Jump to content

Modern super-flex

alvarez57

By alvarez57
in Of Nibs & Tines

 Share

Recommended Posts

lalindsay225 Vintage

lalindsay225

Posted
Posted

The closest I have ever come to using a flex nib was probably the Namiki Falcon. I know it's not considered to have a truly flexy nib by some, but compared to the nails I usually write with, it was pretty amazing. Alas, this was some years ago at the PenUltima store in Oak Park Mall in Lenexa, Kansas, and by the time I had saved the necessary funds, the store had closed. (This was before I learned that one can get practically anything online.) I will probably still get one someday.

 

Lisa

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.

 

Lisa in Raleigh, NC

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 37
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • wspohn

    5

  • Ghost Plane

    5

  • alvarez57

    4

  • vervavolant

    3

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

skipwilliams Vintage

skipwilliams

Posted
Posted

I have two Flexy EF Dani's and they are great pens, with "soft" nibs that provide a nice line variation. I have others that are almost as soft from Nakaya, Visconti (Manhattan) and Omas (Ogiva).

 

But the flexibility of any of these nibs pales in comparison to vintage flex nibs. The Dani-Trio flexi nibs are more like vintage "Semi flexible" nibs, IMO. Please don't call the Dani nibs "Extra Flexible"....unless it's in comparison to modern pens only.

 

Skip

 

 

Skip Williams

www.skipwilliams.com/blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Escribiente Extremely Rare

Escribiente

Posted
Posted
Boy am I in love with my DaniTrio nib!!!! I think I have an extra flex or a flex sumpin'. I know that Kevin Chen sent me a Mikado to try and I fell in love with the nib. I find myself using it very, very frequently and I have a Special flex Nakata and it is less (IMHO) flexy than this one.

There is another contemporary nib that I believe is a bit more flexible than Danitrio's semi-flex. It is the FA (Falcon) nib which is an option in the Pilot Custom 742 and 743. It produces line variation with such an ease, that you can produce effects similar to those of vintage flex nibs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wspohn Antique

wspohn

Posted
Posted
But the flexibility of any of these nibs pales in comparison to vintage flex nibs. The Dani-Trio flexi nibs are more like vintage "Semi flexible" nibs, IMO. Please don't call the Dani nibs "Extra Flexible"....unless it's in comparison to modern pens only.

 

A point well worth making - Kevin always takes pains to note that the flex is only relative. I have some early (late 19th C. eyedropper fill) Watermans (Watermen?) with lovely flex nibs that are sheer pleasure to use, - for those that enjoy that sort of thing.

 

While speaking of matters flex, can anyone with a Danitrio Genkai or Mikado (which uses a larger nib than the Densho) offer an opinion on the 'soft F' nibs onthese pens? Are they true F or closer to an M? I have a regular F nib Densho and it is just fine enough for me.

Bill Spohn

Vancouver BC

"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence"

 

Robert Fripp

https://www.rhodoworld.com/fountain-pens.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Johnny Appleseed Antique

Johnny Appleseed

Posted
Posted
IS there such a thing as a flex B nib?? :huh:

 

There are B-flex nibs, but they do take away from the look of flex writing. A B-BB variation does not look as impressive as an XF-bb variation, or even an XF-M variation

 

Do people use flex nibs for everyday writing? I have an Eversharp skyline with a flex nib that doesn't look any different when I write with it normally than any other nib. When you write with one, do you purposely make your downstrokes heavier than your upstrokes, or does it just come out that way? It looks wonderful when I write with my made up :lol: loopy script, but it doesn't seem special when I am just writing in cursive normally.

 

There are many degrees of flex. Vintage semi-flex and much modern "flex" will not give variation for most people when doing normal writing - you have to apply extra pressure to achieve the extended line variation. There are also extra-flexy nibs that will flex with very little change in pressure - I have one Waterman #2 which will flex just from looking at it. As Antonios has said before, sometime the best flex effect is not from the flexiest nib, but from the one that gives a good crisp "return".

 

John

So if you have a lot of ink,

You should get a Yink, I think.

 

- Dr Suess

 

Always looking for pens by Baird-North, Charles Ingersoll, and nibs marked "CHI"

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gregamckinney Antique

gregamckinney

Posted
Posted

I don't consider myself a flex-pert, but I run across a lot of them, collecting older Waterman pens. I have had modern pens made more flexible by several of the well-known nib meisters, but have never come across a modern nib with more flex than that on the Dani Trio Densho. This is a stub nib, that writes with excellent line variation. It is also very flexible. With very little pressure, the line approximately doubles in width, which for a broad nib is quite flexible. Here is a quick sample I made on decent quality paper and using Noodlers Nightshade.

