The Monoc is a wet and smooth writer, with just a hint of feedback; not wet like a fire hose but definitely not a dry writer. Widthwise, I would describe it as a “wet medium”, almost broad. Ian designed this nib to give you “a consistent, predictable writing experience.” Traditionally, titanium nibs (most notably by Bock) were bouncy and prone to being sprung if you bounced them a little too hard. The Monoc is made from a different grade of titanium, which is stronger, and the nib is also thicker than stamped nibs. This makes it a much stiffer nib than gold, titanium or even steel nibs, such that when you put it to paper, you won’t get as much tine movement (at the microscopic level), resulting in a more consistent writing experience for a wider range of writers. Because it is a firm nib, do not expect it to be bouncy or flexy. If I had to compare it to something already on the market, I would say it has the stiffness of a Jowo steel nib, with the wetness of a Pelikan gold nib and the slight feedback of a Platinum gold nib....
First of all, this is definitely not a product for everyone. It is an expensive purchase. It will not miraculously make your handwriting stunning (though with regular practice, it certainly could help). You would get this not only because it writes well, but because it is a gorgeous nib. Because it is a technical marvel. Because titanium is cool, but also because this titanium nib won’t spring on you. And I’ll be honest, because it is sexy as heck. It’s like the Pilot Myu or Murex - people don’t love them because they are necessarily the best writers out there, but because they look and feel amazing. And while I really like how the Monoc writes, I love how it looks even more. This is definitely an emotional purchase as opposed to a functional one and I have zero regrets.
Broadly speaking my takeaway is the same as it was just looking at the specs:
- We don't really know what the longevity of the writing surface will be. Schon says that titanium is tough enough that nib tipping material does not need to be added, but time will tell
- From a functional standpoint, there is absolutely no reason to buy this nib
- What's potentially interesting here for the future is that not needing tipping material (if true) means that potentially, Schon could machine almost any nib geometry, for example something like an architect grind with a really strong line variation. If you look at nibs from Sailor, etc. that are doing unusual geometries, they frequently have to be made by actually stacking several nibs on top of each other to get enough tipping material surface area to be shaped. That market segment is also more interesting IMO because you'd have to be doing something like that to justify charging $400 for a nib in the first place, and because there's likely some unmet demand since those nibs are relatively hard to get.



