Signature Nib Size

[NickyNewGuy]

Is there a size of Nib that should be used for formal and informal signature? I only have Medium and Fine to choose from.

[sciumbasci]

Between fine and medium?

The bigger the better, go with medium.

 

If your question is wether you should buy another pen, or nib, then get a Stub 1.1: it is good, for I find it to be q good compromise when the paper you'll be signing on is cheapest copy paper they could find. Athough it shows little line variation, at least it won't pool ink or soak the page!

 

Some people swear by B and BB nibs, or some of the fancier OM or OB... I tried a B, editor one letter, put the pen down and walked away

 

I use a cheap Dollar 717, which is a oblique italic (aka Qalam): works good for me!

Edited October 16, 2018 by sciumbasci

[NickyNewGuy]

sclumbasci

 

I will take your recommendation into consideration, thanks for your response.

[Karmachanic]

Whatever you like.

[LizEF]

It does seem a lot of people think a broad(er) nib is needed for a "signature" pen, but I confess, I don't get it. I'm capable of signing my name with any writing implement and I'm unsure why it needs a special pen (special ink makes more sense to me).

 

When my job is busy, I sign and initial a lot, but the space is limited (ditto on most government and business forms I've seen). At work, I have to use a line that is equivalent to (or larger than) a medium ballpoint (to make someone warm and fuzzy about the probability of it photocopying well), but since it's crappy paper, even a Japanese fine nib will accomplish this (after spread).

 

Other than that, I can't remember the last time I signed anything, so it wouldn't make sense for me to carry a broad-nibbed pen around, inked and ready to go just in case I needed to sign something... Even just owning one that sits in a drawer waiting for the day I have to sign something seems pointless. So, to me it seems like my signature nib is whatever pen I have with me and want to use for the purpose. Likely the one with the most-permanent ink.

 

The exception to all this is if you're autographing, in which case you generally have a large writing surface and may want a fat nib (or Sharpie) to make something big. But this appears to be done most frequently on slick paper, so FPs are out.

[sciumbasci]

I don't think there's a rational explanation behind it, Liz. I feel like a stub automagically makes my handwriting neater.

And the nice contrast of the stub nib against the teeny ballpoint mark makes me feel important even though I'm a scrub.

[LizEF]

I don't think there's a rational explanation behind it, Liz. I feel like a stub automagically makes my handwriting neater.

And the nice contrast of the stub nib against the teeny ballpoint mark makes me feel important even though I'm a scrub.

 

[Tom Kellie]

It does seem a lot of people think a broad(er) nib is needed for a "signature" pen, but I confess, I don't get it. I'm capable of signing my name with any writing implement and I'm unsure why it needs a special pen (special ink makes more sense to me).

 

~ LizEF:

 

I've also never grasped the notion that a particular nib is needed for a signature.

That may be because I'm almost never asked to sign anything.

Each month I sign for receiving my salary, in cash. That's it.

I sign with whatever writing instrument my supervisor hands to me.

Special ink...hmm...I never considered that. Sounds good!

Tom K.

[LizEF]

 

~ LizEF:

 

I've also never grasped the notion that a particular nib is needed for a signature.

That may be because I'm almost never asked to sign anything.

Each month I sign for receiving my salary, in cash. That's it.

I sign with whatever writing instrument my supervisor hands to me.

Special ink...hmm...I never considered that. Sounds good!

Tom K.

 

Nice to know I'm not alone. I suppose if I were rich and powerful, my signature might have more meaning and therefore I might want something special, but until someone asks me to sign a peace treaty (never gonna happen) or autograph a book (hope this will happen one day), I'm not gonna worry about it.

[Tom Kellie]

 

Nice to know I'm not alone. I suppose if I were rich and powerful, my signature might have more meaning and therefore I might want something special, but until someone asks me to sign a peace treaty (never gonna happen) or autograph a book (hope this will happen one day), I'm not gonna worry about it.

 

~ LizEF:

 

I laughed out loud in recognition when I read the above.

Why? ’Cuz I was recently wondering what sort of pen I'd use to sign books if I was ever on a book tour.

That's pure fantasy as there aren't any books in me, as far as I know.

I co-wrote a couple of textbooks, but students never asked for a signature.

In all seriousness, even an EF nib is capable of making a pleasing signature.

I hope that your life's journey will indeed take you to a table in a bookstore to autograph books for fans!

Tom K.

[LizEF]

 

~ LizEF:

 

I laughed out loud in recognition when I read the above.

 

Oh good. It's a good day when you can make someone laugh.

 

 

I co-wrote a couple of textbooks, but students never asked for a signature.

 

Alas! Students never appreciate the hard work people do to give them chances to learn. (And I confess, I probably never gave a second thought to whoever may have written the textbooks I used as a student. Perhaps we should start a trend - textbook authors touring school bookshops! Might be a dangerous job, though. Have to get a bulletproof vest first. )

 

 

I hope that your life's journey will indeed take you to a table in a bookstore to autograph books for fans!

 

Thank you! Next year I go full time into this effort - well, the "authoring books" part - with hard work, it may lead to the occasional autograph.

