Pointed Pen Comparison

April 18, 2016

I assume you’re joking.

Personally, I think it was the best way to deal with it: selling small quantities below the market price would just enable the profiteers to restock. Besides, people not being able to afford vintage dip pen nibs is definitely a first-world problem, and this way a charity will benefit.

April 18, 2016

In part.

I had expressed an interest in trying them and Chris had somewhat unexpectedly offered to send me a couple of 604ef nibs as a gift. Unfortunately they never arrived - first time anything has gone totally missing in the post. I would have been more than happy to cover the shipping cost and a reasonable fee for the nibs, and I had offered as much at the time.

I am no profiteer, I have never sold any dip pens - though I have given away a few. In fact I have my one and only Iveson Spencerian #1 sitting in my desk drawer right now that I am considering gifting to someone who may like to try it.

April 18, 2016

You’ve been saying that for a while now. Just use the nib. Anyone who really wants to try one can go out and buy one for themselves.

April 18, 2016

I wrote a line, it didn't float my boat that much.

April 18, 2016

Then give it away and be done with it (but one line is not enough time spent with a nib to get a feel for it).

April 18, 2016

It was a long line. (think Faulkner!)*

Edit: I just acquired some Gillott 292s and some Esterbrook 354s. They look like they will be fun to play with. Here's a strange thing: I've yet to catch tine, spring a nib, or spatter ink on the page. I guess I must be doing it wrong.

*if you think of one of his most famous works you will understand in a flash how apt this reference was to me in so many ways!

April 20, 2016

If you wrote quite a lot with it, then you’ve just got a used Spencerian 1, and I would say it’s not worth the postage or effort to send it to someone else to use, even if it is one of the original variants. We’re not talking about some especially rare and collectable antique; it’s just a single used nib.

I have a bunch of Gillott 292s. It’s a nice nib but it’s not fine enough for me, so I don’t use them very often. There were many nibs made by manufacturers like it; nice, undemanding nibs made for general correspondence and with a bit of flex for adding moderate shades to your writing. I’m not a fan of the Esterbrook 354s and 355s (or of the Hunt 100s and 103s) – they’re too flimsy for most writing (which was never their purpose anyway) and inkflow can be inconsistent. To add to that, they’ve been hit by the same inflationary pressure that’s driving up the price of the more desirable nibs (a few years ago, grosses of these nibs were going on Ebay for about US$5–10).

It’s not that strange not to catch a tine or spring a nib – if you have your holder properly adjusted and aren’t using rough paper, the nibs should not be catching (and consequently not flicking ink), and most people can easily identify when they’re getting near to damaging a nib by pressing too hard.