different types of nibs.

The way I see it there are stubs, italics, obliques, and regular nibs (I'm
ignoring music nibs and some other wierdo custom nib styles). What are the
uses of the non-regular nibs?
Thanks,
Richard

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 12:05:32 -0500, "marlinspike" said:

marlinspike The way I see it there are stubs, italics, obliques,
marlinspike and regular nibs (I'm ignoring music nibs and some
marlinspike other wierdo custom nib styles). What are the uses of
marlinspike the non-regular nibs?

the smartass answer is: to write with.

what else?

the stubs and italics are for people who like the look of letters
written with stubs and italic nibs. obliques are originally for
people who rotate the pen to the right or left of 0.AN0. of course, some
people hold them aligned with vertical anyway and use the oblique as a
funky italic nib.

i suggest you see richard binder's pages on nibs.

--


Are you mentally here at Pizza Hut??

I didn't realize he had any, but you're right, he does.
Thanks,
Richard
"Garglemonster" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 12:05:32 -0500, "marlinspike"
said:

marlinspike The way I see it there are stubs, italics, obliques,
marlinspike and regular nibs (I'm ignoring music nibs and some
marlinspike other wierdo custom nib styles). What are the uses of
marlinspike the non-regular nibs?

the smartass answer is: to write with.

what else?

the stubs and italics are for people who like the look of letters
written with stubs and italic nibs. obliques are originally for
people who rotate the pen to the right or left of 0.AN0. of course,
some
people hold them aligned with vertical anyway and use the oblique as a
funky italic nib.

i suggest you see richard binder's pages on nibs.

--


Are you mentally here at Pizza Hut??

Richard,

Regular nibs:
I guess they are self explanatory. They are used for regular writing
with little character to the writing, unless using a flexible nib
which will give variance to the line thickness, thicker when using
more pressure.

Italic nibs:
Used for writing Italic or chancery hand of the Italian Renaissance
period of the 15th & 16th centuries. These nibs are patterned after
quills which had a chisel nib or italic as we call them today. They
give a thick and thin quality to the letters.

Stubs:
The stub is basically an italic with rounded corners making them more
forgiving. The are less likely to catch on the corners that the very
crisp or sharp cornered italic. They are used by some people for
everyday writing because they are less troublesome than an italic and
less prone to snagging if not kept flat on the paper.

Obliques:
There are basically two types of obliques, left oblique and right
oblique. Many left handed writers find a left oblique to aid their
italic writing because of the differing position of the hand to paper
position.
The left oblique slants downward to the left while looking at the nib
in the up position. Right obliques slant in the opposite direction.
Now I could make some guesses as to why people use a right oblique but
that is only opinion, but some find it easier for them to handle
perhaps because of unusual pen hold or writing position. Perhaps
someone that uses one is able to explain why.

This is somewhat simplified explanation and there are a few other
varieties but of little use for the majority.

A good in depth page is Richard Binder's "Nibs 1: The Basics"
http://www.richardspens.com/

Hope this helps,
terry

--
e-mail address is bogus - remove the "excess"



"marlinspike" wrote in message
...
The way I see it there are stubs, italics, obliques, and regular
nibs (I'm
ignoring music nibs and some other wierdo custom nib styles). What
are the
uses of the non-regular nibs?
Thanks,
Richard

Are you mentally here at Pizza Hut??


Nope. Renaldi's, on Broadway/Clark/Diversey. da best on da nort'side

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 12:05:32 -0500, "marlinspike"
wrote:

The way I see it there are stubs, italics, obliques, and regular nibs (I'm
ignoring music nibs and some other wierdo custom nib styles). What are the
uses of the non-regular nibs?
Thanks,
Richard


you've already gotten good info on the types.. now just for a bit of
opinion.

I use italics and obliques quite often. I use both for just everyday
writing because I like the effect on my handwriting. It needs all the
help it can get. The Binder nibs force me to write slightly larger
letters for the most part and this makes my handwriting slightly more
legible. And they're just fun to use - the feedback is enjoyable, the
look attractive.

I've found prefer stubs with a slight left obliquity to any other
nibs. I do rotate the nib CCW and this takes advantage of that,
giving me a very smooth write and some line variation without
requiring quite the level of concentration of the sharper edged nibs.
It's probably odd to consider that a ball-tipped nib would not be as
comfortable as an oblique but it truly is for me. Probably more a
matter of aesthetics than actual function. saying it's more
comfortable is not quite the same thing as saying it's "easier" to
use. I find no difference in terms of effort between a stub and a
ball-tipped nib other than perhaps I worry less about my handwriting
because variation can make letter shapes more obvious to the reader.
(Does that make sense - it does to me but I have a headache so...)

Currently, my favorite nibs are two fine stubs with approx. 5-7 degree
left-footed angles. I ground them both - one from an EF M200 nib, the
other from a F M200 nib. Both are sharper than most stock stubs I've
tried and sharper than my Binder stub. But that is just my choosing
and I imagine some might have trouble with them and prefer the
slightly rounder Binder stub (which is a beautiful nib BTB - I don't
grind my own 14K nibs - too scary.) ;-)

I also get a little extra variation out of the two M200 nibs because
they are slightly flexible. When (if?) I get my pen gallery up I'll
include some writing samples of the various nibs I use.

