Just recently bought an ornamental, wooden oblique holder along with McCafferys black from John Neal. I previously only had experience with the zebra g so i decided to order some niko g and gillot 303s. I have to say i absolutelty love the flexibility and hairline capabilities of the Gillot 303. Going to go ahead and order a bunch of those. Can anyone suggest other nibs that have similar characteristics? Also, in what instances would you use the Nikko G over the Gillot 303 and vise versa? Thx!
What script are you attempting?
Revised: copperplate?
Just a few comments--
If you are happy with the modern G303, why look further, lest you fall down the wormhole of trying nibs for fun?
--a better nib for copperplate is a vintage Gillott 303, although it will be more expensive
----A vintage Gillott 170 is excellent for copperplate with a small x-height. It is even sharper than the vintage 303 and has similar flexibility. The modern version has lost some of its sharpness.
--a vintage nib similar to the vintage 303 is the Brandauer 516, shown here (but it is hard to find):
http://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=4204.0--the Brause 66ef is an excellent nib, but due to its xxflexibility, requires a good control over pressure to get good results with copperplate. Nibs with a little less flexibility, like the G303, might yield better results if you are just getting started with copperplate.
--the other nibs mentioned, you may find, are not good substitues for the G303, although they are decent nibs in their own right. The best advice might be to simply buy a few of each of them and give them a try and see if they work for you. From my own experience, your time might be best spent practising with a good nib you like versus looking for even better/cheaper nibs--it can be a big time suck. If you enjoy the nib hunt though, then give it a go.