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In the craze for flexible nibs there seems to me to be a blindspot that many new seekers overlook. Through sheer luck I have a few flexible nibs on normal pens (i.e. not dip pens). I enjoy them, but they take an awful lot of skill and control and require aeons of practice and discipline. Sometimes I can can get a half decent result but nothing that you might call beautiful or skilled, yet even writing normally and hoping for some line variation takes a certain skill and practice to be truly satisfying. The price of flexible nibs has become daft and there are so many fantastical claims made about manifold nibs that I haven't personally felt the need to chase the dragon on this one, wasting my time and money. The strange thing is that many who are relatively new to fountain pens almost always remark on the beautiful line variation and pleasing results when I write with my 'flexible nib' which is in fact either a stub nib or an italic nib. It's left me wondering if the old stubs and italics are being overlooked in the chase for flexible nibs. Of course you won't get the same results, you likely won't get much in the way of spring or bounce and - especially in regards to stubs - you can end up with not very much line variation, but might an awful lot of writers and fountain pen users not be better served with a stub or italic nib?

Dear All I have a couple of Diamond 580s, a 1.1. and a 1.5 stub. They worked just fine out of the box and then they went out of the rotation and sat in their boxes waiting for their turn again. Now after a few months when I filled them up and started using them both dry up after the ink in the feed is used up. Jerking them may make them write a word or even a line but they dry up again. Opened them up and cleaned them thoroughly (even though they were cleaned before storage) but no go. They were wonderful writers before 1.1 was a bit drier than 1.5 but never a skipped line by either, and now both behaving the same. Has anybody else had this problem?? Any suggestions??

I have collected FP's for 46 years, but only recently with the help of the internet, has my passion taken on a new dimension. I enjoy stubs, and I still looking for the ultimate stup FP. My recent purchase on e bay a 1.3 stub Visconti Homo Sapiens is dissapointing as the 23 K nib is too flexible for me. I did have Greg Minuskin stub a few of my Parker 51's and they r great, but I know that there r other stub FP's out there. Can anyone recommend the ultimate stub FP ?? Luigi

Hey everyone, Found FPN while searching pics of stub nibbed pens. I'm fairly new to fountain pens, but looking to add to my meager collection. I blame my wife. Her friends started showing off their pens, and she got the bug, and then, of course, I had to try, too. So I bought us a couple Platinum Plaisirs, and a Preppy for our son. Those are nice; but she wanted a Lamy and a Noodler's flex, and I wanted a stub (thought I'd try the Monteverde 1.1mm), and those are pretty awesome. So...now we're looking at TWSBIs and Edisons and vintage pens (okay, that's just me) and I can't believe how many beautiful variations there can be on what it essentially a pointy stick with a leaky end. Who knew, right?! Anyway, off to finish reading the Stub o'the Day thread! Jack

I'm about to buy a FP that is worth $200-$300 with the smoothest nib available. I can't choose any of these two pens. Requirements: 1. Smooth Nib 2. Comfort Level 3. Performance Optional: 1. Demonstrator Version (Clear or Transparent) 2. Ink Capacity 3. Maintenance 4. Wet when you write I Thank you for People who replied On this topic