Small Stub Lovers Unite

[NeverTapOut]

As my nib tastes and requirements fall somewhere in the EEF to EF range, I have a lot of pens that write a very fine line. Wanting to introduce a bit of variety to arsenal, so to speak, and inspired by the above-posted XXXF and XXXXF Round and Italic Points thread, with its many great examples like the pic below:

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/nibs/Graph_02.jpg

 

I decided to have a few of my EF nibs reground to stubs and cursive italics, which I duly posted to the also above-mentioned Stub O’ The Day thread. Since this thread is specifically geared toward the finer end of the stub / CI spectrum, I wanted to share my few examples here as well, thinking they might be of interest. Here they are:

 

A Pelikan “Café Crème” with a 14k two-tone M400 nib, as sold by nibs.com, the EF nib reground into an approx. .33 stub:

 

http://i.imgur.com/2x6QqZV.jpg

 

This nib turned out to be a bit too broad ( ! ) for me, and I have subsequently had it narrowed a bit.

 

An Omas Bologna Burkina, EF nib reground into a <.3 cursive italic by Yukio Nagahara:

 

http://i.imgur.com/I47cZex.jpg

 

A Montegrappa Miya, EF likewise reground by Yukio Nagahara into a .2ish cursive italic:

 

http://i.imgur.com/ENAgqBd.jpg

 

I also have a couple of Esterbrook fine stubs (they're actually both oblique as well), but both write too thick a line for me. I'm debating on whether I'll have these nibs reground as well (maybe just one... )

 

 

I am not trying to hijack the thread...I would love to see writing samples like the original poster did or like BMG did. We all paid good money to have these grinds done to our pens and these are really niche grinds due to the nib size we use. We might as well show them off for everyone to enjoy...I'll be posting some as soon as I get mine back. I think we should list who did the nib work as well.

Respectfully,

David

Edited April 24, 2019 by Jesus1

[sidthecat]

My style has changed significantly in the last four years, and my current writing style is improved by use of medium-to-broad nibs.

It’s also somewhat less dependent on flex, although I still covet such nibs. That’s probably the punch line.

[NotAWiz4rd]

I've been tremendously enjoying a Visconti Van Gogh that had it's nib (originally an M nib) ground to a cursive italic by the previous owner (pomperopero).

This pen will definitely drive me towards more small stubs/italics - looking forward to them ^^

[tinta]

I was looking for a place to post about my recent lovely BLS grind from Pendleton Brown.

Failing starting my own topic, or latching onto that wonderful "Stub of the Day" thread, this thread about "small stubs" seemed appropriate.

Hope no one gets upset about reviving an old thread.

 

Anyways,...way back at the beginning of this long thread, I was firmly in the "larger stubs" camp (from 0.6 mm >), stating that in grinding narrower than 0.6 mm stubs, there would be diminishing returns in nib performance. My favourite nibs were firmly in the 0.8 to 1.1 mm range.

(Of course at that time, late in 2014, I had not actually used an edged nib under that measurement. How wrong I was.)

Now, I'm about to eat my own words.

 

This latest stub by Pendleton is my third "small stub" in use. It's the narrowest of the bunch. I had a couple of Kaweco 14c. nibs: a B & an M converted to Butter-Line-Stubs. The width of the B nib was altered to about a 0.6 mm. BLS, the M nib turned out to be a 0.5 mm. stub. These italic nibs showed a marked line-width-variation for their narrow width. I was becoming a... Small Stub Lover.

Early this year I sent a Sailor 1911S "Colours-blue", with a 14c. H-B nib, to be given the "B-L-S" treatment. Sailor nibs are sized smaller than their European counterparts. A broad nib is more like a medium. I was hoping for a stub in the

 

Pendleton describes this nib as: "XXF crossline & 0.6mm. downstroke,..., with Montblanc Midnight Blue, rather dry ink." I have yet to run this Sailor through its paces with inks like R&K Salix, Platinum blue-black or Pelikan 4001 blue-black. With Salix this stub writes like a dream.

Writing samples should follow.

 

 

[NeverTapOut]

I was looking for a place to post about my recent lovely BLS grind from Pendleton Brown.

