Small Stub Lovers Unite

[carlos.q]

Learnt something new ...

 

I was struggling with using them fine stubs , they kinda felt scratchy.

 

So I consulted Mike (the nibmeister) and he gave wonderfully effective advice...

 

I am supposed to hold the nib at between 10-11 Oçlock to the paper.

 

Voila !

It worked perfectly.

All those stubs worked perfectly and perfectly smooth.

 

I cant be more happy with them. :D

 

I found out that I usually hold my pens at 12 to 1 O'çlock

 

Thanks again to Mike for a good job well done !!! :thumbup:

I really can't visualize what you mean by holding the pen at 10-11 o'clock to the paper. If you could be so kind, would you post a picture or diagram to illustrate this advice?

[TMLee]

I really can't visualize what you mean by holding the pen at 10-11 o'clock to the paper. If you could be so kind, would you post a picture or diagram to illustrate this advice?

Yeah , it's a bit hard to explain,

 

" A narrow stub (or any italic type nib that is narrow) requires a lighter hand.

 

Also, it will feel much better if you grip the pen so that the nib orientation is 10 - 11 o'clock.

 

Your Pilot VP has a clip and forces you to grip the pen so that the top of the nib faces not 12 o'clock, but somewhere more toward 10 - 11 o'clock direction.

 

If you use italic type nibs with that orientation in mind, it should feel much smoother."

 

Can someone else help to explain ?

 

:-)

Edited December 17, 2014 by TMLee

[Garageboy]

I love stubbed F nibs - it reminds me of how Conway Stewart and Pelikan ground their regular nibs- you get that very slight line variation

[carlos.q]

I really can't visualize what you mean by holding the pen at 10-11 o'clock to the paper. If you could be so kind, would you post a picture or diagram to illustrate this advice?

 

Yeah , it's a bit hard to explain,

 

" A narrow stub (or any italic type nib that is narrow) requires a lighter hand.

 

Also, it will feel much better if you grip the pen so that the nib orientation is 10 - 11 o'clock.

 

Your Pilot VP has a clip and forces you to grip the pen so that the top of the nib faces not 12 o'clock, but somewhere more toward 10 - 11 o'clock direction.

 

If you use italic type nibs with that orientation in mind, it should feel much smoother."

 

Can someone else help to explain ?

 

:-)

 

Thank you for your effort!!! But unfortunately I still can't see how this really works.

[Betweenthelines]

 

 

Thank you for your effort!!! But unfortunately I still can't see how this really works.

 

The pen is rotated counter clockwise very slightly so that the nib is not hitting the paper at a perfect "straight" 12 o'clock angle. I think it's actually how most people naturally and comfortably write. Our human hands (as opposed to robot hands) aren't so conducive to straight angles.

 

Here is a much more dramatic example of what I'm talking about (seems to be at a 10'oclock angle). I think I generally write at just a little bit less than 12 - more like 11:30.

 

[dneal]

Watch an SBRE Brown YouTube video, pay attention to how he holds a pen (during the writing sample at the end), and you'll get the idea.

[Ambien]

Another fan of small stubs here =)

 

They are fun for writing letters and journal entries. I prefer the .5mm/.55mm range suitable for my small handwriting and very slight line variation too. I'm OK w/modifying modern nibs but it's always a toss-up for vintage FPs and their original nibs. It's understandable if there's a problem but I will leave it alone otherwise.

[el34han]

My love of stub nibs started with Goulet Jowo 1.1mm and 1.9mm. Though they are relative low price $15 each but still cost me a lot after owning six of them. I sometimes do desire thinner stub. This desire is stronger lately. Couln't find smaller stub with "reasonable" pricing I decided to grind my own small sub. Received my $8 nib grinding/smoothing tools kit on Christmas eve day. I ground my first small sub on Christmas day after playing Rayman with my daughters. Hey, what better activity can you do other than grinding nibs on Christmas day. LOL.

Total time was less than an hour. Much shorter than I expected. Used a trashy no name nib from India. Thinning the tip with sharpening stone. Flatten it with a $24 Harber's Freight small grinder. Smoothed the edges with the smoothing kit. Fitted to a $7 eBay Ebonite eyedropper.

