What's new

The Nib: Terms and Abbreviations

Since the nib is growing at a great pace below is a list of terms and abbreviations that are unique to the language of The Nib.
This is a growing list to help members understand some terms they may come across while enjoying their time in The Nib.

You can also find The Nib Wiki main page helpful if your are just starting out.


0-9

5OS, 5OCS - Five O'Clock Shadow. An exclusive Badger & Blade ink manufactured by Noodlers and sold through West Coast Shaving.

A-E

B - Broad Nib
BB - Double Broad Nib (twice as wide as a "B").
BBB - Benevolent Badger Blue. A Badger & Blade exclusive ink manufactured by Noodlers Ink and sold through West Coast Shaving.
BBB - triple broad nib, sometimes referred to as a "snow shovel"
BCHR - Black Chased Hard Rubber. A hard rubber pen material, decorated with engraved grooves
BSAR/BSiAR - Black Swan in Australian Roses. An ink made by Noodlers Ink
BSB - Baystate Blue. An ink made by Noodlers Ink
CC or C/C - Cartridge/Converter. A pen filling system that uses a removable cartridge with a movable piston that allows bottled inks to be used.
CF - Clairfontaine. A Manufacturer of paper products
Derby - The name given by some manufacturers to the portion on a cap above the clip.
EF - extra fine nib grade

F-J

F - Fine Nib
FC - Franklin-Christoph. A pen Manufacturer
FP - Fountain Pen
GFT - gold filled trim, sometimes called "rolled-gold". Not plated, actually has a layer of gold bonded through heat and pressure.

K-O

K - Karat or Carat (as in 14K, 18K, etc.). A measurement of the amount of gold in a metal alloy. 24K is pure gold, 18K is 75% gold, 12K is 50% gold, etc.
L2K- Lamy 2000
M - Medium Nib width
MB - Montblanc. A luxury pen manufacturer
MV - MonteVerde. A pen and ink manufacturer
OB - Oblique. A type of grind on the nib that is meant to add an angle at the end to better fit the natural hand angle

P-T

P51 - Parker 51 Fountain Pen
PFM - Sheaffer "Pen For Men". A Fountain Pen model manufactured by Sheaffer Pen Co. from 1959 to 1968
PR - Private Reserve. An ink manufacturing company.
Stub - A type of grind to the nib that will change the flow of ink during writing action. This grind will give you thinner lines writing cross strokes and broader lines while writing up/down strokes.
TD - Touch Down. A pneumatic filler mechanism used by Sheaffer, that pushes air out of the sac. Then as the inside of the sack regulates to equilibrium it draws ink up into it.

U-Z

VAC - Vacumatic. A type of ink filler mechanism
VP - Pilot Vanishing Point. A Pilot fountain pen model with a retractable nib.
YLMV - Your Lines May Vary, A Nib variation on YMMV referring to line variation of ink laid down by a nib, and the difference of opinions

This page has been seen 2,900 times.

    • Created by on

Recent Activity

Icon Legend

  • Normal page
  • Color code

    • Content has new updates
    • Content has no updates

Share This Page

Top Bottom