# Nib Point Considerations



## thompenshop (Mar 30, 2008)

We who turn pens as a hobby or small business, easily get lost in the masterpieces we create. I remember the hundreds of times I have gone to the woodpile (pen blank storage cabnit) and pulled out a stick, chucked it into the lathe, and began dreaming about what was just below the surface. I cut, gouged, scraped, sanded, and polished until the cap and barrel were finished to my satisfaction. I gathered the parts that would make it into a usable writing instrument, put them all together and then held the masterpiece at arms length and said, "damm your good"!!! I would then post pictures of the pen to my friends, or pack it up and take it to a pen show and hope that someone would offer me enough $$ for me to part with my work of art. Frequently, I would just give one away to a friend and hope that they would enjoy my labor and creativity. 

In this whole process of turning pens, it was easy to lose site of the fact that most of the time the person who purchased my masterpiece, altho they were attracted to the pen enough to purchase it, were also interested in the function of the pen. They may have been awed with my ability to put material and components together but once they were past that and were ready to pull the thing out of their pocket and write with it,were they still awed? With the ball point pen there are not many options beyond ball diameter and ink color. The roller ball has added a lot to line width and quality of inked line. But it is the fountain pen nib and point that has historically given the widest range of options to the scribe. This being said, as a pen turner, I believe the time must come in the experience of turning pens, when we divide our attention to detail, across beauty and function. Most of the pens I sell today must go beyond "the eye candy" test to putting a line on paper that pleases the senses of the scribe and his/her reader. 

All this said, for those of use who have turned our attention to the fountain pen in particular, the nib must meet the expectations of the intended user. Frequently, this issue become a major consideration for those of us who turn writing instruments. About two years ago I wrote an article on the subject in which I explored some of the major issues of nib choice. If you are interested in the subject, I would reference you to that article on my website. The article is based on my experience and is certainly not the final word on the subject. Read it and allow it to be food for thought. If thoughts come to mind out of your experience with the same subject you might like to share them on this forum. I for one would covet your insight. Reference the article titled: "Nib and Point Considerations" by going to: http://www.thompsonpens.com   and on the openning page click on Vintage Pen Collecting and the article is one of the options.


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## karlkuehn (Mar 31, 2008)

heheh

Chris, you sure you wanna post that link? Is that the other cheek I see? []

I'm going to go read it, although I'm pretty green in the fountain pen arena, not sure what help I'll be, but I might just learn something!


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## karlkuehn (Mar 31, 2008)

Wow, I'm such a Philistine. Your list of questions that I asked myself about the one fountain pen that I actually use resulted in positives for me. I like my fountain pen a lot, and it's just a cheapo Flat Top American kit pen that I built. It writes really well, I can't imagine what the good ones are like. I don't do a lot of writing by hand, however, so that might play into it. If I was writing for hours on end with it, I imagine it would be a different story.

Maybe I'll build a Baron and get one of Lou's nibs for it and see if I can tell the difference. Interesting stuff! What's a good commercial fountain pen to try so I can get some ideas of comparison? Keep in mind, my fountain pen budget sucks, so I won't be able to do much, but I'd really like to learn more about it. Someday I'd like to build a $2500 pen, and I can't imagine it'd go over too well to stuff a ballpoint in there. heh


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## Johnathan (Mar 31, 2008)

Nicely written. Thanks.


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## igran7 (Mar 31, 2008)

Very interersting read chris.  I have made a few fountain pens, but just recently started writing with one of my creations, and compared it to a Parker Pinstripe Duofold that I own.  Big difference in terms of the nib and satisfaction to the user.


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## Firefyter-emt (Mar 31, 2008)

I agree 100%, it is the nib that makes the pen.  My two favorite nibs are the 14k oblique double broad nib in my Montblanc which is so buttery smooth, but a bit unpractical for daily use and the 14k two tone "traditional style" nib in my Sheaffer Statesman. 

The first nib is as plain and simple as they come, it's solid gold, no engraving other than 14k and Montblanc. Clean simple and so smooth.  The Sheaffer has a sivler mask on the tines over 14k gold and has such sharp crisp lettering it makes the kit nib engraving look like it was done with a nail.

Now to be fully honest, the Sheaffer nib is not leaps and bounds over my best kit pen nibs in how well it writes, but the package as a whole(nib wise) is better.

Now I did just drop the payment on my first "Parker 51" with a gold cap and blue diamond cip. I hear they are "life changing" so we shall see. I am not sure if I like the idea of not seeing the nib yet.


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## gwilki (Mar 31, 2008)

Karl: The nib that comes stock in the Emperor kit is a nice writer. As for commercial fountain pens, the Lamy 2000 is smooth as a baby's bum. Even iffy nibs can often be tuned and made to match some of the high priced commercial pens.


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## thompenshop (Mar 31, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Johnathan_
> 
> Nicely written. Thanks.



Johnathan, I visited your website. Very nice!! It is great to see someone taking the kit pen art to such highths as you are doing. You really should consider the Vintage/New Pen Show circuit. You would find a very interested market place for your art.

One question:  Can you share your source for the lapis blue material. I have had that material before but can no longer find it. I posted a picture of the material to the forum as a material that I am looking for but have had no response. 

Thanks, Chris Thompson


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## thompenshop (Mar 31, 2008)

> _Originally posted by karlkuehn_
> 
> What's a good commercial fountain pen to try so I can get some ideas of comparison?



Karl, find an old Waterman's, Conklin or Wahl fountain pen at your local flea market. One that sports a fine/medium point that is flexible. Clean the pen up, dip it in your ink bottle and write. You will be forever hooked. If you can't find one at the flea market then purchase one on ebay. You will enjoy the experience.

Chris Thompson


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## bitshird (Mar 31, 2008)

Chris, I am so glad that you didn't bolt due to the reception of the impromptu welcoming committee, You can provide a wealth of information that many of us lesser qualified turners can learn from. Thank you for your contributions, I've already experimented with tuning a nib on my daily user Baron with stock Daycom IPG nib, after my next surgery in a couple weeks, I'm going to try and replace the nib with one of Lou's nibs, just a very simple thing like a gentle reshaping and angle change made a nice difference to a cheap nib, I can't wait to see what a decent Nib writes like.


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## jtate (Apr 2, 2008)

Thanks Chris!  You will be taking us all up a notch!

Julia


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