Flex Nibs and Soft Nibs - a Super Scientific Study

How do you know if a modern fountain pen has a TRUE flex nib on it? Drew claims to have a foolproof (or foolish) system that can deduce exactly that. In this video, you'll see writing comparisons of 10 different pens with varying degrees of flexibility so that you can see for yourself just how flexy are these supposed "flex" fountain pens?

LINKS TO PRODUCTS FEATURED:

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction
01:03 Diplomat Magnum
02:08 Noodler's Konrad
03:19 Pilot E95s
04:18 Pineider Quill Nib
05:38 Noodler's Triple Tail
06:52 Pilot Custom 912
08:00 Pilot Justus 95
09:19 Platinum 3776 Century
10:23 Pilot Falcon
11:46 JoWo Omniflex
13:02 Results
13:53 Additional info

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[HeadbangerTomcat]

My takeaway, as I had already suspected, is that in order to get line variation from a modern "flex" nib, the thin line is just as important as the thick one. The Falcon EF shows that quite well as there is a lot of contrast between the line widths. Thanks Drew. I'll give that video 🦄🦄🚑🏀

[CapMIam]

Watching Drew "flex" his knowledge on flex nibs... a sight to behold. Plus the rating system, A+ 👌 but must you decapitate a penguin in the process ? 😆

[janepilecki]

I found this video very helpful by showing how these pens actually write. And Drew has such a humorous way of presenting the nibs! I really enjoyed it. Great job! Thank you!

[MichaelDunn]

While I'm not too concerned about the softness of the nibs, I can still appreciate the in-depth, scientific examination. Your dedication to the scientific method is impressive. Makes me sit up in my turkey hammock, and take notice. I give it five camels and a giraffe. 🐪🐪🐪🐪🐪🦒

[AAAndrew]

In the days of dip pens, they used an even more confusing, and all-encompassing term, "Action." When even so-called "Inflexible" dip nibs still flex more than most modern "flexible" fountain pens, they needed to talk about something other than just "flexibility." "Action, " as far as any coherent meaning can be derived from the uses of the term in relation to dip pens, indicated the overall writing experience, including what we would call spread and snap (how much pressure it took to spread the tines, and how quickly the tines come back together after spreading), smoothness (more important on a dip nib which is not tipped), and softness or bounce.

A "stiff action" was a pen without much bounce or spread, or a pen that required more pressure to get a spread of the tines. A "superior action" generally meant a pen that was softer with decent spread and medium pressure to see spread. A "soft action" pen, was one that we might call today a wet noodle. It was a pen that took little pressure to get a good spread of the tines. These last pens are the most difficult to control, and were not very common. They were mainly geared towards penman and ornamental writers.

[AspasiaB]

Fantastic! I'm in the market for a couple soft nibs so this video was very timely. Good job! This video earned three rockets and one and a half mangoes.

[latui]

What a clever way to show off pins from different manufacturers well not offending anyone manufacturer that you sell.

[gary-pvvz]

I propose Drew’s scoring system be used for all Goulet reviews. Well, I’d encourage Figboot to also adopt. Really, I think we all agree the industry as a whole would benefit from using Drew’s exacting scoring system.

[kiwig]

Pilot Falcon with soft fine nib is my favorite. I always have both my falcons inked up! Love seeing you making more videos, Drew! You always make me laugh and brighten my day!

[Lili-qyls]

wait ... Why didn't I know that Drew has such an amazing hand writing?? :o

[ronhori]

Drew, your rating system is fantastic! Very wacky and that's why I like it. Keep flexing your imagination as well as the nibs.

[dezkant]

1:02 - the proprietary scoring Drewbric

[ginak]

Drew, could you please display a screen shot of each writing sample side by side so we may compare the nibs. Thanks for all the tips.

[Sir-Topham-Hatt]

I just hit play... but I feel like this might not be "scientific"... you guys are great

[LovelyFatima]

Drew, as always, your humour is a genuine delight!

[jasondaniel]

Like many, even most, of the pen reviewers, the speed at which you write is medium to high warp speed compared with my s-l-o-w, careful drawing of each letter. I have been using FP's for over 60 years, but I never (NEVER) mastered flex nibs. My favs have been italic or stub nibs. I like italic nibs as rigid as I can find, and they reward me with wonderful line variation. "Soft" nibs? I remain unsure how well I might do with them. But young folks like you do motivate me to go through another round of experimentation with the current production soft and flex nibs. I need to count the nickels and dimes in my pen war chest to see where I might begin.

[s.n.]

I love the diplomat magnum. I found it super soft to write with and able to make some calligraphy capitals, it’s been a pretty fun nib for me. And the prismatic purple is … BEAUTIFUL!
Thanks for the video Drew! Very interesting and helpful to understand the difference between a soft or bouncy nib and a flex nib.

[marioferu]

I left the flex bote early in my personal collection history… gold flex rated astronomically high 💸💸, particularly the vintage ones. I prefer the stub, three tines or Asian bent (fude) nibs for line variation in fountain pens.
Also I would like to discuss more about the differences between gold and steel in modern soft nibs.

[ivygarcia]

10:20 as a Hispanic, I appreciate using flan as a unit of rating

[nordlyselsker]

My favourite modern flex nib is a Scribo EF flex which writes very wetly, flexes with very little pressure and is simply a joy to write with. I think we can all agree that it would be totally wrong to give it any score lower than a whole piano and a full moon. Another good one is the Santini stub flexy, which I'd rate at a reindeer, two chocolate eggs and half a cup of tea. It's too broad for everyday writing (at least for me), but so much fun to play around with.