Chinese Pens And Cursive Italic/stub Nibs

[Grape Bear]

Hi, guys! I have been bitten by the fountain pen bug recently, and have found out very early that I want to write using a stub/italic nib for the rest of my life. This poses a bit of a problem for a few reasons - my budget (and comfort level) doesn't quite reach the price threshold for pens with good CI or stub nibs (and grinds are even more expensive); I am a lefty with small handwriting, and so anything over 1.0 transforms by cursive into almost undecipherable squiggle.

 

At the moment, I am using Lamy Safaris with 1.1 italic nibs (which are a touch too wide), a Pilot plumix (whose nib is earmarked for a Pilot Metropolitan or a Baoer 388 if I am brave enough), and a Jinhao x750 with a 1.1 Knox nib, and a Kaigelu 356, which was ground to a 0.6mm (too fine) that I got off ebay. I like the pricepoint and looks of the Chinese pens, as they look classy without the price tag and I can potentially get a few of them to play with without breaking the bank.

 

I was wondering if any of you knew where I could get Chinese pens with italic nibs or stubs as a standard, as custom grinding would cost several times more than the pens cost? I would prefer not to go the route of putting frankenpens together (i.e. buying an italic nib and replacing the stock nib).

 

Second, if I did go the frankenpen route, which of the good cursive italic or stub nibs (i.e. Edison, F-C Mayusama nibs, etc.) would potentially fit into what Chinese pen body? Has anyone ever done a hybrid Chinese pen using any of these nibs or nib+section before?

 

Thanks heaps in advance!

 

 

[Notgatherox]

Instead of trying to find italic nibs, why don't you grind them yourself?

 

Here's a link for you to check out: http://www.marcuslink.com/pens/aboutpens/ludwig-tan.html

 

The step by step tutorial should work out just fine for you, like it did for me.

 

 

 

 

~Epic

[PabloAU]

I have successfully fitted 1.1 Knox (K35), a 0.8 and 0.6 Nemosine nibs to my Jinhao x750. The 0.6 is my favourite of the bunch. The Nemosine nibs have much gentler corners than the Knox, which I suspect will work in your favour as a lefty.

[Grape Bear]

I have successfully fitted 1.1 Knox (K35), a 0.8 and 0.6 Nemosine nibs to my Jinhao x750. The 0.6 is my favourite of the bunch. The Nemosine nibs have much gentler corners than the Knox, which I suspect will work in your favour as a lefty.

I've tried the Nemosine 0.8 - was a bit too wide and the line too stubby for my taste, although maybe it was partly because of the ink I was using (Big Bad Heron). I will try the 0.6 mm next time. The reason I asked is because there are a few interesting looking pens apart from the JinHao I wanted to try (like the Kailgelu celluloid ones) but none of them obviously use an italic nib.

[richardandtracy]

I have fitted a home ground Broad Italic to one of my Kaigelu 316's. The nib was a JoWo broad (same make as the Goulets nib) and made a very nice 0.8mm wide BI.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Grape Bear]

I have fitted a home ground Broad Italic to one of my Kaigelu 316's. The nib was a JoWo broad (same make as the Goulets nib) and made a very nice 0.8mm wide BI.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

Interesting! I have a Goulet 1.1 nib #6 with no section waiting for a home - will that fit?

[richardandtracy]

Interesting! I have a Goulet 1.1 nib #6 with no section waiting for a home - will that fit?

Yes. The K316 with an Italic nib & a plastic (rather than brass) barrel finial is as gorgeous as my Parker Centennial.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Randal6393]

Noodler Ahabs and Konrads also use No. 6 nibs. And the flow is adjustable to one's needs.

 

Enjoy,