Enjoying Montblanc Pens — Broad, Oblique, Extra Fine, Le & Bespoke

[Tom Kellie]

The Universal Penman

[meiers]

  On 4/6/2018 at 2:19 PM, Tom Kellie said:

 

 

Montblanc Fountain Pen Enthusiast

TOM, WATCH OUT!!! Zuji is waiting for an opportune moment.

[Tom Kellie]

  On 4/8/2018 at 2:00 PM, Ghost Plane said:

I’ll have to defer to those experienced in the right to left scripts. The Persian Diversion was content to borrow my 1.3 Visconti stubs back in the day, but he was a left-handed overwriter, which made his Farsi and Arabic flow beautifully to my uneducated eyes.

 

All MB are left footed, given the corporate focus on Western alphabets with average right handed users writing left to right. Given their near absolute failure to market those nibs, then complain about lack of demand, it’s no wonder the opposite variant is bespoke only.

 

A few times a year, someone posts on the board asking about options for Hebrew or Arabic. Inevitably they are referred to Dollar or a custom grind.

 

~ Ghost Plane:

 

Ah, that's most helpful. Thank you for the explanation.

What you've written causes me to think that a Bespoke request for a right-footed wide oblique nib might be of interest.

It might be necessary to wrestle Axel Nier, but he's understanding of my interest in trying seldom requested variations.

As it happens, my right hand, arm and customary seated posture is fairly flexible, without any given stance preferred.

To date, every one of the Montblanc pens with which I write, as well as the six Parker 51s and the two vintage Pelikans, has been a comfortable writer.

Axel encourages the concept of fitting a pen to the writer, but in my case he recognized that I'm a writer who fits to the pen.

That may be in part a consequence of a career as an expatriate faculty member, continually adjusting to other ways of thinking and conducting daily life.

The challenge of learning to write with a nib which is out-of-the-ordinary appeals to me, as there might be unexpected strengths found discovered during use.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

  On 4/8/2018 at 3:24 PM, meiers said:

TOM, WATCH OUT!!! Zuji is waiting for an opportune moment.

 

~ Matt:

 

Ha Ha! You're exactly right.

He's 100% an opportunist, tirelessly seeking an opening for his own approach to “fountain pen use”.

When taking pen photos with him, a number of unseen precautions are in place.

Very fortunately, he's not prone to sudden lunges.

What he is a master of is rapid action should my back be turned, no matter how briefly.

Therefore, after last year's misadventure with the Platinum Mozart EF nib, he's never given unsupervised access to fountain pens.

He may view fountain pens as a novel dog toy, ideal for a quick chew and spit.

The optimal time to photograph him with a pen is when he's drowsy, as his responses are self-evidently slower.

Nevertheless, I'm facing him at all times, ready to block any attempt by him to be creative with a fountain pen, as only a young Pug can be!

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

[Ghost Plane]

Tom, if you get Axel’s attention on the right foot obliques, add me to the chorus. Having had an architect grind in the past (alas, gone toward the down payment on a house), I’m pretty flexible on direction of rotation.

[Tom Kellie]

  On 4/8/2018 at 4:35 PM, Ghost Plane said:

Tom, if you get Axel’s attention on the right foot obliques, add me to the chorus. Having had an architect grind in the past (alas, gone toward the down payment on a house), I’m pretty flexible on direction of rotation.

 

~ Ghost Plane:

 

Our work is not done here.

A trial balloon will be floated.

When it's shot down, another one will be floated...with cookies.

We'll see what might be created.

The gnomes of Hamburg have their ways.

Tom K.

[Kalessin]

  On 4/8/2018 at 2:00 PM, Ghost Plane said:

A few times a year, someone posts on the board asking about options for Hebrew or Arabic. Inevitably they are referred to Dollar or a custom grind.

 

 

For the Parker 75, Parker made obliques in two angles (15 degrees and 30 degrees), each in multiple widths, and as left-obliques and right-obliques. They also made narrow needlepoints, wide nibs up to BB (extra-extra-broad) and an extra-bold BBB "executive signature broad", italics in multiple widths, and an Arabic grind nib, which writes a wide horizontal stroke and a narrow vertical stroke. You could buy replacement nib units at your Parker dealer.

