Pens For Pen World Profile Of Hisnibs

Posted October 11, 2017 · October 11, 2017

Pen World magazine will be doing a profile of me, celebrating 20 years of HisNibs.com, in an upcoming issue (perhaps December, 2017). They asked me to send alone some fountain pen photographs, and before I put them back where they belong, I thought I'd shoot a video of those they may use with a bit of running commentary.

Much of the article's focus will be on Chinese pens, but the author of the piece -- the august Barry Gabay! -- also asked me to include my favorite pen. Don't you just hate that question? For me, it changes almost every day -- but I bit the bullet.

Posted October 11, 2017 · October 11, 2017

Thanks, for the Chinese view. Having had only one which I gave to a school kid, I know very little outside Duke is one of the better Chinese pens.

The Sheaffer pens were nice too.Very pretty.

I only have an Australian semi-flex factory BB stub.

Posted October 11, 2017 · October 11, 2017

Thanks, for the Chinese view. Having had only one which I gave to a school kid, I know very little outside Duke is one of the better Chinese pens.
The Sheaffer pens were nice too.Very pretty.
I only have an Australian semi-flex factory BB stub.

Thanks Bo Bo. Is the semi-flex BB stub on a Sheaffer model, or another pen?

Posted October 11, 2017 · October 11, 2017

On an Australian made Snorkel....BB factory stub. They had to compete with Swan who had nibs of various flexes .... up to lower superflex. It is actually a maxi-semi-flex....a stage lighter in flex than a semi-flex. But I didn't know if you knew that term I invented.***

I have an English made Parker Jr. Duofold that is semi-flex.

Others who have Empire made Parkers have said, they are not the US nail. I also have an English P-45 that is regular flex, not a nail.

Some early mid 50's US Sheaffer's had semi-flex nibs.

Someone said German semi-flex is a bit more flexi than Sheaffer. How ever I don't know how many semi-flex or maxi-semi-flex pens that person had.

If you mash a regular flex nib, it will spread it's tines 3X a light down stroke.

Semi-flex takes half of that.

Maxi-semi-flex half of that or 1/4th the pressure.***

I have 26 semi-flex nibs....most clump together in flex. I have 16 maxi-semi-flex pens, that also clump close together. I have one pen that is in between both of those two flex rates.

Osmia/Osmia-Faber-Castell is semi-flex with nibs with a diamond...normally with nib size number inside the diamond. They are maxi-semi-flex in the Supra nibs.

If I delete Osmia from my calculations I get about 1 maxi to 5 semi-flex. Pelikan, Geha, MB are my main examples. It is pure luck, in outside the Osmia no pen company marked as semi or maxi.

So it is quite possible the person with a semi-flex Sheaffer could have had a maxi-semi-flex German pen and hadn't known it.

I did invent that term maxi-semi-flex....in I did not like the term 'flexi' which is way too vague.

*** I had a Rupp nib that was so much more flexible than my normal semi-flex pens, that I walked around for some three days.....muttering that is certainly a maxi-semi-flex nib.

(I had a few first stage superflex...what I call Easy Full Flex....the level before Wet Noodle, and the Rupp nib first didn't have more than 3 X tine spread, and sill lacked a bit to be superflex in ease of tine spread...much less amount.

:eureka: After three days, I realized I had a 'new' flex rate. I quickly found 4 other maxi-semi-flex pens I had, out of some 20 semi-flex. A couple of them were Osmia pens with Supra nibs. (Great nibs the steel is as good as the gold!!! or the gold is as good as the steel. )

Now I have 26 semi-flex, one in the middle and 16 maxi-semi-flex pens...one of which is that Australian Snorkel.

Someone sent it to me as semi-flex but it tested maxi.

Edited October 11, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

Posted October 11, 2017 · October 11, 2017

On an Australian made Snorkel....BB factory stub. They had to compete with Swan who had nibs of various flexes .... up to lower superflex. It is actually a maxi-semi-flex....a stage lighter in flex than a semi-flex. But I didn't know if you knew that term I invented.***

That's quite a collection! Do you do a lot of calligraphy, or reserve your flex nibs for regular writing?

Posted October 11, 2017 · October 11, 2017

Semi-flex and maxi-semi-flex are regular writing pens. I don't think of them as 'flex' pens, that I think of as superflex.

I try to differentiate, in some could read quick semi-FLEX, and try to spread the tines way too wide.

Regular flex, Semi& Maxi are in a 3 X tine spread set.......if pushed more, will sooner than later spring the nib.

There are descenders that look good in semi-flex...(in my case drawn) ...they are easier to do in maxi. Basically I just scribble.

I get that natural old fashioned fountain pen flair with out having to do anything.

I use the excuse that I'm writing a Western, so I don't practice calligraphy....the book is dust-rusted shut.

In those two flexes I have some 13 German Oblique stubs of that '50-65-70 era. Once one has learned to cant the pen....it makes even my Rooster Scratch look good.

Posted October 14, 2017 · October 14, 2017

In those two flexes I have some 13 German Oblique stubs of that '50-65-70 era. Once one has learned to cant the pen....it makes even my Rooster Scratch look good.

Which is the appeal to many of stub nibs.

Edited October 14, 2017 by His Nibs