Broad Nibs Write Smoother?

[Karl182]

Hi all,

 

I am new to this forum and to fountain pens and was just wondering if I could ask for your expertise about the differences between the various nib sizes before I make a decision on switching nib sizes. I've gotten a sheaffer prelude in a medium nib as a gift but the nib seems a little fine for my writing and also seems a bit scratchy on the paper. Beyond the difference in line width, I've heard that a broader nib also tends to write smoother (becuase there more ink to lubricate the nib?) and just wondering whether this is true? Do broader nibs tend to write smoother? Does anyone have experience with the broad nib on a sheaffer prelude?

 

Thanks for all your help

[Jimmy James]

A nib in the medium to broad range probably writes smoothest in my experience. Something in the "tweener" range between the two is probably most ideal for smoothness, like a Japanese broad on the VP for instance. If you get broader than that, you start having sweet spot problems (the few BBs I have tried aren't nearly as smooth, for instance). If you get narrower than that, you start getting nibs that aren't quite as smooth in my book.

[Karl182]

so say i'm looking to write down stuff really fast, would a broader nib be best for quick writing?

[LuckyDog10]

Hi all,

 

I am new to this forum and to fountain pens and was just wondering if I could ask for your expertise about the differences between the various nib sizes before I make a decision on switching nib sizes. I've gotten a sheaffer prelude in a medium nib as a gift but the nib seems a little fine for my writing and also seems a bit scratchy on the paper. Beyond the difference in line width, I've heard that a broader nib also tends to write smoother (becuase there more ink to lubricate the nib?) and just wondering whether this is true? Do broader nibs tend to write smoother? Does anyone have experience with the broad nib on a sheaffer prelude?

 

Thanks for all your help

 

First off,

 

In my personal (admittedly limited) experience, nib width is not the only factor. My husband has a broad Pilot Vanishing Point, and the line it puts down is not as smooth, nor as wide, as my 10-year-old Waterman Phileas with a medium nib.

 

If the nib is scratchy, a few minor adjustments can be made. There are several threads on the forum that discuss this very topic.

 

You can also try different inks. Different brands, and even different colors within the same brand, vary in their flow properties. Try switching brands and see if that makes a difference.

 

And above all, have fun experimenting! There's no WAY you can have this much fun with a garden-variety Bic.

[riff raff]

All else being the same, yes, a broad nib will be smoother. Larger bearing surface for the lube (ink). And less likely to pick up paper fibers.

[langere]

To answer your question about the speed of writing: A broad nib is not necessarily faster. A medium nib is probably "fastest," though it would also depend on the "wetness" of the nib, i.e. how well and how fast the ink flows in the nib.

 

Erick

Edited October 9, 2010 by langere

[Jimmy James]

I'd agree about flow of ink. For fast writing, you want to pair a slightly dry medium-broad with an ink that will dry relatively quickly.

[Karl182]

So has anyone had experience with the sheaffer prelude broad nib? because I'm really unsure of whether I should swap the medium for a broad or not

[Bo Bo Olson]

I find a good medium quite good enough...I do like broads.

You have a problem with your nib...not it's width.

 

Look under a loupe, even if you got to go to a jewelry store and borrow one...while there buy one 15X is best or a 20X ten IMO is a tad weak.

 

You will need one...it is a once in a life time buy. You can get one for @30 from richard Binder com...I think..in tools.

 

Your tines might be misaligned. They often are. You need a loupe to see that.

Go to the repair section to see how to re-align your nib tines.

 

If they are aligned , try using a high quality brown paper bag. Write lightly...circles, left and right, squiggles up and down and side ways. Then figure 8's.

Do that in 15 second sets rotating the nib so it is not always on one spot..you don't want to make flat spots. 4 to 6 sets should be enough.

Brown paper bags are the least abrasive way to smooth a nib.

 

What ever you do....don't go using sand paper. Sharping stones are for experts...in a nib is not as hard as a knife.

 

Micro-mesh of 8,000, and 12,000 can be bought. There 15 seconds is enough to smooth nib...I have read...I am too cheap...I use brown paper bags, of high quality. Just last week I found out some folks had used poor quality bags, and were not pleased.

 

Go to www.richardspens.com/ and learn about fountain pens. 95% of what I know came from there, and I still go back to review. The more you know, the more you see the small things, that make a big difference.

 

Got wonderful looking pens too. He regrinds nibs, and repairs pens, he is one of the best in the world, and shares his knowledge.

 

Others will link you to other nibmeisters.

 

 

Pen companies often save pennies at the wrong place...so your nib is not perfect.

[Karl182]

Well i've looked at the pen under a magnifying glass and it doesnt seem to be an issue with the alignment. I'm unsure what you mean by high-quality brown paper though. I thought all brown paper was well...brown paper

[Ghost Plane]

The gentleman above who has a problem with BB nibs probably rolls his and really needs an oblique. I know, because I tend to and love my OBB nibs.

 

I can't speak to your brand, but I am a writer and spend hours each day running through multiple loads of ink. Absolutely yes, a B will float over the page. I use BBs for my marathons and 1.3mm stubs for correspondence that requires more precision and less speed.

 

Those who find F and M nibs meet their needs will never understand why the rest of us find them scratchy. While I own a couple of M nibs that are absolute perfection in terms of smoothness and glide, I cannot use them for my marathons as they simply do not suit my writing. Too fine a nib in the wrong hand can produce writing that looks like a drunken spider climbed out of your ink!

 

My advice is to try a B nib and see how you like it. It is very much a personal preference. There are people on this board who cannot write if their nibs are not needle fine and those of us whose writing is only legible if we use what they others refer to as paint brushes.

