Hopalong Cassidy Visits Anderson Pens! | APTV 545

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[MariaBosma]

The old saying that "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" rings true in our household. Wayne has been a fountain pen enthusiast for years and carefully chooses his pens that he uses daily. Last year Wayne convinced me to ride along to the pen show in St. Louis and in a last minute thought, I decided to attend with him. I was wonderfully overwhelmed and it is at that show that I purchased my first fountain pen; I don't know who was more excited, me or Wayne!! So while we now both agree that fountain pens are wonderful in many ways, we will likely never agree on nib size. Wayne is a fine nib kinda guy and I prefer a medium nib.

[nixternal]

Great episode! Thus far, I've been an Extra Fine type of guy. Even my ballpoint or gel pens are in the 0.3 range as well. My next pen will probably be a Japanese Medium. Have a great week!

[KarynaLovesToPlan]

Thank you for reminding me of National Chocolate Ice Cream Day! I started with Fine and Extra Fine nibs, but like Lisa, they need to have good flow. I've tried the Needlepoint and I absolutely love the smooth toothiness of that nib. I also love specialty grinds on the Fine or EF nibs - I have cursive smooth italics in Fine nibs, and I have architect grinds on both Fine and Extra Fine nibs. My preference has not changed over time - I have very small writing and larger nib widths just make my writing look like one big ink swatch!

[davidottman]

Favorite nib? For general use, a medium-to-broad nib with a stubby character makes me happy. It adds character without requiring extra space. If I want extra flavor, a flex nib is fun but that requires additional concentration and time to feel "proper."

Great show!

[benkempermagic]

Always good to see you two. When I began in the hobby, I went for stub nibs. I think this was because I’d used Osmiroid (sp?) calligraphy pens as a teenager. As I experimented more I switched to mediums and finally fine. Oddly, I’ve come sort of full circle, because my favorite nibs of all are my Cursive Smooth Italic which have the line width of a fine, but produce the line variation of a stub. See you next week!

[sallyatkinson]

My favorite nib right now is a stub. I like the line variation, and I think my penmanship is more attractive. I always used a fine nib until I tried the stub, and sometimes go back to it, but I've gotten used to the flow from a stub and find a fine more scratchy most of the time. Thanks for another fun show!

[haroldmarenger]

Hi Lisa and Brian. Lisa, my preferences are similar to yours. I tend to like nibs that produce a finer line, so most of my pens are western extra fine, fine and some medium nibs. My writing is on the smaller and more compact side, so EF/F nibs work the best for me overall. The Esterbrook Estie steel nibs (number 6) have worked well for me, and I like the needle point, extra fine and fine nibs—I find their medium nib to be stiff enough that it works, too. I have played around with their Journaler and Scribe nibs, and have had good results. If I am using a wet nib like a Pelikan gold nib, it would have to be an extra fine or fine, otherwise it looks like my writing has been redacted (if it’s one of their steel nibs, I can get away with using a medium nib). The paper and ink play an important part, too. With some of my nibs, I find if I use a “drier” ink and fairly decent paper (that will not bleed through and not have a lot of shadowing), I can use a fine to medium nib with no problem. If the paper is porous (has a lot of bleed-through and shadowing/feathering), then an extra fine nib and a drier ink may work better. Has my nib preference changed over time? No, not really. It’s been the same since I started writing. I usually print (sometimes using what I’d call a modified architecture style, and sometimes a modified italic style, depending on what I am writing), my writing is compact. When I use cursive, my writing tends to be larger and less dense/compact, and a medium nib will work.

[danf]

Great show as usual. I prefer a smooth medium nib for most things. Most of mine are Jowow mediaums. If I need to write smaller, then I'll go look at a fine.

[larryjensen]

A number of years ago I just had to have a Montblanc Meisterstuk146 with what I think is a medium nib. I was like the kid learning to drive that wanted the muscle car with little or no skill to drive it. The nib width just seemed to be too broad and my ink selection didn't help at all. I'm still learning to perfect my writing and use a music nib when I really want to "sound off" but I find that I love an extra fine or fine nib for journaling - the Diplomat Aero is just a delight to use in this regard - the cap deploys in no time versus a screw top and I love the click when closing it. Your videos make me look forward to Thursdays!

