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Our hand-ground specialty nibs give you a very easy and economical way to explore line variation, ultrafine points, and other nibs not generally offered. I regrind standard nibs into italic, oblique italic, and stub italic points that yield beautiful line variation yet retain superb ease in the hand. For other specialized needs, we also have XXF (often called ACCOUNT or Posting nibs), XXXF (needlepoint), and more. Each nib is painstakingly hand finished, smoothed, and adjusted for proper flow, just the same as if you had sent your own pen for me to customize.

If the nib’s no good, it doesn’t matter how fancy the rest of the pen is — it’s not a good pen.

If you are unsure about stroke widths, please check our stroke width chart for illustrations of stroke sizes that our nibs produce. To do this, right-click the image (Macintosh users control-click) to download the chart in PDF format (for Adobe Reader). The chart is designed to print on U.S. letter-size paper (8¹/₂"×11"), and it should also print well on A4 paper. After you have printed the chart, find some fountain pen friendly paper and make strokes on it with your own pens for comparison.

If you are not sure about which nib shapes may be appropriate for you, there is helpful information in Nibs I: The Basics and Nibs II: Beyond the Basics with Specialty Nibs. The ItaliFine™ and CONDOR™ are proprietary designs; the ItaliFine is described in Nibs: The ItaliFine: Inspired by the Fine Nibs of Yesterday, and the CONDOR is described in Nibs: The CONDOR, a Nib for Brushwork.

To choose a specialty nib of a size appropriate to your handwriting, measure the average height of your minuscules (lowercase, or “little,” letters). The width of an italic nib’s stroke should be approximately ¹/5 the height you measure, as shown in the image to the right. For example, if your minuscules average ³/16" (4.76 mm), a 0.9-mm italic is about the right size for you. This is not a firm rule, however, so you will have to judge for yourself what you think you will like.

Note To determine the width of an italic, oblique italic, or stub nib, we measure the line width produced by the nib, not the physical nib itself. Many manufacturers measure the nib instead, and their nibs are wider than the lines they make; for example, a 0.9-mm cursive italic nib is actually about 1.1 mm in width. A “commercial” 0.9-mm stub, for example, may produce a line only 0.7 mm in width.

[  Our return policy  ]

These hand-ground specialty nibs will fit all Pelikan M2nn, M4nn, or M6nn pen (including M620 City Series, M700 Toledo, and “1931” and “1935” limited editions). They also fit the vintage 140, 400, 400N, and 400NN. If you don’t yet have a Pelikan, you can choose an M200 body here.

We offer your choice of gold-plated steel nibs, made for the M200, or 14K gold nibs, made for the M250. Each nib is painstakingly ground to the proper shape and then hand finished, smoothed, and adjusted for proper flow. These nibs do not fit M150 pens.

All of our specialty Pelikan nibs, except for music and flexible nibs, come in either steel or gold versions, giving you a choice between the economy of steel and the long-lasting elegance of gold. To keep prices as low as possible, we cannot accept steel nib units for return or exchange. Within a reasonable test period after purchase, gold nib units are exchangeable (with a $15.00 charge per nib for cleaning, testing, and packaging for resale). Please read our return policy for more information.

Note Please remember that the nibs on this page are “stock” nibs, not custom nibs. We cannot adjust these nibs to your personal preference. If you need a nib adjusted to your personal preference, you need a custom nib. To order a custom nib, please purchase a standard round nib and fill out the nib customization form that you can find by following the instructions under Looking for a Custom Nib? on the Shopping Cart page.

To purchase a specialty nib, click on the size you want from the charts below. We also stock standard (unmodified) round nibs for most Pelikan models.

If you do not already have a pen body for the nib you’re considering, we offer a broad selection of Pelikan pen bodies without nibs.

If you’re not sure which bodies you can use with these nibs, there is a complete chart of nib interchangeability on our Pelikan page.

