Are Metal Nibs safe for your Pen Tablet? (Part 5)

Important information potentially permanent changes to pressure sensitivity due to metal nibs. Also covered: how different nib materials affect pen accuracy
See this doc for more information: docs.thesevenp...
Related videos:
- Are metal nibs safe for your pen tablet (part 1) ( • Are Metal Nibs safe fo... )
- Are metal nibs safe for your pen tablet (part 2) ( • Are Metal Nibs safe fo... )
- Are metal nibs safe for your pen tablet (part 3) ( • Are Metal Nibs safe fo... )
- Are metal nibs safe for your pen tablet (part 4) ( • Are Metal Nibs safe fo... )
- Are metal nibs safe for your pen tablet (part 5) ( • Are Metal Nibs safe fo... )
- "How do EMR pens work?" • How Drawing Tablet EMR...
NOTES:
- Although not explicitly mentioned in the video, the IAF of the baseline pen with the plastic nib was measured at the beginning of the experiment and after six months. In both cases the pen retained a low IAF and it did have any observable changes
Learn more here: docs.thesevenp...

[@paulopaniago5972]

Man, I cannot thank you long enough! You just saved my pen. Here in Brazil, those are really, really expensive to buy, about 3 to 5 times their price in US, because of import taxes and depending on the way they are imported. I was very worried about it's durability, and was considering a metal nib, not because of wear, but because I was afraid the plastic nib could brake inside the pen, and I wouldn't be able to remove it, like what happened to some. But after seen your videos, that became a far smaller concern.

[@eddyalvaross2195]

Feels like there's a spring inside that becomes more compressed with the use of the metal nib. It might be time for metallic tip and plastic trunk, making the new nib made of both plastic and metal. However, I don't know which brand/manufacturer would design that.

[@thesevenpens]

Interesting idea. I will keep an eye out for a nib like that!

[@eddyalvaross2195]

@@thesevenpens By the way, the new Wacom Pro Pen 3 standard nibs give the feeling I suggested at first sight : metal tip and plastic trunk, as the tip and trunk have different colors. I however am not sure about the material of the tip. If you can have you hand on that nib and check whether it's truly metallic tip or not, I'd be grateful. Just reply here for the news once you do the experiment.

[@Trid3nt861]

Stainless steel and titanium are two forms of metal. Whichever way you slice it, it will sit in the pen and depending on the pressure or angle may or may not damage the inside of the pen rod slot.Also noticed that the metal nibs will slip out as they do not have much feel to them for the sides of the inside of the intuos pen to hold them, and since they're slippery per se (since they're metal) they will eventually fall out when angled downwards and tapped from above).

[@nurainaazhar1210]

thank you for the terrific insights, i am a samsung tablet s7 fe user and i like using matte film as it improves my writing experience but apparently, it's not plastic nibs friendly as it get worn down less than a week. hence the switch to metal nib, which reduces my buying of new plastic nibs to essentially zero. but seeing your experiments UWAARGH

[@zeroumashi2947]

I could be wrong, but I believe the part that is getting damaged is the ferrite core. Under normal use the plastic stem flexes to prevent damage to the ferrite core when tilting the stylus against a surface. The metal nib with metal stem however is hard, inflexible, and harder than ferrite. So with all that comes increased load pressure on the inner edges of the ferrite core, leading to damage of the ferrite core.

[@thesevenpens]

I think you may be on to something about the cause. I recently took apart a different Wacom pen and saw clearly that the nib does not directly make contact withe the pressure sensor, but it does have direct contact with the ferrite core. When I take apart the test pen I’ll use a microscope to see if I can detect damage to the ferrite core.

[@gbdomalgamer]

Any updates?

[@zeroumashi2947]

If there is something, it'd be micro cracks on the inside of the ferrite core. most likely won't see it without an x-ray. If you remove the ferrite core on a battery free stylus, it'll usually stop working. However there are some drawing stylus that don't rely on a ferrite core to function.

[@LogarAcc]

Can you please give us an update?? I'm using metal nibs on my tab s6 lite for a few months now, and I've noticed that when I write with the spen it creates gaps and it takes 2 to 4 tries to recognize the tap. It recognizes my finger touch immediately tho, so I guess the damage is done to the spen and not the screen of the tablet

[@Jerry_quesoso]

Can confirm it, I have my brand new Wacom One Pen (DTC133) and use it with my Galaxy Tab S9+. From the first usage I was blown away at how sensitive it was as I came from using the XP-PEN Innovator 16 stylus which has a whomping 12g IAF. The nib started to wear due to the paperfeel screen protector and as such I bought a metal alloy nib, to my surprise the IAF was noticeably higher and you just prevented me from further destroying my stylus. Many are often concern about scratching the screen, when it reality we run the risk to cause permanent damage to our styluses. Many thanks sir.

