I want to know a great many things whenever I am looking to buy new calligraphy nibs. Unfortunately a beautifully lit macro photo of a nib with just the name will not give me answers. Just hints and my next google search term, which will most probably throw the same macro picture at me and call it a success.
Disadvantages of Buying Nibs Online
The problem with being a pen experimenter with slight hoarding symptoms is that you’ll be done testing the go-to calligraphy nibs you see all over Instagram within a few weeks. That means the actual source of seeing pens in action goes missing really fast. As soon as we are talking vintage nibs (that are not legendary and thus unavailable generally) or just lesser known models we hit the limitations of the internet. All we get is a meagre macro image and maybe – if we are really lucky – a piece of gorgeous calligraphy.
You know what the problem of calligraphy is? You cannot tell how the nib has felt when it wrote those letters. Whenever I go to a store and look at nibs I will pick interesting looking ones up. I’ll turn them in my hand, check for weird curvatures, see the actual size. Then I will inspect the tines, take my thumb nail and put the tines to it as if my nail was the paper. Apply pressure to the nib. Then I know how flexible it feels. I can see how much the tines spread, what the actual range is.
All of the above is impossible when you are forced to buy nibs online, which is the case for most of us, because most stores will not carry the exact nibs we saw our calligraphy idols use on Instagram. Or because we already got all of the available ones and are looking for exciting new shapes and brands we haven’t heard of.
I hate the fact that most nibs don’t even have a description when I’m buying them. I get a general idea from the shape, it’s at least an indication, another hint. But that’s just not what I want.
And that’s why I decided to write this post. I tortured my nibs to prove my point that providing more information on how nibs behave is something more people should care about. More people should do.
So this is what I did for every single one of my nibs.
I got the name down, the thing that is stamped on the nib itself.
I checked how the nib felt, it is obviously opinionated, but gives you a general impression of how much pressure is required.
I showed the flex range. Yes, I pushed those tines all the way (NEVER EVER DO THAT IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR NIBS) and killed one of my nibs in the process.
I checked if the nib fits into the Tachikawa holder with the two plastic rings because those holders are pretty cool, they don’t rust (plastic is not indestructible though, I damaged my second holder in the process of this post).
Checked if the nib fits into a classic straight holder with the metal insert or if a quill pen was needed. (Oblique flanges can be adjusted to fit pretty much any nib, so no comment on that in this post).
Wrote my personal opinion down if I recommend it for beginners or not
Got my general impression
Added comments on the general behaviour.
Wrote “hello” with each of the nibs so you can see what writing with it would look like.
I am pretty confident that this will give you a general impression of each of the 45 pointed pen nibs discussed in this post. I wish I got this full pressure part for every nib, because I hate getting new nibs and finding out they don’t have range at all and the results look almost monoline.
I hope you guys find this helpful and the murder and torture of my nibs was worth it.
The Nibs
Okay, if you don’t feel like scrolling, here the short list of nibs to look at.
My Beginner’s Recommendations
left to right 1. G Nib (Tachikawa, Zebra, Nikko) 1. Hunt 22 1. Brause Blue Pumpkin 1. Hiro 41
My personal favorites
left to right 1. John Mitchell’s 0138 1. Gillott 303 1. Hunt 22 1. Leonardt Principal
All of them, in no particular order. Samples were written on a Rhodia Dot Pad (5mm grid) with black Kuretake Sumi Ink.
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Name:
C. Brandauer & Co. Birmingham No. 180
Source:
Flea Market (send me a message if you want some, I have some left I don’t need).
flex feel (rigid, medium, soft, brushlike):
medium
flex range (S, M, L, XL):
M
tachikawa holder fit (yes or no):
no
holder (standard, quill pen):
standard
beginners (yes, neutral, no):
neutral
general opinion ( negative, neutral, positive, favorite):
negative
comment:
Is hard to get started, stops for fine hairlines, tends to snag a bit.
general opinion ( negative, neutral, positive, favorite):
positive
comment:
I was looking for a similar nib to my absolute favorite, the 0138, this is nice and smooth, but not as flexible.
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Name:
John Mitchell’s 0138
Source:
If you find it, let me know immediately!
flex feel (rigid, medium, soft, brushlike):
brushlike
flex range (S, M, L, XL):
XL
tachikawa holder fit (yes or no):
yes
holder (standard, quill pen):
standard
beginners (yes, neutral, no):
neutral
general opinion ( negative, neutral, positive, favorite):
favorite
comment:
My absolute favorite, impossible to find online. I got 5 on a flea market. Will probably cry when I killed all of them. Buttery smooth, beautiful flex. I love this one.
general opinion ( negative, neutral, positive, favorite):
neutral
comment:
A lot of people like it, a lot of people use it at the beginning. I don’t know, I never really warmed up to it, even though there is nothing wrong with it.
general opinion ( negative, neutral, positive, favorite):
favorite
comment:
This nib was my enemy when I first got it. Because it is so fine it snags and it is super flexible so pressure control is hard. It is my most used nib now, I just love the hairlines and shades.
