Best Flexible Fountain Pen Nib For Calligraphy?

[Kate10]

Thanks to you all for your help. May I wish you a Happy New Year!!

[Kate10]

Kate10 - you are not going to get such a thing!

 

There are many many many topics about this very thing if you go down this Writing Instruments board you will find them - and this aspect has been done over multiple times.

 

The modern day pens have a suppleness to them that some would call flex but that is not so, unless the nib has been worked on by a professional, which IMO still deos not make them quite the nib and merely adds to the price - and you could possibly buy 2 good vintage pens for just the cost of said nib work alone.

 

Springy is another word that is often bandied about but springiness is not flex.

 

Unless you get a vintage pen the only other way you are going to get true flex is by a dip pen nib.

 

I have tried multiple modern pens that have promised flex; spent a lot of money on these 'hopefuls' but nothing comes close to an old vintage nib except for a dip pen nib.

 

It is also easy to be bamboozled with watching folk on youtube using a modern pen and getting a serious looking flex to their writing - I fell for it and bought pens only to be disappointed. Yes, I can get the same 'flex' but writing very slowly, priming the nib all the time and sometimes having to straighten the nib again and of course if I took a video and carefully edited it, well I could also proclaim my pen to write with flex!

 

I would strongly suggest that you get to a pen show and go try out a few vintage pens yourself and then you will see what I mean.

 

You've saved me a small fortune, because prior to reading everyone's posts I had my heart set on a modern flex pen, now I will go down the vintage route instead... The search stars now!!

[Stompie]

 

You've saved me a small fortune, because prior to reading everyone's posts I had my heart set on a modern flex pen, now I will go down the vintage route instead... The search stars now!!

 

 

I have sent you a mesage

[georges zaslavsky]

In modern pens Pelikan m1000, Omas Paragon, Stipula, Montegrappa, Pilot and in vintage MBs, Parker Duofolds, Parker Vacumatics, Sheaffer Crest and Balance, Watermans and Wahl Eversharp Dorics

[ANM]

In modern pens Pelikan m1000, Omas Paragon, Stipula, Montegrappa, Pilot and in vintage MBs, Parker Duofolds, Parker Vacumatics, Sheaffer Crest and Balance, Watermans and Wahl Eversharp Dorics

 

It has been my experience that if you find a nicely flexible vintage Parker or Sheaffer, you've found a relatively rare and potentially valuable pen. While there is no guarantee, I think you are more likely to find a flexible nib on Waterman's and Eversharps. Even the more common Skyline Eversharp may likely have a nib with some nice flex.

Edited January 1, 2013 by ANM

[Kate10]

In modern pens Pelikan m1000, Omas Paragon, Stipula, Montegrappa, Pilot and in vintage MBs, Parker Duofolds, Parker Vacumatics, Sheaffer Crest and Balance, Watermans and Wahl Eversharp Dorics

 

Thanks for your recommendations

[Kate10]

In modern pens Pelikan m1000, Omas Paragon, Stipula, Montegrappa, Pilot and in vintage MBs, Parker Duofolds, Parker Vacumatics, Sheaffer Crest and Balance, Watermans and Wahl Eversharp Dorics

 

It has been my experience that if you find a nicely flexible vintage Parker or Sheaffer, you've found a relatively rare and potentially valuable pen. While there is no guarantee, I think you are more likely to find a flexible nib on Waterman's and Eversharps. Even the more common Skyline Eversharp may likely have a nib with some nice flex.

 

That's good to know. Presently, I feel drawn to the vintage Waterman pens.

 

Oh and as a side issue, what a lovely cat you have!

[Mickey]

If flexible pen (pointed pen) calligraphy is your interest, a fountain pen is not a very good tool. It is certainly not the best device to pursue a serious study of round hand, copperplate, engravers, or Spencerian script.* As Altec Green pointed out, a dip pen, preferably one with an oblique holder is the tool most used by calligraphers doing pointed pen work. There are a few (a very few) who do quality work with straight holders, but I don't know of any 1st tier penman doing serious pointed pen calligraphy with a fountain pen.

 

* It is possible to write shaded Spencerian, Copperplate, etc. with an FP, but it is a lot more difficult and the results tend to be inferior. I speak from experience.

[Mauricio]

I'm looking for a fountain pen with a flexible nib. Preferably, I'd like a modern one ... Kate

 

Kate,

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of flexible writing. The title of your post reads "Best Flexible Pen NIb for Calligraphy". The term calligraphy is a very comprehensive topic which includes lots of different types of writing styles. You can even develop your own style of flexible writing. The pen and nib that will suit your needs depends a lot of the specific type of writing style you would like to learn. Since you mention modern pens, I recommend you read the following article in my website ... PERFORMANCE FLEXIBLE WRITING . That is a very comprehensive article on the subject of flexible nibs and why the so called "modern flex" nibs do not compare with the vintage counterparts. I also recommend you read the first six paraghraps in this other write up ... MODERN PENS WITH VINTAGE FLEX NIBS.

 

I recently acquired a Pilot Custom 742 pen with the Falcon nib with its cutouts on the shoulders of the nib. See the following post to see what happens with this pen/nib once you start flexing the nib significantly and attempting to get more than moderate line variation from the pen ... TAKING FOUR PENS FOR A FLEX RIDE. The ink starvation and railroading results are the same as in the Pilot Namiki Falcon pen described in the "Performance Flex Writing" article.

