"buttery Smooth" Whaaaat?

[Lamyrada]

Tomato-tomato. Everyone is different, so are fountain pens. Buttery Smooth is great for those who have something to write, scratchiness gets on the way of their writing. Or maybe not, Scratchiness makes the opportunity to pause and think about the next word, the next idea to come to life. I am almost sure that, If you don't have much to write about, uhem... then, you get distratced by the noises the instrument makes. In any case, if you are talking about "scratchyness" that sticks to the paper and you have to pull it and you find threads of paper material sticking between the tines, that's a miniscule dagger that just stabbed your paper, not a nib.

 

-- in between those two words, buttery soft and scratchy, there is an infinite gradation of hardness or the lack of it.

 

SERIOUSLY, I love my Namiki Falcon because of the little scratchiness it has and I love the very soft Pilot Heritage 912 nib that is so silent I have to actually stare at the words to know that she wrote what I intended. That said, it depends on the mood I am. Generally, I like a little "feedbak" as in a vintage Esterbrook J or SJ pen, usually the less desirable of the nibs, the "2xxx" series. I had one buttery soft 2668 that was in the category of "buttery" and I sold it, along with the pen. It bored me to sleepiness and felt I was writing with a cotton ball. I also use the Namiki more than the Heritage. I love scratchy nibs.

Edited August 12, 2015 by Lamyrada

[TassoBarbasso]

Tomato-tomato. Everyone is different, so are fountain pens. Buttery Smooth is great for those who have something to write, scratchiness gets on the way of their writing. Or maybe not, Scratchiness makes the opportunity to pause and think about the next word, the next idea to come to life. I am almost sure that, If you don't have much to write about, uhem... then, you get distratced by the noises the instrument makes. In any case, if you are talking about "scratchyness" that sticks to the paper and you have to pull it and you find threads of paper material sticking between the tines, that's a miniscule dagger that just stabbed your paper, not a nib.

 

Well, of course, I'm not talking about plough nibs

[dfo]

For me, my ideal nib would feel like writing with a pencil.

What kind of pencil? They are not all created equallly. A Palmino Blackwing 602 or a Mitsubishi Hi-Uni B2 are also buttery smooth. I was comparing the writing experience between my Lamy 2000 (F) and these two pencils, and the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni B2 was quite a bit smoother than the Lamy.

[Manalto]

 

Well, of course, I'm not talking about plough nibs

 

Thank you for the proper terminology! You can rest assured that term will not die. (It will, of course, be converted to "plow" this side of the Atlantic - damn you, Mr. Webster!)

[TassoBarbasso]

 

Thank you for the proper terminology! You can rest assured that term will not die. (It will, of course, be converted to "plow" this side of the Atlantic - damn you, Mr. Webster!)

 

Seriously? You guys use a different spelling for this? The English language never ceases to surprise me Feel free to borrow it.

[Manalto]

 

Feel free to borrow it.

 

Thanks for the permission; wouldn't want to get thrown into gaol.

[eloquentogre]

If a fountain pen is working right, it should be buttery smooth. Well, at least pretty damned smooth, with only slight feedback from the texture of the paper. Scratch is caused by insufficient smoothing, misalignments and other quality control failures.

 

Just because nostalgic for the feel of crappy pens you used way back when, doesn't mean that it's something that should be universally felt. My first love had the dress sense of a 90 year old, and an underbite - I saw her as absolutely beautiful at the time (and still do honesty, 28 years later) but I am not going to say she was a supermodel.

Edited August 17, 2015 by eloquentogre

[Cal_D]

As long as it does not catch on the paper, a nib is a nib. I like smooth nibs as much as the last, but I have also written quite a bit with crows quills, and when you switch back to a smooth fountain pen after the crows quill, you like that smoothness. Crows quills seemed to have a 5 min long smooth life on drafting mylar. Went from sharp to sharp real quickly. A slight bit of sound is good, it makes me feel more productive, but I dont like to feel the nib fighting the paper. People have gotten more and more used to smooth nibs over the years, and now its part of what people consider to be the fountain pen experience. Vintage pen nibs had a lot of human interaction in their making, and as a result, they are less consistent. Now days, a fountain pen is a luxury, and people expect it to be a luxurious experience.

