Hi, sorry for the stupid question but I'm a little confused. From what I understand a stub nib is a squared of type, italic is cut at an angle and oblique is ????.
Now given that I'm left handed what would be different about the angle of cut for italic nib etc..
The reason for the question ?...I would like to get more character in my characters You know what I mean. Line variation etc. I've always gone for broad nibs in the past but still cannot get nice line variation. I've noticed many here swear by Richard's oblique/italic/cursive/gods knows what bablefish style nibs.
Help please.
BTW my stubbed Sheaffer Legacy has to be perfect on the paper or one of the edges digs in, otherwise very nice and smooth when it doesn't.
Thanks in advance.
Gary

Check out Richard Binders site for all the nib info you need:
http://www.richardspens.com/

richard's site has good images and descriptions but just to clarify one thing - it is the oblique that is cut on an angle (hence the term). In General, left-handers need right-footed obliques to avoid digging into the paper.* I'm right-handed and like oblique stubs a lot and for me they are best to be left-footed though I can use a right-footed oblique, I simply have to rotate the pen the opposite direction and focus a little more on my writing than I normally would. That can be fun now and then to challenge yourself by doing something totally against your natural hand.

*I'm not saying they need right-footed obliques in lieu of italics/stubs but in lieu of left-footed obliques.

Umm, no...

Left-handed underwriters who rotate their pens typically need right-foot obliques because the natural way to rotate a pen is toward yourself. Overwriters who rotate typically need left-foot obliques.

Left-handers who do not rotate their pens need no obliquity. My son-in-law, Don Fluckinger, and my wife, Barbara, are both left-handed overwriters, and neither uses obliques of any kind. Don has a bizarre hold, with his pen nearly vertical, but he doesn't rotate. Barbara's hold puts the pen at pretty nearly the "standard" angle of 45°, and she uses straight-cut stubs and italics. (She has stubs on her Filcao Leader 1918 and Bexley Submariner SE, and cursive italics on her Waterman Philéas and Signum Python.)

Gary, you really need to read through my nib primer:

Nibs I: The Basics

There is additional information scattered throughout my glossary -- here's a link to the entry on italics, which is a good place to start:

Glossary: Fountain Pen Bits, Pieces, and Other Stuff -- italic

Thanks All, I've just checked out Richards site. Wow. I think I need a cursive right-footed oblique italic so as to be smooth but also to give some variation.

Richard's site says of obliques:

"Most modern obliques are ordinary round nibs, not designed to produce line variation."

So this allows the writer to rotate the pen and modify the contact point on the paper. Okay. Why?*

Are most people getting an oblique+ (stub, italic, whatever) modification done? What's the purpose of a Lamy or Pelikan factory oblique if it's a round tip and doesn't produce line variation without further modification?

Ryan, the slightly puzzled.

*edit - I understand the utility for people with specific requirements, like the lefthanders above, but beyond that, why?

Gary, before investing heavily into something you are not sure about:

Try to get one of those budget calligraphy pens or sets offered by various manufacurers. Parker, Pilot , Rotring, Lamy, Sheaffer offer calligraphy pens/sets with regular italic steel nibs, mostly from 1 mm upwards. The steel nibs may not be smooth, but to find out how it affects your handwriting, try simply one of those with the narrowest nibs available (shop/online store/ebay) in NZ.

I found the great effects of italic nibs by a cheap Rotring 'Art Pen' at the end of the '80s, but also Lamy 'Joy' can make fun.

You hardly will find any nib widths below 1mm, but when you are sure, what you want, Richard can take care of your budget

I think it's basically that many people who grew up with ballpoints tend to rotate the pen instinctively because they "need" to see the nib.

You do get some line variation with Pelikan's OB, OBB, and 03B nibs, but you also get some with their B, BB, and 3B nibs, just due to the way the writing pads are shaped to allow for a broader variation in hold angle (altitude).

I have a few clients who want oblique round nibs; one in particular, who happens to be right handed, gets a right-foot demi-oblique (8° instead of the usual 15°) in a size halfway between XF and XXF. I myself do actually rotate a little clockwise (in the right-foot direction), but not so severely that I need an oblique nib. (But I do catch myself from time to time, when I'm testing italics and one starts to feel scratchy.)