 

Sadly, most of the exotic nibs for the 75's are expensive and hard to find.

 

Some of the styles are found on this page:

 

http://www.parker75.com/Reference/Nibs/Nib_guide.htm

[Ghost Plane]

  On 4/8/2018 at 8:35 PM, Kalessin said:

For the Parker 75, Parker made obliques in two angles (15 degrees and 30 degrees), each in multiple widths, and as left-obliques and right-obliques. They also made narrow needlepoints, wide nibs up to BB (extra-extra-broad) and an extra-bold BBB "executive signature broad", italics in multiple widths, and an Arabic grind nib, which writes a wide horizontal stroke and a narrow vertical stroke. You could buy replacement nib units at your Parker dealer.

 

Sadly, most of the exotic nibs for the 75's are expensive and hard to find.

 

Some of the styles are found on this page:

 

http://www.parker75.com/Reference/Nibs/Nib_guide.htm

This is awesome information! Something to add to my pen stalking.

[meiers]

  On 4/8/2018 at 3:36 PM, Tom Kellie said:

 

I'm a writer who fits to the pen.

That may be in part a consequence of a career as an expatriate faculty member, continually adjusting to other ways of thinking and conducting daily life.

The challenge of learning to write with a nib which is out-of-the-ordinary appeals to me, as there might be unexpected strengths found discovered during use.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Edited April 9, 2018 by meiers

[CS388]

  On 4/8/2018 at 8:35 PM, Kalessin said:

 

 

For the Parker 75, Parker made obliques in two angles (15 degrees and 30 degrees), each in multiple widths, and as left-obliques and right-obliques. They also made narrow needlepoints, wide nibs up to BB (extra-extra-broad) and an extra-bold BBB "executive signature broad", italics in multiple widths, and an Arabic grind nib, which writes a wide horizontal stroke and a narrow vertical stroke. You could buy replacement nib units at your Parker dealer.

 

Sadly, most of the exotic nibs for the 75's are expensive and hard to find.

 

Some of the styles are found on this page:

 

http://www.parker75.com/Reference/Nibs/Nib_guide.htm

 

 

Wow. What an excellent selection! Some very appealing nibs, there. Thanks for the information.

 

  On 4/8/2018 at 3:36 PM, Tom Kellie said:

 

...snip...

I'm a writer who fits to the pen.

 

I think there's an element of that in all of us?

[Tom Kellie]

  On 4/8/2018 at 8:35 PM, Kalessin said:

For the Parker 75, Parker made obliques in two angles (15 degrees and 30 degrees), each in multiple widths, and as left-obliques and right-obliques. They also made narrow needlepoints, wide nibs up to BB (extra-extra-broad) and an extra-bold BBB "executive signature broad", italics in multiple widths, and an Arabic grind nib, which writes a wide horizontal stroke and a narrow vertical stroke. You could buy replacement nib units at your Parker dealer.

 

Sadly, most of the exotic nibs for the 75's are expensive and hard to find.

 

 

 

~ Kalessin:

 

What you've explained above is precious on several levels.

Thank you for the link. The Parker 75 brochure showing various nibs is unlike anything I've ever seen.

Choice, choice, choice.

Were they not, as you've mentioned, difficult to find, they'd be a wonderful option to explore.

It's like a Bespoke nib option listing, yet they were apparently standard Parker 75 nibs at the time.

With Appreciation,

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

  On 4/9/2018 at 12:17 AM, CS388 said:

I'm a writer who fits the pen.

 

I think there's an element of that in all of us?

 

~ CS388:

 

I've suspected as much, but never really had enough information to confirm it.

It's thoughtful for those offering pens to seek an optimal match between pen design and an individual writer's idiosyncrasies, but adapting to a fountain pen's quirks isn't an insuperable obstacle.

Sitting at the writing desk, there isn't any fountain pen here which I've ever found difficult for use in extended writing.

