What did you learn from your last writing session?

[kansaskyle]

In the spirit of the What did you learn from your last shave? thread, I thought it might be neat to see if folks learn things from their last writing session.

As a Nib newb, I am practicing several nights a week to improve my handwriting, and I've been using a Pilot 78g with a broad italic nib. I found it rather scratchy, and I wasn't having much success with varying the line widths. I read an article on how to use a flex nib, and I tried the angle suggestion, which made a huge improvement with my italic nib!

 

[jjking54]

As someone with a new flex nib pen on the way, I appreciate you posting that article.

As far as what I've learned, I too am relatively new to this, but the thing I'm trying to teach myself is to slow down and enjoy the process.

For years I was a newspaper reporter, and that meant scribbling notes down furiously so as not to misquote someone or get a fact wrong. Now that those days are past, I need to slow myself down. My current penmenship isn't the best ... so I've got lots of room for improvement.

 

[kansaskyle]

As someone with a new flex nib pen on the way, I appreciate you posting that article.

There are several other articles on the site pertaining to flex nibs. I enjoyed all of them, and learned a lot. It seems like flex nibs kind of had their golden era in the late 1800's and early 1900's. I thought about trying one out, but I am going to stick with the italic a bit longer now that it is working better.

 

[nemo]

No, no, no. When writing with an italic you need to use it at an angle. For me, it isn't quite 45* but a little less. If you don't the letters won't look right.

I hold all my pens at that angle, that's how I was taught. Things you read for flex nibs don't always apply to italics.

 

[nortac]

The above linked article does say, in relation to the use of flex nibs..."unlike italic or oblique nibs" ...so the technique is different in their use. I for one have yet to master the use of either FWIW!

 

[nortac]

More to the point of the OP's question, as I fool around with various nib sizes, I notice that using various angle to achieve various effects of line variation greatly affects how scratchy certain nibs are or are not. When I write with a Pilot 78G broad nib at a 45 degree angle it writes much more scratchy than when closer to 90 degrees to the line of travel, but you need the 45 for the most line variation.

 

[kansaskyle]

So I apparently learned I am still holding my pen with italic nib incorrectly! Thanks for the correction. I guess this thread is already paying off for me.

 

[kansaskyle]

I tried the angle nemo posted above, and focused on a lighter touch on the pen (sounds like shaving). It is indeed a lot smoother with the Pilot 78g broad italic nib, and I only noticed the scratchiness when I was overwriting and/or my angle got off a bit.

The line variation is there, but it doesn't seem quite as stark as I would like. I am thinking of trying out a flex at this point, but I'll stick with the italic nib for a couple more weeks to see if it gets better with better practice.

 

[kansaskyle]

I learned Noodler's 5 O'Clock Shadow seems to work better in my Pilot 78g w/ broad italic nib compared to Lamy black that I was using. It felt smoother, and I didn't have any issues where it felt like the pen was having problems keeping up with my writing speed like I was experiencing the last couple nights.

 

[eezee]

It's very interesting that this thread popped up because last night I learned just how important the grip and the angle of the nib can be.

I just acquired a Pelikan Souveran M600 and it was skipping and having dry starts all over the place. My little Sheaffer 300 was writing just fine. I don't know if it was the size of the grip or what but I discovered that I was actually holding it a little differently than my other pens. Once I got the grip up between my fingertips everything has been great. She is now writing like her reputation.

Just like shaving, there is a technique to everything.

 

[mikeschu]

I know it may be sacrilege, but I'm not really a big fan of the Parker 51 - especially for longer writing sessions. I think the grip area may be too skinny and/or the sweet spot on the nib is too little. Maybe I need to find a VS or stick with the Vacumatics.

 

[kansaskyle]

Experimenting with nibs and ink samples is fun!

I got a 1.1 nib for my Lamy Safari, and it is a bit smoother and broader than my Pilot 78g with italic nib. I loaded up some Noodler's 54th Massachusetts that I got from Goulet Pens, and tried out a clearance notebook I found at Target for $2.98. The budget notebook was smooth enough, but I have some bleed through with the Noodler's. I figure for the price I paid, it is fine for some simple note taking and/or practice writing.



As you can see, I am still working on my penmanship as some letters are not uniform in height and spacing, but having fun!

 

[kansaskyle]

I learned inks have different personalities!

I tried a Roher & Klinger Scabiosa sample the last two days, and it feels a lot drier than the Noodler's I was using. It was interesting watching the ink "jump" off the nib and fill in on the downward strokes since I'm using an italic nib. I thought it made for some good line variation and ink shading.

Being a drier ink, it also seemed like I could make more finer strokes (e.g., thin line on my capital L, cross stoke on a lower case t, little flourishes on my r, n, b, d, etc.). The pic below doesn't show it very well, but it also has a nice purple color.

 

[kansaskyle]

Anybody else learn something new recently?

I learned that I was filling my vintage Wahl Eversharp with lever filler incorrectly. I flushed it this morning to try a different ink, and I figured out I didn't need to extend the lever all the way down so it was parallel to the floor. It seemed to draw in water a lot better when I pulled it about 3/4 of the way down, and I would hear the little sac inside plop as it filled up. I figure this is why it didn't feel like the pen held much ink at all.

EDIT: Now I'm wondering if I still have it wrong after seeing this old image of a Sheaffer lever filler.

Spoiler

I also learned lever fillers seem to take a while to flush! My Lamy Safari is a lot easier since I can take the piston out, and use a bulb syringe to pass a bunch of water through the nib at once.

 

[cvargo]

I learned last night when journaling that if I am feeling tired... writing while laying down in bed... not a good idea. Arm got sore too quickly and handwriting suffered.

 

[kansaskyle]

I learned to check the lid on that bottle of used ink you bought to make sure it is secure when getting it out of the box! My fingers are an interesting shade of Montblanc Irish Green after the lid must have come loose a little bit in transport.

Fortunately, not much ink spilled out.

 

[coyotewhisper]

I learned to check the lid on that bottle of used ink you bought to make sure it is secure when getting it out of the box! My fingers are an interesting shade of Montblanc Irish Green after the lid must have come loose a little bit in transport.

Fortunately, not much ink spilled out.

I have done that several times putting a bottle back in a box, it made a big mess.

 

[kansaskyle]

I learned fountain pens are like rabbits (or Tribbles if you are a Star Trek fan). They just seem to keep multiplying!

I am embarrassed to say I got one in the mail today I forgot I had ordered!

 

[nortac]

I once posted that I had "about a dozen fountain pens" and then I went back and counted them, it was about two dozen!

 

[kansaskyle]

I learned clipping my Parker 45 in my front jeans pocket was not a good idea because the clip got stretched out.

The clip doesn't appear to come off, so I'm not sure if there is a way to bend it back in place to make it hold onto a thin shirt pocket.