Moleskine Review of my new Custom Ground Lamy Cursive Italic Nib

[biffybeans]

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/biffybeans/2577370901/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/biffybeans/2578202496/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/biffybeans/2578202060/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/biffybeans/2578201456/

 

A while back, I bought a Safari off of Ebay (new) that had a scratchy, fine nib that was almost as thick as my medium Safari, so it never really got used. I ended up replacing the nib with a 1.1 stub and later realized that I could have the scratchy fine ground into something else. Sam at Pendemonium said that they could grind the fine nib into a Cursive Italic and that it would come out in the .05-,07 range. I sent the nib off to them for grinding, along with a check for $17. ($15 for the grind and $2 for return postage of the nib. I had it back in just a few DAYS.

 

It's as gloriously smooth as my other Lamy nibs and even smoother than the 1.1 stub. I am VERY happy with the service and end result and would recommend it to anyone that's not ready to splurge on a custom nib from Mr. Binder. (I do not yet own a Binder nib so I cannot compare.)

 

I find this size cursive italic much more suitable to my writing style than the 1.1 stub. I can write at full speed with it and it is not catching the paper at all.

 

Waterman Blue-Black ink.

 

Lamy 1.1 stub for comparison. Not as rounded. Maybe would work well for greeting cards or invitations.

 

Stephanie

"Biffybeans"

[OldGandy]

The nibster at Pendemonium does great work at a very reasonable price. The sample looks great.

[haywoody]

Thanks for the review and nice pictures. I snagged one of these nibs on the marketplace a while ago and am surprised how great it is. It writes way wider than my usual preference (XF-XXF) but it is so fun and smooth that I find myself grabbing it out of the pencup all the time. Two thumbs up to Pendemonium for offering quality work at a great price.

 

/Woody

[jmkeuning]

Great review. I too can endorse the Pendemonium grind. I had MB with an italic that they did. Very Nice.

 

I had no idea they were so affordable. Excellent!

[HDoug]

Thanks for the review and congrats on acquiring such a good nib. I have a question: that close-up looks so crisp and free from feathering. Is that really a Moleskine? My experience with Moleskines hasn't been very good and all examples that I've tried would have left monstrous caterpillar ink trails where there is a crisp line in your example. Has this good behavior been your general experience with Moleskines?

 

Doug

[biffybeans]

Hi Doug -

 

To be honest, I cheated with this photo a bit. Yes, it IS a Moleskine, but I took 2 pictures like this and the one I didn't post was full of the little caterpillar feet that you spoke of.

 

Pretty much every ink I've tried feathers at least a little in my Moleskines. I worry more about the inks bleeding, and the inks that I have found to not bleed are Noodler's Black, Noodler's Aircorp Blue-Black, Noodler's Red-Black and Diamine Imperial Purple.

 

Stephanie

 

 

Thanks for the review and congrats on acquiring such a good nib. I have a question: that close-up looks so crisp and free from feathering. Is that really a Moleskine? My experience with Moleskines hasn't been very good and all examples that I've tried would have left monstrous caterpillar ink trails where there is a crisp line in your example. Has this good behavior been your general experience with Moleskines?

 

Doug

 

[Ondina]

Pendemonium does a great job at an unbeatable price and turnaround time....