Charles Hubert pens

December 21, 2005

I bought these two inexpensive pens as "starters". I really like how the rosegold one writes. It has a very fine nib. I think maybe I am a "medium" nib person (at least) as I'd like a little more heft to the line. Maybe even italic. So, that is a good discovery to think about for the next purchase. Any advice on nibs is welcome to this newbie. I will say this is pretty smooth. The pen is fairly light. The cap is purposely fitted to post and will "click" into place.

I find the rosewood one very pretty. I like rosewood (being a classical guitar person, I think that is part of why I am drawn to it.) and I think this looks very nice. The nib is also fine, but I've had trouble with the flow. I don't know, maybe that is because it is new, but so it the gold one. I used it at work today and if you press harder you get a better flow. Maybe it will "loosen up". Again, any advice on nibs would be welcome. So this is not to me as useable (so far) as the gold one, but I like the weight (heftyish) and the aesthetics better. I'll be asking a LOT of questions of you folks soon!

(excuse my poor photography!)

December 30, 2005

Hi Chupie,

Thanks for posting the photo (it's fine!) and don't knock your photography skills; pens are tough subjects to photograph (lots of shiny surfaces for the light to bounce from). Maybe a bit of diffuse light would help.

As for nibs, well, if you want a heavier line, then go for a wider nib. When you use a crisp (or straight) italic (ie. one with *un*rounded corners), it may catch on paper when you write quickly. If you want an italic with rounded corners that gives you some line variation but is a lot less likely to catch on paper, then go for a cursive italic. Both will improve one's handwriting almost instantly, I find! A stub nib is (I think) more fun to use (and is useful if you want to write quickly) but it doesn't give as much line variation as an italic.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong....

Some pen videos · December 30, 2005

If the flow gets better with pressure this means that your pen suffers from one of the most common symptoms of many inexpensive (and not so inexpensive pens).

It probably has the tines touching at the tip. As Mr. Binder says: 'As a general rule, the nib tines should not touch each other when the nib is at rest. The firmer or more rigid the nib, the more important it is that the tines not touch; if they do, and and especially if the edges of the slit are improperly finished, the nib is likely to suffer an extreme case of the “too dry” syndrome'

Once you get used to it this is an easy problem to correct. One way to solve it is to take a thin but solid piece of plastic (or velum) and pass it through the tines (from the hole to the tip). Do it 2-3 times. Try the nib. If you want more improvement put 2 layers together. Another way it to "pry" the nib open with your fingers Yes it can be done by needs a sure set of hands. Some people use an x-cto knife to pry the slit open but I think most of the times they damage the slit.

If you are afraid of all this your choices are either to return the pen or to send it to a nibmaster ($15-$30 )

Best of luck and let us know how you are doing.