[prf5]

When I am composing text or taking notes, I want a pen that aids my writing by gliding quickly across the page. On these occasions, the benefits of a fountain pen go beyond the smoothness of the nib. They include the pen's weight and balance, ease of handling, and its ability to put readable and attractive ink on paper. Other contributors include the paper, flow of thoughts, and my mechanical facility, which seems to change from one day to the next. Some people who write as I do might look for the best possible match between pen, paper, and ink. Until recently, I was looking for a pen that glides across a variety of paper finishes and grades. I have been fortunate to find it.

[eloquentogre]

When I am composing text or taking notes, I want a pen that aids my writing by gliding quickly across the page. On these occasions, the benefits of a fountain pen go beyond the smoothness of the nib. They include the pen's weight and balance, ease of handling, and its ability to put readable and attractive ink on paper. Other contributors include the paper, flow of thoughts, and my mechanical facility, which seems to change from one day to the next. Some people who write as I do might look for the best possible match between pen, paper, and ink. Until recently, I was looking for a pen that glides across a variety of paper finishes and grades. I have been fortunate to find it.

 

What pen was it that hit all the right notes for you?

[RMN]

What pen was it that hit all the right notes for you?

Yes, I too would like to know!

 

 

D.ick

[eloquentogre]

Yes, I too would like to know!

 

 

D.ick

 

He's a cruel one! Toying with us. The suspense is brutal!

[prf5]

 

He's a cruel one! Toying with us. The suspense is brutal!

 

There are scores, maybe hundreds, of excellent pens. I was fortunate to find one with the right dimensions, then to find an expert who ground the nib and adjusted the flow to my specifications. The result is a friendly pen for all seasons that does not tie me to a particular type or grade of paper. The right combination of length, width, and balance is such a subjective matter that identifying brand and model would be meaningless. But I am happy to identify Ron Zorn as the expert.

[sidthecat]

I have a number of vintage pens with nibs on the flexy side (my particular obsession), and the smoothest one I have is a pretty little Waterman ringtop with a medium New York nib that's startlingly smooth, without losing its expressiveness. Most of the other ones I own have a bit of scratch, but not unpleasantly so. The smoothness of the paper makes a lot of difference, too.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

My doctor wants me to stay away from butter, high cholesterol.

[spotted and speckled]

As long as the nib doesn't rip the paper, it's all good. Variety is good!

[beanbag]

My personal preference is for very smooth pens. I like writing instruments that glide with ease over paper, plus it lets me write faster. In that sense, the smoothest pen I have, that writes with the most minimal pressure, has low friction at all angles, no starting issues at all... is a Sharpie Pen. (Not the regular Sharpie permanent marker, but the Sharpen Pen)

[ink-syringe]

I like toothy pens and toothy paper for that matter. I really enjoy my Platinum nibs and also like Aurora both of which are excellent nibs that still let you feel the paper below.

 

I have a Sheaffer PFM V B that has the biggest glassiest ball of iridium I have ever seen and it has been used a lot and is super smooth. On glassy paper like Rhodia is is a pain in the neck to control. If I ever get to a pen show i am going to ask a nibber to rough up that nib a little.

[Christopher Godfrey]

With all this talk of Sharpies (sorry: those are not pens, at all!) and any old rough nibs that scratch and give plenty of feedback, let's throw the cat among the pigeons and say that (surely?) pens should be throw-able and able to do damage to your enemy -- or a darts board?

[bluesocks]

Agreeing with OP. While I get that a lot of people associate the FP experience with smooth nibs, that's just not for me. And claims like "you're missing the point of writing with a FP if you use a feedback-y/skinny nib" are one of my pet peeves. I love the crunchy/crispy noise and resistance of a high feedback but well-tuned XF (or finer) nib on uncoated FP-friendly paper. It's enormously satisfying. My saibi togi thankfully still has that nice almost-paper-slicing effect even after I sent it to John Mottishaw for tuning (it literally sliced paper before that-- thanks, Sailor QC!), and that adds a lot to my drawing experience.

 

I also agree with inkstainedruth that feedback != scratchy. If it's scratchy, it will scratch the paper. My Edison XF (steel) nib does not scratch the paper, but it needs to be pushed and makes a crunchy noise. That's just a high feedback nib,

Edited August 28, 2015 by bluesocks