New Nakaya Nib Nomination

[Linger]

My thirst for Nakaya pens is not yet quenched. 

On my wishlist is a Dorsal Fin II and I am contemplating to either fit it with:
- a Music nib (0,9-1,0mm line width) or 
- a BB nib (0,66-0,86mm line width) tuned to a stub. 

Latter “stubbing” of a BB nib apparently can be done by Nakaya itself as a pre-sales service. Or so I understood from Sakura FP Gallery in Belgium.

My gut feeling would point to the BB stub, as my handwriting does not really benefit from (too) broad strokes. Is there perhaps a Nakaya fanatic amongst us that has both options? How do they compare? What would be pros/cons of both?

[whichwatch]

I have both Nakaya Music and BB nibs.  I do not have a BB Stub, but do have a BB Architect.  Unfortunately I am away from home this week but if nobody else responds sooner I can provide you with writing samples on Sunday when I am home again.

 

Personally, I love Nakayas BB nibs because the tipping is so large it can be ground to almost anything you might desire.

[Linger]

Thanks in advance whichwatch! There is no hurry so I gladly wait for the weekend.

[arcfide]

I believe the Music nibs will be similar to the Platinum music nibs, yes? If so, I have one of those and I love it, but it is very broad, and the line width is probably more like 1.0 to 1.2mm depending on your ink and paper combinations. For me, this is exactly what I wanted because I was transitioning my hand over to an Italic style, which benefits, IMO, from the broad edge of a music nib. 

 

If your handwriting is more upright print without the 45 degree pen angle or is more Palmer-esque in your approach, then it's probably going to be a bit broad for most people. If you hold your nib at a 45 and have the proper X-height in your writing, then it will be wonderful. 

[zaddick]

The BB offeres more options and was my choice as a starting point for most Nakaya pens. I preferred a cursive italic grind for extra line variation. 

 

The music nib can also be ground for more variation, but it is a stub as is. Just note that it is easier to misalign a music nib and then realign it in general. 

[silverlifter]

46 minutes ago, zaddick said:

The BB offeres more options and was my choice as a starting point for most Nakaya pens. I preferred a cursive italic grind for extra line variation. 

 

zaddick, did you have your nibs ground by the Nakaya nib team? If so, how do you find their CIs?

[zaddick]

5 hours ago, silverlifter said:

 

zaddick, did you have your nibs ground by the Nakaya nib team? If so, how do you find their CIs?

I had mine ground by Nibs.com. I have heard good things about the stubs from the factory, but never used one. I bet if you just asked for a crisper stub with more line variation it would get the job done. Working through a vendor should increase the chance of success as more business is at stake for Nakaya should there be problems.

[silverlifter]

3 minutes ago, zaddick said:

I had mine ground by Nibs.com. I have heard good things about the stubs from the factory, but never used one. I bet if you just asked for a crisper stub with more line variation it would get the job done. Working through a vendor should increase the chance of success as more business is at stake for Nakaya should there be problems.

 

I asked them (Nakaya, that is)--foolishly after I had received my pen--whether or not they would do a cursive italic, and they said they would. I have no doubt, based upon my experience specifying the degree of wetness that I wanted, that they would be willing and able to accomodate the degree of crispness of the grind.

[Barutti]

I don't have music nib, but currently have BB rhodium nib tuned to stub by nibs.com. The nib is real joy for daily writing. Later I will make some photos with writing examples. 

In March I expect to receive one more Nakaya with gold BB nib tuned to stub in factory. It will be interesting to compare these two..  

[empliau]

Sadly, I don’t think you can have a music nib in a DF II if the Nakaya website is to be trusted:

 

*The Music (pen nib) is quite unique, so it is NOT available with Dorsal Fin ver.2, even though you can choose it in the order system. 
http://www.nakaya.org/en/review.aspx?id=100045&type=body

[peroride]

21 hours ago, zaddick said:

Working through a vendor should increase the chance of success as more business is at stake for Nakaya should there be problems.

Excellent point! 

 

Here's another data point for BB -  Mottishaw at nibs.com, grail pen for the missus after she tried all the tester nibs was formal italic, two-tone. Second choice was cursive, B and a no on the elastic add-on (too soft).