Fingers, hand, shoulder all naturally make subtle adjustments so as to utilize any given nib's sweet spot.

If a pen and nib have been reasonably well-made with a practical design, I've never found any challenge in adapting to them.

Thank you for confirming that others feel likewise.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

  On 4/8/2018 at 11:46 PM, Ghost Plane said:

This is awesome information! Something to add to my pen stalking.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/255985-pens-with-arabic-italic-nib/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/181599-comparison-best-fountain-pens-for-arabic-script/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/65458-nib-for-writing-in-arabic/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/248335-arabic-pen/

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/297061-what-nib-i-need-for-arabic-calligraphy/

http://arabiccalligraphysupplies.com

~ Ghost Plane:

The discussion in these posts, including your recommendation of posts by SMK, resulted in seeking archived threads which discuss nibs suitable for Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu calligraphy.

For anyone as unfamiliar as I was with this topic, the threads above offer wide-ranging consideration of various aspects of such calligraphy, including helpful comments by SMK.

In quite a few posts in the various threads, what's most frequently recommended are sharp-edged, left-footed oblique nibs.

While they lack the exceptional versatility of cut dried-reed “qalam” calligraphy pens, the sharp-edged, left-footed oblique nibs are recommended in many posts for right-handed writers.

There's so much about quality calligraphy and penmanship which those of long gone generations knew, which I struggle to find and understand. The threads above were most helpful.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/hands-off-handwriting-calligraphy/

~ The link above is an essay in the Times Literary Supplement which embraces two books about calligraphy and handwriting.

• “The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting” by Anne Trubek

• “The Art and History of Calligraphy” by Patricia Lovett

It's worth reading, supplying valuable perspective.

Tom K.

[GranTorino25]

Finally had my Rouge et Noir returned

[jagwap]

  On 4/8/2018 at 8:35 PM, Kalessin said:

 

 

For the Parker 75, Parker made obliques in two angles (15 degrees and 30 degrees), each in multiple widths, and as left-obliques and right-obliques. They also made narrow needlepoints, wide nibs up to BB (extra-extra-broad) and an extra-bold BBB "executive signature broad", italics in multiple widths, and an Arabic grind nib, which writes a wide horizontal stroke and a narrow vertical stroke. You could buy replacement nib units at your Parker dealer.

 

Sadly, most of the exotic nibs for the 75's are expensive and hard to find.

 

Some of the styles are found on this page:

 

http://www.parker75.com/Reference/Nibs/Nib_guide.htm

That takes me back...

 

Parker used to have a huge range, and not restricted to just their high end pens. I got through a few affordable fine italic Parker as a young boy. I didn't wear them out. Just, accidents happen when you throw your stuff about.

[dubhe]

  On 4/13/2018 at 5:39 AM, GranTorino25 said:

Finally had my Rouge et Noir returned

 

That is a nice nib, and the writing isn't too bad either

[Tom Kellie]

  On 4/13/2018 at 9:31 AM, jagwap said:

That takes me back...

 

Parker used to have a huge range, and not restricted to just their high end pens. I got through a few affordable fine italic Parker as a young boy. I didn't wear them out. Just, accidents happen when you throw your stuff about.

 

 

~ jagwap:

 

It's the nature of childhood to be fairly carefree about such possessions as fountain pens, isn't it?

Yet the rough handling develops an appreciation of the tactile nature of possessions.

I'm glad that you were able to enjoy Parker fine italics as a child.

To this day I treasure the half dozen Parker 51s on my writing desk.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

  On 4/13/2018 at 5:39 AM, GranTorino25 said:

Finally had my Rouge et Noir returned

 

~ GranTorino25:

 

Thank you so much for posting the image of your OB Rouge et Noir with a handwriting sample.

The line variation is especially appealing. I'm so glad to see that.

Montblanc Mystery Black keeps cropping up here and there. It looks nice in your handwriting sample.

It's great to know that there was a rapid nib exchange.

May that lovely OB nib write very well for you in the years to come.

Tom K.