If you are considering a crisp italic, please note that these nibs are very crisp and are usually not suitable for everyday use.

(View a Selection of Writing Samples)

Click the nib style names in the left column to pop up short descriptions of the nibs. Neutral Italics

— Gold-Plated Steel (for Pelikan) — To keep prices as low as possible, we cannot accept steel nib units for return or exchange. Cursive italic Crisp italic Stub italic (“stub”) 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 1.0 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.8 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.6 mm $61.00

— Unplated Steel (silver colored, for Pelikan) — To keep prices as low as possible, we cannot accept steel nib units for return or exchange. Cursive italic Crisp italic Stub italic (“stub”)     —         —         —     0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.8 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.6 mm $72.00

— 14K Gold (for Pelikan) — Cursive italic Crisp italic Stub italic (“stub”) 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 1.0 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.8 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.6 mm $113.00 Music nib 1.1-mm extra-smooth, very wet stub with slight added flex $133.00

Oblique Italics IMPORTANT: Please read before ordering oblique nibs. The term “oblique” does not mean “line variation.” Italic nibs give line variation; oblique nibs accommodate the way some people rotate the pen. Obliques can be italic, or they can be plain round nibs. All of the obliques offered on this page are oblique italics! Note that 30° left-foot oblique italics are not suitable for most users; they are intended primarily for left-handed underwriters who do not find 15° right-foot oblique italics comfortable. For more information, please read Nibs I: The Basics.

— Gold-Plated Steel (for Pelikan) — To keep prices as low as possible, we cannot accept steel nib units for return or exchange. Cursive left-foot oblique italic, 15° Crisp left-foot oblique italic, 15° Cursive right-foot oblique italic, 15° Crisp right-foot oblique italic, 15° 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm $61.00 Cursive left-foot oblique italic, 30° Crisp left-foot oblique italic, 30° 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm $66.00

— Unplated Steel (silver colored, for Pelikan) — To keep prices as low as possible, we cannot accept steel nib units for return or exchange. Cursive left-foot oblique italic, 15° Crisp left-foot oblique italic, 15° Cursive right-foot oblique italic, 15° Crisp right-foot oblique italic, 15°     —         —         —         —     0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm $72.00 Cursive left-foot oblique italic, 30° Crisp left-foot oblique italic, 30°     —         —     0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm $77.00

— 14K Gold (for Pelikan) — Cursive left-foot oblique italic, 15° Crisp left-foot oblique italic, 15° Cursive right-foot oblique italic, 15° Crisp right-foot oblique italic, 15° 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm $113.00 Cursive left-foot oblique italic, 30° Crisp left-foot oblique italic, 30° 1.1 mm 1.1 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm $118.00

Very Fine Round Nibs These nibs are Waverley nibs for extra smoothness.

— Gold-Plated Steel (for Pelikan) — To keep prices as low as possible, we cannot accept steel nib units for return or exchange. Extra-extra fine (accountant) Needlepoint (0.008" stroke) — — — — XXF XXXF $71.00 Super Needlepoint (0.004" stroke) Special Order, 1 Week Delivery — — XXXXF $86.00

— Unplated Steel (silver colored, for Pelikan) — To keep prices as low as possible, we cannot accept steel nib units for return or exchange. Extra-extra fine (accountant) Needlepoint (0.008" stroke) — — — — XXF XXXF $82.00 Super Needlepoint (0.004" stroke) Special Order, 1 Week Delivery — — XXXXF $97.00

— 14K Gold (for Pelikan) — Extra-extra fine (accountant) Needlepoint (0.008" stroke) — — — — XXF XXXF $123.00 Super Needlepoint (0.004" stroke) Special Order, 1 Week Delivery — — XXXXF $138.00

