Scribe Nibs

[HLS]

How long should a nib last. I was hoping Amazon would have an article on this but they don't.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by HLS

How long should a nib last. I was hoping Amazon would have an article on this but they don't.

Just use it until it doesn't work right anymore. They give you 5 or so replacement nibs when you buy the Scribe.

[tomsem]

When someone actually has to replace a nib, perhaps they'll report here and give an estimate. Of course it will depend on how much you use it and how much pressure etc.

I'm a little worried I'll lose track of the replacement nibs before I need to replace one.

[Avwriter]

I would also be interested to hear if anyone has had success with third party nibs. Anyone know if the titanium "forever nibs" will damage the screen?

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Avwriter

I would also be interested to hear if anyone has had success with third party nibs. Anyone know if the titanium "forever nibs" will damage the screen?

Nibs wear so as to avoid wearing the irreplaceable screen. Only use such nibs, if at all, on cheap USB sketching pads for PC/Mac/Linux.

[HLS]

Originally Posted by Avwriter

I would also be interested to hear if anyone has had success with third party nibs. Anyone know if the titanium "forever nibs" will damage the screen?

I got the Titanium nibs in via Amazon for Scribe and Elipsa and they work well. No scratching. I took them out and put the original back in for now. I am going to wait till I use up the included nibs first. But the 3rd party nibs work.

I plan to get a screen protector just in case

[Quoth]

Even if they don't scratch you want them to wear instead of the screen.

[Avwriter]

I have not tried them but am tempted.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2P9YT4J...v_ov_lig_dp_it

[tomsem]

I still want to know what the symptoms of a failing nib are.

This morning I was having issue writing on certain areas of the screen, and sometimes a stroke appeared a few millimeters from where contact was. Turning off and back on restored expected behavior. So I guess not related to nib.

[Kusuri]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I still want to know what the symptoms of a failing nib are.

The nib can't "fail". it's just a piece of specific material that is plugged into the pen. you usually replace a nib if it gets difficult to write with it since you worn down it too much and its almost gone.. so it would get difficult to get it out anymore to replace if you use it further. also a lot of people replace it if it "scratches" too much on the screen and it feels not comfortable anymore to write with it.

example: i have a Onyx Boom Nova Air and it only had a single nib. The first weeks i could write with it really well, but then the nib scratched more and more on the screen.. this did go so far that i didn't wanted to write anymore because it did feel so bad and made a annoying noise. i then got a replacement nib from a different company, and this nib now works way better (smoother & rubbery material) and doesn't gets used up so quickly.


so short answer: replace it if you think it is time because its either too short in lenght, or it isn't working well anymore because of the shape it got over time (best you can do is rotate the pen from time to time so it gets worn down everywhere in the same way to not get a weird nib ending that is flat)

Originally Posted by tomsem

This morning I was having issue writing on certain areas of the screen

my guess is: you either tried to calibrate the pen & it glitched out, or you need to calibrate it. on my Onyx Boom, when i calibrate my pen.. i have the exact same issue. i don't know why, but it doesn't works well after the calibration. so if you did calibrate the pen my recommendation would be.. try to reset this calibration. if it still doesn't works well, try to calibrate it again.

the issue you describe has something to do with the Device (Tablet) not recognizing the location of the pen correctly on the screen. So if the calibration is wrong or glitched out, it thinks you pen nib is somewhere else on the screen than it actually is as an example.

also, on the edges of the screen there are atleast on my Onyx Boom often areas where i can't write well on it. i think it has to do with the way the screen is designed and how it detects the location. so maybe it is a flaw the Scribe has just as the Onyx Boox.


And for the Titanium Nibs: I warn everyone from using those. They SCRATCH the Screen of devices. There are countless people who used such nibs and have scratched the screenprotector layer on their touchscreen or even the glas self. Nibs are intented to be worn down instead of the screen-layer, so if you use a nib that is harder and doesn't wears down.. you scratch the screen layer over time. So i would really recommend to not use those. I have seen horrible cases of screens after people used such nibs. Isn't really nice & i doubt Amazon will replace your device in such a case.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I still want to know what the symptoms of a failing nib are.

This morning I was having issue writing on certain areas of the screen, and sometimes a stroke appeared a few millimeters from where contact was. Turning off and back on restored expected behavior. So I guess not related to nib.

That's just classic Wacom "bugs". Nothing to do with nib. The nib is just soft plastic and as previous poster explained it's replaced if too much of the tip is worn away or distorted. I've used Wacom EMR like on the Scribe and also original Wacom (which in 10 years never needed a replacement nib). I've seen that behaviour on both common types of Wacom pen.

