How to ascertain if I'll like semiflexi/flexi nibs?

[thibaulthalpern]

This might be a silly question but it's worth a try

 

I'm trying to determine if I'll enjoy using a semiflexi or flexi nib such as the Namiki Falcon or the Custom 742's Falcon nib. Unfortunately, I am not able to personally try out either model because no stores near where I live carry fountain pens. I don't know if it'll help, but here's a sample of my handwriting.

 

 

 

[gyasko]

It's really impossible to know until you try one. Do you like the look of what is written with flexible nibs? I think that is the main question. If you do, then you have to decide whether you can put up with the sacrifices you will be making. These are:

 

1. Scratchiness. In general, things will not be as smooth with a flex nib.

 

2. Writing more slowly.

 

3. A more fragile nib

 

4. added cost

 

There may be things i've forgotten, but that's what comes to mind now.

[JJBlanche]

I hate to sound like a broken record, so forgive me if that's the case, but the 1745 is known for having a semiflex nib. Very cost effective way of determining whether you have a proclivity for stiff or flex.

[simonrob]

Hard to predict, but: unless you get a "wet noodle" - and none that you're considering qualifies as that - it won't flex (at least, not enough to make a visible difference aside, perhaps, from ink shading) unless you apply some conscious pressure. Provided you maintain even, minimal pressure when writing you can treat a pen with a flex nib like any other - it won't affect your handwriting at all aside perhaps from giving you a somewhat "cushioned" feeling to the nib. Unless you like really fine nibs, I wouldn't start with a Pilot Custom FA nib - they're far more expensive than Namiki Falcon or a Pilot Custom 74 with a "soft" nib, and you have no choice of nib width: it's very fine or nothing. I would start with a Namiki Falcon or Pilot Custom 74 with a soft nib and see how you like it.

 

If you like it and decide you want to try a pen with real flex, I still wouldn't recommend a Pilot Custom w/FA nib. Impressive though they are (at least, after Richard Binder has tweaked it), they're still not as good as "the real thing" (i.e., a vintage pen with a flex nib); and you will certainly be able to get an excellent example of the latter (or even two or three) for the price of one Custom 743....

 

Simon

[Titivillus]

It's the type of pen that people who like that type of pen like. You need to try it. Maybe the easiest way would be to find and arts and crafts store and get a flexy dip nib & holder and try!

 

K

[jmkeuning]

Borrow one from someone on FPN. Where do you live?

[MYU]

Y'know what? If you came back to fountain pen use recently and haven't visited anybody who is an expert on fountain pens, you probably write with a firmer grip and with wrist movements instead of arm movements. I was guilty of the same... until I met Mr. Binder. When I demonstrated how my Delta was writing rather wet for my tastes, he showed me how it can actually write well... if used properly!

 

Thus if you wish to have a flexible nib, you need to learn how to write with it. Now, I may be presumptuous and your writing habit is just fine. If you hold the pen gently and lock your wrist and arm as if it were a single piece of iron, moving your whole arm as you write, then you'd be ready for trying a flex nib. A firm grip and finger/wrist movements is a combination for a sprung nib. At least, that is what I have been advised. I have tried a flexible nib using my old writing habit and it didn't work very well (I was lucky I didn't damage it!).

 

I'm sure someone like Antonios with phenomenal flexible nib experience could chime in and state it even better than me.

Edited September 20, 2008 by MYU

[thibaulthalpern]

Borrow one from someone on FPN. Where do you live?

 

Santa Cruz, California. Anyone out here with a semiflex fountain pen with F or EF nib? :-) Yeah...and I also have no car...hmm...kinda limited.

[thibaulthalpern]

Y'know what? If you came back to fountain pen use recently and haven't visited anybody who is an expert on fountain pens, you probably write with a firmer grip and with wrist movements instead of arm movements. I was guilty of the same... until I met Mr. Binder. When I demonstrated how my Delta was writing rather wet for my tastes, he showed me how it can actually write well... if used properly!

 

Thus if you wish to have a flexible nib, you need to learn how to write with it. Now, I may be presumptuous and your writing habit is just fine. If you hold the pen gently and lock your wrist and arm as if it were a single piece of iron, moving your whole arm as you write, then you'd be ready for trying a flex nib. A firm grip and finger/wrist movements is a combination for a sprung nib. At least, that is what I have been advised. I have tried a flexible nib using my old writing habit and it didn't work very well (I was lucky I didn't damage it!).

