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Can I Use Different Sorts Of Nibs For The Same Handwriting Style?

Cassotto

By Cassotto
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Cassotto Rare

Cassotto

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(Getting different aesthetic results, of course.)

 

I know that to be able to produce certain types of handwriting you need specific nibs. For example, if you want to use uncial script, you need an italic nib (I think - I'm not too conversant in all this nomenclature. If it's not an italic nib, it'll be some other sort of nib with a flat end instead of a pointed edge, but I think you get the idea of what I mean).

What I don't know is whether you can use any sort of nib no matter what type your normal handwriting is.

I mean, my everyday handwriting is some sort of what I think is called looped cursive, but the letters are rounded (not oval) and vertical (not slanted). I've noticed that whenever I use an italic nib, I must write deliberately so as to get a continuous stroke, and if I try to speed up, my handwriting has a tendency to become slanted (something which never happens to me with a normal pointed nib, no matter how fast I try to write). Should I learn to hold the pen differently if I want to carry on using my normal handwriting with this sort of nibs? Or are italic nibs simply not meant for it? If I want to get variable line width with my handwriting, would I feel more comfortable using nibs meant for Copperplate of Spencerian scripts? Or can I still manage it with an italic nib, even if the result will obviously look different?



It isn't true that you live only once. You only die once. You live lots of times, if you know how. (Bobby Darin)

 

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go. (Oscar Wilde)

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Runnin_Ute Museum Piece

Runnin_Ute

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Even with my "regular" cursive handwriting, I am as likely to use a stub/italic/cursive italic nib as I am a pen with a regular nib. And I do it on a regular basis. It does take a bit to get used to how you need to hold the pen when using an edged nib in order to do so quickly. Sometimes, I will just use a regular (F,M,B, EF) nib if speed is going to be of the essence.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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Cassotto Rare

Cassotto

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It does take a bit to get used to how you need to hold the pen when using an edged nib in order to do so quickly.

 

It's good to know it can be done. If it's a matter of practice, I'll manage it. It's not that I must write at a snail's pace with an italic nib, only not as quickly as usual. And anyway, I don't intend to use an italic nib when taking something down in shorthand.

 

Thanks!

 

It isn't true that you live only once. You only die once. You live lots of times, if you know how. (Bobby Darin)

 

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go. (Oscar Wilde)

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Stompie Collectors Item

Stompie

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I agree with Ute.

I interchange pens all the time and have no issues just a slight change in grip.

Lamy with an Italic nib is great and one of my go to pens.

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Cassotto Rare

Cassotto

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My italic nibs are all 1.5 (one of them in a Lamy Safari), which I think is too broad for the size of my handwriting. Now that I know that I can use italic nibs when writing normally, I might get a 1.1. It'll probably suit me better. Or maybe not. I'm never sure about these things until I actually start using them.

It isn't true that you live only once. You only die once. You live lots of times, if you know how. (Bobby Darin)

 

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go. (Oscar Wilde)

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Randal6393 Antique

Randal6393

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Or you might try a Nemosine 0.8 or 0.6 nib. Excellent stubs, fit into a number of pens. Most recent are Wing Sung 3008 pens. And work out well for cursive writing, as the swells are not very large.

 

Enjoy,

Yours,
Randal

From a person's actions, we may infer attitudes, beliefs, --- and values. We do not know these characteristics outright. The human dichotomies of trust and distrust, honor and duplicity, love and hate --- all depend on internal states we cannot directly experience. Isn't this what adds zest to our life?

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Runnin_Ute Museum Piece

Runnin_Ute

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I don't have anything larger than a 1.1, and find it pretty comfortable for regular handwriting. I haven't tried the 1.5 or 1.9 Lamy nibs.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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Cassotto Rare

Cassotto

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Or you might try a Nemosine 0.8 or 0.6 nib.

 

 

I've taken note of those. Thanks!

 

 

I don't have anything larger than a 1.1, and find it pretty comfortable for regular handwriting. I haven't tried the 1.5 or 1.9 Lamy nibs.

 

I'll take this into account, in case I can't find a 0.8 or 0.6 nib.

It isn't true that you live only once. You only die once. You live lots of times, if you know how. (Bobby Darin)

 

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go. (Oscar Wilde)

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Stompie Collectors Item

Stompie

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This might help you see what I meant. Different pens with different handwriting but pretty close to my every day hand, except for the first one with my big Lamy where, when I use it I don't write cursive but if just taking notes with the big Lamy then that is pretty much how I would write with it.

 

fpn_1528123168__qotw9.jpg

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Spelled78 New

Spelled78

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i recently acquired both a Nemosine Singularity 0.6, as well as a Nemosine Neutrino 0.8, for the exact reason they were recommended earlier in this thread. Ive been very happy with both. Depending on your preference, the Singularity is considerably lighter than the Neutrino - just something to keep in mind.

 

Stompie - your handwriting is beautiful!

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AAAndrew Antique

AAAndrew

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If your not writing actual italic script, but you’re using a stub nib, try out the technique used at the time the stub nib was invented for steel pens. Instead of holding the nib at a 45-degree angle to the line of writing, they kept the nib roughly parallel with that line. You may have to turn you paper counter clockwise a bit, but it lends itself to a very nice result for cursive handwriting.

 

“When the historians of education do equal and exact justice to all who have contributed toward educational progress, they will devote several pages to those revolutionists who invented steel pens and blackboards.” V.T. Thayer, 1928

Check out my Steel Pen Blog. 

"No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the mistake is to do it solemnly."

-Montaigne

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sidthecat Antique

sidthecat

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I use a variety of nibs, from very fine flexible dip nibs to somewhat inflexible medium-to-broad. I try to keep my letterforms consistent, but I like the variations.

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amberleadavis Pen Dust

amberleadavis

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I agree with Sid. I try really hard to be consistent with my penmanship. A different pen makes the handwriting appear very different.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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