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asamsky said
on 6/19/2009 Clevergirl, thanks for the comment, but I believe that the gold vs. steel flexibility idea is a myth. Both gold and steel nibs actually write with a ball of an alloy usually called iridium, which wears only with years and years of extremely hard use. Vintage gold nibs can indeed be very flexible, but so can some modern steel nibs. As far as I know people become accustomed to fountain pens, fountain pens don't customize themselves to people. Check http://richardspens.com/?page=ref/nib_steel.htm for fountain pen expert Richard Binder's opinion on steel nibs.
clevergirl said
on 7/21/2008 one thing, tho... gold vs. steel is not just aesthetic. a steel nib will be less flexible, and form itself less to your script - basically, i wouldn't be afraid to share a steel nib fountain pen with somebody else. but a gold nib...that you want to keep to yourself. gold very quickly forms to an angle and dimension that is unique to your own personal handwriting. if somebody borrows it for a day or two, it'll be all off and feel like a new pen again until you write the hell out of it again. gold nib offers that personal "this pen is my friend" feeling more than a steel nib ever could.
Kat Yares said
on 1/20/2008 Great tips. I have everything from the elcheapo models to my MontBlanc (which I won in a writing contest). I rarely use anything else when writing on paper.