Small Stub Lovers Unite

[Betweenthelines]

Howdy FPN,

 

After researching small stubs (especially 0.6mm or less category), I found that, save for a couple choice posts (such as this one by QM2), there is an absence of photos of writing with small stubs, along with a lot of folks recommending against them, saying that you can't get much variation out of such small grinds. Well, as a small stub lover, to that I say phooey! I thought I would share some photos here of my own small stubs and their (at least to me) wonderful amount of variation, and hopefully others will join in, and it will provide future researchers an extra resource for what is possible with small grinds.

 

I originally began my italic journey on a 1.1 Lamy, like many newcomers to fountain pens, and gradually worked my way down. I now prefer stubs that are 0.7mm or less, with my favorites being my smallest - a 0.6mm Parker 51, and a 0.4mm Pelikan. The next to add is a 0.5mm stub and see if it's "just right".

 

I currently own:

• Pendleton BLS on a medium VP nib (writes at about a 0.7-0.8) - bit too broad for my liking, but sooo buttery smooth that I could never sell it
• Pendleton BLS on a fine TWSBI Micarta (writes at about a 0.7-0.8) - Very nice, again, this is about as broad as I like to go with a stub. This and the VP nib border on too broad for me.
• Pendleton BLS on a medium 2K (writes at about a 0.7) - This grind turned out a lot finer than I anticipated, and sharper, closer to a CI than a stub. Fantastic variation.
• Minuskin 0.6mm stub on a forest green GF Parker 51 - My very favorite stub - tremendous variation for its size, but still buttery smooth. Small sweet spot.
• Masuyama 0.4mm stub on a Pelikan m640 Polar Lights - Wunderbar! In danger of overtaking the Parker 51.

 

 

Here are some writing samples (note, this was done HP 32lb paper - on Rhodia the variation is even more pronounced):

 

http://i.imgur.com/u5oawKD.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/1IipJRZ.jpg

 

 

And here is an old photo of my other stubs, including some that I sold off. Not the best quality, and because of the different inks, not perfectly accurate, but it'll do for now.

 

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

 

 

 

So, any other fans of small stubs? Post your photos if you have 'em!

 

 

 

[ThomasB]

I have always gravitated towards the broad stubs; however, I was fortunate to purchase a chased Sheaffer Connaisseur that came with a medium nib, and when Mr Binder was still doing customizations, I had him grind it to a fine cursive italic and boy is it sweet to write with...Changed my views for sure

[TXKat]

At the moment, I have very few stubs, but I do like the way your smaller stubs write!! Being a fan of smaller nibs, I must try this. I didn't think you could get much variation, but you show differently!! Fantabulous!!

[pelman]

Lovely handwriting. I too think that I would like a smaller stub/CI for daily writing at work.

 

If you have have not seen this thread https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/32136-xxxf-and-xxxxf-round-and-italic-points/, it is a treat.

Edited December 2, 2014 by pelman

[Betweenthelines]

Lovely handwriting. I too think that I would like a smaller stub/CI for daily writing at work.

 

If you have have not seen this thread https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/32136-xxxf-and-xxxxf-round-and-italic-points/, it is a treat.

 

 

Thank you! And thanks for posting the link - I did run across that thread at some point, but lost it. Some lovely points in there..

[SockAddict]

I have the Nemosine Singularity in both the .8 mm and .6 mm stubs. I find the .8 mm a bit too big. I'd really like a nice cursive italic in a .6 or even .5 mm.

 

Unfortunately, neither pen is inked at the moment, but here's a shot of a notebook page from several days ago. The brown ink is the .6 stub, and the blue is the .8 stub.

 

 

The paper is ordinary composition notebook paper, so the definition isn't as crisp as it would be on nicer paper.

 

I've also used the 'small' nib in a Sheaffer calligraphy set, but that is definitely too large.

[risingsun]

I agree a stub under 1.0mm is underrated. I have a few and enjoy them immensely. My favorites being a Masuyama L2K and a stainless steel M215 Medium that I ground down to perfection.

