There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
*On modern nibs, the breather holes aren't really necessary, they are more for a traditional aesthetic. *Most nibs are tipped with "iridium" - which isn't really iridium any more - but a similar hard metal alloy. *What separates a quality nib from cheaper is often how this tipping is applied and how precisely the slit is cut *When using micro-mesh or similar, we recommend not going below 12000 grit unless you are looking to reshape the nib. 12K is plenty for smoothing. *When smoothing, be careful with side to side motion as this can take material from the inside of the tip, causing baby bottom which will cause a nib to false start. *Gold can be softer (not necessarily more flexible) than steel - and gold absorbs vibrations better than steel - however the higher quality steel now used in better brands absorbs vibrations better and so are closer than ever in performance vs. gold.
Gold absorbing "vibrations?" I think I'd like to see some proof for that before buying into it.
I was simply pointing out that some of the claims that FC made above were, IMO, a bit fishy.
Sharbait, by performance, I mean all the other aspects of a nib that are important. Ink flow, smoothness of tip, dry out times, and so on. Many factors are equal, feed, housing, section, barrel, air chamber in the cap.
On the breather hole issue - there is a lot of debate and always has been, but most believe the holes were initially put in for air purposes. This was confirmed by an old Koh-I-Noor engineer we spoke with recently who was involved in the production of a lot of brands decades ago. He felt strongly about it, but that's still just one perspective. I personally think it was serendipitous perhaps that it also mitigates pressure on that point. Modern nib makers will offer them to us either way, and in our music nib, with two slits, we omitted the breather hole, and have never seen one split. Same with Lamy Safaris, etc etc. Granted - perhaps stronger materials are used now, and perhaps there isn't a fully definitive answer on that point in history. That all said, the original point remains that they are there today mostly for tradition of style as they aren't necessary for anything really functional.
Appreciate the conversation and debate. Cheers - Scott F.