ISO: #6 Flex Nib (Not FPR or Noodlers plz) listing (info)

[Pterodactylus]

Practising

Oh wow...nice!
Now to find out how you did that....lol

To control a flexible nib is all about pressure.

Imho the first step is to learn to write with a really light hand, most people (ballpen barbariens and FP nail writers) do not control their downforce as it does not matter with their pens.

So they write with a way too high (for a flexible nib) downforce and also are not used to control it selectively.
So even with a very flexible you should be able to write evenly with the thinnest possible line width with a very light hand.

When you are able to write with a light hand constantly it is time to practice to increase in a controlled way the downforce on the down strokes... and only on the down strokes, no flexible nib likes it when you apply pressure during a side or upper stroke.

Sometimes I get the impression people think their handwriting will look neater/better automatically when using a flexible nib.
This is for sure not the case.
It is not enough to smash down a flexible nib with the maximum possible pressure (and beyond) in all possible strokes and think it will look nice automatically.

Imho the opposite is true it’s not about maximize the line width.
In most cases it Looks much better to use the additional possibility of variable line width in a subtile and elegant way.... less is often more

And last but not least using a flexible nib is only a puzzle piece, an additional option you can use and not the answer to improve your writing.

Unfortunately I also know no better answer than practice, practice, practice ..... letter forming, combine them, maintaining a constant slant, control your downforce, ......

If you don’t see improvements no matter which writing device you use also a flexible nib will not help (it even can make it look worse smashing the nib downwards the paper until it begs for mercy (and this „worse“ can often be seen when newbies post their results with their „new“ flexible nib)).


To answer your question, with a soft pencil you can achieve quite a lot of line variation controlling your pressure.
And it is a great exercise to learn how to control your pressure (without risking to damage a flexible nib).
Light strokes create light small lines, stronger (downstrokes) create dark broad lines, just like with a flexible nib.

If you are satisfied with your pencil result you can easily apply it also to a flexible nib.
And itˋs easier to start practicing than with a super flex nib.


And there are of course dip nibs with all degrees of flexibility, also up to an amount of flexibility a FP nib could never ever achieve, available for small money.