[BBU]

Here's an embarrassing admission: I often Google phrases like "0.4 mm cursive italic" just to hunt for sample images from those who have had them ground. The Nemosine 0.6 mm is a little too broad for my writing and I have long been aware that the best option is a suitably-sized nib sent to a nibmeister. There are images of 0.3 mm crisp italics that have noticeable line variation, and I think HDoug has a CI from a fine Pilot #5, which is fairly narrow to start with.

 

One lady shows samples of several of her nibmeistered (yeah, not a word) fine italics here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/32136-xxxf-and-xxxxf-round-and-italic-points/

 

Hope to join in on the fun soon.

[Cryptos]

 

I have the Nemosine Singularity in both the .8 mm and .6 mm stubs. I find the .8 mm a bit too big. I'd really like a nice cursive italic in a .6 or even .5 mm.

 

I was gifted a Parson's Essential with a fine cursive italic nib. The website says that it puts down a 0.85mm line but it feels narrower to me so I don't know how accurate the measure is. I use the pen for everyday writing and correspondence and I don't have big writing. <shrugs>

 

A (minor) grail pen for me would be a forest green 51 GF with the kind of Masuyama grind that Bruce sings about. I wish! I do like small stubs though... heck... I find most all nibs to hold some interest value.

[Betweenthelines]

Here's an embarrassing admission: I often Google phrases like "0.4 mm cursive italic" just to hunt for sample images from those who have had them ground. The Nemosine 0.6 mm is a little too broad for my writing and I have long been aware that the best option is a suitably-sized nib sent to a nibmeister. There are images of 0.3 mm crisp italics that have noticeable line variation, and I think HDoug has a CI from a fine Pilot #5, which is fairly narrow to start with.

 

One lady shows samples of several of her nibmeistered (yeah, not a word) fine italics here: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/32136-xxxf-and-xxxxf-round-and-italic-points/

 

Hope to join in on the fun soon.

 

Not embarassing at all - I've done that countless times, and it's the reason I made this thread to begin with. It can be hard to find a grind in the exact size you're considering, so the more examples the better.

[BT-7274]

Another +1 to smaller stubs. They're absolutely underrated for line variation while maintaining legibility. One of my favourites right now is a sharp stub I ground from a Parker 75 medium. That said, there are also days I can't get enough of my firehose Sheaffer 7-30, which is a springy .9mm stub on it.

[wardla]

This is great! I recently bought a Nemosine 0.6 expecting to see a huge difference from the Pilot Plumix "Medium calligraphy" nib and was sorely disappointed. Love your photos. Might have to send that 0.6 along for some further tweaking...what base nib would you recommend to end up with, say, an 0.4 stub?

[OcalaFlGuy]

Here are a few lines from a Pendelton Brown "Estieletto" (his naming). I think I have it mislabeled here though, I think it's from a Fine nib. It was one of PB's early nibs.

 

 

I have several rounded CI's from Mike Masuyama that are from Medium nibs so their lines now are around .6 mm, Perfect

for me. Here are a couple I don't show often.

 

 

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Betweenthelines]

This is great! I recently bought a Nemosine 0.6 expecting to see a huge difference from the Pilot Plumix "Medium calligraphy" nib and was sorely disappointed. Love your photos. Might have to send that 0.6 along for some further tweaking...what base nib would you recommend to end up with, say, an 0.4 stub?

 

I think most nibmeisters could grind down any size larger than the intended size (0.4) to make your stub. But, as a general rule, Western fine or Japanese medium would be a safe bet (it's what Richard Binder requests for his 0.4 grind).

 

 

<snip>

 

Bruce, I thought of you when I made this thread, after seeing your wonderful Parker 45 CI's you used to make the point that a small stub that doesn't show much variation is simply a poorly ground stub. I agree with that sentiment whole heartedly. Thanks for sharing these other beauties of yours.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

As much as I like my wider Stubs & CIs, the nibs with those shapes that are less than say 0.6mm on the down-stroke are really a joy.

 

In part I think that as those nibs are typically hand-ground, they have a degree of precision & personality that mass produced stock nibs cannot achieve: the ratio of down-stroke to cross-stroke line width seems very well matched, and the edges are well-honed so that even someone like I can run them without tripping over the bumps of a laid paper.

 

Even though my natural hand is rather expansive, when I do choose a narrow nib and want line-width variation, the shaped nibs often come out to play - leaving my soft/flexi nibs waiting their turn.

