Italic Versions Of The Minuscule 's' And 'd'

[Inky.Fingers]

[bobje]

[A Smug Dill]

Lovely handwriting there, @Bobje!

 

That quote makes me think of Orpheus and Eurydice.

 

Is that the end of an acrylic Delike Alpha showing in the photo?

[bobje]

Thank you kindly, ASD. Your reaction prompted me to review the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Watch out for snakes at your wedding. That is indeed a Delike alpha.

 

[sansenri]

I tend to logically delineate between writing in italic, and writing in cursive (italic or otherwise).

 

When I'm writing in cursive, then I don't think the entrance stroke from the baseline would look out of place on a minuscule 's' at the start of a word. When I'm just writing (or 'printing') in italic script, then the minuscule 's' would have no entrance stroke from the left, irrespective of the letter's position in the word.

 

In the exemplars in The Calligrapher's Bible by David Harris, the minuscule 's' has the diagonal entrance stroke in Cancelleresca corsiva as well as Copperplate (in both the "Italian hand" and English Roundhand).

 

I agree, at least certainly regarding cursive

when I was tough cursive in primary school, I was tought to use the entrance stroke on the minuscule s even at the start of the word.

I was never tought script so I would not know.

It is though the entrance stroke, which should in reality be the linking stroke, becomes a characterizing element of cursive letters to the extent that they maintain the stroke even when written alone

Edited September 20, 2019 by sansenri

[bobje]

At the beginning of words, I decided on the 's' with no entrance stroke and the standard 'g.' Inside of a word, the alternate versions, unless I don't feel like it.

 

 

 

 

 

[Carrau]

At the beginning of words, I decided on the 's' with no entrance stroke and the standard 'g.' Inside of a word, the alternate versions, unless I don't feel like it.

 

shikishi-shower-cicadas-800px.jpg

 

What ink did you use for this, Bobje?

[bobje]

Jaeger, this is Blackstone red cashmere. The lighting throws it off in this photo.

[Carrau]

Thanks, Bobje, I would never have guessed that.

[bobje]

Montblanc corn poppy red.

[Randal6393]

Hey, Bob, which is more at fault for the feathering? The ink or the paper?

[bobje]

Randal,

The paper. It was an experiment with an Ikea notebook. Not good for fountain pens.

[yazeh]

What are guidelines for use of these alternate versions of the italic minuscule 's' and 'd'? Only at the end of words? When you're feeling it?

 

IMG_4269.JPG

I find the letter s tricky.

I personally I find the "s" without the stroke naked.

I really love the d on the top right.

I had some fun writing the word salad over and over again. And it was hard to leave the s without the stroke.

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2019 by yazeh

[galem]

To me, the real beauty of italic is in the consistent slant of the letters and the difference between the thick and thin strokes. I think a dip pen is needed to achieve the stroke thickness differences. I have not found a fountain pen that will do that other than the 2.4 or 3.8 parallel pens. The thinnest parallel pen, a 1.5 does not work for those strokes. I also dislike the runny black ink in the PP cartridges--it bleeds on most papers!

[dms525]

To me, the real beauty of italic is in the consistent slant of the letters and the difference between the thick and thin strokes. I think a dip pen is needed to achieve the stroke thickness differences. I have not found a fountain pen that will do that other than the 2.4 or 3.8 parallel pens. The thinnest parallel pen, a 1.5 does not work for those strokes. I also dislike the runny black ink in the PP cartridges--it bleeds on most papers!

 

I have a number of fountain pens with custom-ground italic nibs that produce real hairline fine strokes. These include some that are quite narrow - producing a 0.65-0.7 mm line at the broadest. I agree with you for stock italic nibs. I know of few less than 1.5 mm that produce a satisfactory thick/thin line difference. The old Osmiroid italic nibs worked well in the F and EF widths. Alas, they are no longer produced. (But are available on auction sites.)

 

David

[A Smug Dill]

I agree with you for stock italic nibs. I know of few less than 1.5 mm that produce a satisfactory thick/thin line difference.

 

 

But what is the minimum ratio between the thick line width and the thin line width, for the visual effect of writing in an italic script to be satisfactory, by your reckoning?