Failing starting my own topic, or latching onto that wonderful "Stub of the Day" thread, this thread about "small stubs" seemed appropriate.

Hope no one gets upset about reviving an old thread.

 

Anyways,...way back at the beginning of this long thread, I was firmly in the "larger stubs" camp (from 0.6 mm >), stating that in grinding narrower than 0.6 mm stubs, there would be diminishing returns in nib performance. My favourite nibs were firmly in the 0.8 to 1.1 mm range.

(Of course at that time, late in 2014, I had not actually used an edged nib under that measurement. How wrong I was.)

Now, I'm about to eat my own words.

 

This latest stub by Pendleton is my third "small stub" in use. It's the narrowest of the bunch. I had a couple of Kaweco 14c. nibs: a B & an M converted to Butter-Line-Stubs. The width of the B nib was altered to about a 0.6 mm. BLS, the M nib turned out to be a 0.5 mm. stub. These italic nibs showed a marked line-width-variation for their narrow width. I was becoming a... Small Stub Lover.

Early this year I sent a Sailor 1911S "Colours-blue", with a 14c. H-B nib, to be given the "B-L-S" treatment. Sailor nibs are sized smaller than their European counterparts. A broad nib is more like a medium. I was hoping for a stub in the

1911Scb-1.jpg

Pendleton describes this nib as: "XXF crossline & 0.6mm. downstroke,..., with Montblanc Midnight Blue, rather dry ink." I have yet to run this Sailor through its paces with inks like R&K Salix, Platinum blue-black or Pelikan 4001 blue-black. With Salix this stub writes like a dream.

Writing samples should follow.

 

 

I would love to see a writing sample...MB inks are my favorite all purpose inks as well for business.

[tinta]

I would love to see a writing sample...MB inks are my favorite all purpose inks as well for business.

Thanks.

My samples will take a bit of time in this era of cvd19, as I have not used up my initial Salix fill. Then I'd want to go through Platinum b/b, Pelikan b/b, perhaps Akkerman #10, then finally "old" MB Midnight Blue (which I hope will be found in stable condition).

Must admit I've never done an ink comparison using the same nib. It's not rocket science but I still have to muddle through it. I want to produce something that's useful, like your excellent comparisons above.

Edited April 17, 2020 by tinta

[BlueJ]

Pendleton does excellent work; any Butter Line Stub is a pleasure to write with!

[carlos.q]

I posted this in another thread but I thought I might as well post it here:

 

 

I am now using it with Pelikan Edelstein Olivine.

 

 

[SchaumburgSwan]

Hi,

 

this is my finest stub and my oldest pen.

A pre-1907 Mabie Todd & Bard Swan 3003 with "short nib, fine" as it was called those times.

And when they said fine, a very fine nib was meant:

This one gives 0.28 to 0.30mm lines vertically and 0.21mm horizontally on paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best wishes

Jens

[TheDutchGuy]

I once did a re-grind of an old P51 M and turned it into a double-duty nib, i.e. a mini-stub for normal writing and a mini-mini-mini-stub for reverse writing. Turned out really well and I’m using the pen a lot. This week I commissioned a pro nib meister to re-grind a Lamy 14k F nib into a really fine mini-stub, with the reverse of my P51 nib as a guideline. I’m expecting it back in a week or so, can’t wait.

[tinta]

Hi,

 

this is my finest stub and my oldest pen.

A pre-1907 Mabie Todd & Bard Swan 3003 with "short nib, fine" as it was called those times.

And when they said fine, a very fine nib was meant:

This one gives 0.28 to 0.30mm lines vertically and 0.21mm horizontally on paper.

 

Swan_3003_Bard_01.jpg

 

Swan_3003_Bard_02.jpg

 

Swan_3003_Bard_03.jpg

 

Swan_3003_Bard_04.jpg

 

 

Best wishes

Jens

Though I am generally not a fan of the tapered grip of hooded nibs (P5, Lamy2000,...), I would be able handle the grip style of this old pen.

 

The grip seems not much different than the section on my modern Kaweco Special C/C fountain pen. It's the ebonite overfeed that gives this pen a hooded look.

I would be afraid to do too much flexing of this nib, in case the nib puts too much upward pressure on the Swan's overfeed.

