Cheaper

Some months ago, over a year now, the Italian brand Delta launched a strange nib. Strange, but with a lot of hype on the benefits of its unusual structure.

The Delta Fusion is, in actual terms, a steel nib topped with a gold hat. This combination, Delta advertisement claimed, provided an improved flow because the interface steel-gold raised the temperature of the ink, this rendering it more fluid…

Delta's Fusion nib, made by Bock.

The reverse side of the very same nib--an untipped stub. These two pictures are courtesy of KMPN.

Really?

If so, any gold plated steel nib should provide the same effect. Let us remember that interfacial effects only involve some few layers of material –of gold and steel in this case— and no especially thick coatings were needed.

Two "fusion" nibs by Pilot.

But on top of this fallacy there another one—Delta’s nib is not even a novelty! A long time ago in a galaxy far away Wearever created another hybrid nib. On this case, however, the writing material –or that supporting the writing point—was gold, and steel was used to attach the nib to the feed and to the section.

A "hybrid" nib by Wearever. The steel plate holds the gold nib in place.

Both cases follow the same argument—how do we reduce the gold content of the nib while preserving the added value of the gold nib itself? A number of strategies have been attempted along the history of pens. Delta’s is simply the last one—and the most ridiculous of the lot.

My thanks to Wagner member Shokubutsuen and to KMPN, whose pictures of the Delta Fusion nib are greatly appreciated.

Pilot Custom 74, music nib – Gary’s Red-Black

Bruno Taut
Shinjuku, July 23rd 2014
etiquetas: plumín, Delta, Wearever, soluciones técnicas, Bock