How/why Do You Use Your Nib Size

[Teach13]

I'm curious: Why do you like the size you choose? As in--why do you prefer fine over medium....or broad over extra fine.....or whatever size you like?

 

I understand the difference between them all--I'm simply curious on your personal preferences.

 

(*Side note: I'm mainly talking western nibs. I understand that Japanese nibs run a little smaller.*)

[BaronWulfraed]

As I mentioned elsewhere...

 

I tend to carry a broad or stub as a signature pen -- used for signing documents with my high-speed scrawl (with some shade of darker blue ink).

 

General usage, I lean to medium/fine. Greens or stranger blues. And I usually have one fine point, often with a reddish ink. If I were still doing Gregg shorthand, probably a western fine -- my HS Gregg (1975) was done with a Sheaffer 440 Imperial.

[Driften]

I used to like western F nibs, but now I like more M to B. The wider nibs show more ink and shading and I like to see the ink! What first got me into wider nibs was an Eco 1.1 stub nib which actually was more of a M stub putting down a 0.6mm line. It got me into wider nibs though. I like up to a 1mm line in a CI. In a round nib my favorite is 0.6-0.7mm which is between M and B depending on brand.

 

The hard thing is even in Western nibs some companies run finer or wider then others so I never know if I should order an M or a B. It can even be different based off nib size. Jowo #4 nibs are finer then their #6 nibs. My Lamy Studio M was too fine and my Lamy 2000 B was too wide. I had a Opus 88 B that was more of a F. I have Pilot M's that were perfect and a Pilot B that was the same size as the M.

 

In any case you adjust over time to the nibs you use. When I was using fine nibs when I tried wider ones I was writing too small for the nib but then as you adjust the you start writing too big for the finer sizes and it starts to look like you are trying to write with a needle.

[ardene]

I got my pens as they came by the seller. I got one on ebay and the others in those physical spaces where you give money and get stuff called shops, so there was not much choice -if any- to begin with. No real preferences in nib size here.

[sciumbasci]

EF for general note taking, stub for signature and leisure writing.

 

I cannot recommend highly enough stubs: they turn horrible handwriting in something that everyone will look in awe.

[inotrym]

I enjoy finer nibs (japanese F, japanese M and western F), because they look "cleaner"; lines look crisper, showthrough/bleedthrough is minimized and my notes look like a print. I usually prefer nails because I like how they feel (like writing with a pencil), but I also enjoy a softer nib (Stargazer in F) because it brings out some subtle shading. I have tried a few finer stubs and cursive italics (which I use rotated so that they write like architects) and I like the visual effect a lot, but they don't really work for me so I am thinking about going for a proper architect or an oblique nib.

[Qoan]

I'm a right handed over-writer (don't ask why, my teachers apparently didn't care about they way I took the pencil at school) so I've always tended towards very small writing and, therefore F (and smaller) nibs. Medium-Fine is ok for normal writing, but I do enjoy a lot Japanese F and EF; with the right inks they're just wonderful for fast writing and won't be problematic even on the cheapest of papers.

Then, when I need to write something in a bigger size I use broader nibs (otherwise it looks too 'airy'). For calligraphy and related I generally use italic and left oblique nibs while underwriting, but I'd never use them for daily writing.

[WLSpec]

I tend to like flexible fine and medium nibs. They seem to be a good middle ground. I always like to have a bit of line variation in my writing, so flex nibs are one of my favorite nib types. I've used stubs before, and they're not my thing. EF nibs also work, as long as they are not too scratchy (something I've run into only a few times in the past.)

[sidthecat]

I’ve oscillated between medium and fine nibs with as much flex as I can find, which has led to dropping dip nibs into some of my fountain pens. The punch line is that my handwriting has evolved into a style that’s not especially dependent on flex.

[Namo]

Writing quite a bit, using B, stubbish B, OBB... because it's a real joy!

[Bo Bo Olson]

I often chase shading, and regular flex F&M do very well there. Sometimes a B can be a bit wet for shading...........I'm sure I must have a regular flex B somewhere. (got a real fair number of semi-flex in B...ah ha, got a CI in M-B.

I gave away a Safari B to get someone hooked into fountain pens.

 

 

Semi-flex is often too wet for shading with out a good ink and paper mix in it is a wetter nib.

 

But If not interested primary in shading...right now inked I've got a real nice Geha semi-flex OB It does shade a little bit....

:headsmack:Should have shaken up the pen, it's got Diamine Tropical Glow glitter ink in it. A nice color.

 

What do you want to do with the nib? Do you have a paper to support that? Or what ink do you think that nib will do well with?

Defiantly I want a wide nib for glitter inks, wet too, so the semi-flex OB does well, good paper Rhodia 90g allows shading.

[Teach13]

These are great!! I wasn't looking for anything to help myself. I was just curious WHY your preferences go specific ways.

 

Thanks!!

[Chmara]

I use medium nibs if I want to fill the page with larger cursive letters that should be easily readable to we elderly -- BUT

 

Since I am on a limited income and cannot afford lots of good paper -- I tend to write small letters, which is deadly for a lefty with a medium nib. Every loop closes up -- so I switch to fine and am fine. Many XF and flex pens that start with really fine pointed nibs allow me to write down to 6-7 point letters cleanly -- but with larger lettering those points tend to catch or penetrate the paper on the upstrokes -- a problem for many lefties.

 

As to calligraphy in Gothic Styles -- I had tried Parallel Pens by Pilot -- but these have some problems that twist this elderly wrist into some weird and painful positions. I am trying to regrind some of these - but as a first time grinder without money to keep buying pens, and not finding a replacement "nib" for the inexpensive parallel, the experiment is going slowly.

