Stub Nibs

[mercurius]

I would like to try out a stub nib on a cheap pen before committing myself to something a bit more expensive in one of my preferred makes (eg Pelikan).

 

So I am thinking of a LAMY pen with one of their calligraphic nibs, but can't decide what width of nib to go with. I prefer a medium nib, so which width do you suggest would suit me best: 1.1, 1.5 or 1.9?. I am assuming that these correspond to fine/medium broad, so perhaps I should be looking at the 1.5mm nib. I am aware that the calligraphic nibs are not exactly the same as stub nibs, but they seem to be about the closest I can get without committing a shedload of money to a pioper stub nib.

 

However, I would be grateful if anyone could provide some guidance on this.

 

Thanks.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the 1.1 mm.

 

If you usually use a M nib anything wider will be too wide for easy everyday use without changing your handwriting.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[mercurius]

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the 1.1 mm.

 

If you usually use a M nib anything wider will be too wide for easy everyday use without changing your handwriting.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

Hi Bruce,

 

Many thanks for your advice. Do you think that the 1.1mm Lamy calligraphic nib would give me a fair impression of what a real stub would be like to write with?

[Renfield]

+1.1

 

1.1 rocks

[K. Cakes]

Have you thought about trying out the Pilot Plumix? Its less expensive and I actually prefer the nib to the Lamy 1.1.

[mercurius]

Have you thought about trying out the Pilot Plumix? Its less expensive and I actually prefer the nib to the Lamy 1.1.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Looks a bit too fine for me, judging by the review. Did you mean the medium nib or is there a stub-type alternative?

[K. Cakes]

Have you thought about trying out the Pilot Plumix? Its less expensive and I actually prefer the nib to the Lamy 1.1.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Looks a bit too fine for me, judging by the review. Did you mean the medium nib or is there a stub-type alternative?

 

I think you may be looking at something else, the Plumix only comes in italic nibs. I prefer the Plumix because the nib is closer to a medium, where the 1.1 is a bit bold for my everyday writing. You can't go wrong with either though.

[jslallar]

I have not had the pleasure of using any of these Lamy nibs, but as a general rule these sizes (1.1, 1.5 and 1.9) are for Calligraphy pens, and not regular pens, and NO they do not coincide with the regular pen widths. The cross stroke should be equal to a F/M by a regular pen whereas the down strokes will be much wider in these nibs, and 1.1mm down stroke will be (or should be) wider than any B, more like a BB of most brands. Having said that the stubs are really enjoyable with a lot of line variations. I love them.

 

For regular writing 1.1 should do you well. Broader nibs become more difficult to handle on a regular basis and need more care and positioning to give a better writing sample.

[dcpritch]

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Here are some different nibs, all lined up together to give an idea about comparative sizes. As jslaller said, you cant really make any comparison between normal F/M/B nib sizes and the 1.1/1.5/1.9 calligraphy nibs. They don't equate.

 

Below are the following nibs, left to right, moving from narrow to wide (quick iPhone shot):

 

1. Nakaya Portable Writer 14k F

2. Pelikan M400 White Tortoise 14C B

3. Bock 14K M stub

4. TWSBI Micarta steel B stub

5. OMAS Ogiva Extra 18k B stub

6. Lamy Safari steel 1.1

7. Bexley 10th Anniv. 18k stub (approx. 1.3mm)

8. Pelikan M800 18C BB stub (approx. 1.3mm)

9. Montblanc 149 18C BBB stub (approx 1.5 nib)

 

 

 

My opinion, having written with the Lamy 1.1 nib, is that it writes a line narrower than 1.1mm, and is a little dry out of the box. I once had Pendleton Brown smooth and adjust the flow on a Lamy 1.1 and it wrote more the way I liked, but still not as wide nor as wet as I like. I sort of like stub nibs, as you might guess. :embarrassed_smile:

 

Hope this helps a little.

Edited December 13, 2012 by dcpritch

[OcalaFlGuy]

As my friend DCP says above, a picture is Indeed worth a thousand words.

 

IMO, my 1.1 is a smooth Stubish Cursive Italic. Mine hasn't needed any massaging.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Ghost Plane]

I beg to differ as to what constitutes "normal" writing. 1.1 nibs are as narrow as I can handle. 1.3 nibs are my everyday users as the sharper corners of the 1.5 Pelikan italic slows me down as the more rounded corners of other brands do not. That's not counting my stable of obliques.

 

Splash out and experiment.

[OcalaFlGuy]

GP my assessment was based on the OP saying they usually prefer M nibs.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[dcpritch]

Splash out and experiment.

 

Absolutely, and get ready to go through some ink!

[Ghost Plane]

M Visconti is going to feel very different from M Sailor. I lean to the European stubs.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Splash out and experiment.

 

Absolutely, and get ready to go through some ink!

 

Well one thing about the Lamy nibs is they are cheap but still decent. They're only about $13 or so I think so even if you get one wrong size you haven't spent much and you'd be able to sell it for close to what you paid for it in the Marketplace pretty quickly I think.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Ghost Plane]

Exactly. Try a variety of sizes for extended periods of time and enjoy.

[pajaro]

I have a Parker 51 broad stub, an Esterbrook 9284 broad stub, an Esterbrook 2284 broad stub, a Montblanc with 1.1 mm stub, an Esterbrook 9314-F fine stub and a Lamy Safary with 1.5 and 1.1 nibs.

 

The stubs give a bit of line variation, more as they go wider. The Lamy nibs give a lot more line variation than stubs, because I think the Lamy 1.1 and 1.5 nibs are cursive italic. The Lamy nibs are controllable. I usually like EF to fine nibs, but with stubs and cursive italics I like the broader sizes. If I am going to spend good money for line variation, I want lots of it. The narrower the CI nib or stub nib is, the less obvious is the line variation. Stubs are rounder than cursive italics, so you get less line variation with stubs, width for width.

 

It is a lot of fun to investigate this stuff.

 

 

[RMN]

The term "stub" does not mean the same to various penmakers.

 

I recently bought a new Delta stub, which to me is definitely an italic.

 

Some say any pen where the nib is not a round blob is a stub. Others diversify in more grades:

from: normal-stub-cursive italic-crisp italic the variation in the shape goes from round to oblong and the variation between the horizontal and vertical stroke more pronunciated.

 

I would call the Lamy nibs italic and not stubbish.

 

The size for a stub/italic depends on the size of yor writing. There used to be a formula for that, something like adding up the height of several letters and dividing by..??.. My memory says it was on Richard Binders website but recently I could not find it. Maybe I looked on the wrong page or it was removed?

Does someone else know the right page??

 

 

D.ick

[KrazyIvan]

I have .9mm - 1.5mm and enjoy the 1.0mm - 1.1mm the most. I think a Pilot 78G in B nib would be a good inexpensive starter pen. It may be just a little crisper than Lamy and TWSBI offerings but if you can get used to that, the others are easy.

[Renfield]

I have .9mm - 1.5mm and enjoy the 1.0mm - 1.1mm the most. I think a Pilot 78G in B nib would be a good inexpensive starter pen. It may be just a little crisper than Lamy and TWSBI offerings but if you can get used to that, the others are easy.

 

I love my Lamy 1.1, but have struggled to use the Pilot 78G broad nib.