[BaronWulfraed]

In all seriousness, even an EF nib is capable of making a pleasing signature.

 

But how fast can you make that signature?

 

If at a book-signing, one is unlikely to be given even a minute to spend on an artistic signature -- much less the time for pressure control of a flex nib.Two to four signagures a minute may be more likely. A broad/wet nib that rapidly glides over the cheap paper of the book is probably most welcome; an EF may not transfer enough ink to constitute a recognizable signature.

[LizEF]

But how fast can you make that signature?

 

If at a book-signing, one is unlikely to be given even a minute to spend on an artistic signature -- much less the time for pressure control of a flex nib.Two to four signagures a minute may be more likely. A broad/wet nib that rapidly glides over the cheap paper of the book is probably most welcome; an EF may not transfer enough ink to constitute a recognizable signature.

 

Speed of signature should only be slowed with a fountain pen if either you're flexing, or you're using so much pressure that the tines scratch into the paper. I can move a Japanese EF nib as fast as I can move a broader nib.

 

As for the EF not transferring enough ink... I'm not even sure how to respond. I'm 49, not that great of eyesight, and yet I have no trouble seeing the line put down by a Japanese EF (yet, I know). I get the idea of it not scanning or copying on all machines well (depending on various details). I get the idea of someone with particular vision issues not being able to see it clearly (depending on various details).

 

Also, when I write on crappy paper, the line spreads and I get a fatter line than on good paper, which would make the line even easier to see. A broad nib on crappy paper might bleed and feather as well as spread.

 

NOTE: I'm perfectly fine with the idea of a broader nib because the user simply wants a fatter line, because the user finds it writes more smoothly or pleasantly to them, or for any other user-oriented reason. I just don't buy that objectively, an EF nib can't write as fast, nor that its line (using a reasonably visible ink) is inherently unrecognizable by someone with normal eyesight. Maybe I'm a weirdo, but a lot of the statements I see about EF nibs simply do not reflect my personal experience with them.

[Ghost Plane]

From working mass book signings, I can attest most authors use Sharpies or gel pens for speed + color variation. Print books feature notoriously bad paper barring the occasional coffee table offering.

 

For everyday, I want maximum thoughtless float aka BB or OBB or OBBB

[Runnin_Ute]

On any given day, I might have anything from a Accountant nib, an EF, F, M, B, OB or stub of some sort. I typically use what I think will look best given the paper being used and other considerations. Given some of the crappy paper I have had to sign my name on over the years, sometimes that is no wider than a fine. I do try and use a dark professional ink - but not black.

[sidthecat]

I have a Wahl Doric with a busted Adjustable nib that I’ve used for book signings (I’m depicted in a book about women in Disney Animation). It’s got a nice bold line that’s fun to write with.

[A Smug Dill]

If at a book-signing, one is unlikely to be given even a minute to spend on an artistic signature -- much less the time for pressure control of a flex nib.Two to four signagures a minute may be more likely. A broad/wet nib that rapidly glides over the cheap paper of the book is probably most welcome; an EF may not transfer enough ink to constitute a recognizable signature.

 

I guess I'll have the opportunity shortly to observe how that works in practice. I'm not the author, but my fiancée is. We just received her shipment of author's copies of the book, and the paper is neither glossy nor cheap (90gsm offset paper? What does that mean?) – and I guess my copy can be the guinea pig for finding out which ink and nib combination dries quickly, won't smear, won't bleed through to the reverse side, and so on. I really have trouble imagining a juicy broad/stub nib will outperform a fine nib in those important attributes when it comes to book-signing, though.

 

Oh, and of course I personally hate the assumption (or is that presumption?) that everyone (or every fountain pen user or enthusiast) signs their name in something that is at least remotely based on a Western language alphabet, instead of treating an autograph – more than any other form of writing – as akin to a graphic. Yes, I understand this is an 'English-speaking' discussion forum, and personally I've lived in Australia most of my life and every 'work product' I produce was/is written in English, but still that does not mean my autograph is based on my 'English' name; it's just my personal mark on documents. A broad round-tipped nib does not help signatures in general appear more legible; there are twenty pen strokes in the middle character (out of three) in my name, and a broad nib just makes clearly delineating each stroke difficult, much less show the character in how I wield my pen in my individual style to make those marks.

[BaronWulfraed]

"offset paper" => most likely a paper optimized for use in offset/lithography printing presses, wherein the ink is pressure bound to the paper, rather than sitting on the surface as with laser (and even some inkjet).

[sidthecat]

I had a Dutch contractor explain to me that in his country, schoolchildren were encouraged to design a signature that would be unique to them.

I’ve tried to do likewise, especially since some of those digital pads are pretty low-rez, but I’ve had to keep working on it because a fountain pen doesn’t work like a finger.

[BaronWulfraed]

I think I can safely say that my signature is "unique"... It isn't "designed"... and sure isn't pretty...

 

I manage to turn 15 letters into three off-kilter capitals and a set of squiggly lines, with two randomly placed dots (for the "i"s)