Can A Nib Be Too Smooth?

[Tanzanite]

A pen can not be too smooth. In fact I have not found one that is absolutely perfectly smooth yet. Still searching

[Freddy]

 

Can A Nib Be Too Smooth?

No!

Fred

...Well..I woke up this mornin' looked out my door.....

If you see my milk cow..please drive her home.....

Ain't had No milk and butter..since that cow got gone.....

get out that little prayer book..get on your knees and.....

Windy & Warm....finger pickin' good..................................

 

[Freddy]

Ladies and Gents please excuse this double post..'tis beyond

my control........................................your friend and ....

 

Fred

Windy & Warm....finger pickin' good..................................

Edited July 19, 2014 by Freddy

[SkylarKnight]

I voted "no", since I like it when my pen is as quite as possible. I do prefer EF and F nibs, but I like them to be quiet (unless they're singing/whispering nibs, I haven't tried those yet, and have no opinion on it.)

[JulesSilvan]

A nib can definitely be too smooth. I don't like it when my pens try to run away from me.

[Sasha Royale]

It is strictly personal preference, as personal as it gets. I obsess about a lot of things, but I will tolerate a bit of "tooth", in my nib.

Perhaps, ultra smoothness is more important to writers preferring very fine nibs. Not so important to me.

[PDW]

I voted yes - like others who have posted, I find a too-smooth pen difficult to control, and I like the feel of slight feedback.

 

Which brings me to a question, perhaps more suited to the Repair sub-forum but seems apposite here: I've seen many posts on how to make a nib smoother, but how do you make it less smooth in a controllable manner?

[Marlow]

Definitely Yes! The length of time I'm happy writing with a butter-smooth nib is exactly equivalent to the time it takes to perform a write-test...and no longer! I have only a moderately disciplined writing style at the best of times and ultra-smooth nibs tend to worsen it significantly due to the controllability factor. Provided a nib does not skip, I'm all for a decent degree of feedback or 'tooth', especially with flexy,, stubby or oblique nibs as it forces me to slow down and concentrate on forming the letters correctly, i.e. yields a more aesthetically pleasing result.

 

Re de-smoothing, I have had some success by drawing figure-8s on wettened micro-mesh sheets at grades 1800 - 4000 (starting at 4000 and moving to coarser grades as needed). If you try it on a nib that's important to you, be sure to allow the weight of the pen alone to draw the 8s (hold the pen firmly enough so the nib does not rotate but no firmer), draw only a couple, then test the nib with ink, then only repeat as necessary, moving to coarser grades til you find your result. It's easy to overdo it so take care, especially if the nib is already low on iridium!

[william2001]

how smooth is smooth... that is the question

Too smooth.

 

I voted no because I want my nib to be as smooth as possible.

-William S. Park

[Venemo]

No.

 

Although I do appreciate the feedback I get when writing (the sound the nib makes and the feeling), but usually, the smoother the better. When I write with a smoother pen, I just can't stop feeling like "man, this smoothness is awesome!"

[bone215]

I like them all. Usually it depends on what mood I am in.

[prf5]

"Ever try a Jetstream ink pen? It runs away from me, especially on a smooth paper like Rhodia premium. Not a good feeling." -- Despite being told it doesn't feel good, that sounds dreamy to me. So far, I can only afford to use "ooh, this pen is on offer" on "ooh, this paper is on offer". If I ever start earning enough money that it feels more "wage" than "pocket money", I shall have to try the combination.

 

Interesting responses here. I would have assumed most people would say that there's no such thing as a pen that's too smooth. Apparently, not so. The edge of acceptability seems to be the Uni Jetstream ballpoint, a retractable that costs less than $3.50 in the U.S. That's my ballpoint of choice -- great balance, easy to use, extremely smooth, and inexpensive. I'm starting a two-week trial of using ballpoints exclusively, to see how much I actually miss fountain pens.

[fpenluver]

Eventually some scratchy pens will become smooth after months of use.

[zap210]

Generally I would say NO, a nib cannot be too smooth. Lately, though, I was using a broad titanium Bock (polished until it was very smooth indeed) on Rhodia paper and found it to skip and hard starting. Dropping a point size solved the problem. I particularly like ultra smooth fine and extra fine points but they are rare. They write well on anything.

[Aurko]

I answered that a pen can be too smooth simply because I remember reading or hearing somewhere that if a nib is too smooth the ink won't spread throughout the point that makes contact with the paper--thus said pen in theory won't write consistently.

 

In terms of just feeling the pen on paper, it depends on the task at hand. For writing, I prefer my pens to be as smooth as possible but if I am drawing or doodling a pen can be too smooth for me.

[prf5]

 

Interesting responses here. I would have assumed most people would say that there's no such thing as a pen that's too smooth. Apparently, not so. The edge of acceptability seems to be the Uni Jetstream ballpoint, a retractable that costs less than $3.50 in the U.S. That's my ballpoint of choice -- great balance, easy to use, extremely smooth, and inexpensive. I'm starting a two-week trial of using ballpoints exclusively, to see how much I actually miss fountain pens.

 

Thanks to superfreeka for posing the question. I agree with Sasha, that ultra-smooth may be preferred by us who use a fine and EF nib exclusively for writing text. Also, perhaps the texture of the paper plays a role.

 

I have cut my 2 week trial short. I found the Uni Jetstream to be excellent for most everyday purposes. It is better than a fountain pen for taking a quick note or signing a receipt. I can adjust to the Jetstream's amazingly smooth flow and quick movement across a page. There's no concern about the paper, about running out of ink or misplacing the pen. There's no ritual involved. If I had to choose a single instrument, the Jetsream would be it. But for doing head-down work such as writing a draft, I prefer a fountain pen with good quality paper. My two fountain pens are writing companions. Their qualities and traits contribute to the experience. I believe that even the best ballpoint, gel, or roller can't do that.

[rwilsonedn]

Interesting that a couple of responses associate smoothness, baby-bottom, and skipping. I suspect that some modern high-end manufacturers know that most of their users will be coming from ballpoints and that they are going to press down on the pen enough to spread the tines a bit. So they intentionally grind in some baby-bottom to keep the pen feeling smooth when the writer is pressing too hard. That would cause skipping when the pen is used without pressure on hard-finished paper.

I also have a feeling that some people who report control issues with smooth nibs use quite a bit of pressure when they write some strokes. If there is no pressure on the pen, the difference between a little tooth and perfect smoothness would be very hard to notice. Tooth tends to show up when the nib is under pressure. Some people may appreciate tooth because they are using the friction of the nib pressed into the paper to help control the pen, rather than using their arm muscles as a calligrapher would.

Very interesting topic.

ron