Italic/Stub Nib Search: Results

[michaeldoleman]

I wanted to follow-up on an earlier post and say, firstly, thanks to everyone that chimed-in on my ask for advice regarding italic and stub nibs. I also wanted to report that I've kinda settled on some options that I've found to work well.

Many of you recommended the Masuyama-ground cursive italic nib from Franklin-Christoph. I had tried one of their Stub-Italic-Gradient (SIG) nibs, and found it not to be to my liking, despite absolutely loving the pen itself -- I mean the quality and beauty is absolutely superb. I'd ordered the pen with an spare nib -- one of their stock extra-fine, in a no. 6. I really, really liked that nib, so decided to go ahead and order another pen, this time with a Masuyama cursive italic - in medium. And I have to say: ya'll were right, I absolutely love it. It's perfect -- exactly what I was looking for. It's hands-down my favorite of all the stub/italic nibs I've tried to date. The only problem: now I'm totally addicted to F-C pens and am going to have to own one, each, of the CI nibs, in fine, medium, and broad. That's a bit of an expensive proposition, but -- my goodness -- are those ever beautiful pens! Definitely a cut above!

In case anyone else is interested and/or going through some of the same conundrums in finding a nice, subtle italic effect for their cursive writing, here are some of the nibs I tried, and my personal observations:

Franklin-Cristoph, Cursive Italic ground by Mike Masuyama: top choice; absolutely perfect

Pilot "CM" (cursive medium) nib: at around 1/10th the price of an FC pen, if you get it attached to a Metropolitan, it's pretty darn nice. Not as smooth or crisp as the Masuyama, but still ver nice.

Lamy 1.1mm stub: really nice to write with -- offers pretty easy control and good line variation. For everyday cursive, however, the line variation is a bit much.

Nemosine 0.6, 0.8, and 1.1mm stubs: Didn't really care for these, I must say -- and I had high hopes. Maybe it's mostly the feed, I don't know, but they are very wet, and not easy to control. I didn't get much line variation out of them.

Goulet (JoWo) 1.1mm stub: Not bad, but I didn't like it as well as the Lamy 1.1. Just kinda meh in terms of line variation -- writes more like a double-broad, really.

Fountain Pen Revolution 1.0mm stub: Nope. I don't even know why this is called a "stub," at all. It writes like a 4X-broad -- basically just dump gallons of ink all over the page. And I like FPR pens, too -- I have a couple, and the EF nibs are pretty darn nice. But the stub is definitely not my thing.

That's what I've tried to date. Thanks again for all the advice. I LOVE my F-C pens!!

[catbert]

Glad that F-C medium cursive italic worked out for you. I'm in the same boat — tempted to try all the Masuyama CI widths.

[azkid]

Glad you found a good italic/stub nib. I am still searching. I just got a couple last week and neither are working out well for me. My ideal reference is an Esterbrook 442 dip pen.

Esterbrook 2314F relief: not much line variation at all as the foot is narrow and the angle is rather steep. It is incredibly smooth to write with, though, and is easily one of my best Estie nibs. But I never feel confident that I am using it correctly. I may try to snag a 2314M or a 2442 stub or something like that.

Kaweco 1.1mm stub: smooth writer, huge line variation, but way too wide for everyday cursive. Also the nib is having hard starting problems making it super frustrating. I am pretty bummed.

So my search for an affordable stub continues.

[calamus]

Glad you found a good italic/stub nib. I am still searching. I just got a couple last week and neither are working out well for me. My ideal reference is an Esterbrook 442 dip pen.

Esterbrook 2314F relief: not much line variation at all as the foot is narrow and the angle is rather steep. It is incredibly smooth to write with, though, and is easily one of my best Estie nibs. But I never feel confident that I am using it correctly. I may try to snag a 2314M or a 2442 stub or something like that.

Kaweco 1.1mm stub: smooth writer, huge line variation, but way too wide for everyday cursive. Also the nib is having hard starting problems making it super frustrating. I am pretty bummed.

So my search for an affordable stub continues.

I just broke down and spent $30 for a 2314M Relief stub nib from Anderson Pens, and it writes like a dream. There's just enough line variation to add some character to my handwriting without being as showy as the Pilot M italic nib, and it is way smoooth and much easier to write with. First oblique I've ever used, too. I've got it in an SJ right now, which is a bit too small for my taste, so now I'm on the hunt for an affordable J to put it in.

[azkid]

That's great to know. I guess I will have to get one from them. The price is certainly better than so many auction listings.

I wished I had a suitable J for sale for you. My only working one (grey) has a some discoloration spots on the barrel and is cracked at the threads so for now I just shellacked it all in place (shh, don't tell anyone!)

[calamus]

I just won an auction for one that may or may not need a new sac, and has a funky nib. If it does need a new sac, I'll try to replace it myself -- it'll be my first time. Seems pretty simple and straightforward. The cap and barrel and jewels and clip are in great shape. Because it had an ugly nib and a possibly rotten sac, it went for super cheap. I didn't think it would go over $20, and didn't want to pay more than about that for it, so I bid $21.02 (in case some clever wag bid $21.01). I placed my bid with 2 seconds to go, and just beat out a bid for $21.00 that someone made at the exact same time.

[adhoc]

My twsbi vac 700R stub was a phenomenal writer for quite an affordable price.

[Scooby921]

Good choice. I love cursive italics as well and have tried a lot of them. Masuyama's are among the best, but there are a lot of good options out there. I looked up your other thread to see what was in there and I can say I agree with pretty much everything since I've tried a lot of them .

Pilot Plumix stub / italic in a Pilot Metro
Pilot 78G with a broad cursive italic
Sheaffer NoNonsense F / M / B italic set
Monteverde Invincia with 1.1mm cursive italic
TWSBI 580AL with 1.1mm stub
TWSBI 580AL with 1.3mm stub
TWSBI 580AL with crisp medium cursive italic from Pendleton Brown
TWSBI 580AL with crisp broad cursive italic from Pendleton Brown
Edison Menlo with 1.1mm cursive italic
Waterman Charleston with 1.1mm stub then ground into a 1.0mm cursive italic by John Mottishaw
Montblanc 145 with a medium nib ground into a cursive italic by John Mottishaw
Franklin-Christoph Model 2 with a steel Masuyama medium cursive italic
Franklin-Christoph Model 19 with a gold Masuyama medium cursive italic
Nakaya Neo Standard with a broad nib ground into an italic by John Mottishaw and then rounded off a bit into a cursive italic by me
Pelikan M600 Turquoise with a medium cursive italic ground by John Mottishaw

My wife has a set of the Pilot Parallel's in their tame to ridiculous sizes. She also has some model of Franklin-Christoph with another variety of Masuyama ground stub or italic. I think I also have a box full of old Esterbrook stub dip nibs. Not sure what else has gone through my possession.


Yes, I buy a lot of pens from nibs.com and have Mr. Mottishaw turn them all into cursive italics.