If all of those letters amount to alphabet soup for you, you can check out my post explaining Pelikan’s nib designations here. Basically cutouts in some places along the edges of the nib. It’s A Spanner! From the Workshop. Similar to the ladies above, I found the fine cursive italic nib quite smooth and seemed to have a wider sweet spot than I expected. The seller only had F and M nibs in the sets for sale. These are not intended to impart significant variability in and of themselves but they can be customized and ground to an italic or a stub if so desired. Italic & Stub Nib Fountain Pens. While I appreciate the focus on dependability, I do sometimes miss the excitement that a good nib can lend to the writing experience and thereby elevate the text beyond mere words on the page. It does run a little drier than I’d prefer — but that makes it great on cheap paper. A properly ground crisp italic will produce the most line variation of all the italics. Do you have a website?) Required fields are marked *. It has been five years now since Pelikan discontinued the production of their most interesting nibs. I’ve also learned that I like my stubs slightly rounded; a little more than usual. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. I say “roughly” because the shape is rarely a true circle. All rights reserved. Nibs are small, and hands are big. Pablo Carrasco (fpnibs.com) is based in Spain. The longer I wrote with it, my hand seemed to squeeze on the pen tighter. In the case of the Italic script the rule is pretty straight forward. So I got my own, and it hasn’t disappointed. Mine is a stub, but he could do CI as well. Contrast that with the nibs of yesterday, those from Pelikan’s early days through the mid-1960s, which provide a writing experience which I would argue is second to none. Terms & Conditions/Copyright Notice/Privacy Policy. This is another excellent article. Perhaps because of the dryness of the pen, it doesn’t seem to spit into its cap as I drop it and throw it in my backpack or pocket. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Thanks for letting me use your pen Katherine! If you want to take this concept to the extreme, there is also the sharp or crisp italic variant which has extremely sharp edges that results in a more toothy feel but allows you to achieve maximum variability. Pen shown with standard nib. Just like Katherine, I appreciated the quick uncapping capability. Cursive Italic nibs - you might hear the word "cursive" used when describing a kind of italic nib. All very good points Debi. Definitely a unique look about it. - posted in Of Nibs & Tines: I have a Graf von Faber-Castell Tamitio in medium width that Im thinking Id like to have reground to a cursive italic if that is possible. Looks like a stub with the intent of adding a little additional spring to the nib. **Click on any of the images below to enlarge. It’s a small pen (it easily fits in my skinny jeans’ pockets) that is comfortable to write with even for long durations. This seemingly small adjustment allows for a thin cross stroke and a thicker down stroke. While the best experience is likely to happen at a pen show where you can sit directly across from your nib specialist, that is not always practical for a great many of us. Couple that with the forging and tempering needed to give the metal the spring it needs to come back to zero after a flex, you have a very unique set of skills that just became redundant with the advent of manifold nibs. When he returned the 580 he included a Jinhao 599 that has an identical grind to its M nib. Some people waited months for work to be done towards the end. The only downside is the lack of a cap or rollstop — so if I’m not careful with where I put it, the 45 can easily roll away. Since pens are a very personal and tactile experience, I do recommend everyone interested to try out and hold this pen to see if it’s right for them. If that is the case, a nib meister can reduce the size of your nib to something more to your liking and even produce a size not available from any of the company’s stock offerings. The older nibs provided such great flair without really trying. While it is nice to see this kind of effort from the company, the labeling is a bit misleading. Pelikan 14C-585 gold factory medium nib from an M600 Turquoise White ground to an architect point by Dan Smith. (And at $110, it’s a pretty good deal!) The architect nib (also know as the Hebrew or Arabic nib) basically takes the concept of a stub and rotates it 90 degrees thereby creating thinner down strokes and thicker cross strokes. Condition Brand new, never used. Pamela:  Posted, the pen is well balanced and rests perfectly in my pixie size hands.  Yes, acoustics. Thank you Deb for throwing Joshua’s name in as well. So, good wishes for your continued efforts here. Our Cursive Italic nib has a point size 1.1 mm. There is a world of difference between ’50-65 stubbish semi-flex obliques, and later ones (The later ones regular flex, semi-nail or nails which IMO are a waste of money for line variation.).  (It’s really the little things in life right?) The vintage 400’s nibs will fit semi-vintage ’82-97 or modern 400’s and 600’s. Hands come in all shapes and sizes -- and there seem to be no reviews written by folks with smaller than average hands. Also, the writing conditions were much less than ideal. Those grinds sound like the perfect compliment to those two pens, made all the more special having been done at the factory itself. I’d heard of Art Van Haselen but never partook of his services. I hope to do similar one day though that would be a long way off. Thanks, Joshua. Pamela: I was initially apprehensive about the Model 45 given how small it is that it would feel too insubstantial and well, plastic-y. Pamela: The Model 45 is a sexy panther of a pen. This size reduction is probably the simplest of the grinds out there.  The sound of the cap separating and meeting the body of the pen is satisfying and even enjoyable for me. Hopefully this primer will help allay some of your anxiety.  Watching this pen in action brings me a sense of joy and ease as I practice a little slice of mindfulness. Most of those have been purchased from Classic Fountain Pens and were reground to stubs by one or the other of John Mottishaw’s apprentices, Gena and Jessica. Thanks for adding to the list of European nib specialist! I currently have two pens with custom grinds. You might want to check them out. If you’re at all curious to learn how you might breathe new life into a boring nib then read on. Stub. Its use in reference to a stub is something like department of redundancy department. JetPens is accepting and shipping orders. Although it didn’t quite compliment my handwriting, the nib work was excellent, and I had him put my name down on his list for grinds on nibs not purchased from him. Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for your thoughts! All a theory of course but rather than tech lost, it seems an adaptation to the modern (fountain pen) novice user. Cursive in these contexts indicates an italic less sharp at the corners. It is also more position sensitive, however; the sharper and narrower the point, the less smooth it will feel on paper. Pelikan 18C-750 gold factory fine nib from an M805 Ocean Swirl. thanks. See COVID-19 for more details. I’m glad this review helped you. There’s an obvious scuff between the slit and the logo, and about half the gold-coloring on the nib is gone. Slightly less user-friendly than a Stub as they are more position-sensitive (if you rotate your pen too much, they won’t write). The effect is that the cross stroke of the cursive italic is thinner than that of the stub while still creating that thicker down stroke. The Cursive Italic Nib. Gift Card. A TWSBI 580 B ground by Art Van Haselen of artsnibs.com with his Tomahawk grind. This is the most user friendly of the custom grinds because it imparts some nice variability to the line width while preserving much of the smoothness of the round nib. To reduce the likelihood that the nib will dig into the paper upon rapid changes from up/down to sidewise motion, the outside corners — but not the edges — are slightly rounded (not to the same degree as on a cursive italic) as shown above. It has been my experience that these nibs offer broad lines and a smooth writing experience consistent with a more stub like behavior rather than a true italic. I just didn’t feel I could like the black and was waiting for something more exciting. Oh…and I also believe that companies just don’t want the warranty claims/bad press that would result almost immediately from overzealous flexers. Specialty grinds include the S.I.G. The rounded design makes it very forgiving and easy to write with allowing it to appeal to a broad audience. It’s not too flashy, but it looks like someone put some thought into designing it. I think it is important to point out that a grind done by one nibmeister vs. that of another may both be of the same quality, but one of them just may not suit a particular writer as well as the other. I have it installed in an Opus 88 Demonstrator with Edelstein Star Ruby, and it’s my show-off pen. The cursive italic has a small amount of bite, but nothing bothersome. This type of grind is good if, for example, you are a right handed writer who rotates the pen counter-clockwise. I found that I was having to “fish” it out of the pocket each time I needed it. A good nib meister needs to know a few details before getting to work. This is simply meant as a starting point for your nib grinding needs. As usual, your writing is concise and informative. I’ve missed those special nibs so much, especially the flexible nibs. Comprehensive education about fountain pens, ink, and more. Like always, it’s a joy to write with and the bit of a bite is pleasant feedback. If it is the Dan I am thinking of, his website is http://www.pendomness.com! Exclusive: An Interview With The Pelikan Hubs Team, How To Differentiate The Pelikan 400 From The M400: A Guide. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Does Homeowners Insurance Cover My Pen Collection? Franz: I feel that the Model 45 is a very good pen for people with small to average sized hands. These core grinds include the round nib, the stub, the cursive italic, the oblique, and the architect. Learn how your comment data is processed. writing sample of the mike masuyama fine cursive italic steel nib.really nice line variation. The nib alone is well worth the price of the pen. I share your sentiments. Review: Pelikan Souverän M300 (Green-Striped, Oblique Medium nib), Mini Review: Nakaya Decapod Twist vs PenBBS 380.  