Namiki Falcon With Mottishaw Spencerian Adjustment

[anaximander]

I recently purchased a Namiki Falcon from Classic Fountain Pens, with John Mottishaw's Spencerian modification. The Falcon in its unmodified form is a common enough pen and has many reviews, so I'll focus this one on the nib modification and the writing qualities of the pen as they relate to its intended purpose of Spencerian lettering. I'll also discuss how these qualities compare to writing Spencerian with the traditional dip pen with oblique holder. (Note that the term "oblique" is not being used here in the fountain pen sense, but to describe a type of nib holder with a metal flange that holds the nib at an angle.)

 

http://rongilmour.info/images/falcon/threePens.jpg

 

http://rongilmour.info/images/falcon/falconNibComp.jpg

 

Boring stuff: It's black. It's plastic. It comes in a box. Cartridge/converter filling system, converter included.

 

I am not an expert in Spencerian penmanship, so please forgive whatever is unsightly in my examples. I am taking a class and am trying very hard to improve, so constructive criticism is welcome.

 

A little background: I've tried to write Spencerian with a fountain pen before and have been disappointed. I have a beautiful Waterman 52 with a very flexible nib that I have tried to use for this purpose. While a great pen in general, it has some characteristics that make Spencerian lettering challenging. Spencerian depends on very fine hairlines. The Waterman can produce adequate, not spectacular, hairlines, but once the nib had been flexed for a "swell," it is difficult to return to a hairline. At first I thought that this reflected a lack of "snapback" in the nib, but I suspect now that it has more to do with the feed. At any rate, the ability to return to a true hairline after applying pressure is a requirement for a Spencerian writing instrument.

 

After my experience with the Waterman, I was a bit skeptical of the idea that a fountain pen could really be used for Spencerian, but figured that Mr. Mottishaw would be unlikely to call something a Spencerian modification unless he meant it. Like Agent Mulder, I wanted to believe.

 

I took the plunge and ordered the pen and am amazed at its performance.

 

In the following comparison, the top sample is the Falcon (with J. Herbin Pearle Noir), the middle one is a Nikko G nib in an oblique holder with McCafferty's ink, and the bottom is the Waterman 52 (also with Pearle Noir). The paper is a Rhodia dot pad.

 

http://rongilmour.info/images/falcon/spencComparison.jpg

 

The first thing you'll notice is that while neither of the fountain pens gets as fine a hairline as the Nikko G, the line quality of the Falcon is far superior to that of the Waterman. The capital "E" is interesting to examine. Notice how in the Falcon example, there is a reasonably fine line coming out of the bottom swell, while in the Waterman example, the connector between the "E" and "d" is thicker than average.

 

The Falcon example demonstrates a general difficulty with using a fountain pen for Spencerian in the mangled "t" of "triumph." Going into the "t," I was writing in my usual position. When I exerted pressure to get the desired wedge shape at the top of the "t," I found that the nib shot off to the left, not at all where I wanted it. This is not the pen's fault, but an inevitable issue with the non-obliquity of the fountain pen. Once aware of the problem, it can be corrected for, as shown by the more successful "t" in "at" and "d" in "Edinburgh."

 

A slight weakness of this nib is the fact that it will not produce really huge, spectacular swells. Personally, that doesn't bother me much.

 

http://rongilmour.info/images/falcon/Ecomparison2.jpg

 

In this example, with a fancier version of the capital "E," we see that the Falcon (middle) provides modest swells, compared to the Nikko G (left) and Waterman (right). But notice how the fineness of the hairline produced by the Falcon produces a far better sense of contrast between thick and thin than the Waterman. I think this pronounced thick/thin contrast is more important than the absolute width of swells, but I suppose that may depend on one's personal style of Spencerian.

 

To sum up, I am very happy with this wonderful pen. It is no substitute for the traditional tools, but it is a great luxury when you'd like to write a thank you note or do a bit of practice without hauling out your dip pen, ink bottle, &c. Highly recommended for the Spencerian enthusiast.