[@thesevenpens]

Thanks for the comment and for sharing your experience!

[@snoot6629]

Saved me from buying metal nibs for my Intuos Pro (2015) grip pen , thank you!

[@nobody2021]

Early on watching the series, I came to the conclusion that it is okay for me to use a metal nib without a screen protector on my intuos pro Large, however, I think now I will go with a regular plastic nib or a felt nib with a screen protector. I have been using a screen protector on my intuos pro medium, which the large is now going to replace, and there has been no nib wear, just the screen protector wearing away, although this is purely cosmetic and hasn't affected functionality. I've been using it like this for several years, and The nib has remained in seemingly brand new condition the whole time. Finding out now that the metal nib can damage the pen, I see no reason to use a metal nib. The original goal of that was to prevent the nib from wearing down and needing to be replaced, and to prevent wear on the surface of my tablet, but using a screen protector with a plastic nib achieves the same thing without damaging anything. All I have to do is replace the screen protector from time to time, but even then that's probably not necessary, as the wear on the screen protector is purely cosmetic and would be done just to satisfy my OCD of that bothering me just because it does.

[@raitotiar]

Thanks for the test! I was even considering machining my own metal nib to use with the Huion PW517 I have been using a steel nib with the Galaxy Tab s7+ for a while because the nib would wear every 2 days with regular use (and a rough screen protector, this was like the setup used by mangaka Boichi)... I choose to continue using it for now for the convenience.

[@nichi446]

now i'm using metal nib from aliexpress... i dont know how i'm not having wobbling issues but oh my god this is terrifying

[@nichi446]

Ive not noticed wobble until i maked some test of draw slow, and that let me notice a Big problem Ok, it's sad... Ill save money for a new pro pen or a xencelabs :'(

[@Figuremakr]

Thank you! I agree with this. I put a titanium tip in the Staedtler Noris. Using it roughly 3-4 months , ~6 hours a week on a Samsung Tab S7+ using Infinite Painter. The pen w the the titanium tip is unreliable and not accurate. Basically it's garbage. The stock s-pen works as expected as well as a new, stock Staedtler Noris.

[@simpletools6805]

Great series so plastic/felt nibs + surface cover is the way to go

[@ShadowLinkxMaster]

Part of me wishes there was a hybrid nib. Like- a metal tip but a plastic stem so the likelihood of a nib causing issues would be resolved entirely.

[@thesevenpens]

A fellow tablet enthusiast shared this link with me with exactly what you are talking about: alice-books.com/item/show/1113-3 currently sold out though :-(

[@ShadowLinkxMaster]

@@thesevenpens That seems to be made for another stylus that isn’t Wacom, given the shape. I’m tempted to try an experiment of my own by Plastidipping the stem of my metal nib. It’s a rubber coating and not like plastic, but it will provide more cushioning in the barrel of the pen, to prevent the metal from wearing down the coils. I’m using a sacrificial Pro Pen 2, so, if it breaks, it’s not the end for me. ;)

[@elbert5208]

Very nice to see the secrets of styluses uncovered

[@narkayel]

guys i have a tab s9+ and since i use paperlike screen protector, the original plastic nib melted quickly. i bought stainless steel nibs from aliexpress and i found it great at first. After three weeks pen started to malfunctioning. Touchscreen didnot respond my pen rightnow and I didnt drop at all... Even though I liked it much more in terms of feeling, I cannot recommend steel nibs. i thinks it is the reason of my pens failure.

[@Jerry_quesoso]

My goodness, my pen was about to suffer the same fate! I bought the metal nib from AlieExpress too for my Wacom One Pen

[@toman3783]

Awesome experiment and valuable information. Thank you!

[@user-wz3ns2bn1r]

Hello, it's been more than a year ago since this video: were you able to confirm that metal nibs were damaging the pressure sensors? Thank you!

[@thesevenpens]

I took that pen apart and examined the inductor coil, the ferrite rod, and the pressure sensor. I could find nothing obvious in terms of physical damage. It's interesting to note here than with this pen the nib (whatever material it is made of) never directly contacts the ferrite rod or coil or pressure sensor. So it is still a mystery to me what the mechanism is behind the change in IAF.