I have read that CI is usually less forgiving when it comes to finding and maintain a “sweet spot” but I don’t find that to be case with this particular nib. These can be ground somewhat smaller than the stub while still preserving a noticeable line variation. Ive just ordered a Tamitio calligraphy set which comes with 1.1, 1.4, and 1.8 mm cursive italics. A cursive italic nib is similar to a Stub nib but has rounded corners to allow normal handwriting and greater line variation. I was in early enough that turnaround was just a couple of weeks. What is your preferred ink flow (extra dry to extra wet)? Thanks, Joshua, for an excellent explanation of various nib grinds. They have always done an excellent job for me and are my favorite among several various nibmeisters I have tried. It’s a very subjective thing; each person’s writing style and the way they hold their pen play a huge part in the results. In July of 2010, Pelikan released a stock nib in italic broad for its M800 line. Now I tend to be a traditionalist and a purist and don’t often favor customizing my nibs but I have opened up to the notion and have been handsomely rewarded. Fried chicken! I have also heard John Sorowka in the U.K. spoken very highly of. Round nibs typically fall into one of four tip sizes: Extra Fine (EF), Fine (F), Medium (M), and Broad (B). I’m guessing this is a remnant of the nib being hand-ground, but it was a little disappointing anyway. Sorry, I don’t recall names as I am in the US. 'Stub' nibs produce much more intense line variations. What you get out of the box today is referred to as a round nib which produces the same line width on the cross stroke as it does on the down stroke. While this expense is added to the outlay already made for the pen, the added enjoyment derived from a custom nib is money well spent. Thanks for reviewing this interesting pen! What this allows for is a robust canvas for a custom grind. There are several different grinds out there and not all of them are suited to every writer. Can a M nib be ground to a CI nib? So, it just stayed on my desk and only used it when I got to sit down. Learn how your comment data is processed. Grinding a nib to a geometrically perfec… This is coming from a person who owns and enjoys writing with a Franklin-Christoph Model 66. Filling System The nib is installed in a JoWo #6 housing that accepts both converters and international style cartridges, Nib FINE CURSIVE ITALIC .... this is a JoWo #6 gold-tone steel nib ground here at PSP by Nivardo Sanchez to be a cursive italic. Franz: I brought this pen to work for one day and it was actually very good for writing quick notes. Factory #5 and #6: XF = Extra-FIne .4mmF = Fine .5mmM = Medium .6mmB = Broad .8mm1.1 = Cursive Calligraphy1.4 Cursive Calligraphy (#5 only)1.5 = Cursive Calligraphy (#6 only)1.9 C= Christoph Nib (#6 only) Masuyama/Nagahara Customized N = Needlepoint .25mmFI = Fine Italic .55mmMI = Medium Italic .7mmMS = Medium Stub I have an M605 Marine Blue purchased from John that I had turned into a stub. Crisp Italic. Katherine: As Pam mentioned, it’s a crisp and smooth nib.  Need I say more? A nib modified in this way is commonly called a cursive italic. We adjust the nib … Oblique nibs have been around forever and were part of Pelikan’s stock line-up until five years ago. We hope to cover that gap, as well as have some large handed perspective! Very interesting. Very useful post. Change ). Hmm… Interesting review… While the pen has very good features and performance the size is probably a worry for me… I’m not very comfortable with smaller pens… Thanks. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Joshua E. Danley and The Pelikan’s Perch with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. You can get a stub or italic grind instead if you want those. Please use the Contact Form for all other requests. I reserve the Model 45 for the reflective/contemplative writing sessions. He doesn’t do them all himself any more but the most recent pen I bought writes beautifully even though one of his colleagues did it. While you may not mind the lack of variation, you may not like the fact that the fine nib you just bought writes more like a medium or that the medium may put down a significantly bolder line than anticipated. The exact dimensions can vary depending on the amount of starting material and the effect that you’re trying to achieve. Small pens are cool looking but most of the time for me it’s not that comfy. Part of the difficulty with an italic nib’s sharpness can be mitigated by carefully rounding the edge and corners. Despite the small size of the pen, it’s really comfortable for me to hold in the traditional tripod position for the optimal use of the wonderful CI nib. Journaling with it’s cursive italic nib was very nice and pleasing but after an A5 size page of writing, the pen’s size made my hand tired. It can be difficult to entrust a perfectly good nib to someone, not quite knowing what the end result will be. Large hands notwithstanding, I do like the pen’s appearance, build quality, and nib variety. Thank you for your kind words Cheryl. The cursive italic nib plays on the stub concept with the squared tipping but does not round off the edges which are left a bit more sharp. Similar to the ladies above, I found the fine cursive italic nib quite smooth and seemed to have a wider sweet spot than I expected. ( Log Out /  The resulting nibs have been a pleasure to use. Here’s an example of a stock nib with no variation compared to a cursive italic: Both JoWo #6 18K nibs, an EF and modified F. (Click image for closer look.) JoWo #6 Polished Steel