Writing Boldly

[dsatco]

Do those of you who use bold nibs and stubs write a lot? I mean like pages and pages?

 

Here's the follow up: If so, does anyone else have to read your writing? Do they have difficulty doing so?

[smoores]

I've 12-14 page letters with broad and stub nibs and have received compliments on the effect. Then again, I have large, bubbly handwriting and it seems to look better with broader nibs. I guess a lot of it has to do with your style of handwriting, the size of your letters, and whether or not you write very tight and cramped.

[rwilsonedn]

"a lot of it has to do with your style of handwriting, the size of your letters, and whether or not you write very tight and cramped"

+1. For any set of letter shapes, there should be a simple relationship between the maximum thickness of the lines and the height of the letters. If you want to use a B nib, you write larger, with more open loops and more space between the letters. If you want to use an XF in the same style, you just write smaller. Doesn't need to be more complicated than that, really. Hence the photos you occasionally see of an Asian master calligrapher writing on a huge banner with a brush that looks like a broom. Same characters, but bigger, and probably some different details for expression.

ron

[FP Writing]

now i am tempted to try ink up a bold nib......

[rwilsonedn]

now i am tempted to try ink up a bold nib......

I've always wanted to try those really huge nibs that come in the dip pen sets like the old Pelikan Graphos, but I've never gotten around to it.

ron

[Gojira]

For those who haven't tried a broad nib or stub, TRY ONE. I started out buying only fine nibs and realised that it can sometimes be uncomfortable for me to guide my handwriting due to the thin line. Then I tried a Waterman Expert 1 with a broad nib and was immediately hooked. I really cannot quantify the feeling but let's just say that it's like driving a large, powerful 4WD as opposed to a nimble sports coupe.

 

Then again, I do prefer large 4WD SUVs over low-slung sports cars.

 

Yes, using a broad nib means using more paper (and more ink!). However, personally, my handwriting looks much better with broader nibs. Yes, it does make me want to write more. Fine nibs and such are great for work and study. I use my broads, stubs and italics for recreation and relaxation. Having said that, a former colleague used a BB Lamy 2000 for work. His job entailed a lot of signatures on a daily basis so the pen was perfect for him. It also had the added bonus of making it near-impossible for anyone else to forge his signature.

 

Ultimately, it's entire dependent on your handwriting style. I envy those who can scribble out elegant loops and lines with super extra fine nibs. The same people with flex nibs create handwriting / calligraphy that can be classified as fine art. For me and my semi-loopy block-printing handwriting, we can only smile on in wonderment.

[tonybelding]

My own experience is that I can't abide broad nibs. Sometimes even full M nibs irk me a bit, and I find myself writing bigger and bigger with them. F nibs are my mainstay.

 

Oddly enough, I like stubs. A stub, even a fairly wide one, seems much more tolerable than a plain round B. I have a fine stub (ground down from a B nib) on my Edison Morgan that's excellent, and I also have a factory oblique nib on my Sheaffer Targa that's my favorite nib in the world.

 

http://zobeid.zapto.org/image/pens/targa/targas_writing_sample.jpg

[piembi]

I am taking lots of meeting notes. A few weeks ago I was looking up those notes and I went through two A4 Clairefontaine notebooks. In the beginning I was mainly using a vintage Pelikan B nib. Later I have used various M nibs too. M nibs allow me to write a tad faster.

 

I was surprised: the notes I have taken with the vintage B nib (stubbish, closer to modern M than B ) are perfectly legible. The notes I have taken with the M nibs vary between legible and chicken scratch.

 

The very same evening I switched the nib of my tortoise Pelikan 400 from M to B. Now the second Pelikan with the M nib doesn't see much use at the office.

Edited March 25, 2011 by piembi

[zquilts]

I use a stub as my everyday pen - and write quite a bit. stubs and obliques are my favorite pens.

[jBeckett]

My curvilinear scripts take a hit when using a broad nib unless I write fairly large or very slow but my printed hand looks fine. I've noticed some people are almost the exact opposite.

 

Maybe I need more practice with them, I don't know. They are a joy to write with but I can't see myself using them for extended writing.

[dsatco]

Great responses everyone. Now I want a bold stub.....

[Groat]

I find that it depends for me. As others have stated, sometimes it's not necessarily the size of the letters but how fast I'm writing them. I tend to do things like make lower-case cursive 'E's look a little too much like lower case 'I's (without the dot) if I'm not careful with a broader nib. Sometimes lower case 'R's get smooshed as well. However, if I'm taking my time while writing then a broader nib looks fantastic.

[nowzen]

I've 12-14 page letters with broad and stub nibs and have received compliments on the effect. Then again, I have large, bubbly handwriting and it seems to look better with broader nibs. I guess a lot of it has to do with your style of handwriting, the size of your letters, and whether or not you write very tight and cramped.

 

 

I agree. I write large compared to others and enjoy the opportunity for flourish it offers in the writng style.

I also like the bold expressive statements a bold or music nib offers.

[dnayakan]

As indicated by others, the thickness of the line depends upon the style of your handwriting. The general rule is that the larger your writing, the more you should gravitate towards larger nibs. But there are other factors as well.

 

Your writing changes under different conditions. When you are writing fast (taking notes, as thought tumble out etc), there will be a certain natural size and cadence to you writing. The larger this is, the more you should gravitate towards larger points on your nibs. There are also times when writing is more measured (when you write slowly and pause to think of the right word, or you are specifically using the writing itself to create a certain effect etc) - over there, the nib is usually dictated by the effect you are trying to create.

 

And then there is the kind of paper you like/are using. For example, my fast handwriting is quite happy with a medium or broad point. But I recently found myself using a book which was lined. The lining was too narrow to be happy with a medium nib and demanded a fine nib. There were other reasons I was using the paper but the point is that the nib size was dictated by the paper. Papers differ in the way they take the ink - on some papers, a fine point (because it is sharp) will catch on the paper fibers and dig in - these papers demand a larger, more rounded nib (not an italic which also has sharp corners but a broad or a stub etc). An absorbent paper will not like the more wet line of broad nibs (or more accurately, you will not like the combination - the paper will love it and soak up the ink and feather and bleed).

 

Cheers, DJ

[IWantThat]

Flipping through the pages of my notebooks, it's the broad nibs with their delicious ink flow that often catch my eye

[ravantra]

No one needs to read what I write. As long as I can read my own writing I'm OK. I do more sketching than writing. On the rare occasion I share notes I get compliments on my writing.

[xiewadu]

Flipping through the pages of my notebooks, it's the broad nibs with their delicious ink flow that often catch my eye

You read my mind...

- Jen

[ethernautrix]

I write boldly with Japanese F and M nibs. Oh yeah.

[TSWard]

There is nothing that catches my eye less than a Fine Nib. EF at least has the novelty of being extra small.

[contaxrts2]

Flipping through the pages of my notebooks, it's the broad nibs with their delicious ink flow that often catch my eye

You read my mind...

- Jen

 

+1

 

Broad lines are beautiful, B, BB and BBB nibs produce wonderful lines and with some inks tremendous shading.

Since many years I adore broad nibs and love the feeling and sight of streams of ink forming wonderful broad lines.