Adjusting To A Wet Medium-To-Broad Pen With Little Feedback. Possible?

[flewo]

I've been enjoying the use of a new glass dip pen, which performs much like a wet, rounded, medium or broad fountain pen nib. It is a joy to use--it seems my function is simply to allow it to glide across the page--but the marks it leaves are not such a joy to read, being much more clumsily made than I feel I'm good for. Those who prefer a stub or italic nib on their pens are nodding sagely now, as are those who know the value of "feedback" and have watched their handwriting improve when moving from ink to graphite, or from a runny nib to one that walks by your side. My question is, to those FP users who disagree with these nodding heads, did you find you needed an adjustment period to your wetter, more free-wheeling pens? And during that period, did you make any conscious changes to the way you wrote which helped form a legible, regular hand--much as you may have written with when using other tools?

I only ask because I have given it a month and feel just as clumsy a writer with this pen as I did on day one. Incremental improvement is fine, but as it stands, I see none.

Some information which might help: I mostly write a "full-arm" technique, placing roughly no downward pressure on the page, rather allowing the weight of the pen to do that job for me. Finger movement aids in some finer detail, including some loops, but the general thrust is up-and-down from the shoulder, with no discernible pressure placed on the nib.

I have tried multiple inks--including the FP inks I have at home, from Sailor, Pelikan, Pilot, and Private Reserve, as well as fluid acrylics with more or less water--as well as multiple papers, including HP and Sustainable Earth (Staples), which typically work quite well with my fountain pens. I am hoping the answer is not that I would do well to buy a (usually) more expensive paper that has more bite to it--though I suspect it is.

One possible answer is, of course, that certain tools are best for certain jobs, and while my glass pen may be a tool to make me feel airy while writing, it is not the best tool for producing a good hand. (This comes from those nodding souls above.) This is true even if--like me--you do not think that line variation is necessary, or even particularly desirable, for a good, everyday hand; confident-seeming lines and curves, written consistently and in good proportion, will do.

Another possible answer is that, if the writing is pleasurable at the time and legible afterwards, I need not be concerned with how it looks, particularly if I am the only one likely to read it. But this is a matter of taste; regretfully it is not mine.

Thank you for your help!

Edited February 20, 2017 by flewo

[ac12]

I prefer a nib that is VERY SMOOTH, almost ZERO feedback/drag.

I suppose you get used to it and controlling the pen, and I am quite comfortable with such pens.

I think you are running into a problem of control. It is harder for the larger muscles of the arm and shoulder to do fine motor movements, which are easy for the smaller finger muscles.

All I can say is practice.

That is how I learned to write with my arm, as I used to be a finger writer.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

I have not had an outstanding relationship with glass nib pens, though a vintage [hand crafted ?] nib does well.*

 

If I may be so bold, kindly consider some exploration of the dip pen nibs, such as the Brause Ornament series to get used to steel nibs, and use an FP ink with high shading potential, such as Noodler's Apache Sunset, which will reveal your personal pen handling mechanics more than a full-on saturated / Black ink.

 

I write with a brisk rather expansive light hand, and often have control problems with a low feedback ink+pen+paper combo - danger of slipping off the page! I do not like barnacles on the hull, but I like a deep keel.

 

I very much agree with my dear fellow Member ac12, "It is harder for the larger muscles of the arm and shoulder to do fine motor movements, which are easy for the smaller finger muscles.

All I can say is practice."

 

I've been practicing for quite some time, and no-one has complimented me on my penmanship.

 

Bye,

S1

 

__ __

* http://shop.kallipos.de/de/produkte/glasfeder-spitzen

Edited February 21, 2017 by Sandy1

[cattar]

sandy1 - but we love your ink reviews!

 

flew0 - +1 on practice. Practice writing similars for a couple of lines, the stick letters, the rounded letters, the combo letters. Practice lower case, then upper case. In time, writing improves.

[Sandy1]

sandy1 - but we love your ink reviews!

 

flew0 - +1 on practice. Practice writing similars for a couple of lines, the stick letters, the rounded letters, the combo letters. Practice lower case, then upper case. In time, writing improves.

 

 

You're so sweet!