Fine Nib - Cursive Italic $45.00 If you'd like to order a Ranga pen and have this nib installed, please purchase the pen and select the "No Nib or Converter" option, and then select one of our JoWo #6 compatible nib units. The uniqueness of this grind means that some care must be taken to hold the pen at the proper angle to the paper so it is especially important to discuss at what angle you hold your pen such that the grind will be to your liking. Andreea Stan on Instagram: “Cursive italic nibs are so fun! With your day job it’s amazing that you can do any of this. CI can be made from any width nib. At least one in the UK. I agree with your assessment here for the most part. Close. Price range £150-£500 Width Reduction - $30: Reduce the width of the nib to as small as an extra fine. I’ve had some other stubs ground by other nibmeisters, too, and they are also excellent; however, the stubs done by CFP seem to suit my style of writing best. The shape and the size reminds me a lot of the Pilot Prera, which is one of my favorite pens to use. Very inspiring and of course costs me a lot of money in searching out new Pelikans and having nibmeister’s tune them. Franz: I had to write with this pen posted the whole time and it was fairly comfortable. Create beautiful calligraphy with these italic and stub nib fountain pens, which offer dramatic line variation. Always nice to have options and more nib specialist hopefully may mean shorter turn around times. Modern nibs are wide and wet thanks to Pelikan’s generous feed but there is little to no character imparted to the writing. Last year he stubbed a Bexley Simplicity for me, and this year, he stubbed a Pelikan m200. It has resulted in better grinds that suit my hand perfectly. The most common italic nib sizes are medium italic and 1.1 mm italic, … I have 3 TWSBI pens with a fine nib and cursive italic grind from Mark Bacas. Medium Italic. I don’t have a lot of insight into the European market. Dear Joshua: It’s also the nature of a cursive italic grind to be less smooth than a typical stub grind. Knowing this type of information about yourself results in better results if you communicate these features about your writing style to a competent nibmeister. These are gold-plated stainless steel nibs simply stamped with an.  I experience fatigue with this pen, but taking a quick break to shake it off is easy enough. What is your usual writing style (cursive or block)? The Italix brand was born in the mid 2000s, when Sheaffer and Cross decided to discontinue many of their italic nib options. Just be aware that between both our pens, our fine CI nibs were on the dry side out of the box. What was the ink used on these writing samples? The results from the pen is well worth the extra time and effort. They are totally sold out on the website at the intro price. © Copyright Joshua E. Danley and The Pelikan’s Perch, 2014 – 2021. Thanks, Joshua. I hope you’re able to try this pen out in the near future and that you get the finish you like. This is a gold nib on a Montblanc 146 that was purchased used at a show. Here is a visual representation – Thank you for the critique Loren. I’ve learned it’s also very important to be cognizant of your own particular style of writing and how you hold your pen. For your reference, I will include a list of accomplished nib meisters below; **The above list captures many of today’s nib specialist but is not meant to be all-inclusive. Reviews that I read about his work were all positive, and encouraged me to try an architect grind (albeit on a stock JoWo nib – since he does those right away, as opposed to when you want to send him your own pens/nibs). This change creates a nib that produces slightly less line variation; the thin strokes will be thicker, and edge definition will be a little less crisp. Not sure if he still does nib work or not nor do I know how to contact him. I wonder why modern nibs though for those named flexible do not perform the same as those in the old days. I have a couple of spare m205 units that I intend to have converted to a cursive italic and stubs. The sunburst-effect imprint is cool, and mine is in “shadow” finish, so it’s gunmetal grey. Congratulations on the occasion of you posting 200th article on Pelikan Pens. Tune and smooth. I have some very nice CI nibs made from a medium nib. Are you aware of any nib grinders in Europe? Franklin-Christoph Music Nib.  I am pleasantly surprised that the material is sturdy and has great acoustics. Inclusion on this list should not be taken as an endorsement just as exclusion from this list does not constitute a slight to anyone I may have forgotten. What kind of a line is that? Cursive italic means a nib that is less sharp than an italic nib. So, I got the black. I’m always envious of some of the amazing penmanship out there. Now everyone is so used to writing firm, the nibs have responded in kind to accomodate that. It is extremely position-sensitive and demanding on the skills of the writer; most pen owners will be much happier with customizations to Left Oblique or Cursive Italic. These are not well suited for daily writing and have more of a place in calligraphy. I appreciate your review esp bc of my small hands. Should you choose to opt for one of the above customizations, you should be prepared to answer a few questions in order to optimize your experience. This is in addition to factory nibs such as a OB in a M200 old style blue marbled, and 1.1 mm factory nibs from Lamy and TWSBI. The review is was a very convenient rationale. Tune and smooth to your specs. 