 

The decision to buy this was made after a phone conversation with Jonella at Classic Fountain Pens. I called wanting something for Spencerian and was prepared to pay for one of the specialty Sailor nibs. Jonella guided me away from these more expensive options and toward the Falcon, which is a bargain at $254. I greatly appreciate her thoughtful and knowlegable answers to my questions and her commitment to finding the right pen for my needs.

[hari317]

Thank you for the informative and interesting review. i know nothing about spencerian and it was interesting to read.

[IWantThat]

Very nice review and fascinating to me as well regarding the technique of Spencerian script. A fountain pen's use as a writing instrument is what's most important to me. Thank you

[Lloyd]

You might be able to attain better hairlines from the Falcon with a drier ink (e.g. Iron Gall) or Noodlers Bulletproof black.

[DanF]

Nice handwriting. What is the nature of the "Spencerian modification'? Did he add a little flex to the nib?

 

Dan

Edited March 19, 2012 by DanF

[anaximander]

Nice handwriting. What is the nature of the "Spencerian modification'? Did he add a little flex to the nib?

 

From my invoice: "The Spencerian nib requires two operations: First, re-grind to a Super Extra Fine. ... The second process increases flexibility somewhat by thinning tines."

[anaximander]

You might be able to attain better hairlines from the Falcon with a drier ink (e.g. Iron Gall) or Noodlers Bulletproof black.

 

Great idea! Thanks! This could also provide an excuse to buy some of the R&K Salix that I've been curious about.

[Uncle Red]

+1 on Salix although it may not seem very dry in the Waterman 52, it's wet in mine but the pen is very wet. Great review, thanks

[mhphoto]

Excellent review! The Mottishaw-modded Falcon is one of my grail pens.

[mhphoto]

Whoops, double post.

Edited April 18, 2012 by mhphoto

[Hex]

A very thorough analysis and quite helpful. I am now in day 2 of learning Spencerian and was wondering about which pen to try.

I have an oblique with a Nikko-G and would also like to have something to carry around for off-site practicing.

 

Thanks

[anaximander]

An update: Sadly, I managed to mis-align the tines on this pen. This is a very delicate instrument and clearly I was too rough with it. Specifically, I blame the Spencerian capital stem-stroke. This fundamental stroke, which forms the backbone of many capital letters, requires a sort of press-and-twist motion at the bottom of the stroke. (See the letter "R" in the writing samples of the first post.) Mild pressing with this nib is okay, but twisting is not.

 

I sheepishly sent the pen back to John, who re-aligned the nib and got it back to me quickly and at minimal expense. The pen once again writes beautifully and I now have a pretty good idea of what not to do with it.

 

Also, I followed Lloyd's advice about using a drier ink to get finer hairlines. I haven't picked up any R&K Salix yet, but I'm using some Pelikan Blue-Black and it works very well.

 

http://rongilmour.info/images/falcon/wagner.jpg

[New_Falcon]

Thanks for the update. It's always interesting to hear opinions and usages experiences after some time.

[RobC]

I recently purchased a Namiki Falcon from Classic Fountain Pens, with John Mottishaw's Spencerian modification. The Falcon in its unmodified form is a common enough pen and has many reviews, so I'll focus this one on the nib modification and the writing qualities of the pen as they relate to its intended purpose of Spencerian lettering. I'll also discuss how these qualities compare to writing Spencerian with the traditional dip pen with oblique holder. (Note that the term "oblique" is not being used here in the fountain pen sense, but to describe a type of nib holder with a metal flange that holds the nib at an angle.)

 

http://rongilmour.info/images/falcon/threePens.jpg

 

http://rongilmour.info/images/falcon/falconNibComp.jpg

 

Boring stuff: It's black. It's plastic. It comes in a box. Cartridge/converter filling system, converter included.

 

I am not an expert in Spencerian penmanship, so please forgive whatever is unsightly in my examples. I am taking a class and am trying very hard to improve, so constructive criticism is welcome.

 

Thanks for all that great work I am buying one ASAP

 

A little background: I've tried to write Spencerian with a fountain pen before and have been disappointed. I have a beautiful Waterman 52 with a very flexible nib that I have tried to use for this purpose. While a great pen in general, it has some characteristics that make Spencerian lettering challenging. Spencerian depends on very fine hairlines. The Waterman can produce adequate, not spectacular, hairlines, but once the nib had been flexed for a "swell," it is difficult to return to a hairline. At first I thought that this reflected a lack of "snapback" in the nib, but I suspect now that it has more to do with the feed. At any rate, the ability to return to a true hairline after applying pressure is a requirement for a Spencerian writing instrument.

