Italic Nibs For Regular Writing?

[jjb_13]

I'm in the same "monk wannabe category" and I use these nibs almost daily.

When I started using FP's again some years ago I started with an old Esterbrook J with what they called a "broad relief" nib -which I now know is a L oblique stub. It was great fun but a little scratchy to use

From there I moved on to Aurora medium italics - which I now know are really more of a stub than a true sharp or cursive italic. These were very smooth and gave my writing enough line variation to be interesting and didn't slow down my writing at all. Comparing the line width of a vertical stroke to a horizontal one I got a ratio of approx 2:1 with these nibs and I now have four of them

After a couple of mis steps with a Sheafer factory stub and a MtBlanc OBB (both too broad for general use but GREAT signature or prescription pad nibs), my next stop was to true cursive italics as ground by Richard Binder and Pendemonium from either broad or medium round nibs. My line width ratios were now more like 3:1 and the "character" was markedly more pronounced. It also required that I slow down my hand a bit to better control them.

Recently I had occasion to ask Richard Binder about Conway Stewart italic nibs. His reply was that they were more like his stubs than his cursive italics - so, while I have never actually used one, there's an opinion from an expert who also sells Conway Stewart

[marklavar]

I hate italic nibs with a passion. They remind me of the scratch stick I was made to use at primary (elementary) school - a horrible experience.

 

 

[joeycoleman]

I've just (today!) received a pen with a .7mm ItaliFine nib from Richard, and I have to admit that I'm pleased as punch with it. I am --very literally-- in the middle of writing my PhD thesis, so I gave it a good workout today. It works for me (though I still need to use a XF for the formulae).

 

[BillTheEditor]

I fall into the "want to be a monk but easily distracted" category. I love the idea of italics, but struggle with the one true italic I own (a Mottishawed VP) as a practical daily user. I find my Platinum music nib, on the other hand, a real joy to write with.

 

So a question, for those of us who stand outside the monastery gates staring longingly in but lack the true vocation, of the currently available factory italics are some, in practice, less extreme and more user friendly than others? For instance, I've heard that the Conway Stewart italic is actually pretty easy to write with on a daily basis?

What you want is a stub nib. Stubs have more rounded edges and corners, but still give the nice "thick and thin" elements to your writing. You can get factory stubs, or you can get your choice of nibmeister-produced stubs.

 

Factory stubs: Parker offers stub nibs for the Sonnet, and you can find #44 stub nibs for the Parker 75 pretty easily. Bexley makes a stub nib (though it is pretty wide). Brian Anderson is selling some stub nibs for Esterbrooks. You can also order DaniTrio pens with stubs, both flexi-stubs and stiff-stubs. Conway Stewart has stub nibs, and I am pretty sure Sheaffer has them too.

 

Richard Binder and John Mottishaw are up somewhere near the Acme of nibmeisters, and there are a host of other pretty darned good nib grinders around here who can also make you a stub nib or a "cursive italic" nib.

 

For the curious: Not all monks work in scriptoria. In fact, very few do any more -- most monasteries have much better ways to find support from the world (baking, dog training, cheese, chocolate, to name a few, plus the ever-popular alms-begging and Masses for the departed). Depending on the order, monks may be assigned to be "field brothers" (farm labor) or "choir brothers" (self-explanatory) as their regular duties, if not in the kitchen or kennel doing one of the other jobs. If you like calligraphy, you are more likely to be able to pursue it as a lay person. Monastery life is not for everyone!

[Guest PeteWK]

Say hello to my little friends.

 

PeteWK

[usqview]

my first pen was a pelikan m200 from richard binder with a .7mm cursive italic. so nice to write with. i later picked up a laban mento that some one had ground into a .8mm stub that is very wet. these two pens are the only ones that i use to write letters with. my handwriting has never been very good but since i started using these pens, i actually kind of like my handwriting.

a couple days ago i picked up some micromesh and went to work on a duke 2017 ($10). i like the pen fairly well but never used it because it was on the dry side and the round nib was pretty blah. after 45minutes of grinding i now have a pen that i really like to use. the line variation isnt great (2:1 or just a bit more) but is a big improvement over the round nib. nice and smooth and fairly wet with PR dcss blue. i will be buying more inexpensive pens to play with and turn into gifts (or rather willfully spreading the disease ).

 

anything other than round makes me smile-cheers,

ryan

 

 

[macthemaths]

I've also found that italic nibs help to bring my unruly handwriting under control a little, so that may well be a key factor here.

 

I'd agree with this - I have been making greater use of an italic nib for everyday writing and what I write is certainly more legible.

 

Chris

[lalindsay225]

I'm going to a pen show in June, and I understand they might have a table or tables where one can experiment with different nibs.

 

 

That is GREAT to hear since I will be at the same show. I've been using a calligraphy pen off and on since I got into this pen thing back in Feb. Although, for two weeks now I've been using a regular fine nibbed fountain pen and some days I love it and think I can work with it, and some days I hate it. The one thing about a calligraphy nib is my handwriting is consistently pleasing when I use one. With a regular FP nib, med. or fine, my handwriting has good and bad days. Sure, I know working on my technique would be beneficial with a regular FP, but with the calligraphy nibs it seems to be an easy cheat to get good handwriting. That's my observation anyway.

 

So, I'm very curious about italic nibs and the like.

Nhsmitty, I read in a Pen World article some time ago that at Susan Wirth's pen show table, she has space for people to try different nibs and figure out which kind best suits their individual style. This will be the first pen show I have been to since reading this, so I hope it's true. I understand she goes to most of the US pen shows. Hope to see you and others in Raleigh! -- Lisa

[Garageboy]

My own problem is that I can't do any real calligraphy with an italic

[nhsmitty]

Nhsmitty, I read in a Pen World article some time ago that at Susan Wirth's pen show table, she has space for people to try different nibs and figure out which kind best suits their individual style. This will be the first pen show I have been to since reading this, so I hope it's true. I understand she goes to most of the US pen shows. Hope to see you and others in Raleigh! -- Lisa

 

Great! I can't wait and have already scheduled vacation from work in case I want to go before Saturday.

[Velma]

Italics are all I use with the exception of several XXFs. 'Meanwhile' is correct about the CS "Italic Nib". It is definitely a stub. I just got one from Richard Binder to see if I would like it but I don't, so it will have to be ground to a cursive italic. More $$$!

 

Same here -- XXF, XXXF, and a Binderized cursive italic are my regular pens. I like the way the italic nib shapes and shades my letters.

[FrankB]

I have nothing new to say. I just want to add one more vote for the italic nib addicted. I have used fountain pens for the better part of 50-years, but I only discovered italic nibs about 15-years ago. When I saw how much they contributed to taming my handwriting, I fell instantly in love with them. I do not use them exclusively, as I do have a variety of nibs for different uses. But I do truely prefer them.