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Post by Bob on Sept 3, 2018 17:35:52 GMT
Over the years, my preference has shifted from the Fine nib that came with the Montblanc 144 cartridge filler bought at the Navy Exchange in 1991 to the Oblique Broad nibs in my Montblanc 146 and Pelikan M800, both bought used. I've grown to love the flair it adds to handwritten letters and a signature. A tip of the hat to Jan-Patrick Schmitz for broadening my horizons. janpatrickschmitz.org/the-power-of-a-pen-with-some-personality/
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Post by stompie on Sept 4, 2018 3:28:21 GMT
I enjoy all types and sizes of nibs from extra fine to Broad. Often, my choice of nib size depends on my mood or on the tone of the letter I am writing. For overseas mail I tend to use a finer nib or else I would be running into letters the size of a small novel!
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Post by although on Sept 4, 2018 4:55:26 GMT
Okay, fair enough... I read the link about the CEO of montblanc.
Honestly, I think I agree with nearly everything he said. I'm not sure why that bothers me
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Post by Bob on Sept 4, 2018 12:31:28 GMT
I enjoy all types and sizes of nibs from extra fine to Broad. Often, my choice of nib size depends on my mood or on the tone of the letter I am writing. For overseas mail I tend to use a finer nib or else I would be running into letters the size of a small novel! Thanks for reminding me to use my fine nibs more often.
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Post by radellaf on Sept 5, 2018 1:17:55 GMT
I've tried to like broad nibs since I first got into fountain pens. Initially because all you could get (1990s retail) was so-called Medium (not Japanese) nibs that might as well be broad. Add in spread on the paper (dot gain?) and it was part of why I studied Italic handwriting so I could avoid my small writing ending up just being a solid lumpy line trying to write with such a broad line. Then there were a few on FPN (hey BoBo) who tried to convince me that writing without flex just wasn't writing.
Then.. I found Japanese pens and fell in love... and felt vindicated. I _do_ like Pilot's italic (Plumix) nib for flair. It's broad enough on the downstroke but still manageable.
Anyway, I try it all, but give me a nice dry F or XF and I'm happy. Pilot M if I wanna really see an ink color.
Naturally, all this stuff about sheen never ends up being visible to me. Not enough ink for the dye to crystallize.
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Post by alcyone on Sept 13, 2018 20:17:49 GMT
The most legible nib for your writing is the one that does not fill in the loop on the letter "e" when you are writing in your natural text size. That will depend on the paper you write on if you submit to the tyranny of the lines.
Broad nibs are great for showing off characteristics of an ink that get lost on smaller nibs.
Many people find they write more neatly with a finer nib, though we're all individuals and pens were invented well after our hands and fingers were, so that will vary.
I tend toward F or EF nibs, but I have broad nib days too. I like pens with interchangeable nibs so I can change width at a whim without necessarily dragging a new pen into my rotation.
I kind of like the idea though, of one day having one pen, which is "my" pen and writes the way I want and is part of my identity, like BB King's guitar "Lucille" or something or Willy Nelson's "Trigger".
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Post by radellaf on Sept 14, 2018 0:09:14 GMT
Yeah, it was the filled in "e" that annoyed me about bigger nibs. Learning italic helped a bit, using the two-stroke e. Or, just going out of my comfort zone and writing bigger than usual. It feels so wrong.
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Post by penguy on Sept 15, 2018 15:29:29 GMT
I like XF or even XXF flex nibs but not wet noodles. I have a Weidlich eyedropper filler with an XXF flex nib I enjoy using for correspondence. It has wonderful line variation but requires a very light hand and a very very fountain pen friendly paper. I also like cursive italic nibs. M nibs don't do anything for me, to me they are boring. Even though my handwriting is on the large size in a non-flex, non-cursive italic nib I prefer a fine nib. But, it is all a matter of personal preference.
Usually when purchasing a pen the first consideration is the nib and if the pen has an aesthetic appeal all the better. Once or twice I purchased pens because of their design or color but found I didn't use them much because of a nib I didn't like. One solution is to have a custom pen made for you. I've had Renée at Scriptorium Pens make three pens for me, with the last one I had her use a vintage nib,feed, and section I provided and was able to truly create my own pen: form, color, material, clip, rings.....The whole ball of wax (where did that expression come from?)
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Post by distractedmom on Sept 20, 2018 13:05:01 GMT
That will depend on the paper you write on if you submit to the tyranny of the lines.
"The tyranny of lines" I love that statement. Yes, I often submit to them for the sake of order.
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