Nakaya Piccolo In Shu With A 0.7 Mm Ci Nib

[dms525]

Forget the pen... your writing is beautiful!

 

I can't "forget the pen." It is just too nice, especially after loading it with a dryer ink (Pelikan Brilliant Black). But thanks for the compliment regarding my writing, Siv.

 

David

[conib]

Forget the pen... your writing is beautiful!

 

 

I can't "forget the pen." It is just too nice, especially after loading it with a dryer ink (Pelikan Brilliant Black).

 

 

Is there any chance you could post a sample of your work using this pen with Pelikan Brilliant Black? Pretty-please?

:-)

 

-- Constance

[dms525]

 

 

Is there any chance you could post a sample of your work using this pen with Pelikan Brilliant Black? Pretty-please?

:-)

 

-- Constance

 

Ask and you shall receive. (Actually, I had written this sample right after responding to Siv, above. But, I would have done it for you, if I had not already done it. )

 

 

David

[conib]

Thank you David! It looks beautiful, of course.

 

Is the paper Rhodia 80 g/m² 5mm grid or ...?

 

-- Constance

[dms525]

Thank you David! It looks beautiful, of course.

 

Is the paper Rhodia 80 g/m² 5mm grid or ...?

 

-- Constance

 

The paper is just what you surmised.

 

David

[sarahfar]

beautiful work my friend....

[Pen Nut]

Your handwritinjg is superb ! On the pen ownership issue I am still undecided about the Piccolo long writer that I got last year. It has never left the house yet but is a great signature pen and for addressing envelopes and there is certain something about it that prevents me from selling it. Ah well lets see what 2014 brings and if another 'final pen purchase' hits the radar I will put it in the classifieds ( i think ! )

[ethernautrix]

Yes, very nice handwriting!

 

Funny how ink changes how much I like writing with pens.

 

The ru-F nib in my Naka-ai writes an EF (which I like very much), finer than the ru-F nibs in my unpolished shu Piccolo and the Desk Pen. Yesterday, I changed the ink to Noodler's Lexington Gray (to compare the writing experience with the Faber Castell Stone Grey in the Negoro with a standard F nib). Suddenly, the line was too broad! More like a Fine. I swapped back to Noodler's Black, and now everything is okay, back to extra-fine. Whew!

 

As for the Gray & Grey experiment, I prefer the Faber Castell in the Negoro.

[dms525]

Yes, very nice handwriting!

 

Funny how ink changes how much I like writing with pens.

 

The ru-F nib in my Naka-ai writes an EF (which I like very much), finer than the ru-F nibs in my unpolished shu Piccolo and the Desk Pen. Yesterday, I changed the ink to Noodler's Lexington Gray (to compare the writing experience with the Faber Castell Stone Grey in the Negoro with a standard F nib). Suddenly, the line was too broad! More like a Fine. I swapped back to Noodler's Black, and now everything is okay, back to extra-fine. Whew!

 

As for the Gray & Grey experiment, I prefer the Faber Castell in the Negoro.

 

I have certainly found that matching pen and ink according to the writing results is worthwhile. I have some nibs that I initially disliked pretty strongly that wrote marvelously well when I changed inks. About 6 months ago, I began keeping a list of great pen/ink matches in a dedicated journal. I also keep a list of my currently inked pens with the inks in them on a Post-It stuck on my computer monitor. I can't always keep this information in memory. The fact that I use a number of dark blues and blacks and reddish brown inks makes it more challenging.

 

Unfortunately, before realizing I needed to do some trial (and error) matching with new custom nibs, I sent some back for further work which may have been unnecessary and possibly detrimental to the usefulness of the nibs.

 

David

[dms525]

Here is a photo of the same sample. I think my iPhone camera does a better job than my 20+ year old flatbed scanner.

 

 

This is much closer to the original, especially in showing how crisp the nib is with Pelikan Brilliant Black ink loaded. Looks like it's time to replace the scanner.

 

David

[VladDracule]

I have a few questions/requests David.