I used nothing but EF and F nibs for a long time. When I learned of
Richard's work, I discovered the wonderful variety of nibs shapes and
flexibility. For day-to-day writing most people probably prefer a
ball-tipped nib but I think it's very worthwhile to branch out if you
can.

BTB - not all obliques are made the same - some stock obliques have no
variation to speak of (Pelikan and MB come to mind) but only give one
the "comfort" of having an angle on the nib that works well for their
handwriting habits. A custom oblique, OTOH, is another matter. And I
believe there are some brands that have obliques with some line
variation.

kcat

Is there any nib that writes fat on the crosses and thin on the ups and
downs? This might not make too much sense for the western alphabet (what
alphabet do we use anyways?), but I'm learning to write the arabic alphabet,
and that seems like it could make use of thin upstrokes and fat crosses.
Richard
"kcat" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 12:05:32 -0500, "marlinspike"
wrote:

The way I see it there are stubs, italics, obliques, and regular nibs
(I'm
ignoring music nibs and some other wierdo custom nib styles). What are
the
uses of the non-regular nibs?
Thanks,
Richard


you've already gotten good info on the types.. now just for a bit of
opinion.

I use italics and obliques quite often. I use both for just everyday
writing because I like the effect on my handwriting. It needs all the
help it can get. The Binder nibs force me to write slightly larger
letters for the most part and this makes my handwriting slightly more
legible. And they're just fun to use - the feedback is enjoyable, the
look attractive.

I've found prefer stubs with a slight left obliquity to any other
nibs. I do rotate the nib CCW and this takes advantage of that,
giving me a very smooth write and some line variation without
requiring quite the level of concentration of the sharper edged nibs.
It's probably odd to consider that a ball-tipped nib would not be as
comfortable as an oblique but it truly is for me. Probably more a
matter of aesthetics than actual function. saying it's more
comfortable is not quite the same thing as saying it's "easier" to
use. I find no difference in terms of effort between a stub and a
ball-tipped nib other than perhaps I worry less about my handwriting
because variation can make letter shapes more obvious to the reader.
(Does that make sense - it does to me but I have a headache so...)

Currently, my favorite nibs are two fine stubs with approx. 5-7 degree
left-footed angles. I ground them both - one from an EF M200 nib, the
other from a F M200 nib. Both are sharper than most stock stubs I've
tried and sharper than my Binder stub. But that is just my choosing
and I imagine some might have trouble with them and prefer the
slightly rounder Binder stub (which is a beautiful nib BTB - I don't
grind my own 14K nibs - too scary.) ;-)

I also get a little extra variation out of the two M200 nibs because
they are slightly flexible. When (if?) I get my pen gallery up I'll
include some writing samples of the various nibs I use.

I used nothing but EF and F nibs for a long time. When I learned of
Richard's work, I discovered the wonderful variety of nibs shapes and
flexibility. For day-to-day writing most people probably prefer a
ball-tipped nib but I think it's very worthwhile to branch out if you
can.

BTB - not all obliques are made the same - some stock obliques have no
variation to speak of (Pelikan and MB come to mind) but only give one
the "comfort" of having an angle on the nib that works well for their
handwriting habits. A custom oblique, OTOH, is another matter. And I
believe there are some brands that have obliques with some line
variation.

kcat

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004 20:24:04 -0500, "marlinspike"
wrote:

Is there any nib that writes fat on the crosses and thin on the ups and
downs? This might not make too much sense for the western alphabet (what
alphabet do we use anyways?), but I'm learning to write the arabic alphabet,
and that seems like it could make use of thin upstrokes and fat crosses.
Richard

A very strong (large angle) oblique would do this.

Go to this page of Richard's site:
http://www.richardspens.com/sale_txt.htm

Scroll down to the list of custom nibs and click on "cursive left-foot
oblique, 30deg" - this will pop up a sample of writing with this nib.

the larger the angle, the more patience one must have to control the
pen - but it would accomplish what you are looking for. you might
want to ask Richard his opinion though - he might have a better
suggestion.

Ever been to Gulliver's on Howard Street?

"so what" wrote in message
...

Are you mentally here at Pizza Hut??


Nope. Renaldi's, on Broadway/Clark/Diversey. da best on da
nort'side

Is there any nib that writes fat on the crosses and thin on the ups and
downs?

Risking the wrath of those I've yet to catch up on e-mail by coming out of pen
immersion briefly...here is an answer:

You excluded "custom and music nibs" for some unknown reason. However, that is
the ONLY nib that can do such a thing. No matter how "oblique" or radical an
angle the cut on a "conventional" nib it will never be razor thin at a
perpendicular downstroke and at it widest to the horizontal. The only nibs
that can write in such a manner a a thin 4 tined vertical music/spear or an
extra fine/fine double nib.

Radical angle obliques are not the same - as their absolute thinnest lines are
NEVER drawn perpendicular.






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