The result was amazing. Probably because I didn't expect anything good on my first try. LOL. The end result was a 0.6mm smooth and wet small stub. It was as smooth and wet as my TWSBI 1.1mm and Goulet/Jowo 1.1mm.

Love how small stub writes. Small stub is now my favorite nib type.

Next step will be ordering some Jinhao nibs doing more small stub griiiiiiiinding.......

[da vinci]

Love this thread some wonderful nibs here

[MarkTrain]

 

As an italic nib gets wider & sharper edged, the line variation tends to become more dramatic. At the same time, there is a greater possibility to fill in letters that are hollow or looped.

So,... you write larger to compensate.

In reverse, as the italic (stub, CI, formal italic) gets narrower, you are able to write much smaller, not fill in letters, but the line-width-variation is also diminished.

 

 

 

 

I tend to prefer the narrow stubs, but I tend to agree with the above. It is no problem to make a broad stub (~1 mm) with very noticeable line variation and that yet will write very smoothly. But for stubs narrower than .7mm it is quite difficult to grind a nib that has both significant line variation and doesn't catch.

[WirsPlm]

Small stubs are excellent for regular writing, and since that's how I mostly use my FPs I really enjoy them. The Pilot 78G and Plumix are great as are the Sheaffer italic pens, I've not had any complaints about them so far and they're cheap enough for me to experiment with dramatic ink mixes without worrying. The smallest Pilot Parallel pen is about the largest I go for everyday writing although the biggest size is great for signs and labels.

[Melissa]

Do any companies make small stubs or is it necessary to get them ground?

[benincanada]

Goulet sells #6 nibs in two stub sizes which fit into many pens. http://www.gouletpens.com/GPC-Nib6-TT/p/GPC-Nib6-TT

 

Edison makes a nice stub nib at $150. TWSBI for $50 has a stub in a 580 ... some options for you to choose from

[Ted A]

Melissa, check Franklin Christoph $150 with a stub. I think the Masayuma medium stub would be closest to the Plumix nib. The CI would be a bit sharper with a smaller sweet spot.

[da vinci]

It looks to me as if the pen Melissa is using has a narrower line width than 1.1.

 

I think I read somewhere that you can buy a a reform 1745 piston filler calligraphy pen with a 0.9 width?

[dms525]

A Pilot 78G with a "B" nib is actually a 0.65 mm (more or less) cursive italic. If you like the Plumix, this would be a step up. You should be able to get one for under $25 (Peyton Street Pens) or less from China or Japan.

 

If you have a Pelikan M200/400/600, Richard Bender may still be selling italic nibs for those, and he finds very narrow CI's.

 

No affiliation with any of the companies mentioned.

 

David

[dms525]

Duplicate post

Edited January 2, 2015 by dms525

[da vinci]

A Pilot 78G with a "B" nib is actually a 0.65 mm (more or less) cursive italic. If you like the Plumix, this would be a step up. You should be able to get one for under $25 (Peyton Street Pens) or less from China or Japan.

 

If you have a Pelikan M200/400/600, Richard Bender may still be selling italic nibs for those, and he finds very narrow CI's.

 

No affiliation with any of the companies mentioned.

 

David

I have a 78g with a BB nib which gives good line variation. The B nib does too?

[Melissa]

I actually have a pilot 78g, but find the nib is wider than the plumix one! I find the pen feels a little too light as well.

 

Taking a look on Richard binders page at the moment. this might be a silly question, but what's the difference between a cursive italic and a stub italic?

[dms525]

I actually have a pilot 78g, but find the nib is wider than the plumix one! I find the pen feels a little too light as well.

 

Taking a look on Richard binders page at the moment. this might be a silly question, but what's the difference between a cursive italic and a stub italic?

 

 

 

I believe Binder's classification is Formal Italic, Cursive Italic and Stub. These are on a continuum of decreasing line differentiation and increasing "sweet spot" and, therefore, smoothness of writing.

 

David