could use a heads up

[syngent]

So next year one of my goals is to learn spencierian which I need a flexy nib to do.. if any of my experienced friends in here know where I should look or see something out there I could use a heads up, well... as long as it isn't anything you yourself are after

Dip, fountain... doesn't matter as long as it will help me develop my hand.. I know there is a lot of misinformation regarding flex nibs that will work so I could use some help

Thanks for any help, it's a cool journey I'm excited to take

 

[Ray Guy]

You may want to look at this link for Spencerian info...http://fpgeeks.com/2012/09/michael-...encerian-with-a-limited-edition-fountain-pen/

or this one...http://spencerian.com/

 

[syngent]

Thanks ray

So can proper flex be added to any 14k nib... or is vintage still better then the modern modified ones?

 

[Dave258]

Thanks ray

So can proper flex be added to any 14k nib... or is vintage still better then the modern modified ones?

Vintage may be your best bet. I know Brian Gray at Edison Pen was doing a special LE Spencer pen project with Greg Manushkin, and they had to cancel the project because the feed of the pens would not keep up with the 14kt nibs with full flex added. But, if you go through John Mottishaw's website Nibs.com, there are quite a few pens with nibs that he lists as good candidates for adding full flex.

 

[syngent]

Cool beans (not the goulet kind) thanks Dave

 

[nemo]

Vintage. Just vintage.

The newly made and modified nibs are just too expensive for me. I've got two really flexy nibbed pens I would consider wet noodles, one cost me $10 because it has a broken lever and the other is a Frankenpen (Sheaffer I put a Warranted nib into). The pen with the bad lever box I simply fill by squeezing the sac and carefully reinstalling the section, then write (or practice Spencerian) all evening long. Or ... buy some nibs like these, for example on this completed eBay auction, and stick one into a Pelikan nib unit, screw it into your M205 or whatever. You'll need to get the dimensions right, of course. I've done this, you may have to play around with the feed, but it's possible to set yourself up for around $50, that includes a donor nib unit.

Or buy a whole vintage Waterman pen like this. A pen show would be the best though, you could try out the nibs to get the right flex for your style. I think you could be off and running with a sweet hard rubber Waterman Ideal, with maybe an ugly clip or a cracked cap for under a $100 -- just for practicing right? You've tried the dip pen route, James? There are lots of super flexible nibs for cheap out there.

Hope that helps.

 

[AllenG]

I've been practicing Spencerian with a dip pen. Holders and nibs are cheep. You can try out a fandful of different flex nibs for little money and find out what you want in a nib before throwing down real money on a custom ground one.

 

[syngent]

Yeah that'd kind of what I want to do Allen... just don't know what nib brands to look for and most eBay guys have no idea what they got but some are so cheap it's worth taking a shot at

 

[AllenG]

Yeah that'd kind of what I want to do Allen... just don't know what nib brands to look for and most eBay guys have no idea what they got but some are so cheap it's worth taking a shot at

I picked up a handful from here: http://www.johnnealbooks.com/prod_detail_list/6
my favorite so far is the Blue Pumpkin. That site has fairly good descriptions of what the nibs are like.
Pick up some 400 grit sandpaper too. You may need to smooth some of them down that are overly scratchy.

 

[AllenG]

Oh, and iron gall ink just works better with dip pens than most of my Nooder's Inks for reasons that I don't understand. But I get much less feathering with iron gall ink than anything else (I would not use it in my fountain pens though--it will corrode the workings).

 

[nemo]

Pick up some 400 grit sandpaper too.

This is some bad advice for fountain pen nibs, gents. Very bad.

 

[the_edski]

Isn't the roughest you are supposed to do is write on a brown paper lunch bag to do some smoothing and even that may be overkill?

This is some bad advice for fountain pen nibs, gents. Very bad.

 

[syngent]

Thanks for the link Allen... although I did read from an earlier link flex nibs are scratchy just cause of how they work... do they actually tear up paper?

 

[AllenG]

They can.
One thing they will teach you is a light touch. Some of mine flow nicely in one direction but snag badly in the opposite.

 

[AllenG]

This is some bad advice for fountain pen nibs, gents. Very bad.

Agreed. Completely.
But for a $1.25 nib one is not putting much at risk. And the snagging became really frustrating when I was trying to learn a new script style. I was willing to sacrifice the nib rather than stop trying to learn. Spattering ink and snagging the paper was too much. Once I got a feel of what I was doing I went back to an unmolested nib. My thought was learn the script first, learn the nib second.

 

[celestino]

Great information! Thank you all. Good luck, James.