 

In the rare event that a handwritten cheque is required, I'll use a 0.3mm CI from a pen charged with R&K Salix.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited December 2, 2014 by Sandy1

[tinta]

I generally prefer italics to be between 0.9 mm & 1.1 mm.

My travel pen however, a Burgundy 1911-M, is fitted with a Masuyama 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI.

When you are writing on-the-go, particularly sending post cards, a narrower italic nib works much better.

 

Mike's round-nose CI is an interesting nib.

Mine was ground from a Sailor 14K MS nib, tipping measuring about 1.15 mm.

Viewing the round-nose from the top, the tipping looks almost as massive as the original music nib, with a rounded profile up front. When you turn this nib over, its actual centered writing "edge" is around 0.6 mm. wide. (The 0.6 mm refers not to the tip's physical width, but to the approximate width of the down-stroke it makes.)

Mike grinds the sides & the front of the tipping material at a slight angle to achieve this unique italic grind. It's the only small size italic I really like.

Edited December 2, 2014 by tinta

[arran]

I have several IF from conway stewart and always liked these nibs.

Never had issues with them , which cannot be said from the M nibs I had to tune with flow issues , etc...

[Sandy1]

I generally prefer italics to be between 0.9 mm & 1.1 mm.

My travel pen however, a Burgundy 1911-M, is fitted with a Masuyama 0.6 mm. "round-nosed" CI.

When you are writing on-the-go, particularly sending post cards, a narrower italic nib works much better.

 

Mike's round-nose CI is an interesting nib.

Mine was ground from a Sailor 14K MS nib, tipping measuring about 1.15 mm.

Viewing the round-nose from the top, the tipping looks almost as massive as the original music nib, with a rounded profile up front. When you turn this nib over, its actual centered writing "edge" is around 0.6 mm. wide. (The 0.6 mm refers not to the tip's physical width, but to the approximate width of the down-stroke it makes.)

Mike grinds the sides & the front of the tipping material at a slight angle to achieve this unique italic grind. It's the only small size italic I really like.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

I'd read about the two-tine Sailor MS nibs being ground into configurations that are not possible with other mono-line wide nibs such as a a typical B, BB, etc.

 

Are you able to alter the down-stroke line width by changing the angle of pen to paper? i.e. Does the nib have a massive sweet spot that allows one to choose the portion that is in contact with the paper? Err, ah, 'mini-fude'?

 

Bye,

S1

[tinta]

Every one of my 14K stub or CIs started out as a two-tine music.

 

I don't make any "conscious" variations in my nib-to-paper angle as I'm writing. (Hmm,...now that the question was been asked, I'll give a fude-ish movement with each nib I ink up.)

When requesting a customization, I usually suggest to the nib tech that this angle for me varies between 50 & 60 degrees.

 

In addition, (possibly because of almost 40 years of daily writing with only a Pel. OBB), I tend to "want" to rotate my grip towards me. But now that my italics are cut at 90 degrees, it's a struggle for me to change the way I grip the pen. Because of this writing habit, I ask the techs to make the writing edge (& corner) a bit more rounded towards the left. My CI nibs are thus made a bit more stubbish.

 

But, no matter the width (grade?) of these nibs, a full contact has to be made with each nib's writing edge to make a complete down-stroke line. The extremes of line variation is only in two directions, down & across.

 

Mr. Masuyama seems to have more "forgiveness" built into his round-nose CI than in his other cursive italics. To date I've used five of his customizations, but now I'm down to two: the 0.6 mm. round-nose CI & a 0.95 mm. stub with incredible line variation.

 

Sandy1... I hope the above answers some of your questions, or maybe I just got carried away.

Edited December 4, 2014 by tinta

[Kataphract]

This is great! I recently bought a Nemosine 0.6 expecting to see a huge difference from the Pilot Plumix "Medium calligraphy" nib and was sorely disappointed. Love your photos. Might have to send that 0.6 along for some further tweaking...what base nib would you recommend to end up with, say, an 0.4 stub?

My Plumix just arrived, and it seems a .8 at best. Most of the comments I've seen on it made it seem more like. 1.0, maybe a 1.1. I think I could easily go narrower and be happy with such.