Where The Metal Meets The Paper

[Precise]

I don't see how this works.

Flattened nibs tend to ride on a layer of ink. John Mottishaw has called it hydroplaning. Rounded nibs cannot do that very well.

 

Rounded nibs are also more likely to dent the paper slightly. When that happens they must lift out of their dent in order to move on the paper and write. Flattened nibs spread their force over a greater area and dent much less. Doubling the diameter of the contact area, quadruples the area of contact.

 

Alan

Edited October 26, 2015 by Precise

[Precise]

 

He's giving the tip a bigger contact area and so less pressure per area, which means it's less likely to puncture or scratch the paper, another possible reason is the's using abrasives to do this and thus getting a smoother surface than before, it does make me wonder if just using micro-mesh without altering the shape of the tipping would work the same.

Thank you for your input. The nib was beautifully polished before I flattened it.

 

In this post about an EF nib, I mention that micro mesh polishing didn't help much, but flattening transformed it.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/297964-my-italian-nibs-are-my-smoothest/?p=3483657

 

Best regards,

Alan