Using a nib upside down

[Jasper]

Is anyone out there familiar with Micrography? It's basically where you use tiny writing to create shapes or images...it's an artform. See the below link for some examples (look at 'posters').

 

http://www.lapopart.com/micrography.asp

 

Anyway, i want to try this direction in my artwork. My Sapporo Mini Fine makes a very nice 'fine' line, but i imagine that i will need an even finer line, at times, when doing this Micrography. I experimented with turning my pen so that the nib is upside down and i got a much finer line. The upside down nib, in relation to the paper, has to be just the right angle or it doesn't work very well, or for very long....so it's not like you can write a letter, for example, this way...but a few words seems fine. I was wondering if this is OK (safe...whatever) for the nib? Or is it putting pressure on it in a way that's not desirable? I don't want to create problems for my nib.

 

Here's the difference between my Fine point and turning it upside down....

 

 

~Jasper

[Jimmy James]

As long as you're not using pressure, I think you're fine.

 

It's not cheap, but I can tell you Richard Binder actually grinds nibs that specifically feature this attribute. This helps them write smoothly and sustainably inverted. You can find details as to his charge for such grinding on his website. If you're really serious about your art to the point you're willing to invest in this sort of thing, he'd probably be the person to speak to about it.

[welfvet]

I'm no expert but have read elsewhere on the forum that many nibs can safely be used in reverse. I'd assume that so long as you don't have a heavy hand you'll not do any damage. Several Sailor nibs are also specifically designed for this job, different to those that have line variation depending on the angle of the pen to the page. I've scribbled with a few of my pens in the upside-down mode and some are smooth and some scratchy. If they were cheaper pens I'd be tempted to get some micromesh and smooth the reverse of the nib, but I'm way too novice for that.

 

I also recall that Richard Binder does a specific nib (or range) smoothed on both sides to be used this way.

 

Hope these rammblings are of some help.

 

Nic

[Paddler]

I have several old Sheaffer pens with nibs that were ground on top for writing a finer line upside down. Some are medium/fine and some are fine/extra fine. I have a P51 that I would call XF right side up. Upside down, the line it makes is like a spiderweb.

 

Most nibs are designed to only write right side up. If you turn them over, the pressure can push the tine tips together and they will skip like crazy.

 

Paddler

 

[Jasper]

Thank you for the comments. I have bookmarked the Richard Binder site...looks like some great options for specialty nibs and also just good information.

 

~Jas

[jmkeuning]

Dillon (Dillo here on FPN) ground an XXF on a Pelikan and an XXXF on a rOtring 600. They both work well for me!

[Jimmy James]

I did not know Dillon was into the grinding as well, but I'm not surprised. Our keeper of the ink vials and seller of converter beads seems to do a lot of pen related things.