For the ultimate fountain pen writing experience, is it necessary to have a gold nib? The short answer is no, whilst the longer answer is a combination of yes, no and it depends. Before we expand on that, first a little history.

The first set of modern fountain pens were mass-made with gold nibs as early inks caused the steel-nibbed pens to corrode whilst the gold nibs could withstand the corrosion. This led to the tips on both types of nib being replaced by iridium because the gold was ultimately too soft.

So why would I want a gold nib?

In our opinion, there are two reasons why you would prefer a gold nib over a steel one. The first is that there is much more flexibility in a gold nib. This will give your writing greater character and  a larger degree of line variety. In addition, the nib will soften over time meaning it will adjust to your style of handwriting. Of course, this may only be a prerequisite for a small percentage of fountain pen users, so the much more common reason is...

Design and prestige - generally speaking, a pen with a gold nib will be the result of superior craftsmanship and the aesthetics of the pen will reflect that. Think of it, if you will like the desirability of gold jewellery (not to mention the astronomical rise in the price of gold in the past 10 years).

Our favourite gold nib fountain pens

Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen (platinum-coated nib) - £105.00

Waterman Carene Black Lacquer Gold Trim Fountain Pen - £125.00

Cross Townsend Medalist Fountain Pen - £125.00

So what about steel nibs?

You'd be forgiven for thinking this article was heavily biased in favour of gold nibs; this is not our intention at all. Many steel nibs will write very smoothly and can even rival the writing experience a gold nib provides. The key issue to bear in mind is that the material of the nib does not determine how well the pen will write, however the ball under the nib which flows across the paper does. The age-old argument that inks will corrode the nib no longer holds any weight as the ink manufacturing process has changed so dramatically.

Of course that doesn't mean to say that all stainless steel nibs will be of excellent quality, though as a rule of thumb, if the nib is German, it's safe to say it'll be of an impressive standard. The 3 fountain pens you see below all boast superior quality German nibs.

Our favourite steel nib fountain pens

Laban Luxury Chrome and Resin Black Fountain Pen - £49.00

Lamy Accent Palladium Fountain Pen - £49.00

Otto Hutt Design 03 Rectangles Fountain Pen - £149.00