Spicing up old M and B nibs
I spent my birthday outing to Bertram’s Inkwell converting staid nib choices into new and exciting writing options. Seeking an expert to convert general round nibs into specialized writers. An excellent path to a “new pen day” without buying a new pen.
I dug into my nib tray and snagged three nibs that have seen little or no attention for over a year.
Feeds and nibs and sections, oh my
The TWSBI and Jinhao M nibs had grown boring. Consistent 0.7 mm wide lines. Moderate ink flow. Unthinking quality.
My small handwriting looks clearest with narrow EF and F lines. And B lines stand out well against those narrow lines. M width squiggles feel less at home in my day-to-day scrivening.
Let’s “new pen” these suckers
My Kaweco B nib has long been ignored for the same reason. Left to sit while I swapped in more extreme options, like EF and BB.
JC, the Nib Tailor, got after all three nibs. We spent time experimenting with his Newton-built collection of sample pens, each sporting two of JC’s nib grinds. I scribbled and JC advised. Together, we settled on three new specialized grinds, one per nib.
And we hung out. JC is a cool dude.
The TWSBI M nib converted into a Nib Tailor Selvedge Italic. A forgiving cursive italic line that can swap easily across my entire collection of 580s. And a narrow “stubby” option that suits my small handwriting. For those days I want to see line variation without concentrating on my writing angle. Bowling with bumpers.
The sizable number eight Jinhao M was bent and ground into a joyful beak, which JC calls a Bu-di. Reverse writing lays down watercolor-esque ink swatches. Writing with JC’s sample Bu-di nib had me giggling out loud. A sure sign I needed this bird beak of a nib in my desk.
The Kaweco now sports (get it?) a crisp Gochu grind. An adapted architect grind that mimics brush strokes and offers a needlepoint line on reverse. It’s a sharp grind, by design, that will need periodic flossing as it picks up paper fibers. All for showing off excellent line variation in my minuscule letterforms. With multitasking all over.
I’m excited about three near-abandoned nibs again. For me, that’s an afternoon well spent.
Time well spent, x3
