Italic pens for lovely handwriting
April 5, 2005 11:02 AM   Subscribe

PenFilter: I'm looking for a semi-cheap and absolutely reliable italic-nib pen for everyday (medium-to-heavy) use. Any ideas?

I really love my smooth Parker Sonnet, but wish it had an italic nib. My Rotring ArtPens are too leaky (and long!) for pockets. Does anyone know of a worthy replacement? I'm hoping to order a stock pen (as opposed to a custom ground one) but I'm willing to do that if necessary.

The finer the point, the better, and I'm trying to avoid the scratchy my-first-calligraphy-set pens. Unless you've used them successfully for daily writing, in which case I'd like to hear about it.

In a worst-case scenario, I'd be willing to grind my own nibs into italics. Have you tried it? Was it successful? Was it difficult?
posted by terceiro to Writing & Language (2 answers total)
 
Osmiroid -- sadly they've just gone out of production but you can still find them. They are ultra-reliable cheap fountain pens and you can get a range of nib shapes & sizes (easily changed -- they just screw in) They were even made in left-handed styles.
posted by anadem at 11:14 AM on April 5, 2005


Richard Binder or John Mottishaw. The former concentrates on selling pens with custom-ground nibs, with an emphasis on low-cost models, such as the Pelikan M200. The latter tends to focus on higher-end pens, but also does regrindings: I suspect he'd be able to put an italic (or stub) on your Sonnet for $35.

The Pelikan M200s are solid and ultra-reliable, though they'll feel quite light by comparison with the Sonnet. If you're after a heavier pen, don't discount Pendemonium's Phileas selection: you get a lot of pen for not that much money. And I'd certainly go for a custom rather than a stock pen, simply because it's an area where there's not enough attention to detail in mass production these days.
posted by holgate at 1:47 PM on April 5, 2005


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