My First Etruria!

[dms525]

The .9 stub is a gold nib. It has line variation, but the corners are rounded. It isn't crisp, or edged, so it less particular about the angle it is held at.

 

gary

 

Hmmm ... Having looked around, the only 0.9 mm "italic" nib by Stipula I can find is a steel nib. If you have a source for gold Stipula 0.9 mm stub or italic nibs, would you please share it?

 

ASAIK, there is no clear distinction between crisp and cursive italic nor between cursive italic and stub. It appears to be a continuous variable in shoulder roundness and in line differentiation. If this is incorrect, please educate me.

 

David

[kazoolaw]

David,

 

The nib is an 18K 0.9 stub which was an option on the 991 LE. I have no idea whether you can buy one now, not having been to the on-line Stipula store in ages.

 

I bet Richard Binder could give a numerical definition of stub, cursive italic, and italic. I cannot. His website, on the reference pages, discusses all 3 of these nibs. Look for Nibs II.

 

I would say it is a range of corner sharpness and horizontal nib thinness. Not much help on that score I'm afraid.

 

gary

[dms525]

David,

 

The nib is an 18K 0.9 stub which was an option on the 991 LE. I have no idea whether you can buy one now, not having been to the on-line Stipula store in ages.

 

I bet Richard Binder could give a numerical definition of stub, cursive italic, and italic. I cannot. His website, on the reference pages, discusses all 3 of these nibs. Look for Nibs II.

 

I would say it is a range of corner sharpness and horizontal nib thinness. Not much help on that score I'm afraid.

 

gary

 

Thanks for the additional information, Gary. Currently, the only italic/stub nib Stipula lists is a 14K 1.1mm nib. There is the "52" 18K nib, but that's a different animal.

 

I'm familiar with Richard Binder's excellent explanations of the different special nibs. John Mottishaw has similar information on www.nibs.com. I don't think any one disagrees about the nature of the differences. The question is whether any of the differences are really more than matters of degree. I think the question is interesting enough to merit a new topic.

 

David

[RMN]

As far as I remember Stipula had a vast range of specialty nibs until they decided to bring that down 2 years ago.

 

I am not sure about the current line-up. I think Wimg knows more about that.

He may drop by here, or you could PM or mail him.

 

 

D.ick

[wimg]

1.1 stip nibs feel sharper than 0.9 ones, if alone for two reasons:

 

1. The thickness of the nib is the same (horizontal line thickness), and therefore the sharpness ratio is a lot larger for the 1.1 vs. the 0.9 (about 3.2 vs 2.6, although this may vary to some degree)

2. The increase in width means that the nib is much more sensitive to holding it correctly; the wider nib "hooks" more easily on paper and therefore also appears sharper.

 

The 1.1 nibs are still available in gold, as are F, M and 52 degree ("zoom"), all others no longer. This is due to the fact that Bock wanted minimum orders of 500 nibs of each type, and for a small company like Stipula it really becomes untenable to have 10 types of nibs in three variants (30 nibs) at the high gold prices we have these days - we're talking 15000 expensive nibs here, to be held in stock doing nothing. Currently they are at approximately 10, which already is a drain on available resources.

 

Warm regards, Wim

[dms525]

1.1 stip nibs feel sharper than 0.9 ones, if alone for two reasons:

 

1. The thickness of the nib is the same (horizontal line thickness), and therefore the sharpness ratio is a lot larger for the 1.1 vs. the 0.9 (about 3.2 vs 2.6, although this may vary to some degree)

2. The increase in width means that the nib is much more sensitive to holding it correctly; the wider nib "hooks" more easily on paper and therefore also appears sharper.

 

The 1.1 nibs are still available in gold, as are F, M and 52 degree ("zoom"), all others no longer. This is due to the fact that Bock wanted minimum orders of 500 nibs of each type, and for a small company like Stipula it really becomes untenable to have 10 types of nibs in three variants (30 nibs) at the high gold prices we have these days - we're talking 15000 expensive nibs here, to be held in stock doing nothing. Currently they are at approximately 10, which already is a drain on available resources.

 

Warm regards, Wim

 

Thanks, Wim. I have a 1.1 mm stub being fitted to a Tuscany Dreams Etruria. I hope to get it back in a couple more weeks. I'm eager to see how it compares to my custom-ground nibs on other pens.

 

Your "reason 2." is a new thought to me. It makes a lot of sense.

 

David

Edited March 21, 2014 by dms525