Richard’s Special Shapes

— Gold-Plated Steel (for Pelikan) — To keep prices as low as possible, we cannot accept steel nib units for return or exchange. ItaliFine™ 0.9-mm cursive italic & Fine $81.00 CONDOR™ Fine & “brush” $86.00 Arabic/Hebrew italic 0.9 mm 0.7 mm     —     $71.00

— Unplated Steel (silver colored, for Pelikan) — To keep prices as low as possible, we cannot accept steel nib units for return or exchange. ItaliFine™ 0.9-mm cursive italic & Fine $92.00 CONDOR™ Fine & “brush” $97.00 Arabic/Hebrew italic     —     0.7 mm     —     $82.00

— 14K Gold (for Pelikan) — ItaliFine™ 0.9-mm cursive italic & Fine $133.00 CONDOR™ Fine & “brush” $138.00 Arabic/Hebrew italic 0.9 mm 0.7 mm     —     $123.00

Don’t See It Here?

For sizes or shapes not shown above, I can make you a custom nib. The price will be the sum of the standard nib’s price and the standard charge for customization to create the size or shape in question. Ordering a custom nib is easy — read this pop-up “comic strip” to see just how easy it is!

I create flexible nibs that can help you recreate the calligraphic elegance of the past. I fashion these nibs from the same gold nibs, made for the Pelikan M250, that I use for my specialty shapes (shown above), and I make them to resemble — and perform like — the flexible nibs of old. To the left, scanned actual size, is a brief ex tempore comment written by Deborah Basel with a flexible vintage-style XXF/XXXF duo-point similar to the nib shown to the right. Deborah, for whom I made that nib, is a professional calligrapher and a member of the Washington, D.C., Calligraphers Guild and the Baltimore Fountain Pen Club. To view a zoomed image the illustrated nib for more detail, click the magnifying glass to the right of the image. (Note the “valley” right behind the tip on the top surface. This is a feature that appeared on duo-point nibs made by Mabie Todd & Co., and it produces excellent writing characteristics on the nib’s “flip” side.)

View the Gettysburg Address in copperplate style
as lettered by Deborah Basel with her Binder flexible nib.
(The image will open in a new window or tab.)

To learn more about flexible nibs, read Nibs III: Flex vs. Italic. Caution: For information about what flex nibs can — and cannot — do, read Nibs: Flex, a Disaster in the Making.

I can create semiflex or full-flex nibs with virtually any of the specialty shapes we offer. We do not offer a superflexible “wet noodle” because experience has shown that there is a hairsbreadth difference between making a very flexible nib and making a nib that flexes once, but — as quoth the Raven — nevermore.

If you do not see the nib you’re looking for in the table below, please send email to discuss the purchase of a flex nib that is suited to your requirements.

If you do not already have a pen body for the nib you’re considering, we offer a broad selection of Pelikan pen bodies without nibs.

If you’re not sure which bodies you can use with these nibs, there is a complete chart of nib interchangeability on our Pelikan page.

Standard Flexible Nibs for Pelikan Pens

— 14K Gold — Pelikan M250 nib, M: full flex added $148.00 Pelikan M250 nib, M: semiflex added $148.00 Pelikan M250 nib, F: full flex added $148.00 Pelikan M250 nib, F: semiflex added $148.00 Pelikan M250 nib, XF (EF), full flex added $148.00 Pelikan M250 nib, reground to XF/XXF duo-point, full flex added $158.00 Pelikan M250 nib, reground to XXF, full flex added $198.00 Pelikan M250 nib, reground to XXF/XXXF duo-point, full flex added $208.00 Pelikan M250 nib, reground to XXXF, full flex added (artist’s nib) $198.00

One of the really cool features of the Vanishing Point is the ease with which you can change its nib: Just unscrew the pen’s barrel and remove the nib unit as you would to refill it, slip in a different nib unit, and screw the pen back together.

Vanishing Point nib units, with 18K gold nibs, come complete with piston converters. “Roll your own” with one of these hand-ground specialty nibs; they fit all Namiki and Pilot Vanishing Point pens as well as the slim décimo and Fermo. These nib units do not fit older Pilot Capless pens.

