Nibs With Line Variation

October 27, 2012

Here are some examples of italic nibs from my collection.

The first Belliver and the Nakaya are super-smooth writers. The crisp italic nibs are fussier about the angle of the nib on the paper. In a way, the "star" is Richard Binder's pre-ground M200 gold plated steel nib which is both a very smooth writer and has terrific line variation. I have it installed on a Pelikan M620 Shanghai.

David

October 28, 2012

Hi Folks,

When I first got interested in line variation I was craving samples of different nibs. I've noticed many others have been requesting these as well. I was hoping to start a thread where we could post samples of nibs with line variation - it could be a help for those of us looking for new nibs. To that end here's a sampling from my collection. My photography and penmanship aren't the best but hopefully the nibs speak for themselves!

I think the #6 showed the best line width variation ratio. However ,it makes more sense to regrind a double or triple broad nib to CI

December 2, 2012

glad to see other scans thanks for sharing

December 2, 2012

Stock Namiki Falcon with a Medium/soft nib

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac10/thevaporcafe/E5D30836-F317-4B68-A938-6AEFF0D11710-2983-000000E975C5D066.jpg

April 8, 2016

Hello All,

Here's my twopence worth as a new member from today.

Each to his own they say but for my taste it's all about getting to where the member "Antique" is at. XXXF / BBBB just makes my hair stand on end.

The closest I can get to that is with dip pen nibs. The Zebra G is simply so much fun (and relatively easy even for a beginner like me) that I'm giggling to myself when I write, the old Imperial101 dip pen nib is sooooo sensitive and difficult to use but then you flex it out to 4 mm with ease and snap it back to a hairline and you're chuckling again. It feels almost sinfully naughty to be able to do such things with a pen it seems to me.

I have dip nib holders that I am learning to use but prefer the ones with the coil reservoir to save excessive dipping. Also I confess that I bought the 159 Jinhao and put the Zebra G in it (custom fit without adjustment) and the 450 Jinhao and stuck the Imperial 101 into it, not a perfect fit but I have some rubber gloves on order and I'm going to sand down the feed a bit so it fits snug. It is easier to regulate the flow of a fountain pen compared to a dip pen with a reservoir in my opinion and so I get the flow I want by screwing down or pumping out a little before starting to keep a certain amount of pressure up. That gives me 3.5 to 4 mm of width without any railroading.

So... as mentioned above... Mr Antique has got lots of what I really want... XXXF / BBBB with a nice old gold nib in probably a Waterman, maybe a Mabie but whatever the name or no brand is really OK for me. I don't care much at all what the outside of the pen looks like (sorry).

So now a pic of some lines from some of my pens: (attached I think)

What else can I say? I also really like Mr Antiques' way to classify the flexibility, snap back etc. I have seen so many "wet noodles" on Ebay that give a 1.5 mm line if an elephant sits on it so I really think a standard would be helpful to us all.

Last but not least... it was actually looking for something to replace smoking that bought me to pointed pens..and it works. If ever I get the urge I log on to YouTube, get : OpenInkStand Art & Calligraphy and listen to Shin teach me something. Her pen gliding across the paper together with her calming voice are mesmerising to me and calm me down immediately. Try it! Kind regards to all, Bill

April 8, 2016

A very practical daily writer is my stubbish broad MB Fitzgerald. I wrote the text for an entirely different thread, but I think it does should a lovely bit of line variation:

A bit more fiddly is my 1950s Montblanc 146 with a springy OB nib. I love the shape of this pen -- it is smaller and has more distinctly 'touted' section than the current model 146. It is not as smooth or easy to use as the Fitzgerald, but the OB nib can take some pressure and produce lines or varying width:

Loads of fun is the Waterman 52, of which I currently have one (black) and another one (red) on its way. Flexibility of the 52's nib seems to vary across models and here's what mine can do:

It is definitely a pen I use carefully, because of its age and construction. The Fitzgerald is a pen I can easily bring to work on a daily basis, the Waterman 52 feels too fragile.

edit: pictures taken at different times and most likely not showing proper scale.