 

After my experience with the Waterman, I was a bit skeptical of the idea that a fountain pen could really be used for Spencerian, but figured that Mr. Mottishaw would be unlikely to call something a Spencerian modification unless he meant it. Like Agent Mulder, I wanted to believe.

 

I took the plunge and ordered the pen and am amazed at its performance.

 

In the following comparison, the top sample is the Falcon (with J. Herbin Pearle Noir), the middle one is a Nikko G nib in an oblique holder with McCafferty's ink, and the bottom is the Waterman 52 (also with Pearle Noir). The paper is a Rhodia dot pad.

 

http://rongilmour.info/images/falcon/spencComparison.jpg

 

The first thing you'll notice is that while neither of the fountain pens gets as fine a hairline as the Nikko G, the line quality of the Falcon is far superior to that of the Waterman. The capital "E" is interesting to examine. Notice how in the Falcon example, there is a reasonably fine line coming out of the bottom swell, while in the Waterman example, the connector between the "E" and "d" is thicker than average.

 

The Falcon example demonstrates a general difficulty with using a fountain pen for Spencerian in the mangled "t" of "triumph." Going into the "t," I was writing in my usual position. When I exerted pressure to get the desired wedge shape at the top of the "t," I found that the nib shot off to the left, not at all where I wanted it. This is not the pen's fault, but an inevitable issue with the non-obliquity of the fountain pen. Once aware of the problem, it can be corrected for, as shown by the more successful "t" in "at" and "d" in "Edinburgh."

 

A slight weakness of this nib is the fact that it will not produce really huge, spectacular swells. Personally, that doesn't bother me much.

 

http://rongilmour.info/images/falcon/Ecomparison2.jpg

 

In this example, with a fancier version of the capital "E," we see that the Falcon (middle) provides modest swells, compared to the Nikko G (left) and Waterman (right). But notice how the fineness of the hairline produced by the Falcon produces a far better sense of contrast between thick and thin than the Waterman. I think this pronounced thick/thin contrast is more important than the absolute width of swells, but I suppose that may depend on one's personal style of Spencerian.

 

To sum up, I am very happy with this wonderful pen. It is no substitute for the traditional tools, but it is a great luxury when you'd like to write a thank you note or do a bit of practice without hauling out your dip pen, ink bottle, &c. Highly recommended for the Spencerian enthusiast.

 

The decision to buy this was made after a phone conversation with Jonella at Classic Fountain Pens. I called wanting something for Spencerian and was prepared to pay for one of the specialty Sailor nibs. Jonella guided me away from these more expensive options and toward the Falcon, which is a bargain at $254. I greatly appreciate her thoughtful and knowlegable answers to my questions and her commitment to finding the right pen for my needs.

[RobC]

Thank you so much for your great work I am buying one ASAP

[georges zaslavsky]

very good review and outstanding pen

[mhphoto]

My wife asked me what I want this year Christmas and the Spencerian Falcon was my answer. Seriously. Can't. WAIT.

[Montblanc owner and lover]

For christmas?it's in 5 month....going to be very long to wait for such a nice pen

[ale#]

Thanks for a great review.

I also have a Namiki Falcon modified for extra flex by John Mottishaw (allthough only reground to extra fine).

As writing with an oblique pen holder gives an ideal angle on the downstrokes, i am curious to know how you hold your Namiki Falcon when writing spencerian?

Do you turn the paper? I seem to be ending up with my elbow under my chest, which tends to be a bit bothersome after a while...

[schin]

Just beautiful. I am learning Spencerian as well but with dip nibs and have always wanted a modified fountain pen so I can practice anywhere without having to pull out ink bottles and paper towels.

 

$250 is a little pricey but I have a regular Falcon and can attest to how beautiful it is. I do have a few questions before I take the plunge myself, if you don't mind? Do you feel the Falcon nib is as scratchy as a dip nib? How long did you have to wait for your pen?