Article originally posted in Nov. 2015 on the Fountain Pen Network. The nibs were part of a group buy that took place on the forum.

The Ambitious Nib group buy proved to be a real treasure trove and a great experience personally in trying out different nibs.

The Pens

The Ranga Model 3c was a perfect platform for the larger 40 and 35mm nibs.  They fit comfortably and the ebonite feed worked well across the board.  5 stars.

For the #5 nibs, I choose a FPR Guru piston filler which also has an ebonite feed.  I've liked this pen from the first time I tried it and it acquitted itself admirably.

Ink and Paper

The project was also a chance to use a couple of the inks that Vaibhav Mehandiratta kindly included in the package: Bril Royal Blue and his personal blend of Camlin Scarlet Red and Camlin Blue. The paper was a TSWBI notebook which worked nicely with both inks.  The paper is cream colored.
 
40mm Ambitious Gold Finish

The 40mm Ambitious nib is clearly the granddaddy of the group and is a nib I've been wanting to try out since I first heard about it.

Fortunately, the nib fits my Ranga Model 3c - even capped!  I unscrewed the finial and found it to be a very tight fit but still OK!

The nib wrote a pleasantly smooth and wet M line straight away.  It's a winner and found it way back into the Ranga at the end of the project where it remains still.  I think eventually I'll wind up using a 35mm nib in the Model 3c but for now, I'm happy to admire this colossal nib when I write.

35mm Ambitious Two-toned Finish

The bottom line is that the 35mm nibs are probably a better fit for the Ranga Model 3c.  They are certainly a good match for the pen.  The two-toned nib is sturdy, stiff, high-quality and attractive.  It writes with a MF line that is equally suited for jotting notes and more expressive writing.

35mm Ambitious Chrome Finish

Interestingly, the chrome version of the nib wrote wetter than its two-toned sibling. Most likely, that can be chalked up to tuning but it was interesting to see.  I preferred the wetter line and, given that the trim on my Ranga Model 3c is chrome, I'd likely choose this nib to go with the pen.  It is an excellent fit.

No. 6 Ambitious Chrome Finish

I wish I had more experience writing with flex nibs but I certainly enjoyed messing about. This nib is a dead ringer for the nib on my Noodler's Ahab so I assume there's some relation there. For me, the great pleasure was in seeing how well the Ranga Model 3c performs with a flex nib and enjoying the subtle shading of the Bril Royal Blue ink. That and getting in a flex state of mind...

No. 5 Ambitious Chrome Finish

For the remaining nibs, I switched to a FPR Guru pen and the homebrew Camlin Scarlet Red + Camlin Blue that Vaibhav included in the package.  A very nice reddish purple!

The smaller version of this flex nib performed as well as its big brother.  The Guru is a great pen for this type of writing.

30mm Vintage Flex Nib - Made in Japan

This nib proved the softest of the three flex nibs in the group.  And fortunately, the feed on the FPR Guru kept up nicely.  Unflexed, the nib is fine so the range of line widths was impressive. I was very tempted to keep this nib in the pen.

No. 5 Serwex, Gold Finish M

The Serwex nib was a very nice fit for the FPR Guru and felt close to the stock FPR nib that comes with the pen.  It was nicely wet, smooth and pleasant to use.

No. 5 Hero, Gold Finish F

One of the "bonus" nibs included in the package turned out to be a Hero F nib.  It looked a little funny to me at first glance with tipping that's narrow but taller than I can recall seeing, so I wasn't expecting too much.

Boy was I wrong.  This nib turned out to be a smooth and super wet, nearly a gusher.  It was a marvel from the get-go.  And is still in the pen.  Wow.  You never know until you try!

That was fun.  All the more so thanks to the bonus nibs and ink in the package.  Thanks to Vaibhav Mehandiratta for making this possible and to you for reading.