John Mottishaw

[farmkiti]

I have a question that reveals my ignorance: is John Mottishaw the only nibmeister at Classic Fountain Pens? Or do they have other nibmeisters doing work there? The reason I ask is because I've had several gorgeous, awesome stubs ground through them, and I just really wanted to know who to credit with that wonderful work. Somewhere I got the impression that they had several artists doing nib work, but something I read lately leads me to believe John is the only nibmeister there.

 

Can anyone enlighten me? Also, have you had work done there too? Are you happy with it? I absolutely love the nibs I've had done there; I had them reground into stubs. I find myself reaching for them all the time. Just curious.

[TheRealMikeDr]

This - from the newsletter a few months back - explains that they have two apprentices who test the pens that go out. However that doesn't speak to anyone other than John doing custom grinds:

 

 

 

Now that we've got more than you one apprentice you might wonder, "How do I know who tested my pen?" It's a valid question. Some of our most long term customers may still expect John to test every pen that leaves us. These days, that's just not true.

While both apprentices have been trained by John directly in the Morttishaw method, Gena has been working independently since the summer of 2015. Jessica is much newer to the game but is working into our flow beautifully.

So the question remains, "Who tested my pen?"

Every package we send will now include a bookmark signed by the person who set up and tested your pen. Collect all three!

[SNAK]

In my latest nib grind order a couple of months ago, I got a couple of pens done by Gena, with a bookmark signed by her. The nibs were Sailor Music nib ground to flexible oblique, and the Pilot Elabo EF ground to their Spencerian mod.

I have a few other oblique nib grinds done by John previously and I was hoping I would get John's oblique grind this time also, but Gena's work is fine too, but a bit different. I am happy either way.