Ob Obb Obbb Om Of Ofm Olh

[Inky.Fingers]

How are you supposed to write with an oblique? I've noticed most vintage pens with these nibs on the flea bay... Is it to compensate a writers preference or for the script? I've only used broad edged but no oblique cut yet.... enlighten me will ya!

[Chrissy]

If they are broader than a F or M you have to angle the pen to write. So your upper arm will move out away from your side and your wrist and hand will then write at an angle to the paper. Some users always write like this naturally. Others write in a straight line.

[Inkling13]

It requires that your nib to be rotated slightly to the paper. I don't have a good illustration of this, but anatomy terms will suffice. http://cdn1.teachmeseries.com/tmanatomy/wp-content/uploads/20171222220339/The-Anatomical-Planes-of-the-Human-Body-1.jpg

Lets say the top part of your nib is the face, the body of the pen is the body.

With an italic nib, the sagittal plane of the nib is 90 degrees to your paper. Inducing any rotation to this and your nib would no longer contact the paper, a corner would dig, and your writing experience would be terrible.

However, Oblique nibs require that your nib be turned slightly, so that the sagittal plane of your pen is no longer at 90 degrees to the paper.

 

Some people may have the false impression that this allows them to roll their pen, especially if they are prone to this. You are still locked into having your pen turned to a limited degree relative to your paper, just that it isn't 90 degrees any more.

Some people may find that they have an easier time to write with, as you don't have such a sharp corner on your leading nib edge to dig into your paper.

What it does do, is impart a certain degree of line variation, or rather, when that transition occurs for a flat-bladed nib; say from making vertical to horizontal strokes. Hopefully this picture helps illustrate that:http://www.italic-handwriting.org/images/anna-hornby-left-hand-diagram.jpg

Edited February 15, 2018 by Inkling13

[Larry Barrieau]

Well that cleared it up.

[Inky.Fingers]

Thanks. I have one eye dominance so I havent a clue what is said. However, this cleared up a bit for me:

 

https://www.scribblers.co.uk/resources/talking-about-broad-edged-nibs/

 

I think you can use any nibs just as long as you are comfortable at it...some have preferences...some user dont.

 

Much ablige to your help.

[Ghost Plane]

They’re just stubs pointed in a different direction. Let the nib find its sweet spot on the paper, close your fingers around it and write. It really is that simple.

[Runnin_Ute]

They’re just stubs pointed in a different direction. Let the nib find its sweet spot on the paper, close your fingers around it and write. It really is that simple.

It is. I have one, an OB on a Pelikan M200. The only time I have trouble is when I don't pay attention to this simple thing.

[Inky.Fingers]

My vintage MB1266 is coming from Deutchland in a week. It is an OBB....it stands for "0h Bad Boy"!

[Inky.Fingers]

My one dream pen is the Soennecken Rheingold...preferrably with a Outrageous Big Bad Boy nib...but thats no where to be found 😪

[Bo Bo Olson]

First from my experience with obliques; nail OB Persona and a Lamy 27 OM, Pelikan regular flex W.Germany slightly more springy than the later '90's to now Germany 200 nibs, (some modern 200 oblique nibs I trans-mailed) and semi&maxi semi-flex vintage '50-60's German stubbed nibs....neither nails nor regular flex give any to nothing to write home about in line variation.

 

 

The nails and regular flex obliques are good for left handers or left eye dominate writers who automatically cant their nibs to see the top.

 

If you are a right hander and have normal right eye dominance, I highly recommend vintage German stubbed semi-flex obliques of the '50-60's, where due to the stubbing and the ease of tine spread very good to great line variation. I have 16 semi&maxi-semi-flex obliques from OBB to OF.

 

A vintage OB would be a good nib to start with, in being 1/2 a width narrower than modern, would be like a fat M....and having a wider sweet spot makes it easier to use. If one makes a mistake and places the nib regular square to the paper, it's only slightly scratchy, where as an OM or OF will be very scratchy when placed wrongly to the paper.

The nib must be canted.

 

First, check to see if your vintage German nib is a @ 15 or a 30 degree grind. I've got both 15 and 30 degree grinds in OBB, OB, OM and OF...............I'd decided that the line of an OEF was too narrow to worry about so never chased them. It was pure luck of the draw.

 

My 500 is for sure a Factory 30 degree grind. The rest I don't know, in I never see anyone talking about the 30 degree grind. It could be back in the day of the well trained salesman of the fabled German 'Corner Pen Shoppe', the salesman would go into the back room and add more grind to those who wanted it. Only 4 or 5 of my 16 vintage obliques are 30 degree grinds.

 

To write, if 15 degree grind, post the pen, as all standard and medium large pens, should be to have the great balance that was demanded back in the day, when one wrote all day with one's pen. But you have to align your clip of your posted cap so it is aimed half way between the slit and the right hand shoulder of the nib. Grip the pen in the air, using the clip as a guide....the nib will be canted just right. Place it on the paper and write.

 

If a 30 degree grind, align the clip to the right outside edge of the nib, grasp in the air, place on paper and it will write as it should.

 

Just write...don't try to 'make' the nib do anything....don't twist fingers, arm or hang from the chandelier.

 

Once there were many posts on how come my oblique don't work......I came up with that aiming trick....but some folks still had problems. Richard came up with some folks had problems with holding their paper at 45 degrees.........his solution was to have the paper at 90 or 180 degrees. After that there was seldom any posts on the problems.

I never had any problems with needing to hold my paper at 90 or 180 degrees, but having started out luckily with a semi-flex OB 140, which was just fat enough to fumble my way to canting the nib a bit........have never had problems....having solved the slightly scratchy with canting the nib.

I am glad I did not start out with OM or OF, which are very scratchy when held wrong.

 

Once I was using an old Mercedes pen I'd not used in a while. It was scratchy....I was reaching for the micro-mesh before I realized it was an OM.

[wastelanded]

Theyre just stubs pointed in a different direction. Let the nib find its sweet spot on the paper, close your fingers around it and write. It really is that simple.

This. The sweet spot is part of the world of vintage pens, oblique or not. If your vintage pen was well used, there will be a sweet (read, worn) spot. Sometimes it takes a bit of work to find it. When you do, it's like tapping into someone's spirit. Let the pen write how it's used to writing.