 

http://gergyor.com/images/danitrio_stub_flex.jpg

 

Best regards, greg

Don't feel bad. I'm old; I'm meh about most things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AndyHayes Collectors Item

AndyHayes

Posted
Posted
While speaking of matters flex, can anyone with a Danitrio Genkai or Mikado (which uses a larger nib than the Densho) offer an opinion on the 'soft F' nibs onthese pens? Are they true F or closer to an M? I have a regular F nib Densho and it is just fine enough for me.

 

I don't have a fine, but I have a soft medium in a Mikado. I would say that without pressure it is slightly on the broad side of medium. With pressure you are looking at a line approaching a Pelikan BB. Ink used - Noodlers Bulletproof black

 

Skype: andyhayes

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ghost Plane Ancient Artifact

Ghost Plane

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the explanation. Being a B lover, I can't imagine starting a line with those itty bitty things y'all call F nibs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wspohn Antique

wspohn

Posted
Posted (edited)
Being a B lover, I can't imagine starting a line with those itty bitty things y'all call F nibs.

 

There is a promising second career out there for you painting fences with a double broad stub.... :roflmho:

 

Seriously, a B is better suited to noodling away than writing notes - great for greeting cards but lousy for writing pages of text (unless you are happy with a very low word/page number)

 

Having said that, I can't wait for my extra broad stub Parker 75 to arrive so I can noodle around...

Edited by wspohn

Bill Spohn

Vancouver BC

"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence"

 

Robert Fripp

https://www.rhodoworld.com/fountain-pens.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stephen-I-am Vintage

Stephen-I-am

Posted
Posted
Seriously, a B is better suited to noddling away than writing notes - great for greeting cards but lousy for writing pages of text

But if you choose your words carefully, you get nice juicy lines that show off the ink so well .... ;)

 

Stephen

Current Favorite Inks

Noodlers La Reine Mauve Noodlers Walnut

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wspohn Antique

wspohn

Posted
Posted
But if you choose your words carefully, you get nice juicy lines that show off the ink so well .... ;)

 

Ah, but as a lawyer, we get paid by the word, so prolixity = prosperity http://bestsmileys.com/money/6.gif

Bill Spohn

Vancouver BC

"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence"

 

Robert Fripp

https://www.rhodoworld.com/fountain-pens.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ghost Plane Ancient Artifact

Ghost Plane

Posted
Posted

I write pages and pages with my Bs daily in blissful comfort instead of scratching and scraping along the page with your itsy bitsy nibs. :cloud9:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wspohn Antique

wspohn

Posted
Posted
I write pages and pages with my Bs daily in blissful comfort instead of scratching and scraping along the page with your itsy bitsy nibs. :cloud9:

 

 

Whose itsy bitsy nib are you talking about? :happyberet:

 

No problem, you like a broadsword, I like a rapier. Both get the job done, though in my etsimation one does it with more delicacy and grace...... :bunny01:

Bill Spohn

Vancouver BC

"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence"

 

Robert Fripp

https://www.rhodoworld.com/fountain-pens.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MYU Donor Pen

MYU

Posted
Posted
No problem, you like a broadsword, I like a rapier. Both get the job done, though in my etsimation one does it with more delicacy and grace...... :bunny01:
Them sound like fightin' words, thar. ;)

 

Actually a broad stub nib can have the best of both... nice broad downstrokes and razor sharp horizontal jets. :D

[MYU's Pen Review Corner] | "The Common Ground" -- Jeffrey Small

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ghost Plane Ancient Artifact

Ghost Plane

Posted
Posted
I write pages and pages with my Bs daily in blissful comfort instead of scratching and scraping along the page with your itsy bitsy nibs. :cloud9:

 

 

Whose itsy bitsy nib are you talking about? :happyberet:

 

No problem, you like a broadsword, I like a rapier. Both get the job done, though in my etsimation one does it with more delicacy and grace...... :bunny01:

That's a claymore to you, flatlander. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FredRydr Antique

FredRydr

Posted
Posted
It must be all of those years of writing with a ballpoint pen that have ruined my ability to write lightly on the paper.
Same here, but I'm working on it. Apparently I ruined a MN nib because of it. It'll take a bit more re-training before I buy one of these flexible nibs, though I'll try one at the Philly pen show.

 

Fred

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
alvarez57 Collectors Item

alvarez57

Posted
  • Author
Posted
But if you choose your words carefully, you get nice juicy lines that show off the ink so well .... ;)

 

Ah, but as a lawyer, we get paid by the word, so prolixity = prosperity http://bestsmileys.com/money/6.gif

 

:angry:

No wonder!!!!!That's why I need a Lawyer to transcribe what another one wrote! And I thought I was being the almost illiterate one!

sonia alvarez

 

fpn_1379481230__chinkinreduced.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33558
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26730
    5. jar
      jar
      26101

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o

  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More

  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...