 

You say that the cursive italic is your daily carry. The writing samples you provided, is that when writing at full speed? Or are you taking a lot of time and care when providing these writing samples?

 

I was inspired by this thread, I currently have a Platinum Century Black Tiger on its way back to John Mottishaw because it has a feed problem. He said he's willing to swap the nib out to a larger size. Unfortunately its largest nib size is broad. Based on your thread here I am considering either a stub or a cursive italic customization. Im just not sure which. I can use a stub pretty well when writing at full speed but I have no experience with a cursive italic. Does it work well enough as a daily carry when writing at full speed? If so can you provide a sample?

 

You did also mention the crispness in terms of the ink you used. do you find some inks to provide crisper line variation than others?

[dms525]

I have a few questions/requests David.

 

You say that the cursive italic is your daily carry. The writing samples you provided, is that when writing at full speed? Or are you taking a lot of time and care when providing these writing samples?

 

The writing sample was not at full speed, but neither was it super-slow and careful. Let's say it was written at moderate speed. Note that even my full speed using cursive italic script is slower than I would want for note taking in a fact-packed lecture.

 

I was inspired by this thread, I currently have a Platinum Century Black Tiger on its way back to John Mottishaw because it has a feed problem. He said he's willing to swap the nib out to a larger size. Unfortunately its largest nib size is broad. Based on your thread here I am considering either a stub or a cursive italic customization. Im just not sure which. I can use a stub pretty well when writing at full speed but I have no experience with a cursive italic. Does it work well enough as a daily carry when writing at full speed? If so can you provide a sample?

 

If by "writing at full speed" you mean rapid American-style cursive, I suppose I would go for a stub. However, what I would really do is get on the phone with John and tell him just how I wanted to use the pen. The very, very best way is to sit across a work bench and have a conversation with a nibmeister, try out his/her sample nibs and test your nib periodically during the customization process. I was able to do that at the 2012 San Francisco Pen show with Michael Masuyama, and it was a wonderful experience. One surprise was that, at one point, Michael said that being able to actually watch me write was a big help in understanding how to grind a nib for me. Exactly what he was seeing remains a mystery, but that's what makes him (and John, and Richard, etc.) so special. Anyway, if you can't get with John at the LA Pen Show, for example, a phone call would be next best.

 

On the Stub-Cursive Italic - Formal Italic spectrum, I prefer nibs that are just short of Formal Italic.

 

​I suppose I can give you an example of my cursive scrawl, but I suggest you don't look at it if you have a queazy stomach. I have to tell you that I write in cursive script very rarely these days.

 

You did also mention the crispness in terms of the ink you used. do you find some inks to provide crisper line variation than others?

 

The issue is ink flow, and this is an interaction between the nib, the ink, the paper and the writer (especially nib pressure). Yes. The ink does make a difference. But, for example, most of the nibs John Mottishaw has customized for me write on the wet side of my personal average. So, a wet ink, e.g., Aurora Black, writes too wet. The hairline-thin lines are flooded. Pelikan Brilliant Black works better. Nibs customized for me by Richard Binder, on the other hand, have been relatively dry. So, I like them better with Waterman Black or Blue-Black.

 

I hope these rambling answers provide the information you are seeking.

 

David

 

I have some inks that I, basically, find unusable, even though I love their color, because they write too wet for any chisel-point nib script, even a formal italic nib with feather-light pressure.

 

With a newly-ground nib, I plan on some trial and error testing with several inks until I find a good match. What is exciting is to find a nib/ink pairing that performs in some extraordinary way. For example, I have a Conway Stewart Belliver with a stock IM nib that Michael Masuyama ground to a crisper cursive italic for me. The nib is not that crisp and is pretty springy. This pen inked with Noodlers Black Swan in English Roses is purely magical. It writes smoothly with sufficient line differentiation and lays down a wonderfully shaded line, even though it is only 0.7 mm wide at the widest.

