Largest Nib for standard production pens???

May 30, 2005

Does anybody know the largest nib in a regular production, I saw the Pel M1000 in person and that nib is just so large and so beautiful, is there any nib larger than that???

WWM

May 30, 2005

I believe the Namiki Emperor has a very, very large nib. From the pictures of the new Dani Trio, it looks like it has a very big nib as well. Seems like a lot of companies have been releasing large pens with big nibs. The question is, do big nibs write any better than smaller nibs? Personally, I wouldn't think that size would matter.

-Jesse

May 30, 2005

i don't think there would be any difference in quality really.

All in what you are used to I think. I've gotten used to a 200-sized nib and find that anything much smaller is okay but a little awkward. Much larger and it's just not that comfortable anymore. Could probably adjust fairly quickly though if forced to.

Someone could force me to accept an M1000 probably.

May 30, 2005

Well, I think bigger nibs tend to be springier than smaller ones, which, for me at least, is more comfortable.

I love my big Stip nibs .

I think the Namiki Emperor's is indeed the biggest production nib right now.

Warm regards, Wim

May 31, 2005

Having had both the Pelikan M1000 and MB 149, I can say the MB 149 is the larger of the two, I ended up selling the M1000 due to it being a poor performer. The Namiki Emperor nib is huge, and from what I've heard, is the biggest production nib out there like Wim pointed out. One in which I hope to own by the end of the year is the new Danitrio Mikado. This also looks to have a huge nib.

Bryan

May 31, 2005

Ach, I just don't understand this infatuation with big nibs. Big barrels. Big things. Is it just a guy thing? I know there's some ergonomics involved, due to the size of men's hands. But I look at all these oversized pens and still can't imagine how you could manipulate them comfortably when writing.

I mean, in the 19th century, they didn't make specially-sized dip pens for men that were the size of baseball bats, did they? And I daresay that they used their pens for more hours a day than we do now? What has changed?

So is it simply a guy thing, like roaring noisy power tools and comparing hard drive space on PCs? Bigger is always better. The kid who gets the biggest lollipop from the store wins? The guy with the biggest boots.... oh, never mind! I just find this Namiki Emperor a total mystery, that's all. I'd need two hands to use that pen!

ElaineB

May 31, 2005

Not for this guy, anyway . I don't understand it at all. Some of these large nibs are very pretty, doubtless, but they seem to me to make no kind of ergonomic sense. I had a Rotring Initial for a while. It was a good, well-made pen, but between the weight and the size of the nib I found it tiring and unnatural to use for any length of time. I passed it on to someone with bigger hands than mine.

A couple of weeks ago, someone gave me a Duke. It's a lovely pen and a very smooth writer. Again, though, the length of the nib is such that I can't find a natural, relaxed writing angle. I feel I need to rest my arm on a mighty tome to get the grip right.

The pens I use every day - Conway Stewart, Swan, Burnham, Sheaffer - all have nibs less than three-quarters of an inch long and I can find the correct writing grip with ease.

If we're talking p*n*s substitute, even a very large-nibbed pen is unlikely to boost one's ego, I'd have thought. You need a Ferrari for that.

May 31, 2005

If we're talking p*n*s substitute, even a very large-nibbed pen is unlikely to boost one's ego, I'd have thought. You need a Ferrari for that.

You know, Montegrappa has come out with a beautiful "large" Ferrari pen. Maybe it could boost your ego??!!

Bryan

http://www.fountainpenhospital.com/images/montegrappa_images/MGISFBF3RR.jpg

Edited May 31, 2005 by Bryan

May 31, 2005

It's certainly a very pretty pen. However, having started going down the road of unfortunate comparisons I'm not sure I want to take it any further.

May 31, 2005

It's certainly a very pretty pen. However, having started going down the road of unfortunate comparisons I'm not sure I want to take it any further.

Very Funny!

Bryan

May 31, 2005

Ach, I just don't understand this infatuation with big nibs. Big barrels. Big things. Is it just a guy thing? I

I mean, in the 19th century, they didn't make specially-sized dip pens for men that were the size of baseball bats, did they? And I daresay that they used their pens for more hours a day than we do now? What has changed?

(snipped some bits from your post Elaine)

I don't think it's a guy thing as much. Hand size is only one factor in why some find these big pens comfortable. My daughter has very long, spidery fingers and prefers a small pen (loves her Vector. weird kid.) So a lot depends on how you grip a pen and she tends to choke the nib. my hands are probably about average for a woman and I'm like you, a pen that is too large/fat is just cumbersome. But hubby has large but square hands with short fingers in proportion to his palm. He much prefers very narrow pens and pencils. Anything larger than an M200 would feel clunky to him.

then again - he's a confident man.

They do make fat dip pen holders now. Paper & Ink Arts has one that is called the Carrot I think. Because, well, it looks like a carrot.

go back even further and look at quill or reed pens - can't imagine anyone added ergonomic wraps around those.

I think "bigger is better" is a result of marketing as much as anything else.

Why now? Because we can.

May 31, 2005

The weight of larger pens is not always heavier than those of smaller pens, for example the Namiki Vanishing Point Pens are much much heavier than say the M1000 Pelikan. When I lifted the M1000 I was really surprised that it was so light, it was a very light material and I don't think that the M1000 would get tiring to write with. I'm not sure on the other large pens, but I think that some of them are designed with the weight in mind.

