Who do you guys recommend for a custom stub or italic grind?
stub or italic grind
- Thread starter cvandyke27
- Start date
Both!
Isn't that the true B&B way? It really is personal preference. I have both and like both and some day's I like one over the other. Some of it depends on who's doing the grinding as well. An italic nib will probably feel a bit scratchy to you, which is why some prefer a cursive italic where the corners are eased a bit. With the stub nibs I have it seems the line variation is just a bit more than with my italics.
You can try a stub very easily getting a 78g Broad, which is actually a stub nib.
Isn't that the true B&B way? It really is personal preference. I have both and like both and some day's I like one over the other. Some of it depends on who's doing the grinding as well. An italic nib will probably feel a bit scratchy to you, which is why some prefer a cursive italic where the corners are eased a bit. With the stub nibs I have it seems the line variation is just a bit more than with my italics.You can try a stub very easily getting a 78g Broad, which is actually a stub nib.
I love my Stub nibs! Like Mark said, they are easier to use. I got a couple custom ground Pendleton Points from Pendleton Brown, he says they are a mix of a stub and cursive italic. They do take a little longer to get use to.
I like my italic nib. I've only got the one so I can't compare.
I guess I'll have to change that
I guess I'll have to change that
This thread is inching me closer to pulling the trigger on a 78G...I don't have a stub nib, so why shouldn't I buy one, right? 
I like Pendemonium, there's a woman grinding their nibs with loads of experience, Letty, for years a nib grinder at Sheaffer. Price is right too!
This thread is inching me closer to pulling the trigger on a 78G...I don't have a stub nib, so why shouldn't I buy one, right?
Pilot 78G (B or BB nib) is actually an italic, there is no iridium. Commonly called a stub (mistakenly) Ed. A real stub just glides and won't easily catch an edge.
"Its an italic *slap* its a stub *slap* its an italic!" I feel like Faye Dunaway in Chinatown...
I stand corrected. I always considered it a stub since it was basically straight across. Thanks.
I thought it was a stub too. So is an italic nib a stub without any iridium left on it? I thought it had something to to with the edges of the nib, one squared and the other rounded.
The Stub being the latter of the two.
The stub is an italic but much more rounded and doesn't provide as much line variation. I know a lot of folks see the 78G as a stub and perhaps we are all correct! For me, I think of a stub as a big signature nib, easily used in a hurry, still plenty of iridium left, never catching a corner, but maybe I'm too old-school and wrong ... research time.
Here's Richard Binder's take --> http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/nibs/primer.htm
edit, the corners of my 78G are pretty darn round. I'll stand corrected. Too bad there aren't any more of these <BB> Pilots around for sale. Sorry to hijack.
Here's Richard Binder's take --> http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/nibs/primer.htm
edit, the corners of my 78G are pretty darn round. I'll stand corrected. Too bad there aren't any more of these <BB> Pilots around for sale. Sorry to hijack.
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The stub is an italic but much more rounded and doesn't provide as much line variation. I know a lot of folks see the 78G as a stub and perhaps we are all correct! For me, I think of a stub as a big signature nib, easily used in a hurry, still plenty of iridium left, never catching a corner, but maybe I'm too old-school and wrong ... research time.
Here's Richard Binder's take --> http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/nibs/primer.htm
edit, the corners of my 78G are pretty darn round. I'll stand corrected. Too bad there aren't any more of these <BB> Pilots around for sale. Sorry to hijack.
Thanks Doug!
Just from reading about them on various pen sites, I always took it as a matter of "degree". The design is similar - a flattened nib shape and not a rounded one - but that the distinction was in how rounded/sharp the corners were. It's a spectrum - at one end you have a stub, and on the other end a formal italic. I've always considered the tip material to be an implementation detail, but not a defining characteristic. If you re-grind an existing round nib, maybe there's some iridium left over, but I suppose maybe not (cf. Edison, Pendemonium re-grinds). If you start out making a stub or an italic, you may never add iridium (cf. Lamy & TWSBI untipped steel nibs). I'm pretty sure the Esterbrook relief/stub I had was un-tipped, and that for most of their nib lineup, they had a tipped and un-tipped version of each.
I have no experience with custom grinds, but it seems like you can't go wrong with Richard Binder, John Mottishaw, or Pendleton Brown, among others who have already been mentioned.
If you're looking for a good stock stub nib, the TWSBI stubs are fantastic.
If you're looking for a good stock stub nib, the TWSBI stubs are fantastic.
If you're left-handed I suggest a stub - especially if you push your pen across the paper (righties pull the pen), as I've found that I'm prone to catch the corners of Italic nibs. Stubs (especially the more rounded ones) work just fine.
A nice medium or fine stub works very well as a daily writer and gives your writing a bit more flair than a regular nib.
A nice medium or fine stub works very well as a daily writer and gives your writing a bit more flair than a regular nib.
I did not realize you were asking for a recommendation on who to get a grind from, sorry. I have custom grinds from Brian Gray and Pendleton Brown only so I can't really compare many. I really like each of the nibs I have had ground.
I wanted to have John Mattishaw grind the last pens I sent out, but his wait list was 7 months. And Binder will not take pens for grinds anymore. I guess the quickest way to get a grind from either of them is to buy a pen from them, and have it ground before they send it out. If you do it that way, you do not wait the extra time.
I wanted to have John Mattishaw grind the last pens I sent out, but his wait list was 7 months. And Binder will not take pens for grinds anymore. I guess the quickest way to get a grind from either of them is to buy a pen from them, and have it ground before they send it out. If you do it that way, you do not wait the extra time.
I'll second Nemo's advice about Pendemonium. They usually have one or two pens for sale that have custom ground nibs.
