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Thread: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

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    Default Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    Okay, so I'm one of those people who has an itch for BSB sometimes, but dedicates pens to it, and cheap ones at that. Over the years my dedicated pens have been an Ahab(seemed appropriate), a cheap Cross on which I refilled the cartridges, and now a Preppy eydropper.

    All of those have relatively fine nibs. I know the Ahab is a flex nib but, well, it's so stiff that I wouldn't attempt it unless I knew it was supposed to be.

    So, what I'm wondering is if there's a nice big cheap stub out there that I could dedicate to this ink and enjoy seeing what big nibs can do to show off interesting inks. One of the semi-attractive ones to me is the Noodler's Music Nib, but that's not inexpensive either.

    Any thoughts on this?

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    Senior Member Lloyd's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    Can't you use the Pilot Parallel or a refillable brush pen?

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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    The main benefit to me is that a well tuned B or stub really shows off the shading an ink can produce. Yeah, sometimes that's a just a gradient ranging from faint and washed out, to full saturation at the end of the stroke (e.g.: Herbin Bleu Nuit). But often you can get a nice vibrant sky blue that transitions into a deep indigo with red sheen. Other colors have their party tricks, but since we're talking BSB I'll stick with blue examples...

    The problem with BSB is that it's so oversaturated that it really doesn't shade, kind of defeating the purpose of playing with it in that sort of nib.
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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    The Lamy Joy with a 1.1mm nib can be had for $19.99. Which is about the same price as an Ahab.

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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    You might take a look at the Sailor Highace Neo line:
    https://www.penboutique.com/products...en-highace-neo
    I've got one and it ain't bad. Great candidate for BSB I'd say.

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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    Quote Originally Posted by Wile E Coyote View Post
    The Lamy Joy with a 1.1mm nib can be had for $19.99. Which is about the same price as an Ahab.
    In the event you have any Lamy Safari or similar that takes that type of nib you can usually buy these broader nibs separately on Amazon or ebay
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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    I'm not opposed to the Safari/Lamy and in fact think I even have 1.1 and 1.5 nibs for them, but weren't there issues at one time of BSB killing Lamy feeds?

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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    TWSBI SWIPE

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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    Quote Originally Posted by bunnspecial View Post
    Okay, so I'm one of those people who has an itch for BSB sometimes, but dedicates pens to it, and cheap ones at that. Over the years my dedicated pens have been an Ahab(seemed appropriate), a cheap Cross on which I refilled the cartridges, and now a Preppy eydropper.

    All of those have relatively fine nibs. I know the Ahab is a flex nib but, well, it's so stiff that I wouldn't attempt it unless I knew it was supposed to be.

    So, what I'm wondering is if there's a nice big cheap stub out there that I could dedicate to this ink and enjoy seeing what big nibs can do to show off interesting inks. One of the semi-attractive ones to me is the Noodler's Music Nib, but that's not inexpensive either.

    Any thoughts on this?
    For about ten bucks or so, you can get a Jinhao 159, and fit any of the standard #6 stubs.

    For even less, a Jinhao Shark fude. It's a shovel.

    Forgot to add, any Wing Sung piston-filler on Amazon. About five each, and depending on the model, nibs are swappable with either Lamy or Pilot (as in Plumix, Met, etc.). You need to buy in lots of four, but that's just a bonus to me, as is the fact you can see your ink sloshing around.
    Last edited by Sailor Kenshin; May 20th, 2022 at 08:33 AM.
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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    Quote Originally Posted by bunnspecial View Post
    I'm not opposed to the Safari/Lamy and in fact think I even have 1.1 and 1.5 nibs for them, but weren't there issues at one time of BSB killing Lamy feeds?
    I wasn't aware of that but if you happened to have an old Safari plus a 1.1 or 1.5 nib at least you wouldn't worry about killing an expensive feed.
    I also think I've seen very cheap Sheaffer calligraphy sets with a variety of wider nibs on ebay. Something like this one from Cult Pens maybe?
    Last edited by Chrissy; May 20th, 2022 at 08:54 AM.
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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    I've used a Sheaffer medium calligraphy nib, which is wider than a stub. I though the bleed through and ghosting would be horrible, but surprisingly there were none. It worked quite fine and better than a Jinhao medium nib. Plus the Sheaffers wrote anytime I wrote with....

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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    Quote Originally Posted by bunnspecial View Post
    I'm not opposed to the Safari/Lamy and in fact think I even have 1.1 and 1.5 nibs for them, but weren't there issues at one time of BSB killing Lamy feeds?
    That was from a defective run of Lamy feeds (Lamy took responsibility for the issue) many years back.

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    Default Re: Cheap Pen with a Broad(+) nib for BSB

    You can also pick up a Pilot Metropolitan with a 1.0mm stub nib from Goulet Pens for about $19. I've used one for work for many years (filled with Montblanc Permanent Blue) and it is nice and reliable. The Well-Appointed Desk has a review of it here:

    link: https://www.wellappointeddesk.com/20...lligraphy-nib/

    It does come with a rubber squeeze converter, but you can replace it with Pilot's Type 40 converter (doesn't hold much ink) or syringe fill an empty Pilot cartridge, which is what I do.

    All the Best.

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