I'm not a vintage pen person. My taste usually runs to VPs, Safaris and the like, but I just bought my first Estie. You see, Pitman shorthand is a little hobby of mine, so when I came across a nib chart that characterized the 9128 as "Extra Fine Flexible (Fine penmanship, Pitman Shorthand)" I just had to try one.

The 9128 is a good nib for writing Pitman shorthand. Here's why:

1. It isn't extremely flexy. Pitman is shorthand, not slowhand. You want the least flex you can get by with, so that you don't give up too much writing speed. The 9128 is supposed to be semi-flex. It wasn't meant to do copperplate.

2. It doesn't shade too easily. Line variation is meaningful in Pitman. For example, a thin vertical line is the sound "tee" but a
thick line is "dee". Inadvertent shading is very bad, the equivalent of a typo, so it's good that this nib doesn't shade unless you apply noticeable pressure. It wasn't designed to make your handwriting "interesting". It just writes like an ordinary extra fine nib if you have anything close to a light hand.

3. It snaps back quickly. Pitman uses thick or thin lines only-- anything in between just creates confusion. With this type of writing you actually want abrupt transitions and this nib will provide them. It wasn't designed for shaded handwriting. An expert penman would have the skill to modulate this nib precisely, but it's too tricky for me.

I don't know why Esterbrook didn't call the 9128 a Pitman shorthand nib. The nib chart says "Extra Fine Flexible". Only the Pitman shorthand that follows tells you what the nib is really for. I guess they didn't want to confuse the Americans (who used Gregg shorthand), so the Gregg nibs are labeled "shorthand" rather than "Gregg shorthand" and the Pitman nib doesn't mention shorthand at all.

Well I'm here to clear up the confusion. In my opinion this really is a nib for Pitman shorthand. If you're using it for something else you might be better off with a different nib.

Thanks for the nice description of the workings of Pitman and why the nib choice.

The 9128 is also nice for drawing! Mine has the feeling of a very fine dip pen with a little bit of tooth and is flexible enough for nice variation. I love to use it for spidery but liquid lines.

Best,
Mars

Thanks, Mars. I'm glad it works for drawing. I didn't mean to suggest that it couldn't be used for other things. I just wanted to make sure that people understood why it is the way it is.

I see the 9128 being bid way up on Ebay. I'd like to think that Pitman shorthand is making a huge come back, but I doubt it. I suspect that people are chasing this nib because they think it will provide vintage flex, or beautiful shaded handwriting, and I'd like to save them some disappointment.

I have had this imagination that learning shorthand would help me write so much faster and would make up for my lousy penmanship, but then I saw what a skill it is and how it takes time to really learn it, like typing the correct (more than two fingers) way.
For my next life? Or it wouldn't take a year?
Best,
Mars

Learning shorthand well enough to take accurate dictation would require a year or more of diligent practice. I'd like to get that fast but probably never will.

Normal speech runs about 130 to 180 words per minute. But longhand maxes out at only 20 to 30 wpm. Learning some form of shorthand well enough to double or triple your writing speed isn't all that difficult. I mean you do have to apply yourself, but it isn't the work of years.

My current short hand method is to start each word and end it with a line making it only intelligible to me and only as long as I remember what I wrote...
Mars

Thanks for this insight. I was a bit disappointed that my 9128 nib wasn't more flexible. But some members have found examples which have quite a bit of it.

Yes, I did notice Phthalo's extra-flexy 9128, so let me add my data point to hers. My nib is like the one on the left in her photo (where the 9128 on the nib runs parallel to the pen body) but it is semi-flex like the one on the right (9128 perpendicular to body). So I don't think the version of the nib makes any difference. It may just be the luck of the draw.

My 9128 was NOS and I know for a fact that it is much less scratchy than when I first took it out of the box. It may be my imagination, but I also think it is the tiniest bit more flexy as well. We shall see how the nib breaks in and wears.

They sure did mention Pitman shorthand for 9128.
Check http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&sa...sa=N&tab=wp You will not see the full text of the books but there is enough reference.
"... Gregg 1555 Pitman 9128 bookkeeping 1550 accounting 2556 ... "

Agreed, I should have qualified my original statement. I didn't mean to say that Esterbrook never called the 9128 a Pitman nib, just that they didn't seem to emphasize that fact in their consumer directed advertising: the nib chart, which says "Extra Fine Flex", and the nib box, which says merely "Fine Penmanship".

I never thought of that before, but I guess I can write in the 35-40 wpm range...that's about my limit in copying Morse code, and still be able to write down the words. I never thought about using some type of shorthand as a tool to increase my Morse speed.


It's probably very much like Morse...you have to practice enough at slow speeds that it becomes second nature and you don't think about it when you write - you just do it. I know with Morse, I hear words a lot of the time instead of letters...do most of the shorthand methods have characters for entire words?

There are an astonishing number of shorthand systems floating around. The two main English systems, Pitman & Gregg, are both phonetic. They use symbols (curves, lines, dots, etc.) to represent consonants and vowels. Words are written as they sound without regard to their English spelling.

They also use special symbols called short forms or brief forms to represent commonly used words (the, it, to, etc.) in order to boost writing speed. The short forms have varied over time.

The older versions of these systems (Anniversary Gregg, Pitman New Era) were used by court reporters who had to be capable of 200wpm. These systems had lots of short forms and speed boosting rules and took a long time to master.

As stenotype machines and recording devices displaced shorthand for verbatim reporting, Pitman and Gregg came out with simplified systems more suited to note taking and personal use (e.g. Centennial Gregg, Pitman 2000). These are much easier to learn because they have fewer rules and short forms to memorize but can not reach the high writing speeds of the older versions.

Good note -- thanks! I didn't know that's what the 9128 was meant for. Pitman shorthand was actually used a lot by American journalists, because it's potential for speed is significantly greater (all those reporters out in the field before the days of cassette recorders).

I guess I need to pick one up. I'm thinking about learning Pitman to help me with interview and conference notes.

It pains me to say this, but a fountain pen isn't necessarily the best tool for Pitman shorthand. (Washes mouth out with soap :-)

Because Pitman is shaded we presume it was designed to be written with a flexible nib pen, but the Victorian court reporters actually used pencils. Practical fountain pens weren't available then (Pitman was invented in 1838) and nobody could write 200wpm with a dip pen.

Fountain pens became the preferred writing instrument because they're permanent (an important consideration in legal matters). But they are trickier to use than pencils because they don't write equally well in every direction. I find some of the shaded strokes of Pitman difficult to execute without rotating my pen a bit, which makes me wonder if Isaac Pitman didn't have a pencil in mind when he devised his system.

Ballpoint pens are very much like pencils for writing Pitman. Ballpoints don't lay down ink too readily (that's why we like fountain pens). Press extremely lightly and most ballpoints will make a thin, light stroke while normal pressure produces a darker, thicker stroke. (All the gel pens I've tried are useless because the ink flows too easily.)

The 9128 is a great choice if you'd like to experiment with flex, but if I were using Pitman in anger I'd probably grab a ballpoint. They're easier to use because they write smoothly in every direction and you won't be heartsick when you lose one.

Amazing what one can learn on the Esterbrook Forum. This forum keeps getting better & better!

This was super helpful, I never knew this. Thanks!

Oh joy! I was looking through my Estie nibs today and (re)discovered that I already have a 9128! I will have to fit it onto one of the Esties in the stable and try it out.

i've wanted a 9128 for some time now but i can't find one for under 50 dollars! bah!