Not all vintage same size number nibs were created equal (a fun morning discovery!)
I was rearranging my desk this morning and decided to line up three of my vintage pens. They all feature nibs stamped with a "No. 5," but seeing them side-by-side, I was honestly shocked by the physical differences. Even knowing that vintage pens lacked standardized sizing, I always thought the differences would be minimal. Definitely not the case.
If you’re new to the vintage side of the hobby like I am, consider this a friendly heads-up: while nib sizing is fairly predictable today, back then it was the Wild West. You certainly can't assume a "No. 5" is always going to match that classic Waterman benchmark.
I’m mostly in this hobby because I love writing with flex pens, not necessarily to be a pure "collector" (though I have somehow accumulated 12 of them for "research"!). But looking at these three together was just too interesting not to share.
Here is how they stack up, from top to bottom:
• Morton New York No. 5 (from a German safety pen): This thing is absolutely massive. It completely dwarfs the others.
• Waterman Vintage #5 (from a Waterman 55): This sits right in the middle and is pretty much the gold standard. I think when most of us think of a vintage size 5, this is what comes to mind.
• Stilus #5 (from Italian manufacturer Pecco & C. Stilus): This one is significantly smaller than the other two, it’s actually much closer in size to a standard vintage Waterman No. 2.
The "No. 5" stamp was really more of a loose suggestion than a rule, varying wildly depending on the era and the manufacturer.
Did anyone else discover this wild size variation with their own eyes, or did you learn about it through online resources before taking the vintage plunge?