[@69vanessa99]

Thank you very much!!!

[@sgtpepper91]

The increased minimum pressure is a deal breaker for me, I frequently draw with extremely light pressure. Shame, this nib is really interesting

[@deathbringer2000]

Kuuube's Wacom Tablet Mastersheet has really come in clutch for me.

[@thesevenpens]

It is such a terrific resource! I hope more people discover it.

[@ghynsol]

Can you know for sure that the difference in IAF wasn't caused by your drop tests? I think dropping it 14 times could have caused this change.

[@thesevenpens]

I noticed the reduction to the IAF in episode 4 *before* I did the drop test. At the time, I had assumed the change was temporary and merely due to the presence of the metal nib. It was only by episode 5 that I saw the change was permanent. If redo this experiment I will evaluate the IAF at the start of the experiment, and periodically along the way.

[@gregoire8295]

One year later, does the activation force still get worse with your metal nib? Because if the activation force doesn't get worse than that, I might consider buying one since I don't need extremely low activation force. Or maybe have you noticed other degradation by now?

[@zephgodofwind]

Are you still actively working on an update to this series or is it more on the back burner till you can get new test materials? I'm mainly curious if a plastic bodied but metal tipped nib would give the benefits of both worlds without any of the downsides but for the life of me i can't seem to find any such nib that's in stock. Hoping for you to have better luck then me so the rest of us can be better informed on if going on such a snipe hunt is actually worth it.

[@thesevenpens]

Yes it's on a bit of a back burner. I really want to redo the experiment for another 6 months and also try out some of those (very hard to find in stock) plastic nibs with metal tips.

[@dormin600]

was this change caused by dropping the pen 14 times at desk height?

[@thesevenpens]

Great question! The drop testing was done AFTER I detected the change in initial activation force.

[@elbert5208]

How about a felt tip? Any change to the height, accuracy, and IAF?

[@thesevenpens]

Great idea! I’ll try that sometime this year

[@jerookaskeroo28]

wow this is very intesive research. Amazing

[@thesevenpens]

Thank you!

[@Epsnan]

What about Apple pencil?

[@thesevenpens]

Not sure. Apple Pencil uses a different technology from EMR. I don't know how a metal nib might affect the Apple Pencil.

[@Alabalahama]

Well, that sucks, was about to use it on my grip pen

[@nichi446]

Update: i was finding that mechanical wobble and IAF increase on my pro pen 2 But it's perfectly fine Even after 7 months using a metal nib from Aliexpress For this video i'll use again plastic nib yo be secure and use metal nibs only as a last option when i watch me with no nibs instead But it's weird, why after 7 months i'm not having they issues what you haved?

[@thesevenpens]

I'm not sure. There may be other differences between out setups or the way we use the pen. I'll keep researching. Which nib did you order from Aliexpress?

[@adskuydrochula]

I'm having other issues related to nibs material. I have Wacom Medium tablet and problem is what nibs material changes its form with time creating a sharp edge which makes afwul noises like if you were scratching glass with nail. Is there any way to deal with it? Maybe put something like glue on the end of the nib?

[@thesevenpens]

Can you share a video of the nib making this noise? I’ll look into options. Some people complain of noise from the nib, but I’ve never experienced it myself.

[@elbert5208]

Wanna se e how u compare different emr styluses based on IAF too.

[@thesevenpens]

Another good suggestion. Once I learn how to test the IAF accurately I’ll check with my pens

[@cmml22]

damn im scared of damaging my huion

[@aintcappin]

is it good to use on cintiq 16?

[@thesevenpens]

I haven't tried it with a Cintiq screen and I right now would not recommend someone doing that. I do believe there's a chance it can damage the Cintiq screen. I've even seen people with plastic nibs damage their Cintiq screen. If someone is going to do that I would recommend using a protective sheet (docs.thesevenpens.com/drawtab/accessories/protective-sheets).

[@jemfalor]

just get supernote heart of metal pen with ceramic tip

[@thesevenpens]

I cant' find such a nib in stock :-( Do you know where they are available?

[@jemfalor]

@@thesevenpens only the pen

[@arttest0156]

I have a titanium alloy nib. I mess up the pen tilt. It is super inaccurate and wobbly. With plastic nibs, I can get a very accurate and smooth tilt functionality. Other than that everything seems okay, the lines are straight, and the pen pressure has not been affected either. I cant find stainless steel nibs though.