45 before purchasing my own — I was wow’d by how comfortable it was to hold, posted or unposted, and by how smooth the F CI nib is. I know Goldbibs.com do a lot of restoration and nib work so you may want to contact them. There are a couple of threads on FPN about his work. I had planned for this to be my pen purchase at the Miami show, but FC will not be there, so I’m totally out of luck for now.  The CI nib is smooth and crisp. While this nib will provide a very clean and sharp look, it also comes with a very low tolerance of hand rotation as you write. Plus, they give you better looking handwriting instantly 😍 Pen: Manuscript Fine Cursive Italic Ink: Mix…” 96 Likes, 5 Comments - Andreea Stan (@dianaandreea037) on Instagram: “Cursive italic nibs are so fun! One for an avid enthusiast or seasoned professional. Writing a couple sentences with it is easy, breezy and beautiful. Thanks for checking our review out. I’d like to say as well that not only has the writing style changed which in turn created the need for the rigid nibs we see today. Notice in the example below that the diagonal line is actually the thin stroke which may seem contrary to the above but actually has to do with the angle of the pen in relation to the direction of the writing (two little children under foot means that the writing examples in this post were literally done in a stairwell so the angle of writing was less than ideal ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). A cursive italic point is similar to a stub except sharper, giving more line-width variation between the vertical and horizontal strokes. It’s Pelikan’s Vintage Nib Removal Tool!  My writing pressure is significantly heavier than Katherine so a small tweak was all it took for me. In either scenario, common questions that you may be asked include; One final thought to leave you with is that a custom grind doesn’t have to break the bank. I found a nice view of it in this FPN post. Including mailing time. Something that I would like to strive for should I ever gather up an adequate amount of time. Goulet Pens gift cards are available for $5 to $500. The downstroke is about 1.5mm with a cross stroke of 0.5mm. A larger script on the other hand will generally look better with a broad nib. The uniqueness of this grind means that some care must be taken to hold the pen at the proper angle to the paper so it is especially important to discuss at what angle you hold your pen such that the grind will be to your liking. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. I don’t like posting so this model is too short for my hand. Sadly I work 10-12 hours a day 24 days a month with two small children at home which means I do what I can when I can. I can’t think of a better way to express my appreciation for a pen than with a purchase! Our Blog. Italic nibs can be sized using the same conventions, or in terms of the actual width of their tips. I think that if I used a better flowing ink, I would have been happier with it. I was only able to use the pen posted unlike Pam and Katherine. Gena Salorino’s cursive italic. Never measured the line. Ball point, oblique, and calligraphynibs are merely slight variations of the round and italic shapes and will be discussed in their appropriate contexts. But the alloy metals added to the 14c gold were a key feature of those vintage flexible points people crave today. The nibs shine much more with cursive writing but sadly I have lost that skill and my cursive is atrocious. The supplied blue ink cartridge may have been the issue but I found that the flow was too dry for my liking. Italic nibs are cut to leave the tip wider across the end, enabling more line variety. That’s the nice thing about the variety available. Here is a magnified silhouette representing the basic shape of an italic nib. At what angle to the paper do you hold your pen? =) And have have fun at the Miami Pen Show! These are currently no longer in production. They are located in Spain. A few months ago I was told by an experienced nib grinder that I hold my pen at a very high angle; about 65* off the paper, vs. the usual or “average” 45* – 50*. Nice article but the penmanship in the examples is uninspiring and doesn’t clearly illustrate the nib characteristics as intended. It’s a solidly built writer with an interesting nib that transitions well from my workday to my before-bedtime journaling. These pens write broadly up and down, and more narrowly from side to side. I don’t object to the nails as much as you do though and feel that they too have a place. Thanks for a really interesting article. More than a decade back, during my visit to Germany, I bought couple of Pelikans (one is M800 and another is an M600) with nibs that were customized (one IB and another formal italic grind on a broad nib) at their factory located at Vohrum (near Hanover). Vintage is @ 1/2 a width narrower than modern.  The lines of the pen are soft, curvy and sleek. It can be confusing when you first dive in, a situation made worse by the fact that many of us don’t have the ability to sit face to face with our chosen nib meister ahead of time. I also feel that it’s a very good value for the money. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Cursive italic grinds gives a significantly finer horizontal stroke.