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Getting A Stub Nib Working Smoothly.


Flaxmoore

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I've a TWSBI 700 and while I like the pen (when it's working, which is a story for another time, as Maz Kaneta said), I can't stand the nib. It's a stock medium #6, and never been quite right.

 

I swapped it for a Goulet 1.1 stub, and the stub isn't bad, but not quite right. It'll snag every now and then, skip every now and then. It's well bedded to the feed, and flows well most of the time. The problem is the snagging. I've checked it under a 10x loupe and it's well-aligned. I've run it on some 5000 grit mesh and that's helped a little.

 

Would knocking the corners of the stub down to round a bit further be of help? Near as I can tell, it snags most often on strokes to the left, and upwards-left.

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It seems to be acting more like a crisp italic which requires you to be very careful about the angle you write with and keeping the flat of the nib oriented correctly on the paper. A regular stub should not have sharp edges so rounding the edges should make it more stub like.

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How would be best? I was thinking of 2000 grit mesh, grind it like I'm knocking down a burr on a knife edge- smooth off a corner, then polish with 5k. I've a 3000 grit whetstone, but the thought of steel grinding into it like that makes me shudder.

Physician- signing your scripts with Skrips!


I'm so tough I vacation in Detroit.

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When one writes Italic, one holds the pen/nib before the big index knuckle and cant's the nib to 45 degrees.

 

Stubs are mostly held behind the big index knuckle.

So if you think a stub 'snags' you must be holding the nib before the big index knuckle and not behind at 45 degrees just after the big index knuckle, or at 40 degrees at the start of the web of the thumb.

The pen 'must' be very long or heavy to be held at 35 degrees in the pit of the web of the thumb.

Normally because the nib is rounded more than a CI or italic nib, it don't catch at all.

Either you have a CI or an Italic nib, if it catches.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Catching could be you automatically cant your nib due to perhaps left eye dominance which wants to see the top of the nib.

If so, an oblique of that era would be just fine..........not worth buying later obliques in they are not semi-flex.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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When one writes Italic, one holds the pen/nib before the big index knuckle and cant's the nib to 45 degrees.

 

Stubs are mostly held behind the big index knuckle.

So if you think a stub 'snags' you must be holding the nib before the big index knuckle and not behind at 45 degrees just after the big index knuckle, or at 40 degrees at the start of the web of the thumb.

The pen 'must' be very long or heavy to be held at 35 degrees in the pit of the web of the thumb.

Normally because the nib is rounded more than a CI or italic nib, it don't catch at all.

Either you have a CI or an Italic nib, if it catches.

It’s definitely a stub. Just double checked. Don’t think I’m turning it- I’m near blind in my left eye. I try and act like my left doesn’t exist.

Physician- signing your scripts with Skrips!


I'm so tough I vacation in Detroit.

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It’s definitely a stub. Just double checked. Don’t think I’m turning it- I’m near blind in my left eye. I try and act like my left doesn’t exist.

I would say make sure it is aligned and just experiment with the nib in different angles. Or maybe try different inks. Like others have said, if it is a stock stub nib there is no need to grind it. It already has very smooth edges and it shouldn't catch on the paper or anything.

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Also I wanted to say, I know you said it flows well 'most of the time', make sure the flow is wet and consistent. Ever tried going across paper with uninked nib? It feels horrible.

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A lot of folks turn the wrist or roll the pen while writing, without being aware of it. And that lifts a tine and can result in skipping or catching.

To see if this is happening, focus on keeping both tines aligned on the page and guiding the pen without downward pressure. Let the tines ride on the pool of ink. Write a bit slower to keep focus on the pen.

eta. I roll some pens and not others, so I focus with those particular pens.

Edited by cattar
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