Edited January 24, 2014 by dms525

[dms525]

Writing samples as requested and a side-by-side photo of a Piccolo and a Naka-ai:

 

 

 

David

[Earthdawn]

David your Piccolo is beautiful !

 

The cursive looks fine to me but I just can't seem to get enough of the Nakaya porn !

 

thank you for sharing with us.

[kenhsv]

Wow! Beautiful handwriting! Any suggestions of a primer to help a little ole leftie along in his quest for better penmanship? I can only dream of writing as beautiful as yours but I have to start somewhere...

 

Thanks!

[dms525]

Wow! Beautiful handwriting! Any suggestions of a primer to help a little ole leftie along in his quest for better penmanship? I can only dream of writing as beautiful as yours but I have to start somewhere...

 

Thanks!

 

Hi, ken.

 

Thanks for the compliment!

 

I learned italic script from Lloyd Reynolds' "Italic Lettering, Calligraphy and Handwriting." (Now available on Amazon.com) I started in college but didn't work on it seriously until a couple years ago. Lloyd Reynolds made 20 half-hour teaching videos for Oregon Public Television in the late 1960's that can be viewed on youtube.com and also on the Reed College web site. (Go to WWW.Reed.EDU and search for <Lloyd Reynolds Calligraphy>.) The videos are also available for viewing or downloading without cost from iTunes U. They are meant to be viewed while the students are using Reynolds handbook. They certainly make best sense if you are.

 

Now, there are many, many instructional manuals for improving handwriting. I have a considerable collection myself. The one that is most often recommended seems to be "Write Now" by Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay. It's pretty good. Both of the authors were students of Lloyd Reynolds, as it happens.

 

By time we reach adulthood, we have been reinforcing whatever handwriting habits we acquired as young children for a very long time. Improvement in legibility or, certainly, changing to a different writing style altogether doesn't happen overnight or without a lot of serious work over a considerable time to learn a new script and acquire and consolidate new habits. But, if you go about it in a committed way, it can be very rewarding and enjoyable.

 

Go for it!

 

David

[VladDracule]

I got my Vanishing Point nib with a 0.6 Crisp Cursive Italic...and honestly...im not sure what i think. Its a very smooth nib as usual from John, but the line variation its offer leaves a LOT to be desired IMO. The think i find strange is this CCI, is writing smoother and doesnt catch on paper as easially as my Nakaya STUB nib does. Even in your cursive it looks like your getting much more line variation than i am. I am use a fairly wet edelston ink but i dont think it could cause that much of a difference

[dms525]

I got my Vanishing Point nib with a 0.6 Crisp Cursive Italic...and honestly...im not sure what i think. Its a very smooth nib as usual from John, but the line variation its offer leaves a LOT to be desired IMO. The think i find strange is this CCI, is writing smoother and doesnt catch on paper as easially as my Nakaya STUB nib does. Even in your cursive it looks like your getting much more line variation than i am. I am use a fairly wet edelston ink but i dont think it could cause that much of a difference

 

I think it is fair to generalize. The narrower the nib, the less thick/thin line variation. I don't have any italic nibs that write a line less than 0.65 mm wide. If they are crisp, their "sweet spot" is quite most often quite small, making them challenging to use. That said, the exact relationship between smooth writing (rounded nib tip shoulders) and crispness (the ratio of thick: thin/vertical: horizontal line widths is somewhat mysterious to me.

 

I think this is a question for a nibmeister (or three) to address. Hmmm .... new topic in a different forum.

 

Now, the ink you use does make a big difference. An ink that's too wet, or a nib that is tuned for high ink flow will decrease the effective crispness of the nib. I have some inks that are so wet that I cannot use them for italic script. I have some nibs which took 3 or 4 trials of different inks before I found one that gave me the crispness I sought.

 

David

[VladDracule]

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/VladDracule/20140131_125553.jpg

[dms525]

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e395/VladDracule/20140131_125553.jpg

 

I think I can help with that, but I gotta run now to a class I'm teaching. Later. ... David