This is my version of, “One Pen to Rule Them All.” In my instance this means one pen takes many nibs. I have a collection of 3 pens different fillers and each of them is taking on random nibs. Truly the best way to see if any model pen from this company can take on any nib replacement unit. The models shown, which is just a small sampling, are the 456 the 495 and the 487. All base models came with a fine or extra fine nib.
Let’s add some history to this topic. Esterbrook Model J was the last pen that really had many custom grind nib replacements that were offered in a common sizing. All one had to do was unthread the collar unit and thread in a new one to try out.
Up until now other companies have had “#6 nibs or other indicators of top sized proportions of length and width, however the area that fits in the collar units varied in width making them incompatible between pens. Further nibs were limited to the EF-BB range with only more recent, “long knife,” variations for those buying out of the eastern markets. Some companies had specialized , “Music nibs,” which changed line width to the angle at which you held it to, however nibs units are not sold separately for those models.(The Sailor brand).
Esterbrook is coming out with some more variations now, but the real battle has already been done with PenBBS for some years. I was holding out to get a higher model of Zodiac year for my birth year but it was skipped over, thus the subsequent multi-model purchase. PenBBS models are based in Eastern calligraphy as a result angles and points between line variation aren’t what Western calligraphers might expect. It does offer a large degree once the angles are discovered and writing is unique once again.
Cheers to most models take all all nib replacements.
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