 

I like to use the phrase "You have to learn to crawl before you can walk. And you have to learn to walk before you can run." The same applies to flexible nibs and flexible writing. Try to start with an inexpensive pen with slight or medium flex nib and that produces a fine to broad line. Like AltecGreen and other in this thread have said, consider purchasing some dip nibs. They are very inexpensive and a great way to test the waters. When you do so, make sure you do not look for the most flexible dip pen nibs or the ones capable to produce the thinnest lines, as both of those attributes will make it much harder for anyone to control those nibs, especially when you are learning to use flexible nibs. Try dip nibs with slight to moderate flex and nib that are not extremely toothy and thin. Those nibs are friendlier and more forgiving, which will help you tremendously in developing your basic flexible writing skills and allow you to determine what attributes you like the most: Flexibility, line variation, responsiveness, types of writing styles are appealing to you and more suitable to your current hand or what combination of those and other factors are really appealing to you. After that, you will be ready to make very sound decisions as you navigate the waters of a very wide world of options with tools for flexible writing.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Mauricio

[Bo Bo Olson]

I believe you should learn stiff italic nib calligraphy before going to the flexible nibbed calligraphy.

 

You learn hand to eye coordination, how to form a letter,(don't $$$bust any irreplaceable nibs either) and there are some six basic strokes that you can take with you when you advance to Copperplate or Spenserian.

 

Besides which, there are many real nice alphabets in stiff italic nib calligraphy.

 

Just remember LA was not built in a Day.

[Mickey]

I believe you should learn stiff italic nib calligraphy before going to the flexible nibbed calligraphy.

 

 

Gee, Bo Bo. +1

[pokermon]

Any online instructions to learn these 6 basic strokes?

[Bo Bo Olson]

Nope, got to do it the hard way, by learning to draw and form the letters.

 

Short cuts, lead to fifty year old sun dried BBQ ribs. Bring lots of BBQ sauce.

Of course it only takes one to mount the cow on the BBQ spit.

Edited January 3, 2013 by Bo Bo Olson

[tandaina]

Bo Bo, I don't think he was asking for a short cut, rather for instruction!

 

I'm interested in calligraphy, I like the idea of stiff italic calligraphy. But I've never heard of it before and certainly have no one around to teach me. Making it up myself won't work. So umm... Recommend a website with instructions, or a book with step by step practice instructions?

 

Asking for help isn't looking for a shortcut folks! It's asking for help.

 

If someone walked into an orchestra practice room and said "I want to learn to play flute where I can find instructions?" They wouldn't get yelled at about taking a short cut they'd have folks giving them the name of a good flute teacher and showing them some scales to practice. That's what I think was asked for and what I'd love!

[AltecGreen]

Bo Bo, I don't think he was asking for a short cut, rather for instruction!

 

I'm interested in calligraphy, I like the idea of stiff italic calligraphy. But I've never heard of it before and certainly have no one around to teach me. Making it up myself won't work. So umm... Recommend a website with instructions, or a book with step by step practice instructions?

 

Asking for help isn't looking for a shortcut folks! It's asking for help.

 

If someone walked into an orchestra practice room and said "I want to learn to play flute where I can find instructions?" They wouldn't get yelled at about taking a short cut they'd have folks giving them the name of a good flute teacher and showing them some scales to practice. That's what I think was asked for and what I'd love!

 

 

You are posting on the wrong subforum if you want instruction.

 

Post your request down in the penmanship subforum.

 

 

Also, make sure to read all of the pinned topics in the penmanship forum. It has a lot of useful information.

 

 

 

For example, here's instructions for Chancery Italic Script.

[tandaina]

No, not to turn this into a teaching thread. But just post some links to things like that helpful topic, or good websites, etc.

 

It seems we often get into this spot on this forum whenever calligraphy comes up. Someone new to it asks for help learning and immediately gets bitten with the "there are no shortcuts just go practice" response. Which isn't helpful if one isn't given anything TO practice in the first place.

[AltecGreen]

No, not to turn this into a teaching thread. But just post some links to things like that helpful topic, or good websites, etc.

 

 

All of the things you ask for are pinned in the penmanship subforum. It's pretty much all there. Also, many of the members who frequent that subforum are well known professionals who can give all sorts of advice and instructions. Bear in mind that many of the member who frequent the penmanship subforum so not check the other forums like Writing Instruments. This is it a good idea to check in on the penmanship subforum when it comes to calligraphy.

 

 

Books

 

Websites and other resources

 

Examples of types of calligraphy

[Bo Bo Olson]

Great resources listed.

 

I ended up with an old English book from 1956-63, that doesn't have all those little spacing dots. It appears easier to me than being 100% exact.

 

Teach Yourself Handwriting

by

John Le F. Dumpleton

 

The English Universities Press

 

There was a whole list of teach your self books.

 

That book went through lots of library prunings, back when I didn't even have a working fountain pen...it, my P-75 was doing hard time in my wife's jewelry box.

 

I have an Osmiroid calligraphy set, with a mdl. 65 and six nibs from EF to BB. That set fits Esterbrooks.