Stub nibs

[Raymond]

This sounds funny but I have always been using F, XF, or M nibs. So after all these years (and pens) I have not really seen or used a stub nib. I think I know what a stub nib looks like, but I am not sure what it writes like. Are stubs the same as italics or BB? Also, what does it mean when it says cursive italic?

 

I appreciate any enlightenment in this regard. To me they are all nibs that write thicker at downstrokes and thinner at upstrokes. Then I can do that by using a flex nib, right?

[joseanes]

I have the same exact question.

Richard Pens

Offer some insight on some of my questions.

Edited March 9, 2006 by joseanes

[Roger]

Your questions are easily answered if you are willing to spend the time at a place like Richard's website. He has all that you wish to know there, and it is done by an accomplished and acknowledged nibmeister.

 

Go here: http://www.richardspens.com/ and bookmark it. Return as much as you need to get the big picture. Then, you'll be in a position to better evaluate the answers that you get here which will usually be understandably biased by our experience or lack of it.

 

If you are truly interested, you will be spending untold hours there, but it's worth it!

 

Enjoy!

 

Edit: Just saw your comment, joseanes. Not SOME insight to SOME of your wuestions. More insight is there than probably any other site on the Web and, believe me, ALL your questions can be answered there. The site requires drilling and digging, but that's the fun.

Edited March 9, 2006 by Roger

[Raymond]

Thanks Josianne:

 

I took a look at the site you gave. Maybe my eyes are not sharp enough or something. I still cannot tell the difference. They all look the same to me. Downstrokes thick and upstrokes thin. I was hoping to see the curved bends in the cursive italic only, but no such luck. They all have curved bends.

 

Thanks for your response anyways.

 

Raymond

[Raymond]

Thanks Roger:

 

Richardspens, here I come!

 

I think I probably have to buy, borrow or beg for one nib of each type to try them out to truely appreciate the difference.

 

This hobby of ours is getting more interesting everyday.

 

Raymond

[Michael Wright]

I appreciate any enlightenment in this regard. To me they are all nibs that write thicker at downstrokes and thinner at upstrokes. Then I can do that by using a flex nib, right?

Well, actually, not right. Stubs and italics are on a spectrum, and the basic point is that they are broad in a horizontal direction, but narrow(er) vertically. An italic is like a sheet of metal, and as the nibs get closer to a stub, the end is more rounded. I hope that makes sense -- I realise I'm not being as clear as I'd hope.

 

Anyway, assume you're holding a pen with an italic nib so it's flat on the paper, and the long dimension is parallel with the top of the page. Then if you draw the nib down the page, you get a broad stroke. If you draw it from left to right, you get a narrow stroke. Most people hold such a nib so that the long dimension is very roughly at 45 degrees, so that when you draw the nib from top left to bottom right you get a maximally broad stroke, and a thin stroke on the direction bottom left to top right. In practice, straight down (and up) strokes are fairly broad, and the normal left-up-to-right strokes (which are frequent in many hands, especially italic) are fine.

 

With a flex nib, you get thicker strokes with more pressure. That tends to be on down strokes, but the thickness of a down stroke varies with the degree of pressure. Typically a down stroke made with a flex nib varies in thickness on the way down, being fattest in the middle; a stroke drawn straight downwards with an italic will be of equal thickness all the way down.

 

The effects are quite different. An italic or stub nib (generically called straight-cut nibs) will give a regular variation of lines; look at some classic italic calligraphy. The product of a flex nib may be very regular, as in classic round-hand calligraphy, but may be quite variable, depending on the speed, emotional state and whatever of the writer.

 

Cursive italic is an italic nib with the sharp corners rounded off a bit, so they don't dig into the paper during fast writing. But it's really a spectrum between a stub and a calligrapher's italic which has been carefully sharpened for the maximum contrast in line width.

 

HTH

 

Michael

[Lloyd]

Wow, thanks Michael. That cleared it up for me quite concisely.