Can Stub Nibs Write Fast?

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Sounds good. How long is his turnaround? And also, whats the difference between his normal stub and Tomahawk mod?

 

He got some of my pens Wednesday and they were done by Friday. The Tomahawk is a stub with cuts made to the nib to make it springy. His nibs are great.

 

[bogers]

 

He got some of my pens Wednesday and they were done by Friday. The Tomahawk is a stub with cuts made to the nib to make it springy. His nibs are great.

 

Wow hahaha

[ScienceChick]

The Tomahawk mod is a stub, obviously, and gives the nib some spring. NOT flex, spring.

 

Tomahawk on a M. Steve's is scarier

 

 

[Randal6393]

The Tomahawk mod is a stub, obviously, and gives the nib some spring. NOT flex, spring.

 

Tomahawk on a M. Steve's is scarier

 

 

Oh, I love that pen! Gorgeous look, tell me all about it, please.

[ScienceChick]

Oh, I love that pen! Gorgeous look, tell me all about it, please.

 

Happy to It's a Nussbaum Phoenix White Mountain (Todd Nussbaum - isellpens.com. No affiliation, just a happy customer). Todd gives a great description on the site but a couple of points: it only comes with a M two-tone steel nib (the one on the pen in the picture is the nib it comes with - without the Tomahawk mod, of course). Todd states that F-M is closer to it and I agree. The nib was great out of the box (the speculation is that it's a JoWo). It's a little long for me posted but still nicely balanced if I do post; it's a comfortable length unposted. The finish is lovely - lots of attention to detail. I just checked to make sure they're still available and they are and they're on sale.

 

There's also a Cracked Ice that I think is beautiful.

Edited March 8, 2015 by ScienceChick

[TheRealScubaSteve]

The Tomahawk mod is a stub, obviously, and gives the nib some spring. NOT flex, spring.

 

Tomahawk on a M. Steve's is scarier

 

 

 

That's Amber's 580. It was originally a 1.1mm.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

 

Happy to It's a Nussbaum Phoenix White Mountain (Todd Nussbaum - isellpens.com. No affiliation, just a happy customer). Todd gives a great description on the site but a couple of points: it only comes with a M two-tone steel nib (the one on the pen in the picture is the nib it comes with - without the Tomahawk mod, of course). Todd states that F-M is closer to it and I agree. The nib was great out of the box (the speculation is that it's a JoWo). It's a little long for me posted but still nicely balanced if I do post; it's a comfortable length unposted. The finish is lovely - lots of attention to detail. I just checked to make sure they're still available and they are and they're on sale.

 

There's also a Cracked Ice that I think is beautiful.

 

Seems stupid that The Phoenix model is the first of the Nussbaum Pens. Made under our direction (its manufacturer and location are trade secrets), it is the first pen to carry our family name.

[ScienceChick]

Yeah, so he's a little melodramatic It's still a great pen.

[sidthecat]

What I need as a writer is something that can go more-or-less as fast as I think. This, of course, varies according to my meds.

[bogers]

What I need as a writer is something that can go more-or-less as fast as I think. This, of course, varies according to my meds.

What do you use then?

[Ambien]

The Tomahawk mod is a stub, obviously, and gives the nib some spring. NOT flex, spring.

 

Recently had the chance to test drive one at the local club and it's very unique. Definitely a interesting writer for sure.

[Runnin_Ute]

I can go pretty fast with a stub. But that being said, I would use a standard round nib for an exam. Probably a fine.

[tinta]

A stub nib can write fast.

I believe that smoothness & width of the grind, the flow adjustment of the nib, the surface & absorbency of the paper, the ink being used, can all affect your writing speed.

My daily-writer pens all have stub nibs, the rest of my pens have CIs.

I'm retired, with no deadlines to fill. I now write slowly & deliberately, particularly with my widest italics.

But years ago I was able to make quick notes with my Pelikan OBB

 

[ac12]

 

Hey All,

Want to get a stub nib as have heard that they can be exceptionally smooth and like the look of the slight line variation. Would need to be able to use it for exams however, and am wondering if they can write fast.