 

With over 40 pens, most B nibs and larger, I can only advise you to try it. There's always a market for broader nibs in the sales forum if you don't like it.

[Bo Bo Olson]

 

Wait around, ...and you will run into my rant on don't buy new/modern Obliques.....buy only Vintage semi-flex Obliques.

 

Why wait, you are first in line.

 

I love my OBs....Oblique Broads.I have three. I have two with a 15 degree cut, an MB 234 1/2 (4 1/2 is nib size) 14 K KOB- Kugle/ball OB, and a steel Geha OB. I have with a 30 Degree cut, the Pelikan 140 14 K, that started my so that is the mythical semi-flex.

I have an semi-flex OBB but it must wait until it has been re-corked. I nib that is only dipped, flows different than one with some ink to draw on.

 

Piebi,m who should know says the German Vintage B and BB runs narrower than modern.

 

My three semi-flex OB's have such a wide sweet spot, I can write regular and get one pattern, and oblique and get another...the difference is there.

 

Wonderful nibs...semi-flex OM and OF are fun too.

[Karl182]

Well the thing is I got this fountain pen as a gift for doing well in my exams. The fountain pen I had been previously using (a parker Frontier with a fine nib) got me through a great mass of written essays, it performed reliably and wrote well and I have no doubt that the improvement in my handwriting gained by using this pen contributed to those great marks I got (my writing beforehand was pretty much illegible). But unfortunately, I lost my Frontier.

The prelude was meant to fill that void but it just doesn't do it for some reason - and my handwriting just doesn't stand out like it used to. One of the most obvious reasons to me is that the Frontier wrote a much thicker line despite being a fine nib and I quite liked this thicker line - it stood out for me. Only problem is as I said before, my exams are this week and in my horrible timing, I've got one week to get this pen up to scratch.

The turnaround for a nib replacement is three days if I send it off to sheaffer here in Australia by express post. However, that would mean three days without a good fountain pen to study and write up practice essays with. But it MIGHT mean a nib which I'm comfortable and confident to tackle my exams with (which it is not at the moment). So this pretty much explains all of these questions as I'm pretty much still stuck on whether a swap to a broad nib will bring this pen up to scratch to write about 24 A4 pages in 2 hours.

Anyway, thanks for all your help guys!

[CLaReNCe]

I reckon if you live near a pen shop, you should beg, or borrow some coin, and go and replace the frontier with one as close to the one you had as you possibly can- if there is any way that you can afford it, and dont lose it, keep it clipped or chained to you- and enjoy your writing, and focus on your essays.

 

But this is coming from someone who wrote always writes with the same pen, and feels out of sorts without it.

 

All the best in your quest (and if you can when you are at the shop, see if you can try a few nibs in the same one, so that you find the one that is the closest to the one that you write with)- that is assuming to take the option I am suggesting.

 

Peace. All the best with your exams.

[Karl182]

Great to know that I'm not alone in being really attached to one pen and being pretty superstitous about what pen I use in an exam. Only problem is the nearest pen shop is still about an hour away and really, I can't waste a single minute. Even then, I don't think they sell Frontiers. The stress and pressure attached to these exams is unimaginable and if some one (anyone!) out there has experience with a broad prelude nib and reccomends it then that would set my mind at ease for one small part at least.

Thanks for your help

[Ghost Plane]

You definitely want the best tool for your hand. That way you're focused on the answers, not your pen. I understand what you mean. When I have the proper pens, the words spill out. But if I have to stop and struggle with a pen, everything screeches to a halt.

 

The fact you were so comfortable with a fine in a different brand is a perfect example of how nib sizes can vary between brands and pens.

 

I'm on the wrong side of the globe, so I can't help you in time with a loaner. Perhaps someone in Oz can help?

[Jimmy James]

The gentleman above who has a problem with BB nibs probably rolls his and really needs an oblique. I know, because I tend to and love my OBB nibs.

 

I can't speak to your brand, but I am a writer and spend hours each day running through multiple loads of ink. Absolutely yes, a B will float over the page. I use BBs for my marathons and 1.3mm stubs for correspondence that requires more precision and less speed.

 

I think you're absolutely right about rolling. I'll try an OBB some time. Still, the point that I have no problem with a B but a BB causes difficulty leads me to theorize that the sweet spot for what the OP asked about is probably in the M to B range.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Get it in Vintage...semi-flex....modern Obliques are too rigid to dance.

[WendyNC]

I cannot help with regard to the Sheaffer Prelude, but I can offer you a couple of things to consider. First, if the pen you loved wrote wider with its fine nib than this medium, it may be a flow issue with this one. Perhaps the shop that's an hour away could make that adjustment for you. Alternatively, you might try a "wetter" ink and get the same effect.

 

The other thing to consider is the newness of the pen. The smoothest nib I own is the Parker 75 that got me through college--because of all the mileage on it. If your Prelude is new out of the box, it's simply not going to be as smooth to your hand. The obvious cure here is to write, write and write as you prepare for your exams. It is my experience with brand new or newly ground nibs that there comes a moment when I notice that the nib has "suddenly" become much smoother.

 

Edited to add good wishes on those exams. Don't forget to breathe, deeply and often. It will help keep your head clear.

Edited October 9, 2010 by WendyNC

[Karl182]

Thank you all for your help! I've still got one day before I'll have to decide whether to send then pen in for a nib swap. Right now I think I'll try WendyNC's advice and just write a whole bunch of essays today. If things don't work then I guess I have to send it in. I never thought that one pen would have such an effect on my ability to think and write though...If I did, I probably would have taken greater care with that Parker Frontier. Darn I miss that thing.