Fountain pens are sensitive things. It’s all too easy to break, snap, bend, or tweak one just a bit too far, leaving your favorite pen broken. And nib replacements from the manufacturer can be expensive, nearly the price of the pen itself (much more if you bought the pen used), so they aren’t always the best option.
Luckily some fountain pen nibs are interchangeable.
This is a guide to swapping your fountain pen nib with a compatible one from another pen. Some of these we’ve tried, others have been collected from around the internet or emailed in to the site. If you have an addition or see something that you know to be inaccurate, please email!
Modular Nibs
These are nibs that are designed to be swapped. They slip right off and right back on in seconds, no tools required.
Lamy
Almost all Lamy steel and gold nibs are interchangeable with one another, with the exception of the Lamy 2000. Check out our Lamy nib guide for more. Some of the pens with swappable nibs are the Safari, Al-Star, Lx, Studio, CP1, and more.
The Wing Sung 3008 has a Lamy compatible nib so you can buy one and replace your Lamy nib for $3 instead of about $15. The same is true of the Hero 359.
Platinum
Like Lamy, many Platinum nibs can be slid off and put on a similar pen. The list of interchangeable pens is:
Standard Size Nibs
Many fountain pens actually use nibs made by a small number of specialized manufacturers. Companies like Schmidt, in Germany, make nibs for a huge number of brands and, while it’s not advertised much, these nibs are interchangeable.
Schmidt #5 Nib
- Benu: Briolette, Minima
- Franklin-Christoph: 14, 27, 29, 40
- Jinhao: 159, x450, x750
- Levenger: True Writer
- Noodler’s: Flex, Ahab
- Schmidt: Intrinsic
- Twsbi: Diamond 530, Diamond 540, Diamond 580
JoWo
JoWo’s popular nib units are used in a number of brands and can be swapped between them. These include:
- Retro 51 Tornado (uses size #6)
- Tactile Turn Gist (#6)
- Kaweco: Supra, Elite
- Bigidesign Ti Ultra Pen
Bock
Many makers use Bock nibs, including Kara’s Kustoms, Kaweco and Tactile Turn (as mentioned), Caran D’Ache, Conid, Conway Stewart, Delta, Edison, Graf von Faber Castell, Franklin Christoph, Monteverde, Pelikan, Stipula, and Visconti.
Kaweco Nibs
Kaweco nib units can be used in Kara’s Kustom fountain pens, particularly the Fountain K Pen. This is because both brands use Bock nibs.
Pilot Nibs
Pilot fountain pen nibs use standard sizes so if you identify the size there is a good chance you can find a nib that will fit that pen. This isn’t a perfect match, not all nibs will fit all pens, but you’ll have a good chance.
Pilot’s Entry-level Steel Nib
These common nibs are interchangeable between the:
- Metropolitan
- Prera
- Pilot 78G
- Plumix
- Penmanship