Requirement Nib For Italic Grinding

[arran]

As I have several italics and stubs in my collection , I now realize that there is no such thing as a universal nib grind.Every nib is different in its own way and depending on the mood of the moment writes better or worse.

I was just wondering what nib is best in order to grind a medium stub or italic , to get technically the best result

I mean should the nib best be:

. Gold , steel

.flexible , soft?

.start position i.e.width of the nib

.design of the nib?

 

Thanks for your ideas

.

.

[dms525]

How wide do you want the line written by the nib to be? Note that what matters is the actual width of the nib, not the makers designation of Fine, Medium, Broad. Also, in my experience, different nibmeister's have different preferences for the relationship between the starting and final nib widths.

 

What style of text do you want to write with the nib? (Formal italic? Palmer-style cursive? Gothic? A variety?)

 

IMO, gold vs steel isn't as important as other parameters.

 

I personally prefer stiff or slightly springy nibs for italic. Truly flexible nibs ground with chisel tips have certain special applications - mostly 17th Century styles, as Renaissance italic was moving towards English Roundhand-related styles. Generally, flexible nibs are used for styles where line variation is produced by varying pressure on the paper rather than by the shape of the nib tip.

 

Hope this helps.

 

David

[arran]

Once , I was told as an owner of a cursive italic 0.9 M800 pelikan that making the same italic out of the more soft M 1000 nib would give inferior results and the nibmeister more or les refused making the italic!So I was confused.

Normally I use italics width about 0.9 -1.0 mm for daily writing , line variation should be as big as possible,quite thin at the horizontal and thick at the downstroke, overall I like them wet , but not too wet on glossy paper like triomphe

[lahlahlaw]

Personally I prefer a firm steel <B> nib with a lot of tipping. You can make a cheap steel nib as smooth as any gold nib out there.

[Randal6393]

Have a Lamy 2000 that is smooth as can be. Also have many other pens -- Pelikans, Noodler Ahabs and Konrads, Lamy Studios -- that have smooth nibs. Usually start with a Broad or wider nib, smooth it to a square nib, and put a 45 degree slant on the front. Some of my pens are steel, some are gold, all have good "iridium" tipping. Then, there are a few cheap pens with straight stainless steel nibs. They work out as well as any other pen I have.

 

Would recommend starting with a pen that you know won't write too dry. Stubs and italics require a bit more flow than a round ball fountain pen, IMHO. Then make sure the nib is wide enough to meet your writing needs. Then find a good nibmeister and take the time to talk a bit, make sure your needs are understood.

 

Best of luck,

[tinta]

Depending on what width (grade) you want your final italic to be, the most important consideration is the initial amount of tipping material.

Both gold & stainless steel can make a good italic nib.

 

I prefer to use stubs & cursive italics for all of my writing. Most of my nibs started out as Sailor music nibs, then ground down to italic sizes from 0.6 to 1.1 mm. In general, MS nibs have tons of tipping to work with.

A few stubs were ground from stainless JoWo 1.1 mm. italic nibs. An 18K JoWo factory stub became a wonderful 1.1 mm. custom stub.

Edited October 22, 2014 by tinta

[georgeb]

what is MS nib?

[BBU]

I mean should the nib best be:

.flexible , soft?

 

I wanted to make a thread about this particular query myself. Some people send their soft nibs (like the "soft" nib variants from some common Japanese makers) to nibmeisters to make a CI grind out of it. I'm hoping that somebody has a more objective answer on whether a stiff or soft nib is more suitable for an italic grind. My gut tells me that a soft nib may have the thinness of its cross strokes compromised because of the movement of the tines, but I don't know how true that is. There's also the matter of additional wetness of soft nibs which could impair line variation in finer italics. Wouldn't mind hearing thoughts if there are any out there.

 

George: It's a common abbreviation for a music nib. It's basically a three-tined stub that can also be used for regular writing. The Japanese big 3 each have it as a nib option in some of their popular lines.

[View from the Loft]

My suggestion is you discuss your requirements for the finished nib with your preferred nib technician, and let them guide you as to which base nib will give you the results that you want.