Flexi Nibs: Better With Longer Pens Or Short Pens?

[SomethingWicked]

Newbie here. First off, I just LOVE this forum! I'm fascinated by all the wonderful pools of knowledge about the wide, wonderful world of FP.

 

My question regards flexible nibs. Is it possible that the quality of the flex depends, in part, to the length or weight of the pen being used? For instance, I have two small ring top pens, a Waterman and a Wahl (with a Waterman nib) and they are both flex nibs. But, I don't seem to get the same amount of "flexi-ness" when I write as the larger Watermans I see on ebay all the time.

 

Can I hear from people who have both smaller and average sized pens with flexible nibs? And can you confirm my suspicion that the larger pens give more leverage for easier application of the necessary pressure to write Spencerian text?

 

Thank you!

 

Rick E.

[Finalist]

Real flex nibs don't require leverage. They flex at the slightlest pressure like a paintbrush but with a metal feeling. If they require a lot of force to flex then it is hard to get smooth transitions from thick to thin in individual characters.

[SomethingWicked]

Finalist, what pens, or maybe more importantly, what nibs do you use for flexible writing?

[Tylerjordan]

It depends more on the nib than the pen's size. When you're using the flexible nib your hand holding the pen should negate the actual weight of the pen. Some small nibs are very flexible and some aren't whilst some large nibs can be quite flexible whilst others not so much.

 

Flex is also grades on a 2-axis scale with width flexed and ease of flex.Some nibs are 'wet noodles' and very easily flex but do not give large line variation whilst some nibs might need more pressure to achieve maximum width but have widths way larger than wet noodles. Of course, many wet noodles do in fact have large width variation whilst many of the nibs requiring more pressure do not have all that much width variation.

Edited August 23, 2014 by Tylerjordan

[Bo Bo Olson]

Base is a true regular flex...in semi-vintage or vintage, in most modern pens have semi-nails instead of regular flex. The base is mashing a true regular flex until it's tines spread 3 X a light down stroke.

Semi-flex requires half that pressure, as does each flex set above it....1/2 of semi-flex pressure or 1/4th of regular flex for 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex.

These only spread their tines 3 X a light down stroke.

 

The basic pressure need to flex the nib stays the @ same with in the flex chain. 1/2, 1/2 and so on.

There is more flex variation in nibs above regular & semi-flex.

 

In each of the flex ranges of flexible nibs...the nibs that spread their tines 4-5-6 or even 7 X a light down stroke, there is variation, with in the flex sets.These are the super-flex nibs....I have three variation sets.

Again is the 1/2 (1/8th a well mashed regular flex) for Easy Full Flex 1/2 (1/16th) for a Wet Noodle and 1/2 (even less) less pressure needed to flex Weak Kneed Wet Noodle nib.

 

Easy Full Flex....an Ahab with the mod, is that. I have vintage Degussa pens that give that flex. I'm not going to hunt up pens to say exactly which the others are....one is a 100n. the 100n only flexes 5X, so i try to never flex it more than 4 X. I try to stay under what ever a nib maxes in flexible nibs. I don't want to spring the nib.

Once as a test is enough to see how much flex the nib has. One can use the 3 X flex of a maxi-semi-flex or a semi-flex with no problems....one really don't mash a springy regular flex often, in there is no reason to do so.

 

 

I have a Waterman 52 Superflex, that is between Easy Full Flex and a Wet noodle.

 

Some good poster with an electric scale showed the pressure differences between some 8 or so Wet Noodles.

Oxnard, here on this com; coined the phrase Weak Kneed Wet Noodle. One could have divided that man's set of Wet Noodles into Wet Noodle and Weak Kneed Wet noodle. There was that much variation.

 

In my 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex set I have line variation. F-1= most of this set. Half as less pressure needed to flex the tines to 3X as a semi-flex.

F- 1 1/4th was two nibs, and one was F-1 1/2...the most flexible of this set I have, but half a flex set harder than any of my Easy full Flex.

(That F system is an abandoned AR attempt at defining all my flex nibs. I may be able to say my single Rupp nib is a F-1 1/2, but the odds favor my next Rupp nib to be more towards the F-1...in each nib, from the factory is slightly different in it's flex pressure.)

For me the 1/2 and 1/2 & so on seems to work as I explained it...if one has a semi-flex nib to start with....and I luckily worked my way up.

I did not jump from nail or semi-nail to Flex nibs.. I could see and feel the differences of the flex sets in the flex ladder. Understanding through experience.

 

All nib sets above semi-flex are going to have some variance with in it.

 

I had expected a Wet Noodle like my Soennecken nib with the Waterman 52, instead I got a XXF-BBB Superflex that is a tad easier to flex than my Easy Full Flex nibs; but not quite a Wet Noodle, sort of an Easy Full Flex and a half.

I am quite happy with a pen I can if I can make my hand very light, from XXF to BB. In my hand is still a tad heavy, that nib writes as a F-BB. It takes effort by me to get it to write XXF or XF. As I said I avoid maxing this nib to a BBB.

 

Do read Richard Binder's article on how easy it is to spring a nib. It was an eye opener.

 

Oh, don't notice any difference between shorter or Large pens like my 52.

Edited August 23, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[balson]

in my own hunting i have found that pens of less than 3" seem to be more likely to have flexible nibs. i have heard this attributed to the pens being marketed towards women and the stereotype of women having better handwriting and therefore being more interested in adding flourish to their writing. if you had two identical nibs i dont think the length of the pen itself will affect how flexible the nib would be assuming you are holding both pens at the same angle.