 

Lovely pen!

Edited August 29, 2020 by tinta

[SchaumburgSwan]

Though I am generally not a fan of the tapered grip of hooded nibs (P5, Lamy2000,...), I would be able handle the grip style of this old pen.

 

The grip seems not much different than the section on my modern Kaweco Special C/C fountain pen. It's the ebonite overfeed that gives this pen a hooded look.

I would be afraid to do too much flexing of this nib, in case the nib puts too much upward pressure on the Swan's overfeed.

 

Lovely pen!

Hi Tinta,

 

well, these Swans are really slim!

If you can handle a wooden pencil, this one won't be problematic.

 

The overfeed is very thin and flexible. Normal flex writing won't damage them.

This nib once has been over flexed, the nib and overfeed survived bent.

I could bring them back to shape...

 

Best

Jens

[NeverTapOut]

Jens,

 

Nice pen...what is the purpose of the rod protruding on top of the nib? Is it ebonite?

 

Also what ink are you using in your writing sample...is it an iron gall?

 

All the best.

 

David

[SchaumburgSwan]

Jens,

 

Nice pen...what is the purpose of the rod protruding on top of the nib? Is it ebonite?

 

Also what ink are you using in your writing sample...is it an iron gall?

 

All the best.

 

David

Thank You, David,

 

here we have an over/under feed (double feed) to support and balance ink flow.

Right, it's ebonite - on this pen everything non metallic is ebonite.

 

These pens write best with dry to very dry IG inks. For the sample the Swan was filled with Diamine Registrar's. For such inks those pens were made 100+ years ago. :-)

 

Best wishes

Jens

[Honeybadgers]

I usually write in block print with XXF,XF,F nibs. I really like the look of the "micro" stubs. I contacted Pendleton Brown years ago however never did anything with him. Who who would be good to call for a "micro" stub without a 6 month wait. Can it be a stub that is more forgiving or does it have to be a CI grind?

Regards,

David

 

Email Gena Salorino. She'll get you sorted in a very short amount of time.

 

https://www.customnibstudio.com/

 

I personally find stubs LESS forgiving since they don't "talk" to me about how much I'm rotating the pen until it's too late and hard starting/skipping. A CI or I will bite the page whenever I step out of line, which keeps my fingers much more honest and I make a lot fewer mistakes.

 

A stub in the 0.6 range is definitely doable though. Nemosine sold them for years, and they ruled.

[SchaumburgSwan]

Hi,

 

interesting! Observed that, too.

Indeed small stubs like the one I just showed don't tell much about pen rotation...

Another one with a 0.36mm CI (Swan 3202) is more responsive here.

 

Greetings

Jens

 

 

I personally find stubs LESS forgiving since they don't "talk" to me about how much I'm rotating the pen until it's too late and hard starting/skipping. A CI or I will bite the page whenever I step out of line, which keeps my fingers much more honest and I make a lot fewer mistakes.

 

A stub in the 0.6 range is definitely doable though. Nemosine sold them for years, and they ruled.

Edited September 5, 2020 by SchaumburgSwan

[Muncle]

All these pictures and discussion have me thinking about my next pen...

 

I don't write tiny, but I do tend to write on a smaller side. A Lamy 1.1mm is too much for me. I'm planning on a more expensive pen purchase in the near future, maybe I should look into getting a 0.6-0.8mm stub

 

Do you start with a medium nib and then have it ground from there?

[BaronWulfraed]

If they haven't changed -- the Pilot Vanishing Point stub IS a 0.6mm (at least, that's the line mine put down (0.6x0.2)

 

It may be ink related, but my Lamy Joy 1.1 was producing 0.8x0.4mm lines.

[A Smug Dill]

I'm planning on a more expensive pen purchase in the near future, maybe I should look into getting a 0.6-0.8mm stub

A Pilot steel 'CM' nib on an MR (which a lot of people erroneously call 'Pilot Metropolitan') – or 'M' nib on a Plumix — should be right up your alley out-of-the-box, then.

 

Do you start with a medium nib and then have it ground from there?

I don't. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/351259-what-pens-are-you-using-today-2020/?p=4355818

[silverlifter]