choice of pen nib and handwriting style

[Kate Gladstone]

How do you write? I'd like to see if choice of nib-style (Italic/stub/calligraphy versus other) correlates with choice of handwriting-style. (For purposes of this poll, I consider Italic/stub/calligraphy nibs as one category, and I consider all others as "not Italic" nibs: later on, I hope to do more detailed polls which more finely distinguish different categories of nib and style.)

 

To clarify your answers, please post on the board!

[Leslie J.]

I generally use stub nibs because of my high angle of attack relative to the paper. I am strictly boring old Palmer schoolgirl cursive. It is so ingrained in me, I don't know how to get more flair to my writing. Sometimes an italic nib will give me more flair.

[Stompy]

I use a non-italic nib only because I'm too lazy.

I'm waiting for a cursive italic nib from Mr. Binder so I'll see how things go with that.

[Keith with a capital K]

My writing has been described as being Spencerian in nature with a great numer of adopted elements and the pens I use range from stubs,italics,semi flex,fully flexible, extra fine, and fine nibs.

 

The type of pen I use is really dependent on the task at hand and the paper I am writing on and I carry a wide range of pens with me on a daily basis.

[Cam]

I tend towards italics when available. My favourite Esterbrook nibs are always the x312s and x314s. Of course, I've never tried a flexible nib ...

[KCat]

I chose the second in the list but (expletive deleted) I meant to click on #4 - I practiced calligraphy in my teens (back to the issue of mum trying to help me improve my handwriting) and a lot of that stuck with me as my handwriting "evolved" (perhaps, devolved is more appropriate) over time. I use all sorts of nibs but my preference is an "edged" nib (my word to sum up italic/calligraphy/stub) and in recent years my writing has adopted more italic style then it had before I rediscovered FPs. But it's still pretty much a hybrid.

Edited February 11, 2005 by KCat

[georgem]

Most of my pens are standard, non-italic nibs.

 

I have five italic nib pens that I'm using somewhat more often.

 

As far as writing styles go, until fairly recently I would print (poorly!!) We're not even going to discuss my cursive writing.

 

Since December, I've been making an effort to copy the Chancery cursive found on James Pickering's website, using both standard and calligraphy nibs. In doing so, my writing has vastly improved. In fact, I was asked to fill out a membership certificate for a local service club, using my newly acquired skill. WOOHOO!

 

I'm now at the point that I want to obtain/grind a 1.1mm nib down to about 0.7mm to write/practice with.

 

I'm having a lot of fun improving my handwriting and using new pens.

[kjervin]

While I write in several different styles, most of my writing is done at work, and I tend to write in a mix of print and italic with non italic nibs. The primary reason is because I have to usually write small, and I do not have the control (or haven't practiced enough) to write legibly in cursive at a small size. But it might be kind of circular, because if I wrote in curcive more often, I might have the control to write legibly and small. I also tend to use non italic nibs for the same reason, as you move towards fine and extra fine nibs, the change in line variation for an italic nib is less aparant to me then with a medium or bold. So I tens to go with a fine or extra fine, non-italic nib and write in a mix of print and italic because my style is really not so much of either as a mongrel of both.

 

Odd thing is, when I am writing personal correspondence, I tens to write with a med italic or stub and write in cursive, unless I am in a hurry, at which time I revert to print/italic (printailc?). To me, writing in cursive with a italic nib is luxury time (cuz it look so purtry!) I eventually hope to transition more to a standard italic, but finding time to practice is not always easy.

 

Kj

[antoniosz]

I am writing with different styles depending on mood, purpose and writing speed.

This includes all types of nibs and several possible styles.

 

BTW what is a calligraphic nib?

 

AZ

[KendallJ]

BTW what is a calligraphic nib?

Italic or stub, I believe.

[kjervin]

This is kinda like the "if you could use only one ink..." poll. I always have a problem with them becuase it makes you choose between items that don't capture all the nuance of the situation. What you write with is influenced by stricture of your environment, and what one writes with most often is not what one prefers to right with. It's kinda like the difference between the question "what manufacturer's pens do you have the most of" and "What pen do you most enjoy from your collection" if you see what I mean. I would wonder how much the answers would change if the question were one of preference instead of reality. Of course I realize that Kate might have been looking for some specific information, I was just chaffing cuz my writing life is constrained by my working life.

Kj

[Moondrop]

..

Edited November 11, 2006 by Moondrop

[Bill D]

Engineering school and work forced me to abandon my illegible cursive for printing a "few" years ago. More recently, I've had a lot of fun, and some success, working with Getty & Dubay's Write Now and coming up with my own version of joined italic writing. I only use a non-italic nib, though.

 

Bill

[Anne-Sophie]

I only use plain nib, they need to be medium or bold and very smooth and wet.

 

I consider fine and custom nibs scratchy, I tried them thinking they would help my huge

handwriting but they bug me to no end.

 

My "ideal" handwriting would be the one that Denis Richard shows in the post about Seyes paper ruling.

 

Unfortunately, when I am trying to keep up with my thoughts some unsightly printing pops out especially with r, s and p's. It's a constant battle to keep my nice French cursive.

[Guest Denis Richard]

Hi Anne-Sophie,

 

after reading your post, I tried to reproduce the cursive we were taught. Well... after 20 some years of evolution, let's say that going back to it pretty much looked like what my first attempts must have been

 

Denis.

[corienb]

I think I fit none of the above descriptions, I adjust my writing style to the nib I use..

Copperplate-like with a flex nib, italic-like with an italic or stub nib.. and ..well not sure what to call it, with a normal nib ( mostly B ).

 

 

http://www.bennink.info/pens/corien1.jpg

[KCat]

I'm not Kate...

 

but I'd call it printing with an italic flavor.

[pizza_eater]

I don't have a italic or stub nib (yet!) but I have attempted to model my handwriting after Getty & Dubay's style in Write Now, using normal Fine and Medium nibs. I can't wait to see how it will look with the cursive italic I plan to get soon!

 

Eric

[paolimd]

I use fountain pens, almost exclusively: medium or fine nibs. As for ball points, I use them rarely: when in a hurry, when writing on poor quality paper, or for copies.

 

My writing style is Palmer's, occasionally combined with Peterson's.

 

As for ink: blue, blue black or plain black.

[Sonnet]

I use "round" (non-Italic) nibs to write a style of cursive that I originally learned in 2nd grade. My current cursive has only evolved in terms of legibility. It wasn't the Palmer method of cursive but a similar one. If I can find a scanner, I'll try to post some handwriting samples later. I do occasionally print but my grade school teachers required us to write in cursive from 3rd (4th?) grade on so I stuck with it, even through high school and college.

 

Now that I'm job-hunting, I can't help but wonder: Why the heck can't I get a job involved with fountain pens?! I'm not talking about just selling them. For that, I could pester the Paradise Pen store in the King of Prussia mall.