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Obliquity


Although I do most of my writing with standard round nibs, over the last couple of years I've been turning more and more to italic nibs. I had previously thought that I would find them to be either scratchy or difficult to use, but I now realize how wrong I was and have gradually acquired a small selection of delightful italics.

The first pen with such a nib to enter my collection was a Pilot 78G with B nib, which is actually a stub. It is fairly smooth and lays down a nice medium line; it is never slow to start and never skips. Given how inexpensive it is, I consider it to be one of the best pen values around, and it has not been out of my rotation in over a year. (Just a few days ago I acquired a 78G with BB nib; I inked it up only a little while ago, and so far it does seem to be more difficult to use than the B nib, but I need more time to properly evaluate it.)

My second italic nib was a 0.6mm stub italic ground by Richard Binder for the Namiki Vanishing Point (VP). A wonderful nib for one of my favorite pens, it too is a regular in the rotation. Next was another Binder nib, this time a regrind of a broad nib to a 0.7mm cursive italic for a Platinum Maki-e pen. This nib is also a pleasure to use, but I think I prefer the VP stub by a hair. My next acquisitions were two Sheaffer NoNonsense pens with Fine italic nibs that write a pretty wet line, more like a medium; nice, inexpensive pens, also great values.

I've enjoyed all of these a great deal, and now I always have inked at least two pens with italic nibs. What, you may ask, does the title of this entry (Obliquity) have to do with italic nibs, which are cut straight across on a line perpendicular to the slit between the tines? Well, I'll tell you. A couple of months ago I acquired two relief (left oblique) nibs for my Esterbrooks, a 2314F and a 9314F, and immediately became quite fond of them. The angle of the cut on these nibs seems quite small, perhaps between 5 and 10 degrees.

These Estie relief nibs have gotten me quite interested in left oblique nibs, and I have been contemplating purchasing a 15-degree left oblique nib for my VP from Richard Binder. As luck would have it, a few days ago an opportunity presented itself to purchase a Montblanc 221(?) with OM (oblique medium) nib. The pen arrived today and appears in this entry's photograph. In a matter of only a few hours, this nib has endeared itself to me. Beautifully smooth, a pleasure to use, it gives my handwriting more of a slant and a nicer look than it has ever had before, even with the stub nibs I like so much.

I already see more oblique nibs in my future. Perhaps a few of the medium and broad round nibs that don't see much use are ready for a trip to a nibmeister for a shot at obliquity. What are some of your favorite italic nibs?

Tools of choice today:
Montblanc 221 with OM nib and Diamine Blue-Black ink
Pilot 78G with BB nib and Aurora Black ink
Esterbrook SJ with 1555 Gregg shorthand nib and Aurora Black ink

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