Lessons under the microscope: it's not how thin the tip of the nib is…

[fpupulin]

One can easily assume that the width of the line that a nib releases on paper depends essentially on the width of the iridium tip. This should explain why we have extra-extra-fine (XEF), extra-fine (EF), fine (F), medium (M), broad (B), double broad (BB), etc. nibs, whose tips are progressively wider.

Interestingly, there are other factors that influence the width of strokes a nib can produce.

 

I used my photo/microscope (a Leica Z16 APO) to photograph under identical conditions and at the same magnification (7.125x) two different nibs which were designed to produce very narrow strokes. The first is the extra fine nib of a 1972 Montblanc Meisterstück 149, and the second is the Calligraphy nib of a 2019 Montblanc Meisterstück 149.

 

 

As can be seen from the photomacrographs, the upper nib (the 1972 extrafine) has a much narrower tip than that of the 149 Calligraphy (bottom image). It is also more angular, with cleaner cuts, while the Calligraphy is more rounded and smooth along the corners. Looking at the images it would seem logical to assume that the narrower and sharper 1972 nib produces narrower strokes, but in practice the result is exactly the opposite.

 

I wrote the same sentences, in a Spencerian variant, on the same laid paper (Fabriano Ingres 90g), using two inks with very similar behavior, Diamine Writers Blood (with 149 of 1972) and Diamine Golden Brown with 149 Calligraphy.

 

 

As you can easily appreciate, the thin strokes of the Calligraphy nib are clearly thinner than those produced by the extra fine nib.

 

Evidently other factors come into play such as the width of the duct between the prongs of the nib, the proximity of the nib to the feeder, the tension that the prongs exert against each other when they are in the rest position (without pressure), the variable thickness of the gold foil along its entire length and width, and who knows what other trick that the Hamburg technicians have applied to the Calligraphy nib so that it can write so thin even if its tip would not suggest it.

 

[Oggie]

Fascinating photography

[AceNinja]

very beautiful photo and very beautiful hand writing!

 

Though I must say that the use of different ink still introduced an extra variable in this highly accurate experiment.  Personally I don't have experience with both Writer's Blood and Golden Brown, but I've read a lot that mentions Writer's Blood is almost THE wettest ink out there, which might contribute that your 149 of 1972 writes a slightly fatter line.

[Paul-in-SF]

I would also be interested in comparative photos of the nibs from the underside, i.e. the part of the nib that is touching the paper. 

 

I don't think it's accurate to imply, as your title does, that it's not the thinness of the nib tip that produces a line of a certain size; rather, it is not only the thinness of the nib tip that affects the line width. All those other factors you mention come into play, and within any group of pens from the same manufacturer and of the same model and with ostensibly the same grind, there can be a range of actual line widths produced. Depending on the manufacturer, that can be quite a range indeed.