With gold nibs, test writing is indispensable, since these are individually hand-ground and show recognisable differences even within the same nib width of one manufacturer. Tendentially, Montblanc nibs write somewhat thicker than Pelikan nibs of the same designation. The B nib of a Caran d'Ache Ecridor writes considerably finer than the B nib of a Montblanc Meisterstück Classique, which makes clear the manufacturer-specific character of nib widths.