WWM

May 31, 2005

I have a Rotring Initial and actually enjoy the size and weight of it. I don't have large hands, but I have thick palms and fingers. Writing with a standard wood pencil for any amount of time (or, for that matter, you standard el cheapo bp's) cramps my hands. The larger pens just feel better ergonomically.

Long before I ever discovered fp's I liked larger writing instruments. My mechanical pencil of choice for quite some time was a Zebra Airfit, which has a large urethane grip section - 12.5 mm diameter.

I agree that for many it may just be an artistic thing, especially for collectors, but I'm sure there are users who, for ergonomic reasons, prefer the larger pens!

May 31, 2005

Ach, I just don't understand this infatuation with big nibs. Big barrels. Big things. Is it just a guy thing? I know there's some ergonomics involved, due to the size of men's hands. But I look at all these oversized pens and still can't imagine how you could manipulate them comfortably when writing.

I mean, in the 19th century, they didn't make specially-sized dip pens for men that were the size of baseball bats, did they? And I daresay that they used their pens for more hours a day than we do now? What has changed?

Elaine,

Take a look at some of the spoon nibs for dip pens. They are probably 10 to 12 times or more the size of present day nibs.

I was going to insert a rant about pens not being to small but will resist

Kurt H

May 31, 2005

Elaine,
Take a look at some of the spoon nibs for dip pens. They are probably 10 to 12 times or more the size of present day nibs.

I was going to insert a rant about pens not being to small but will resist

Kurt H

the nibs. But not the nib holders.

I think in some ways it's just the natural evolution of the tool. start out with reeds and quills - by their very nature, very narrow. Dip pens come a long and have a bit more girth, enough to ease the discomfort for most writers. Then FPs, which were a variety of sizes it seems but when a pen was "large" by the standards then, it was called an "Oversize" (still is in some cases) implying that *most* people were happy with what we would consider a medium or even small pen. As the materials, workmanship, etc. improved, ways of making bigger, fatter pens improved.

but there really is a valid question here. I can see some people liking the tiny pens like the Bantam because of the need to have something small and easily carried. It isn't just a novelty. Especially when you consider that women didn't carry the giant purses we carry now. And men tucked odds and ends into numerous pockets and pouches. But the practicality of some of the giant pens that seem so popular these days is a big question mark in my mind. In fact, as I understand it, many of the large Japanese pens aren't even made with clips because their size makes that pointless. Few people have shirt pockets that deep. So those pens seem, for most of us, consigned to "desk pens" - pens that don't leave the home or office. While you might need, for comfort, a large pen - let's say an M1000 - are there really people who can't write comfortably with anything smaller than the giant Japanese pens? They are beautiful and I'm not criticising them in terms of quality or aesthetics. Just honestly wondering if people can really heft one of those monsters and write for long periods of time.

it's rather interesting to me that so much of the products from Japan that we use regularly (electronics especially) are "convenient" and small and even miniaturized. Yet these pens like the King of Pens and such are heading in the very opposite direction.

and unless it's an ED or piston-filler - you still have to put one of those dinky-*** little cartridges in it.

May 31, 2005

I have one oversize pen, the Wality which I wrote about elsewhere. It's light and the nib isn't excessively large so I find it easy to write with.

More generally, I think there's a thesis in here somewhere. When pens were the universal writing tool they tended - and this is a generalisation - to be smaller, lighter and have smaller nibs than is generally the case now. There's something about moving from being a purely utilitarian tool to being a niche instrument; even an object of desire that leads to stylistic change. To a degree, the purpose of the fountain pen has changed and its design reflects that.

Parenthetically, something similar happened with motorcycles. They went from being just transport to developing into a niche market style statement. Prices rose accordingly, because of shorter production runs. Because of their technical complexity many motorbikes are no longer practical as the economical, basic transport they once were and there's at least a case to be made for something similar having happened to some modern pens.

What, to return to the original subject, is the practical advantage of a very large nib over the traditional size? Is there one, or is it a stylistic flourish like the fins on a 50s Chevrolet? Note: I don't say that in a spirit of disparagement. There must be room for the creative flourish or we become very dull indeed.

May 31, 2005

Gordon,

I think you are saying much more eloquently what I was trying to say re: the large pen/large nib evolution.

would love to know if people think there really is an advantage with the large nib. In a dip pen one could argue that a large bowl would mean more surface area and therefore more ink volume per dip. since the flow from an FP is so dependent on other things (feed design, flexibility, line width, reservoir type, paper, ink...) then I don't think you can apply that same reasoning. But... for some, a large nib may actually be more comfortable to write with. Actually, initially I felt that it was for me. But after a long time using M200 size nibs with some size variation on either side, that is what feels best to me.

June 22, 2005

Hi,

The large nib can use more decoration and can be seen fifty-miles off--much less a boardroom.

It is probably the marketing. I know someone who like fatter pens. My grandma likes very, very large things too. I do not have many large things, and have one of the smallest hard drives (2 GB is small enough isn't it? Never mind, that is my drive. Who is worried about hard drives anyway.) I stick with small computers, small pens, but want large ink capacity--I write a lot, and a large case that is large enough to hold all of my small disposable pens, but too small for large pens, and large ink bottles--for my heavy ink consumption--sometimes termed "Ink drinking."

Dillon