Thanks

 

May I ask WHY you want to use a stub for exams?

[bogers]

 

 

May I ask WHY you want to use a stub for exams?

I am going to get a stub nib anyhow to add a nice touch to my handwriting on a daily basis. If I enjoy writing with it and become accustom to it I would like to be able to use it in exams due to the familiarity of it.

[View from the Loft]

I am going to get a stub nib anyhow to add a nice touch to my handwriting on a daily basis. If I enjoy writing with it and become accustom to it I would like to be able to use it in exams due to the familiarity of it.

 

I find myself perplexed by this. No nib will make up for poor formation of letters, and if you are writing at speed with a nib broader than your normal, the results may be the opposite of your intention in that your writing becomes less legible and is not so pleasant for the reader. This is not what you want in an exam situation - your job is to write in such a manner that it is easy for the examiner to read.

 

My hand is a mixture of italic and Tom Gourdie's Simple Modern Hand. It is just as easy to read whether I use a crisp italic, stub, oblique, round nib (can't remember the last time I did, I don't own one), roller ball, Sharpie or pencil.

 

Legibility is the key.

[bogers]

 

I find myself perplexed by this. No nib will make up for poor formation of letters, and if you are writing at speed with a nib broader than your normal, the results may be the opposite of your intention in that your writing becomes less legible and is not so pleasant for the reader. This is not what you want in an exam situation - your job is to write in such a manner that it is easy for the examiner to read.

 

My hand is a mixture of italic and Tom Gourdie's Simple Modern Hand. It is just as easy to read whether I use a crisp italic, stub, oblique, round nib (can't remember the last time I did, I don't own one), roller ball, Sharpie or pencil.

 

Legibility is the key.

The nib that is being ground no broader than normal by a nibmeister, will it still be an issue? I am not choosing the nib for enhanced legibility in an exam, merely for my own visual benefit on a daily basis. As it is being ground by a nibmeister, it is being made as smooth as glass and with a large sweet spot, so do you still think it will be an issue?

Edited March 10, 2015 by bogers

[Manalto]

It's not an issue. The nib you describe will give some character to your writing by its inherent line variation (meaning that you don't have to change your writing style to achieve it) and legibility won't suffer. From love poems to grueling exams, a smooth stub nib is adaptable and easy to use. I have one from Pendleton Brown and recommend it highly.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Manalto

[Ambien]

I think that you might want to keep in mind that sometimes a lot of graders will be doing many, many exams so readability is key too. I don't mind stubs for journal entries but I try to keep my handwriting clear as I know some students who got low grades based on the fact no one else could read their work.

[ac12]

I suggest you do some FAST writing, like you would be doing in an exam with both your stub and ball tip and ask your friends or even a grader to look at the writing and give you HONEST feedback.

 

I used to be a grader in college, and as View from the Loft said, YES legibility was a MAJOR issue for me.

If I could not read or had trouble reading the handwriting, pretty did not matter at all. As a grader it was only content that counted. And as Csrae said, undoubtably some of my students lost points because I could not find the answer in their "chicken scratch" handwriting. As graders we do our best, but there was only so much time that I would allocate to grading an individual exam/homework, as I had a PILE of exams/homework to grade.

 

You can also PRINT your answer.

I PRINTED EVERYTHING when I took the CPA exam. This was because my cursive/script handwriting got WORSE the faster I wrote. And it was already crummy from FAST note taking in college. I wasn't going to give the grader any excuse to not give me max points.

 

Couple comments.

- I use a Lamy 1.1 nib to write cursive/script, and I have to write wider than normal (ball tip FP) because of the wider nib. This means I get less writing on a line, and thus need more lines to write. So IMHO, it could/will slow you down, compared to your ball tip FP.

- I also need to use WIDE ruled paper for that 1.1 nib. My cursive handwriting looks cramped and messy on the narrower college ruled paper. In fact I would not use a M nib on college ruled paper, but limit myself to F and finer. Again this is for legibility/ease of reading.