[paulherman]

Happy Espresso Day! (June 6)

If the local coffee shop has awarded you “Employee of the Month” and you don’t even work there, you may be drinking too much coffee.

Have to comment on something Brian said: who in their right mind WOULDN'T want to talk about 1932 Esterbrook pens? 😁 (Been a huge fan of vintage Esterbrook since 1983.😉)

When I started using a fountain pen, I had SMALL handwriting and the old Esterbrook J I started with was a 2668 firm medium, so I'd have loved something fine or even extra fine.
Not now. Currently using 3 x668 Esterbrook nibs for my general needs. And even a 2550 extra fine posting for those pesky forms that have such tiny spaces to write in (this is the only extra fine I've ever used that I can say that I actually like.)
Has my taste changed? Yes. Would have originally loved anything extra fine. But now it's about the writing experience, and what I prefer at the time.

Another enjoyable and entertaining episode! Thanks!

[bethcunningham]

Fine is still my favorite. I started off my fountain pen journey liking extra fine nibs but I found many of those nibs were not flowy enough. I’m starting to branch into special nibs like the Lamy cursive, Esterbrook scribe and journaler nibs, and Schon DSGN monoc nib. I use those special nibs in my journal where I can play and experiment. But my go-to is a fine especially for work and taking notes. Have a lovely week!!

[debbypodgorski]

Great show! Started out with medium nibs but now prefer a fine or flex fine nib. I write small and am left-handed so too much ink is not good for me.

[speedbird]

For German nibs — definitely fine or even extra fine - although I do love the Esterbrook Journaler nib, which is more of a European medium. For Japanese pens, (I’m looking at you Pilot) Fine Medium all day long. I started with more medium nibs and stubs and have graduated down over the years. Another great show!

[emilysnoap]

Mine was ef, but I'm currently loving mediums ground like a stub or italic!

[traditionallarry]

Another great video as always, my preference is medium but got an Opus 88 demonstrator with a fine nib and found I can use it on paper that isn’t really fountain pen friendly and it’s not bad using that fine nib, I’ve grown to like it and the ink capacity is great.

[edgars.rainesjr.]

My preference for years was a Broad nib, but now I prefer a Stub or an Italic. Probably in part because I did extensive calligraphic projects. I always enjoy your presentations.

[courtheiss]

My favorite nib width is left handed (on entry level German pens like Pelikan, Lamy and Stabilo), with my favorite readily available one being medium, I also love flex for Copperplate and Spencerian writing; my nib preference has remained fairly consistent

[Dragonjava]

In College (where I first fell in love with fountain pens), it was fine nibs for clarity of writing, and I wrote much smaller to fit more info on each page. Now 40 years on, I prefer wet mediums or a broad, as I tend to write in larger lettering for ease of reading without glasses, and I have relaxed a bit. Writing to me is now more experiential than strictly informational, as before. A very good question this week!

[wlbrockman]

Until very recently, I was with Brian re EF nibs. However, I finally found one that works for the single purpose for which I've sought an EF nib: making entries in our checkbook register and writing checks (things so old school, like fountain pens, I suspect your daughter has only the foggiest notion of what I'm writing about) without bleed-through or feathering and with minimal feedback. It is by Kaweco and I use it on my Student FP--a much under-appreciated value, IMHO.

Regarding other nibs, I've been fortunate enough to have acquired a nice variety of sizes and grinds in both modern and vintage pens. About the only type I don't have is the proverbial "wet noodle." As an aside to Brian, I would appreciate it if you would identify any such pen that might turn up in your vintage offerings. I'd snap it up if the price is right! Modern flex nibs have all been a disappointment to me. though I haven't tried the Magna Carta version. Too expensive for me.

I don't have a favorite. Rather, I try to match the nib to the occassion or simply to what I feel like using that day. I've come to appreciate the unique quirks and qualities of all of them. If I'm feeling lucky and brave, I reach for a 1.5 mm stub. 🤣

[edreilly]

I would say my nib preferences have refined :) over the years. I started with mediums, but now I like Japanese fines and even some Wester extra fines.