0.5Mm Or 0.6Mm Cursive Italic

[kvz]

I will be ordering a vp from Richard Binder, but since this is my first custom grind, I don't know which size to pick. I love my EF / F pens, and as I have medium handwriting any thicker line will be too messy. I will be using this on college rule paper, so if anybody could please post a writing sample of their Cursive Italics, that would be extremely helpful in my decision.

 

I am worried that in the 0.5mm there will be not much line variation (and hence I might as well get a stock nib).

 

Thanks,

Kev

[griz8791]

Kev, see the attached sample from a Binder .9 cursive italic. The .5 or .6 could easily be too narrow.

Edited April 12, 2014 by griz8791

[Blade Runner]

Not that much line variation with either of your choices.

[Koyote]

If I'm doing the math correctly, the difference between a .5 and a .6 is....Hold on...Wait...Umm....1/10th of a millimeter. That's not much difference. The width of a gnat's eyelash.

 

As Blade Runner states, you won't get much line variation with such a fine nib. But if you want a very fine ci, I don't think .1mm either way will make much of a difference.

Edited April 12, 2014 by Koyote

[Mickey]

It won't be dramatic. I have a left oblique of about that dimension (.5mm). If I write a condensed italic hand (slightly narrowed, upright), there is just about enough variation to show - subtle. If I write American cursive (business hand), it writes about the same as European/American Fine. Again, what little variation there is is subtle. Mostly it make the ink color speak a bit more decisively, but without all the slop of an M, B, or larger point.

 

Oh yes, my daily writers tend to be XF and XXF pens. My typical x-height is 1.8mm.

Edited April 12, 2014 by Mickey

[OcalaFlGuy]

Not dramatic? Then sorry, it's a crappy grind. I WILL say though, that it takes a top shelf grinder to give CI variation With Stub like smoothness.

 

Like THIS.

 

 

This nib is also a 7 wetness, the line variation would be even more noticeable with a less wet nib.

 

Sounds like a close call .5 or .6 for the OP. I'd tend to say go to the .5 only if your writing was a bit larger than "average".

 

To further complicate it, I like very much my CI that's about a .55 line and I usually ask for a .6

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[UDog]

Well, a .6 could some day be a .5. Can't say it the other way.

[OcalaFlGuy]

My .55 is in my Sheaffer Plasmalude.

 

I originally had gone to a .7 in it instead of my usual .6 to see how it worked. .7 was too wide.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Mickey]

Not dramatic? Then sorry, it's a crappy grind. I WILL say though, that it takes a top shelf grinder to give CI variation With Stub like smoothness.

 

 

John Mottishaw might take issue with that, since it was he who did the grind. It began life as a soft medium Nakaya. Dramatic, to my sense, is my medium italic Duofold Centennial, which is closer to 1mm and, after some fine tuning, rather crisper than stock.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I think I've offered sufficient evidence a .6 CI can have Dramatic line variation. You'll have to take my word that they are also uber smooth. You can feel the sharpness is still there, it just Never catches.

 

Crappy was a strong word. I'll just say that if it was requested, a .6 mm (or a .5) with Very Noticeable line variation shouldn't be a problem for any Good nibmesiter.

 

(It IS also a little peeve of mine when people say incorrectly that you can't get good line variation with a Fine CI or Stub.)

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Mickey]

I think I've offered sufficient evidence a .6 CI can have Dramatic line variation. You'll have to take my word that they are also uber smooth. You can feel the sharpness is still there, it just Never catches.

 

Crappy was a strong word. I'll just say that if it was requested, a .6 mm (or a .5) with Very Noticeable line variation shouldn't be a problem for any Good nibmesiter.

 

(It IS also a little peeve of mine when people say incorrectly that you can't get good line variation with a Fine CI or Stub.)

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

It was pretty much as desired. Being oblique, the thinnest axis dominates the vertical space for American cursive, the broader strokes mostly confined to the region of the writing line. You don't see line variation so much as added color anchoring the writing line. For italic, the c. 3.5 to 1 ratio is not all that noticeable, except in an upright, condensed script in which the thinnest lines fall on the 60 degree diagonal.

[dneal]

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa163/roomdog/Ink/NibSamples_zpsa506beb0.jpg

[da vinci]

@ dneal thank you for that helpful post

 

I have a Lamy 1.1 (great nib) and find the line variation quite striking. In one sense I am surprised there isnt more of a difference between that and the 0.6stub.

[dneal]

@ dneal thank you for that helpful post

 

I have a Lamy 1.1 (great nib) and find the line variation quite striking. In one sense I am surprised there isnt more of a difference between that and the 0.6stub.

 

You're welcome. Bear in mind that I just jotted that down quickly, and didn't hold the nibs at the "proper" angle to maximize the effect. The biggest difference I find between a stub and italic is in the thinness of the horizontal line - an italic being sharper. Although CS calls their nib an "italic", it's more of a stub.

 

The main point I was trying to get across is that ink flow makes the most difference. Each of those pens will produce a different result with different inks. Cheap copy paper combined with a wet ink and nib will all but eliminate any line variation.

[ravantra]

I have a Parker 51 with a .666mm stub and it writes with some decent line variation. I just have to be careful what I write.

[KBeezie]

I have a Parker 51 with a .666mm stub and it writes with some decent line variation. I just have to be careful what I write.

Planning on authoring the "necrowombicon"?

 

http://megatokyo.com/strips/0096.gif

Edited April 12, 2014 by KBeezie

[JonSzanto]

In line with others: the difference between the .5 and .6 isn't great enough to worry over, but a moment's thought reveals that - no matter the universal magnificence of the nibmeister - the smaller the width you get, the less difference you'll see in the strokes. That said, I agree that in the hand's of a qualified craftsman, you should get more than enough variation in stroke from a grind of these dimensions to please you. I've been writing with a Nakaya, ground to a 0.6 CI by John Mottishaw, for a couple months now, and it is both smooth and convincing in it's italic-ness.

 

Me? I'd choose the .6, only because it will stand a chance to give a better ratio between the thick and thin strokes, and you can always have .05mm shaved off of each side if it seems too wide for you.

[skipwilliams]

There really is not a significant difference between these two widths. From pen-to-pen, you'll see more difference between nib adjustment or subtle tip shape and flexibility that will affect the line width more than the actual width of the nib.

 

I'd go with a .5mm and Richard will make it right. Make sure to let him know what paper you use. If you use recycled paper that feathers, that may affect how much flow he adjusts the pen for.

 

Skip

 

 

I will be ordering a vp from Richard Binder, but since this is my first custom grind, I don't know which size to pick. I love my EF / F pens, and as I have medium handwriting any thicker line will be too messy. I will be using this on college rule paper, so if anybody could please post a writing sample of their Cursive Italics, that would be extremely helpful in my decision.

 

I am worried that in the 0.5mm there will be not much line variation (and hence I might as well get a stock nib).

 

Thanks,

Kev

[ravantra]

Planning on authoring the "necrowombicon"?

 

 

No just a little dark humor. Like the cartoon!

[kvz]

Thanks everyone for their replies. I've talked to Mr Binder and he has recommended me to get a stub as my first custom grind. I have also already ordered a Pilot Decimo Fine nib, and will buy the customised stub nib later on (I'll first try out the stock Fine nib). If anyone would have samples of their stubs, that would be nice.

 

Thanks everyone,

I really appreciate your feedback!

 

Kev