Nib size question

[SimonWang]

Simon

Depends...

Are going to bear down as you write?

Do you have a light touch?

What angle to you hold the pen to the paper?

What angle do you hold your arm to the desk?

Do you write with the nib iridium down on the paper or do you see the iridium as you write.

What kind of paper do you use? Nice stuff? Bad stuff?

What kind of ink?

My God... So complex...

[Roger]

My God... So complex... 

Not complex, just a lot of variables. When the variables combine in a way that pleases you, it is wonderful!

 

If it didn't have all those variables, there wouldn't be enough depth in the hobby to keep one's interest for long periods; a lifetime, sometimes!

[sleek_lover]

Simon

Depends...

Are going to bear down as you write?

Do you have a light touch?

What angle to you hold the pen to the paper?

What angle do you hold your arm to the desk?

Do you write with the nib iridium down on the paper or do you see the iridium as you write.

What kind of paper do you use?  Nice stuff? Bad stuff?

What kind of ink?

My God... So complex...

Yeah....

 

and maybe

 

and no...

fif

Simon...

 

Truth be told, most of what we do in any given day is so complex that if we broke the activity down into its minute component parts we would not ever consider getting out of bed...because the "mere" act of getting out of bed is so damn complex that to even consider it would boggle the mind---

 

Yet we do it with precision.

 

It is why I get so (whoa there) off at the EPC and their eternal bull(ink).

 

Simon, do yourself a favor...take fifty bucks, go to Staples, buy two $25 Cross Sport pens, one F and one B. Go write with them for a month. Use Cross black carts for one week, then refill the carts (using a syringe) with your favorite BLUE ink and write for one week--then refill with your fave BLUE BLACK ink and write for one week and the refill with your fave BLACK INK and write for one week on STAPLES CHEEP NOTEBOOK FILLER PAPER.

 

Then go back to Staples with $75, buy two Waterman Philaes pens, one M and one F and repeat the exercise.

 

Then, sometime around the first of May, report back to us about Fine and Medium and Broad nib widths and how important it is to get one's knickers in knots over whether a pen nib is F or B or M or whatever....

 

Simon, I am not having fun at your expense...I am making a point that nobody ever bothered to tell me a decade ago---it really does not make pair of fetid dingos' kidneys about the width of the nib, except in certain situations...specifically, calligraphy or personal desire to write with florishy script (copperplate, etc...)

 

That lack cost me one helluva lot of money and angst..

 

Damn EPC...

 

Bill

[SimonWang]

and maybe

 

and no...

fif

Simon...

 

Truth be told, most of what we do in any given day is so complex that if we broke the activity down into its minute component parts we would not ever consider getting out of bed...because the "mere" act of getting out of bed is so damn complex that to even consider it would boggle the mind---

 

Yet we do it with precision.

 

It is why I get so (whoa there) off at the EPC and their eternal bull(ink). 

 

Simon, do yourself a favor...take fifty bucks, go to Staples, buy two $25 Cross Sport pens, one F and one B.  Go write with them for a month.  Use Cross black carts for one week, then refill the carts (using a syringe) with your favorite BLUE ink and write for one week--then refill with your fave BLUE BLACK ink and write for one week and the refill with your fave BLACK INK and write for one week on STAPLES CHEEP NOTEBOOK FILLER PAPER.

 

Then go back to Staples with $75, buy two Waterman Philaes pens, one M and one F and repeat the exercise. 

 

Then, sometime around the first of May, report back to us about Fine and Medium and Broad nib widths and how important it is to get one's knickers in knots over whether a pen nib is F or B or M or whatever....

 

Simon, I am not having fun at your expense...I am making a point that nobody ever bothered to tell me a decade ago---it really does not make pair of fetid dingos' kidneys about the width of the nib, except in certain situations...specifically, calligraphy or personal desire to write with florishy script (copperplate, etc...)

 

That lack cost me one helluva lot of money and angst..

 

Damn EPC...

 

Bill

I understand...

 

BTW, in the first place, i just want to figure out the size of my 146's nib, 'coz it runs really wide in my opinion. But, it doesn't matter now, as long as it flows ok

Edited February 26, 2006 by SimonWang

[sleek_lover]

Run, as fast as you can to the nearest river

 

Throw the 146 as far away as you can.

 

OR

 

Call the Bomb Disposal Squad in your City

 

Tell them you have a Mont Blanc 146...