Each nib is painstakingly ground to the proper shape and then hand finished, smoothed, and adjusted for proper flow. These complete interchangeable nib unit assemblies are usually in stock for immediate delivery. Prices do not include shipping and insurance.

Note to Owners of Faceted Vanishing Point Pens If your pen is a faceted Namiki Vanishing Point with a squeeze converter (like the pen shown here), you should use the pen’s original squeeze converter with your new nib or purchase a new CON20 squeeze converter. Piston converters do not fit properly in these older pens. The converter is the right length, but its metal collar stops against the brass collar inside the barrel’s back end. This interference prevents the nib unit from retracting completely, and the pen will dry out when not in use.

Within a reasonable test period after purchase, these gold nib units are exchangeable (with a $15.00 charge per nib for cleaning, testing, and packaging for resale). Please read our return policy for more information.

Note Please remember that the nibs on this page are “stock” nibs, not custom nibs. We cannot adjust these nibs to your personal preference. If you need a nib adjusted to your personal preference, you need a custom nib. To order a custom nib, please purchase a standard round nib and fill out the nib customization form that you can find by following the instructions under Looking for a Custom Nib? on the Shopping Cart page.

To purchase a nib, click on the size you want from the charts below. We also stock standard (unmodified) round nibs for the Vanishing Point.

If you do not already have a pen body for the nib you’re considering, we offer a complete selection of Vanishing Point pen bodies without nibs.

If you are considering a crisp italic, please note that these nibs are very crisp and are usually not suitable for everyday use.

(View a Selection of Writing Samples)

Click the nib style names in the left column to pop up short descriptions of the nibs. Neutral Italics

— 18K Gold (for Namiki & Pilot) GOLD COLOR, NOT RHODIUM PLATED — Cursive italic Crisp italic Stub italic (“stub”) — — — 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.8 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.6 mm $91.00

Oblique Italics IMPORTANT: Please read before ordering oblique nibs. The term “oblique” does not mean “line variation.” Italic nibs give line variation; oblique nibs accommodate the way some people rotate the pen. Obliques can be italic, or they can be plain round nibs. All of the obliques offered on this page are oblique italics! Note that 30° left-foot oblique italics are not suitable for most users; they are intended primarily for left-handed underwriters who do not find 15° right-foot oblique italics comfortable. For more information, please read Nibs I: The Basics.

— 18K Gold (for Namiki & Pilot) GOLD COLOR, NOT RHODIUM PLATED — Cursive left-foot oblique italic, 15° Crisp left-foot oblique italic, 15° Cursive right-foot oblique italic, 15° Crisp right-foot oblique italic, 15°       —       — — — 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm $91.00 Cursive left-foot oblique italic, 30° Crisp left-foot oblique italic, 30° — — 0.9 mm 0.9 mm 0.7 mm 0.7 mm $96.00

Very Fine Round Nibs These nibs are Waverley nibs for extra smoothness.

— 18K Gold (for Namiki & Pilot) GOLD COLOR, NOT RHODIUM PLATED — Extra-extra fine (accountant) Needlepoint (0.008" stroke) — — — — XXF XXXF $101.00 Super Needlepoint (0.004" stroke) Special Order, 1 Week Delivery — — XXXXF $116.00

Richard’s Special Shapes

— 18K Gold (for Namiki & Pilot) GOLD COLOR, NOT RHODIUM PLATED — ItaliFine™ 0.9-mm cursive italic & Fine $111.00 Arabic/Hebrew italic 0.9 mm 0.7 mm — $101.00

Don’t See It Here?

For sizes or shapes not shown above, I can make you a custom nib. The price will be the sum of the standard nib’s price and the standard charge for customization to create the size or shape in question. Ordering a custom nib is easy — read this pop-up “comic strip” to see just how easy it is!