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Reply to @koakuma@uwu.social
🍀🩹 [ちょろい]² :estelle_smug2:@hannah@hai.z0ne.social (2026-10-02 03:28:40)
@koakuma@uwu.social Beyond flexibility and corrosion resistance there is also smoothness. I am not sure of the specifics, but people report gold nibs to be smoother than steel-iridium alloys. There are also titanium nibs, but those are rarer in my experience.

EDIT: oops.
A common myth is that "gold nibs write smoother than steel." In reality, the tipping material (usually an iridium alloy ball or wedge) and how it’s ground and polished determine smoothness. Both gold and steel nibs use similar hard tipping metals, so the actual contact point on the paper is virtually the same. 
Do note that it's not necessary to make all the nib out of gold if you don't want flex; Lamy for example offers gold nibs, but they only cover the "relevant part" (which is the ball and the space near the tines)
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🍀🩹 [ちょろい]² :estelle_smug2:@hannah@hai.z0ne.social (2026-10-02 03:32:54)
@koakuma@uwu.social ALso while on the topic, you can find older fps that have a steel-iridium nib with a tin plating to give them a more premium feeling. I found one in a pound shop which had ink burst all over it, and the ink had eaten the tin plating away, revealing the SI body. I bought it for shits and giggles but it was damaged beyond repair and I had to dispose of it.

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Sun Microdevil Pte Ltd@koakuma@uwu.social (2026-10-02 10:01:52)
@hannah > I found one in a pound shop which had ink burst all over it, and the ink had eaten the tin plating away, revealing the SI body.

Wow this is scary
I suppose those exotic material nibs are going to need more maintenance then?