 

I'm sure someone like Antonios with phenomenal flexible nib experience could chime in and state it even better than me.

 

I think you're right then. I write more with my wrist but I don't press hard.

 

What I would like is actually to have the same handwriting I have with just a little bit of line variation. But then again, my handwriting is small, so is that even possible? I get ink variation depending on the ink. For instance, i get ink variation with Skrip Black and Visconti Sepia, but not with Noodler's black or Parker Quink black.

 

============

 

[edit: I just tried writing with my wrist locked. It's possible, but it makes the writing rather large. Perhaps I need more practice and a teacher.

Edited September 20, 2008 by thibaulthalpern

[BillTheEditor]

I think you're right then. I write more with my wrist but I don't press hard.

 

What I would like is actually to have the same handwriting I have with just a little bit of line variation. But then again, my handwriting is small, so is that even possible? I get ink variation depending on the ink. For instance, i get ink variation with Skrip Black and Visconti Sepia, but not with Noodler's black or Parker Quink black.

If you choose to write with a flexible or semiflexible nib ("wet noodle" not required), you will need to change your handwriting (both style and technique) in order to take advantage of the characteristics of that nib. This doesn't mean you have to start writing in an ornate style, but it does mean that your writing will need to make proper use of thinner upstrokes and thicker downstrokes. You will need to make the effort to make your handwriting regular. This involves changing the way you use the pen.

 

Changing nibs does not automatically improve your writing or make it look "better." Changing nibs without changing your approach to writing and changing your style will only make your writing look clumsy or worse.

 

If making those changes is not something you want to do, I suggest you save yourself the cost of a semi-flexible or flexible nib and the frustration of not getting the improvement you seek.

[thibaulthalpern]

If you choose to write with a flexible or semiflexible nib ("wet noodle" not required), you will need to change your handwriting (both style and technique) in order to take advantage of the characteristics of that nib. This doesn't mean you have to start writing in an ornate style, but it does mean that your writing will need to make proper use of thinner upstrokes and thicker downstrokes. You will need to make the effort to make your handwriting regular. This involves changing the way you use the pen.

 

Changing nibs does not automatically improve your writing or make it look "better." Changing nibs without changing your approach to writing and changing your style will only make your writing look clumsy or worse.

 

If making those changes is not something you want to do, I suggest you save yourself the cost of a semi-flexible or flexible nib and the frustration of not getting the improvement you seek.

 

Very helpful, Bill. Thanks! I don't think my handwriting is bad nor is my intention to use a semiflex nib for the purpose of making my handwriting more beautiful. It's merely to have some line variation. I understand now my handwriting technique and style will need to change and that's okay. I probably won't be, at this moment, invest in that practice of having a second kind of handwriting. So, maybe I'll let the Namiki Falcon / Custom 742 Falcon nib lay low. I am interested in being able to use those kinds of pens though. I write A LOT in longhand, especially letters to friends.....

 

On the other hand, maybe it'll only take a few days of practice to get a second handwriting that works with semiflex nibs...who knows. Good tips and advice for me, everyone! :-)

 

m ( _ _ ) m

 

And in case you don't know what emoticon is, it's a bow. Read it not sideways but as it already is oriented towards you

( *-^ ) <---just like this wink

Edited September 20, 2008 by thibaulthalpern

[RevAaron]

You don't need to try out the Pilot to try out semi-flex- just buy some cheap pen with it. Heck, go to an antique store and buy a $3 pen, dip the nib and give it a whack. Or buy a 1745 like JJ suggested- the two pens you were thinking of buying both have more flex and are softer, but anything along these lines will give you some idea.

[MYU]

If you're looking for line variation with minimal change to your writing method, go with a nice stub (soft/semi-flex is fine). The nature of the nib will help make your hand writing more regular and they're just fun--easy to use!

[chkuo]

These 2 posts should help to answer the question about the Falcon and the FA nib:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=67129

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=69455

 

[RevAaron]

I totally agree with MYU- in practice, I've found a lot more aesthetic improvement with stub or CI nib than with flex. I still like breaking out a really flexible pen for pseudo-calligraphy, like writing someone's name on a card's envelope, but in day to day writing I get a lot of effect for the miniscule amount of effort I've put into learning how to use a stubbish pen.