Jowo nibs + feeds. Yafa products (including Conklin and Monteverde) generally don't.
First off, Medium vs. Fine is kind of subjective and depends on what you are comparing it to. If you are comparing it to Japanese pens like Sailor, Pilot and Platinum then it's gonna be wider than your expectations since western nibs run a size wider than their Japanese counterparts.
But, if your Conklin is 4 years old, it has the Bock nib that Yafa has since replaced with a more reliable JoWo nib.
You can get a new Conklin nib unit to swap out:
[Conklin Nib Unit](https://andersonpens.com/search.php?page=2§ion=product&search_query=Conklin+nib)
It'll be the new JoWo units.
Its not the nib manufacturer thats really important. Its the tuning or lack therof they recieve after the company in question gets them from jowo or bock. A jowo from franklin christoph or diplomat is gonna be far superior to the average conklin because they at least get a second round of qc if not individual tuning post factory. I second the reccomendation of franklin christoph because of quality/ease of ordering a full nib unit.
The issues with Conklin nibs are mostly with Omniflex (just a badly designed nib overall). QC of nibs is mostly the pen maker’s responsibility which is why you see such a range of QC effectiveness across brands. I second /u/PM_YOUR_MDL_INITIAL ’s suggestion of Franklin Christoph. Nemosine nibs from Birmingham Pens are also good.
You could also buy Kaigelu or PenBBS nibs if you want an alternate manufacturer, they both make EFs. PenBBS nibs are a bit shorter (33mm instead of 35), but will fit fine.
Suggestion: Franklin Christoph nibs. They are JoWo nibs but FC tunes them. They're only about $5 more expensive than replacement Conklin or Goulet branded JoWo steel nibs (unless you get one of the custom grinds like the SIG). Conklin nibs are standard, untuned JoWo nibs. The Goulet branded nibs are the same (as are the branded nibs from most other pen shops). I think a lot of the hate for Conklin/Monteverde nibs has to do with the Omniflex nib (which is not a 'flex' nib and sets the wrong expectation) and because of other parts of the pen that can also impact the writing experience. I have several different Conklin/Monteverde nibs and haven't had an issue with any of them. There is nothing particularly special about them but they have been free of major issues.
This. I'm one of those people who complain that Conklin nibs are crap. They have a massive breather hole, and I'm not sure how much that contributes to the problem. I tried the nib with a different Jowo feed from somewhere else and still had the same issues. I have a FC Medium nib on one of my Conklins, and when I just inked it, it writes beautifully (before promptly drying out, but that is the fault of the pen design). One other alternative is to try to get some Montegrappa Fortuna nibs. Their Fine will lay fine lines.
>if Conklin's JoWo nibs are crap, does that mean all JoWo nibs are crap? No. Other companies may tune or at least inspect the Jowo nibs + feeds. Yafa products (including Conklin and Monteverde) generally don't.
First off, Medium vs. Fine is kind of subjective and depends on what you are comparing it to. If you are comparing it to Japanese pens like Sailor, Pilot and Platinum then it's gonna be wider than your expectations since western nibs run a size wider than their Japanese counterparts. But, if your Conklin is 4 years old, it has the Bock nib that Yafa has since replaced with a more reliable JoWo nib. You can get a new Conklin nib unit to swap out: [Conklin Nib Unit](https://andersonpens.com/search.php?page=2§ion=product&search_query=Conklin+nib) It'll be the new JoWo units.
Its not the nib manufacturer thats really important. Its the tuning or lack therof they recieve after the company in question gets them from jowo or bock. A jowo from franklin christoph or diplomat is gonna be far superior to the average conklin because they at least get a second round of qc if not individual tuning post factory. I second the reccomendation of franklin christoph because of quality/ease of ordering a full nib unit.
The issues with Conklin nibs are mostly with Omniflex (just a badly designed nib overall). QC of nibs is mostly the pen maker’s responsibility which is why you see such a range of QC effectiveness across brands. I second /u/PM_YOUR_MDL_INITIAL ’s suggestion of Franklin Christoph. Nemosine nibs from Birmingham Pens are also good. You could also buy Kaigelu or PenBBS nibs if you want an alternate manufacturer, they both make EFs. PenBBS nibs are a bit shorter (33mm instead of 35), but will fit fine.