[empliau]

21 hours ago, empliau said:

Sadly, I don’t think you can have a music nib in a DF II if the Nakaya website is to be trusted:

 

*The Music (pen nib) is quite unique, so it is NOT available with Dorsal Fin ver.2, even though you can choose it in the order system. 
http://www.nakaya.org/en/review.aspx?id=100045&type=body

Although John Mottishaw at nibs dot com allows you to choose a Music nib with the DF II.  Maybe he has found a way to make it work?  If you want it, it's worth a try.  I have various Nakaya BB nibs - two stubs, a soft CI, and a Mottishaw stub/CI combo.  They are all lovely, although the soft CI can be a little fussy.  Anyway, if I get another it will be a Music.  They all have nice variation, but I just want a fatter line.  You can take the girl out of the Pelikan, but I guess you can't take the Pelikan (all the way) out of the girl!

[como]

@LingerI have a Nakaya with BB stubbed by John Motthishaw of nibs.com. I don't have a pen with a Music nib now, but I used to have an ASC Pavarotti 3 Arco Verde with a Music nib. It was a 3-tine nib (1.1mm I believe) which wrote rather smooth. For me it just felt like a Stub. Personally I prefer the BB ground to Stub. For a nibmeister it's not so much fun to try to fiddle with a 3-tine nib. The three tines can never align perfectly, unlike the normal nibs. Visually it bothers me. It also gives less re-grind options and adds to difficulty of reworking the nib. I like pens with good ink flow and Japanese pens can be on the dry side. So when I ordered the pen, I asked for a smooth wet stub. It came out just right for me. Hope you will end up with a nice pen and a nib that you enjoy writing with!

[teeitup418holes]

On 1/8/2021 at 4:00 AM, como said:

@LingerI have a Nakaya with BB stubbed by John Motthishaw of nibs.com. I don't have a pen with a Music nib now, but I used to have an ASC Pavarotti 3 Arco Verde with a Music nib. It was a 3-tine nib (1.1mm I believe) which wrote rather smooth. For me it just felt like a Stub. Personally I prefer the BB ground to Stub. For a nibmeister it's not so much fun to try to fiddle with a 3-tine nib. The three tines can never align perfectly, unlike the normal nibs. Visually it bothers me. It also gives less re-grind options and adds to difficulty of reworking the nib. I like pens with good ink flow and Japanese pens can be on the dry side. So when I ordered the pen, I asked for a smooth wet stub. It came out just right for me. Hope you will end up with a nice pen and a nib that you enjoy writing with!

Would love to see more pictures of the pen after seeing some great writing samples! 

[Barutti]

There is mine Nakaya equiped with BB nib tuned to stub. Also by J.Mottishaw. 

 

[como]

On 1/9/2021 at 10:51 PM, teeitup418holes said:

Would love to see more pictures of the pen after seeing some great writing samples! 

😀 Thank you! There is a Nakaya "show-off" thread... Here we must stick to the topic of the nibs!

 

[Linger]

Thanks for all feedback so far. I think I will skip the Music nib and try a stub first. Most of you have the BB as starting point. That makes sense to me as I have one B nib and I can hardly imagine how one can grind enough off it to create a stub. So, good, plan is made, a BB nib ground into a stub.

[whichwatch]

I have both a BB and a BB ground to stub.  I am home now and can take and post photos and/or writing samples of these if that would be of interest and help.  I do also have a Music nib, though it seems you have given up that idea.

[Linger]

Well, yeah, maybe, but if it is not too much trouble, could you then please make a comparison between all three? For a complete overview? Well-well-well-appreciated!

[whichwatch]

Not a comprehensive review, but here are photos and dip writing samples of "Left to Right" Nakaya Music Nib, BB nib, and BB ground to Stub.  The writing samples would perhaps have been a bit more accuate if rather than simply dipping I had filled each pen and written with it for a while before doing the sample.  However, I think it reasonably shows the differences.

 

Note the very large amount of tipping on the BB nib.  I prefer the BB's because not only do they write superbly (if you like broad writing), but they provide a superb canvas for grinding into anything one might desire.  My favorite is a BB Architect.

 

I believe you may be able to click on these photos to enlarge the size.