Stub O' The Day

[dcpritch]

Thank you for the kind words but I deflect every favorable comment to fountainbel who made this amazing pen. It writes flawlessly, a fabulous intersection of vintage and modern components in combination with Francis’ engineering artistry. It’s so very nice to show these things among friends here on FPN.

[miwishi63]

 

You'll be on the boards, scouring the aftermarket for vintage factory stubs in no time. Welcome and condolences!

 

Thanks. I never thought I would get into stubs. I'm already looking for vintage ones!

[jmccarty3]

Francis Goossens [fountainbel] Replica Montblanc 139, Tibaldi Celluloid, 14C BBB stub nib

 

Merciful heavens, dcpritch, that is a gorgeous pen! Fountainbel did a superb job for you. I'm glad to see you posting again. Your handwriting with stub nibs is inspiring.

[Cob]

 

Merciful heavens, dcpritch, that is a gorgeous pen! Fountainbel did a superb job for you. I'm glad to see you posting again. Your handwriting with stub nibs is inspiring.

Gorgeous indeed it is!

 

My compliments

 

Cob

[Ememel]

Here's a photo collage of my first fountain pen ever, an Italix Freshman's Notator. I've had it for a couple of weeks and there's been some hiccups along the way. The pen didn't write smoothly at all, it needed a lot of "starting" and still would skip strokes, even after priming the nib with ink. So far I've tried three different inks without any significant improvement. I mailed MrPen and followed his suggestion to add some dish washing liquid to the ink and it seems to have done the trick. The writing is still somewhat inconsistent, but a lot better.

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by Ememel

[dcpritch]

Here's a photo collage of my first fountain pen ever, an Italix Freshman's Notator.

Few things are more frustrating that skipping and hard starting pens, at least in the FP world. You have great handwriting that seems even better with the stub nib.

[DavidV]

The writing is still somewhat inconsistent, but a lot better.

 

 

I sometimes find with italic nibs that they can be unforgiving to pen angle inconsistencies, not sure if that's a factor for you here. I find a more absorbent paper helps get the ink flowing and I can write with a bit more freedom than on Rhodia.

[Ememel]

Few things are more frustrating that skipping and hard starting pens, at least in the FP world. You have great handwriting that seems even better with the stub nib.

 

Thank you so much for your comment. It has indeed been very frustrating, at least I got to train my zen mode and managed somehow not to throw a full blown tantrum...

 

 

I sometimes find with italic nibs that they can be unforgiving to pen angle inconsistencies, not sure if that's a factor for you here. I find a more absorbent paper helps get the ink flowing and I can write with a bit more freedom than on Rhodia.

 

This is also what I first thought to be the issue, since I am a beginner. But after concentrating hard on finding the right angle, trying three different inks (2 from cartridges, 1 from bottle) and also a few different papers, out of which the Rhodia is the only premium/ fountain pen friendly one, and still having the issue persist, I'm prone to think the main issue is not the wrong angle. On a more absorbent paper, the writing isn't as fine as I'd like, so there's that. I have some Tomoe River, Clairefontaine and Splendorgel paper on it's way, so I will definitely be doing comparisons. I value your input, it's always nice to share thoughts and find solutions together

[Houston]

 

Thank you so much for your comment. It has indeed been very frustrating, at least I got to train my zen mode and managed somehow not to throw a full blown tantrum...

 

 

This is also what I first thought to be the issue, since I am a beginner. But after concentrating hard on finding the right angle, trying three different inks (2 from cartridges, 1 from bottle) and also a few different papers, out of which the Rhodia is the only premium/ fountain pen friendly one, and still having the issue persist, I'm prone to think the main issue is not the wrong angle. On a more absorbent paper, the writing isn't as fine as I'd like, so there's that. I have some Tomoe River, Clairefontaine and Splendorgel paper on it's way, so I will definitely be doing comparisons. I value your input, it's always nice to share thoughts and find solutions together

 

One piece of good news in all this is that you chose a pen from a vendor who absolutely stands behind their products, in my experience. If you decide, after a while, you're still not satisfied with the nib's performance, you might ask Mr Pen to swap the nib unit (nib/section/feed) with a new one, and you can send back the underperforming one.

 

My Parson's Essential wrote beautifully, right out of the box and, to this day, is one of my best value stubs, in terms of writing performance versus price point. In fact, I've never had anything that comes close to the same fluidity and grace, in a non-standard nib, at anywhere near the same price.

 

So, don't give up!

[readytotalk]

А modest-looking pen, but very good writer, made by Pendleton Brown. Being at a certain angle to the paper, it writes like a dream. Very pleasant to use!

https://images.vfl.ru/ii/1555431124/64fb3367/26212053_m.jpg

Edited April 17, 2019 by readytotalk

[dms525]

I managed to snag one of the Bexley Owners Club 2019 pens which use OMAS Lucens celluloids on the Bexley Magnum model. I got the pen from Indy Pen Dance. I have been wanting to experience one of Linda Kennedy's custom grinds, since Richard Binder, who trained her, endorses her work so strongly. I now see why. I am not so knowledgable as to be able to compare the nib geometry of Binder and Kennedy's grinds, but Linda Kennedy's cursive italic writes just like the nibs Richard Binder ground for me in the past. I'm very happy with her work.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy writing!

 

David

[bobje]

 

This is a Delike Alpha with a separate italic nib sourced from an eBay seller. A fellow contributor on FPN, Randal6393, taught me how to grind the nib more crisply. The nib imprint appears similar to the one in Ememels Italix Freshmans Notator post.

[A Smug Dill]

A fellow contributor on FPN, Randal6393, taught me how to grind the nib more crisply.

 

 

Looks like you did a fantastic job of it, too! That's the level of crispness I think those who advocate line variation (without being a calligrapher) must be looking for, tempered by their own skill/discipline to maintain the pen in the correct orientation and at the correct slant at all times while writing.

[Inky.Fingers]

http://i.imgur.com/iLRngQv.jpg

[jslallar]

MB 149 O3B

[jslallar]

MB 149s with 1.6 and 1.2 mm stubs by Greg Minuskin

Edited May 22, 2019 by jslallar

[Misfit]

@Ememel

I had the same issue with an Italix Parsons Essential. On a thread here about Italix, some suggested buying a different nib for it. I ended up getting a non-branded Edison 1.1mm italic nib for the pen, and it wrote well immediately.

 

At first I thought your post would say the advice for dish washing liquid was to clean the nib, but add to the ink? Wow, that is a surprising solution.

 

I need to take that nib to pen club, and see what the acknowledged nib authorities say about it. If they see an issue, and it can be fixed, I will try to remember to post it or send you a PM.

 

Edited for autocorrect issue

Edited June 10, 2019 by Misfit

[mehandiratta]

This is a custom pen made by the FOSFOR PENS fitted with bock 1.1 nib

Its a piston filler and made from the rods bought from Turner's workshop

[bobje]

Lovely photography, bold material color choice, and a lovely shading ink, Vaibhav.

 

Heres an self-ground italic in a Delike alpha, with ink for fans of Montblanc swan illusion.

 

 

[taike]

At least in part because of this thread, I decided to go for a 1.1 stub on the Fine Writing 6th gen brass pen I picked up yesterday. Still deciding what I'm going to ink it with.

 

Thanks everyone for the inspiration!