Do Broad Nibs Have Much Of A Purpose Today?

[The Blue Knight]

I've never owned anything thicker then a medium nib simply because I've always thought that a broad nib would get little use. However I wouldn't mind owning a pen with one. So what I am asking is can a western broad nib be used for general notes without too much problem or are they only suitable for signatures and other similar things?

[perth]

If you have a larger handwriting, using a broad shouldn't be a problem. A lot of my modern mediums are more like "broad" when compared to the vintage pens' "medium". But if you're going for a broad, might as well buy a stub which should be much more interesting and shouldn't be too hard to use since the widest point is just as wide as the entire broad nib's point.

[Aborst]

I use a 1930s MB 234 1/2 with a steel nib that I ground to a OBB nib on a daily basis. It does wonders for my handwriting.

[lahlahlaw]

I find it difficult to write much of anything with a broad nib. I love how they showcase inks but my handwriting is just too small for a braod daily writer.

[KBeezie]

I find it difficult to write much of anything with a broad nib. I love how they showcase inks but my handwriting is just too small for a braod daily writer.

Same here, but I find them great for addressing envelopes, signatures or headings, especially if they're stubs. (for normal stuff though, even a western broad is a little big for me).

[Bo Bo Olson]

Modern western B's are mostly wider than vintage....as are most nib sizes.

I have German vintage B's-OB's, I use all the time, they are compared to say my Lamy CM-1 B; M-B nibs instead of modern B.....good writing nibs. Not signature nibs.

I do write with vintage OBB's also.

The German vintage nib I use are semi-flex and 'flexi'/maxi semi flex, so with a tad of pressure they will write wider, as wide as modern nail B. It depends on what you want to do, and how light you can make your hand.

 

How wet or dry the ink is or how good the paper you are using will make up to a width in how it writes. Dry ink, slick paper will be thinner.

Wet ink....and say 100% cotton will be wider.

 

It is not hard to write larger, if you wish.....there are many who pride them selves with tiny script, and are unwilling to expand their horizons.

 

There is wider lined notebooks or you can print wider lines your self.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[strictlyobiter]

I use broads, BBs and OBBs every day. I have big handwriting so they suit my hand. I love the way they lay down inks. I find anything less than a broad boring, might aswell use a gel pen or a Bic. I have one fine nibbed pen in my arsenal; a Pilot 78G that I use for grading cheap papers. It's all swings and roundabouts though, plenty of people who feel the same about broads.

[Z-Tab]

I'd agree with the consensus that it depends a lot on your handwriting. But don't think that you have to buy unlined paper or anything, I have a few broads and an OBB that I use on typical, college-ruled paper and they certainly do not need more room to be legible. I get fewer words on each line than I do with my mediums and fines, but that doesn't bother me at all.

 

I do have a Pelikan M800 with an O3B nib that puts down a bit too much ink for one line. So maybe don't jump that far into the pool until you've tried one for yourself.

[mallymal1]

Fine and medium nibs for notes and general use, but broad for the pleasure of seeing your inks at their best.

[Ghost Plane]

I've never figured out how so many if you manage the F & M nibs better suited to centuries where scarcity of writing paper was an issue. I use O3B and 3B nibs on college-ruled paper without difficulty.

[bogiesan]

Got too many nearly full bottles of ink? A couple broads will put a dent in your liquid assets.

And broads and wide italics shade beautifully with certain inks.

[CaptainBA]

I take some of my notes in class with a Faber Castell Loom with a Broad Nib. It's actually closer to a medium I think. I also have a broad nib in my Parker 45 which I think looks exactly like a medium nib but is much smoother with a larger sweet spot. I like the broad nibs because it spreads my writing out. Before I was gripping pens too tightly and causing my hand to cramp but I find that broad nibs encourage larger handwriting which means my grip isn't as tight. So I have less cramping.

[The Blue Knight]

I take some of my notes in class with a Faber Castell Loom with a Broad Nib. It's actually closer to a medium I think. I also have a broad nib in my Parker 45 which I think looks exactly like a medium nib but is much smoother with a larger sweet spot. I like the broad nibs because it spreads my writing out. Before I was gripping pens too tightly and causing my hand to cramp but I find that broad nibs encourage larger handwriting which means my grip isn't as tight. So I have less cramping.

 

Funnily I was actually thinking of buying that exact pen for next years minor purchase.

[furious]

I use a broad stub mainly for signatures and addressing envelopes.

 

I like vintage fine semi-flex nibs most for general writing.

[Beckwith]

My handwriting is too small for broads, so I think their main purpose is grinding the nib into something else

[shuuemura]

I find that broad nibs are best for writing notices to be pasted on a board to be read. At least that's what I use them mainly for.

 

Because most of the broad nibs I have lack personality, I usually send them to be ground to cursive italics.

[mirosc]

I love B nibs (it's the same for F, M, XF,...) and even broader nibs.

 

Just take the little effort and adjust the handwriting to the nib (starting with the size of your letters) and you will achieve great results. It's not difficult at all.

[CraigR]

I have found it interesting that my taste in nibs has dramatically changed over the years. When much younger, I had a very neat and concise handwriting that a fine nib enhanced. That has changed to writing larger script and liking line shading and variation. Today, I prefer the broad nibs to fine and also love writing with stubs and cursive italic nibs. My handwriting is much larger and easily accommodates the larger width nibs.

 

Craig

[mallymal1]

I've never figured out how so many if you manage the F & M nibs better suited to centuries where scarcity of writing paper was an issue. I use O3B and 3B nibs on college-ruled paper without difficulty.

 

:lticaptd:

[Mickey]

True Broad pens (nibs), not to be confused with nibs that are merely Big, look best with Italic based handwriting, whether formal or cursive, or any other hand traditionally written with an edged pen. Stub, Italic, and (true) Oblique pens are types of Broad pens. That is, their contact patches are broader than tall. Similarly, BB, BBB are simply broader Broad pens. Unfortunately, a lot of modern nibs marked and marketed as B for broad, are merely Big, Fat, Pointed Pens, not Broad at all. This, I believe is a source of much confusion. Caveat emptor.

 

As for paper usage: with similarly legibility, I can pack more italic text on a page using a .4mm oblique, than I can Spencerian (or Palmer) with a < .12mm pointed pen.