 

A member here had been and enough to recently send me some reground dip pens to try -- but that is yet to come on to my schedule of practice and test since they just camei9n yesterday. (As if I was organized enough to have a schedule.)

[minddance]

I match my nib size to:

purpose of writing, ink and paper.

 

If I have to cramp many lines into an A5 or A6 little book, it would have to be A Japanese EF or F. Pilot 74ef, f. Or Sailor F nibs.

 

If I hve to fill out forms on grainy copier papers, it would be a well-rounded Western EF for me, to gloss over the rough grains on the paper. A smooth Lamy Safari EF, Pelikan m200EF.

 

If I am in a playful mood and want to play with pale and lowly-saturated, watered-down inks like Diamine Sepia, Meadow, Autumn Oak, Umber, Indigo, Amazing Amethyst, Beau Blue, etc, or some Herbin watercolours, it would be a broader and wetter western, possibly a Faber Castell Loom B, Kaweco BB, Pelikan m800 M, m200 B or 205BB, or even a Pilot Parallel, or Pluminix B or 78G B tuned wet to literally dump loads of ink onto the paper, to soak it so much that the paper crumples abit.

 

If I absolutely have to write on Rhodia papers, I would use a super wet pen, and not too fine, possibly a Pelikan m1000f or m800m tuned wet.

Edited September 24, 2018 by minddance

[TheDutchGuy]

Too fine, and my handwriting becomes poor. Really fine nibs even bring out the slight wavering of the hand. My Pilot Custom 823 F is a bit too fine for me.

 

Too broad, and a written pages becomes too dense to look at, it becomes a bit much. The 1.1mm stub of my Eco, which I love, is too much for full-page writing. I used it for headers and such. Even most Western medium nibs are too much for me.

 

There is this perfect middle ground somewhere, which would be the thinnest line that still looks elegant, rounded and halfway decent in terms of handwriting, even when writing at a brisk pace. A certain kind of feedback is required to facilitate my coordination. At the moment only the following pens offer me this perfect middle ground:

1-Sailor Pro Gear Slim 14k H-M (basically a Western MF); for me this is the best-writing pen ever

2-A cheap old pen from the '50s, brandless, with a mild architect nib that's just heaven; the piston seal leaks and the pen cannot be repaired, so I use it as a dip pen

3-My old MB 146 EF, which also has a mild architect nib, though not as addictive as the previous pen I mentioned; the MB has a rather narrow sweet spot

 

With these pens, I can write without thinking and it will look great. With my other pens, which I also love, more coordination/effort is required to make my writing look decent.

[inkstainedruth]

My first choice would be an F nib. I started (back in my early [adult] FP pen usage, when I was ONLY using a fountain pen for journaling) with M nibs -- but then I discovered that an F nib made the cartridge last longer. And now, since I'm buying a lot of vintage pens, I don't necessarily have a choice -- so a lot of those end up having F nibs as well.

Starting to foray into more exotic stubs, broad nibs, etc. Not a huge fan of EFs. Although if the nib is tuned to not be scratchy, like on one of my 51 Vacs, they're good for note taking; or if it's a European EF on a wet pen, like on one of my Pelikan M405s (that one is a dream to write with).

Ruth Morrisson aka insktainedruth

[Bo Bo Olson]

Minddance, nice post.

If you could explain your point on Rhodia paper, I'll listen.

There seems to be a couple that don't care for Rhodia. I tend to doubt if you are using just butter smooth nibs on it, neither did the others come over as butter smooth complaints.

 

I finally got around to getting some Clairefontaine Triomph and Rhodia both in 90g. I don't think I've used any fine or dryer nibs on it much if at all. It's a paper I'm looking for shading on.

 

The EF 1745 seems to do OK on it....look in my little gray plastic box at my card ink index....which I don't keep up to date.. ...nope the ink card is out of date....

The 1745 EF is more than smooth enough...smooth enough to make me want to use that pen more, at least on the 90g Rhodia. The Rhodia 90g seems a slight tad smoother than the Triomph....at least with that pen and the mystery green ink.

What ever ink used would of course make differences.

[senzen]

Originally I was going merely for legibility, so that meant a fine / Japanese medium nib; but I also kept thinking some inks could look better, which eventually took me to extra fine nibs, and then the cellophane hack (a bit of cellophane between the nib and feed), to make some of them come out lighter. I haven't tried wide, stub or flex nibs, but beyond comfort and legibility, they'd have to bring something special for specific inks.

 

Knowing what I now know, it would have been quicker to start with one pen and nibs in several sizes to test each ink.

Edited September 24, 2018 by pseudo88

[Teach13]

Thanks guys. I love this kind of stuff--just learning WHY people have the preferences they do. I appreciate you taking the time to share!!

[Bo Bo Olson]

We all....well 97% of us start out not knowing much and so many others have taught what they know, or feel.

In there is no tests, learning is fun.

The more you know the better a pen you can buy to have fun with, the better ink, and on a good to better paper. Paper being more important than ink.

 

You should go to Richard Binder's site, it is the bible of fountain pens, nibs, filling systems, good advice on inks....and so many beautiful vintage pens.

Do block out three full days....that's how long it will take to read it.

Richard, was before he retired one of the Big Three of nibmeisters and repairmen.

Once 97% of all I knew came from him....and I'm forgetful, now it's only 92.7% because in a decade one should have learned something.

He's still worth re-reading, and many still link items to his site.