Business Writing With Medium Or Broad Nibs?

[New_Falcon]

Hello All,

 

Not sure if this is the right place for this question but from most of the Business Writing samples I have seen seem to have been done with a fine or extra fine nib, is this down to the style of the writing, or just coincidence.

 

Has anyone attempted business writing with a broad nib?

 

Thanks.

[mboschm]

I've progressed to finer nibs. I feel like I've got more control on what I write.

[Runnin_Ute]

I think for many people it is personal preference. I do business writing with fine or medium primarily. Mostly because that is what I have.

[inkstainedruth]

I think it depends on the kind of writing you need to do. If you're just signing stuff, it probably doesn't matter as much as if you are doing bookkeeping in one of those ledger books with the multiple columns and rows (I have to do that for our sideline business, and in the past I've always used a ballpoint -- I'm now looking at pens with F/EF nibs that do well with water resistant or waterproof inks).

If you look at a list of all the different size nibs that Esterbrook made (they made a large variety, so they're good as an example), they're described as being for different uses: for instance, general writing vs. posting (i.e., keeping ledgers -- I had to look that one up ) vs. signatures, and so on.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Ghost Plane]

IB, 1.3 stub, or OBB for my all day, every day pens. I keep an M nib for those times I have to use someone else's cheap copy paper.

[dcpritch]

I've progressed to finer nibs. I feel like I've got more control on what I write.

 

And for me it is exactly the opposite - I moved from finer nibs to wide stubs and I feel like my writing is better, with more control. Which is why I think the following quote is right on the money:

 

I think for many people it is personal preference.

 

 

IB, 1.3 stub, or OBB for my all day, every day pens. I keep an M nib for those times I have to use someone else's cheap copy paper.

 

Same, except I rarely use an oblique shaped nib. And your writing is fabulous, too - both style and substance.

[bernardo]

For me, EF and F are for quick notes, B and BB are for more permanent writing, and M is just boring...

[ink mixer]

IB, 1.3 stub, or OBB for my all day, every day pens. I keep an M nib for those times I have to use someone else's cheap copy paper.

Ghost Plane,

I apologize, but I thought you had a writing sample posted somewhere. After some searching, however, I couldn't find it. Any hints? Thanks.

[amberleadavis]

My daily notes are in a B (even my medium nibs are more properly described as broad). I have a few stub nibs - the smaller stubs or italics I use in my daily writing. My 1.5 is for doodling and writing short notes. I don't use a F/M or "reasonably" width nib anywhere in my office. If I want F, I'll use a rollerball filled with fountain pen ink.

 

http://sheismylawyer.com/INK/attachments/Broad_Nibs_800.jpg

 

Edited March 8, 2013 by amberleadavis

[DanF]

I think the OP was referring to the style "Business Writing", basically a simplified, monoline Spencerian variant, like this:

 

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/Mills_Modern_Business_Penmanship_image74.jpg

 

Or this http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l279/T-Caster/the_champion_method_image61.jpg

 

From IAMPETH, Mills and Champion respectively.

 

I have tried such with a medium nib, and it just doesn't look right - it does seem to need a fine or x fine nib.

 

Dan

[pmhudepo]

I have tried such with a medium nib, and it just doesn't look right - it does seem to need a fine or x fine nib.

 

I agree. My business writing improved when using a finer nib, which promotes the lightest touch and enables the swift upstrokes and connections between letters. It's just not the same with medium, broad or an oblique (broad).

[Mags]

For me I sign most contracts with a Broad nib and typically a bulletproof ink like baystate blue. I have a dedicated TWSBI on my desk for just the daily signing.

 

I grab a medium nib for known writing marathons of note taking. I only own two fine nibs and I am using them when I am wanting to write small I mean tiny. Or doodle.

 

I long hand personal notes on a monogram note in Broad nib only. I also use a broad for most longhand letters if I need one typed as it forces me to slow down wqiting for the ink to dry and I think what I am wanting to articulate so much better.

 

I have basically been a medium user who moved to broad nibs and I am drifting toward double broads on pens. Or I have been nib flossing and home tweeking nibs favouring a wet writer.

[New_Falcon]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I'm torn as I'm quite happily using a Lamy 2000 EF and a Namiki Falcon SF, but for some reason am sorely tempted by a Lamy2000 Broad.

 

I believe that Lamy do offer a nib exchange, so I might try that out.

 

Dan is right that is the style that I'm poorly working on. It has a wonderful unadorned flow to it.

[Ghost Plane]

IB, 1.3 stub, or OBB for my all day, every day pens. I keep an M nib for those times I have to use someone else's cheap copy paper.

Ghost Plane,

I apologize, but I thought you had a writing sample posted somewhere. After some searching, however, I couldn't find it. Any hints? Thanks.

http://btibooks.blogspot.com/2011/07/quo-vadis-habana-notebook-review-new.html

will take you to a review of the Quo Vadis Habana with samples of my scrawl. I go for speed and a semblance of legibility as opposed to style or artistry. :embarrassed_smile:

[ink mixer]

IB, 1.3 stub, or OBB for my all day, every day pens. I keep an M nib for those times I have to use someone else's cheap copy paper.

Ghost Plane,

I apologize, but I thought you had a writing sample posted somewhere. After some searching, however, I couldn't find it. Any hints? Thanks.

http://btibooks.blogspot.com/2011/07/quo-vadis-habana-notebook-review-new.html

will take you to a review of the Quo Vadis Habana with samples of my scrawl. I go for speed and a semblance of legibility as opposed to style or artistry. :embarrassed_smile:

Thanks. It seems that you manage to get two more words per line on average than I do when I am using big nibs.

Also, I still wonder if Business Writing could be scaled up to big nibs. Every time I try, the proportions don't look right. I wonder if Mikey or Caliken have anything to add.

[Mickey]

Scaling a hand is more treacherous than one might think. If viewed at a consistent distance (as opposed to at a uniform perceived size) proportions need to be adjusted to maintain the aesthetic of the hand and to maintain the relationship between the inked and un-inked portions of the page. 'Business writing' (the hand) was intended and designed to be written at a scale appropriate to its original application. (It also looks best at that scale.) It is not a font to be scaled infinitely. As such, the physicality of the writer needs to be considered, as well. One could go to B or BBB nibs, but scaling the letters to maintain the general aesthetic of the hand would affect the performance* of the letters and, most likely, their appearance.

 

Bottom line, business writing is best done with smallish nibs, probably no larger than M, or, at least, that's my opinion.

 

* The physical act of writing

Edited March 9, 2013 by Mickey