[HLS]

Originally Posted by Kusuri

The nib can't "fail". it's just a piece of specific material that is plugged into the pen. you usually replace a nib if it gets difficult to write with it since you worn down it too much and its almost gone.. so it would get difficult to get it out anymore to replace if you use it further. also a lot of people replace it if it "scratches" too much on the screen and it feels not comfortable anymore to write with it.

example: i have a Onyx Boom Nova Air and it only had a single nib. The first weeks i could write with it really well, but then the nib scratched more and more on the screen.. this did go so far that i didn't wanted to write anymore because it did feel so bad and made a annoying noise. i then got a replacement nib from a different company, and this nib now works way better (smoother & rubbery material) and doesn't gets used up so quickly.


so short answer: replace it if you think it is time because its either too short in lenght, or it isn't working well anymore because of the shape it got over time (best you can do is rotate the pen from time to time so it gets worn down everywhere in the same way to not get a weird nib ending that is flat)




my guess is: you either tried to calibrate the pen & it glitched out, or you need to calibrate it. on my Onyx Boom, when i calibrate my pen.. i have the exact same issue. i don't know why, but it doesn't works well after the calibration. so if you did calibrate the pen my recommendation would be.. try to reset this calibration. if it still doesn't works well, try to calibrate it again.

the issue you describe has something to do with the Device (Tablet) not recognizing the location of the pen correctly on the screen. So if the calibration is wrong or glitched out, it thinks you pen nib is somewhere else on the screen than it actually is as an example.

also, on the edges of the screen there are atleast on my Onyx Boom often areas where i can't write well on it. i think it has to do with the way the screen is designed and how it detects the location. so maybe it is a flaw the Scribe has just as the Onyx Boox.


And for the Titanium Nibs: I warn everyone from using those. They SCRATCH the Screen of devices. There are countless people who used such nibs and have scratched the screenprotector layer on their touchscreen or even the glas self. Nibs are intented to be worn down instead of the screen-layer, so if you use a nib that is harder and doesn't wears down.. you scratch the screen layer over time. So i would really recommend to not use those. I have seen horrible cases of screens after people used such nibs. Isn't really nice & i doubt Amazon will replace your device in such a case.

I am not going to use he titanium ones ill i can find a good screen protector

[solitarywolf]

Originally Posted by HLS

How long should a nib last. I was hoping Amazon would have an article on this but they don't.

It really would depend on how much you’re writing with it and how much pressure you put on the tip. Everybody is going to get different mileage.

[tinycrabman6]

Amazon has a new resource page for the Scribe, and in the FAQ section they answer this:

How do I know when I should replace the tips in my pen?
If ink strokes appear before you even touch the pen to the screen, or if you see visible damage to the tip, that means it’s time to replace the tip. Kindle Scribe includes 5 replacement tips and a tip replacement tool. Use the tip replacement tool to extract the old tip and insert a new one for optimal writing performance. Additional replacement tips are available for purchase.

Anecdotally, I have written 100+ pages of notes for school over the course of 5 months now, and have yet to replace my first tip.

Doing some quick and dirty math: If I hastily assume that tips will only last me 6 months, then the included 6 tips will last me 3 years into the future. And after I use those up, a 10 pack will cost me $15 on Amazon. In the end, the 16 total tips will have lasted me 8 years with the net cost being only $1.88/yr. Considering Amazon only guarantees 4 years of security updates, I doubt even the most hardcore Kindle users will need to buy more than 1-2 replacement packs in the entire lifespan of the device (barring they don’t use excessive force, and don’t prematurely replace the tips).


I would also advise against using titanium nibs. The Scribe's matte coating is made of plastic, and will scratch very easily at a level 3 on Moh's hardness scale. Titanium falls at around a level 6 and will be enough to scratch even tempered glass screen protectors over time.

It's better to accept this is a fundamental problem of physics. The friction of rubbing two surfaces will cause wear to at least one of the surfaces, and these tips were designed to be disposable and replaceable. It is far more economical and safe to just buy the $1.5 tips once you run out, rather then to buy a titanium nib that will damage the writing substrate.

TL;DR, in my personal experience they last a long time. A titanium nib is not worth the money, and at worst will damage your screen.

[Avwriter]

Also if you look closely at the nib through a magnifying glass, you can see when the writing tip is almost worn down to the stem. The soft writing material is black and the stem is dark gray.