 

They will understand and come quickly with claxtons going

 

They will remove it and save your life

 

You can then go get safe pens to use..

 

OBVIOUSLY no one told you about the dangers of

 

EXPLODING RESIN...

 

(duck again) EPC....

 

Bill

[SimonWang]

Run, as fast as you can to the nearest river

 

Throw the 146 as far away as you can.

 

OR

 

Call the Bomb Disposal Squad in your City

 

Tell them you have a Mont Blanc 146...

 

They will understand and come quickly with claxtons going

 

They will remove it and save your life

 

You can then go get safe pens to use..

 

OBVIOUSLY no one told you about the dangers of

 

EXPLODING RESIN...

 

(duck again) EPC....

 

Bill

 

i'm still searching for a FP which fits me best, apparently not the 146...

 

but it's not that bad, isn't it ?

Edited February 26, 2006 by SimonWang

[Gerry]

Simon,

 

Re: Bill's advice, please be aware that I operate the sole Pen Disposable site in the world still accepting Montblanc pens, due to their unpredictable behaviour, and I can offer to render the pen harmless in a safe, efficient, sustainable and environmentally friendly manner - and without harming any animals to boot.

 

I also accept Esterbrooks BTW.

 

PM me, and I'd be glad to take care of your problem for you.

 

Oh, and Bill - I've heard that you may happen to be stuck with a couple as well. Please feel free to make use of my exclusive service - at absolutely no cost to you...

 

Gerry

 

PS: As an added service Simon, I'll even advise you of the disposed pen's nib width, measured both phsically, and indirectly from laid down line widths using various inks and papers. Unfortunately, this process will take some time due to the labour intensive nature of the testing, so the certificate of destruction may take some time to appear (in fact, I can just about guarantee it... :ph34r: )

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I normally grind nibs according to what I call fine, medium, broad, and things like that.

 

Sorry for being SOOOO bad, but then, precious resin has had a change in formula that has made it impossible to explode. The stuff is actually tree sap and stuff like that.

 

Dillon

[sleek_lover]

Oh, and Bill - I've heard that you may happen to be stuck with a couple as well.  Please feel free to make use of my exclusive service - at absolutely no cost to you...

Yah, 'tis true I got a couple...

 

Got one as part of a deal in St. Lucia..at Columbia Emeralds...Peg choses the bling and I negotiate. Got them to throw that in free as part of the deal. That MB is a sterling silver clad something or another... Basically a bauble or souvenir of a pleasant cruise I spent with my beautiful wife.

 

I don't even remember how I came to own the other one---it is a semi-hooded percursor to the Generation line...was made somewhere in the 1970s. I did a "road test" between it and a comparable C/F. The MB lost big-time..

 

So, no...I will keep them...

 

And as far as Esties...how can someone so erudite as to enjoy Esties be so gullible to fall for the crassness of the MB "lifestyle" dogma (Bill now place his tongue firmly in his cheek and winks...)

 

 

 

I am just AMAZED at the turns in life...

 

Bill...

Edited February 27, 2006 by paircon01

[Lucinda]

I feel that I've learned a great deal in a very short time.

 

1). Gatorade is a punny guy.

 

2). The variables affecting a pen's performance are legion.

 

3). My husband and I are not the only Missourians with ink addictions, and there ARE people north of the Ozarks who are just as friendly. (Nice to meet you, David.)

 

4). Comparisons of differing manufacturers' nibs ARE helpful, if not 100% reliable in accuracy due to aforementioned variables. (Thanks, DrPJM1.)

 

5). Pens can be as personalized as your own handwriting. (Thank you, Roger.)

 

6). Bill is entertaining, but don't ask him questions that trigger Mont Blanc flashbacks!

 

7). Simon is a patient man.

 

8). Dillon has extensive knowledge of resin...or explosives, one.

 

9). Gerry has the best interests of others in mind.

 

10). Stan gives very specific, in-depth information and is emailable. (Many thanks, also.)

 

11). When you uncap a fountain pen (or ask a question on FPN), it will always be an adventure.

[Little Bill]

I use a Namiki Falcon ($135) and it has a very fine nib, much finer than a Pelikan XF. Falcon line width is comparable to a .35 Rapidograph. And with the Falcon, the line width can be varied depending on the pressure given to the strokes. There may be something finer out there but the Falcon is pretty good.